Best Silverado Policy Accelerator Podcasts (2025)

1
Why America's Nuclear Deterrence Strategy Needs to Change 46:22

3d ago46:22

46:22

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Vipin Narang, a former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, a portfolio which includes U.S nuclear weapons employment strategy, about why we are now entering the New Nuclear Age and the urgent changes that the United States has to make to its nuclear deterrence posture and strategy. They also debate …

1
Assessing the Damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program 37:23

10d ago37:23

37:23

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert, to assess the damage that has been inflicted upon the Iranian nuclear program over the course of the past 11 days and potential for reconstitution. 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Assessment of Damage to Each Part of the Iranian Nuclear Program 07:34 What is the Level of D…

1
The Israel-Iran War: Possibilities and the Dangers of Overreach 28:21

16d ago28:21

28:21

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Israeli Gen Amos Yadlin (Ret.), perhaps the world's only person who has participated in the destruction of three Middle Eastern nuclear weapons programs: first, as an F-16 pilot in 1981 against Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak, as Head of Military Intelligence in 2007 against Syrian nuclear reactor Al Kibar, and in vari…

1
Why North Korea Is Planning a Second Korean War and How to Stop It 1:20:21

5M ago1:20:21

1:20:21

Dmitri Alperovitch sits down with Andrei Lankov, one of the west’s foremost experts on North Korea, and Sergey Radchenko, a leading Cold War historian, for a deep dive into North Korea. They discuss the threats posed by North Korea's nuclear program and possibility of a new war, the chances of a Trump-brokered peace deal with Kim Jong Un, and the n…

1
The One Factor That Could Crash the Russian Economy 1:02:17

6M ago1:02:17

1:02:17

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Russian economy expert Chris Weafer about the state of the Russian economy in 2025. They talk about inflation and its impact on people and business, why the ruble is collapsing, which sanctions have been the most impactful, and the one thing that could potentially trigger a crash and give Ukraine leverage to negotiate …

1
Putin’s Nuclear Meltdown 43:28

7M ago43:28

43:28

Dmitri Alperovitch talks all things nukes with Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, an expert in arms control and nuclear and missile nonproliferation, currently a professor at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and director of the CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Program. They discuss…

1
Inside the Drone War Arms Race in Ukraine 1:03:30

9M ago1:03:30

1:03:30

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Andrey Liscovich (UkraineDefenseFund.org) about the latest updates in the evolution of drone warfare on the battlefields in Ukraine. They discuss: - How Ground Unmanned Vehicles (GUVs) are being used in battle - 3rd Generation FPV drones - Quadcopter bombers - Mass-market EW systems - Fiber optics C2 - EW recon units -…

1
Ukraine Invades Russia: What’s Next? Interview with Ukrainian Combat Vet 45:01

11M ago45:01

45:01

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Constantine Kalinovskiy (@Teoyaomiquu), a Ukrainian combat vet with friends currently in battle, about how the Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to achieve tactical surprise with their August 6th offensive into Russian Kursk oblast, the achievable objectives of this operation and the risks that it brings. They discussed…

1
Ukraine Finally Has F-16s. What Now? 56:37

11M ago56:37

56:37

After many months long wait, F-16s have finally arrived in Ukraine. How are the Ukrainians likely to use them and what are the challenges and opportunities presented by the introduction of this new weapons platform? Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology at RUSI and and the editor of a just re…

1
How China Might Invade Taiwan: A World on the Brink Scenario 58:36

1y ago58:36

58:36

Dmitri Alperovitch and his co-author Garrett Graff discuss their upcoming book “World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century” and include an exclusive audiobook excerpt from the book that lays out in great detail how China is likely to go about its invasion of Taiwan. In addition, Dmitri and Garrett discus…

1
New Secrets From the Cold War and Lessons for Cold War II With China 52:13

1y ago52:13

52:13

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Sergey Radchenko, one of the Cold War's preeminent historians, about the untold secrets of that period based on Sergey's unique access to recently declassified Soviet and Chinese archives. They discussed China's role in causing Khrushchev to initiate the Cuban Missile Crisis, a huge Soviet intelligence failure that cau…

1
How the US Planned to Respond to Russia Using a Nuke in Ukraine 44:16

1y ago44:16

44:16

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Bill Hennigan, a New York Times opinion writer currently publishing a series of articles called "At the Brink," focused on nuclear threats and the challenges our world faces in combating proliferation. They discussed the fears that the US intelligence community had in the fall of 2022 that the probability of Russia usi…

1
The Trinity Revolution in Warfare: Precision, Sensors and Comms 51:52

1+ y ago51:52

51:52

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Shashank Joshi, Defense Editor for The Economist, about the changing nature of warfare and the impact of proliferation and affordability of precision munitions, sensor ubiquity and digital communications like Starlink. They discuss the still crucial importance of infantry mass and artillery ammunition in this revolutio…

1
Why North Korea is Probably Not Planning a War 55:33

1+ y ago55:33

55:33

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, an expert in arms control and nuclear and missile nonproliferation, currently a professor at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and director of the CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Program. They discuss whether the near…

1
Why China Can’t Blockade Taiwan 53:50

1+ y ago53:50

53:50

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Ivan Kanapathy, a former US military attache to Taiwan, about the looming threat of Chinese invasion and why a Chinese blockade or quarantine of Taiwan is unlikely to succeed. They discuss the implications of the recent Taiwan elections on the island's military readiness and the future of US-Taiwan relations, the chall…

1
Battle of Wills: Ukraine’s Path to Victory 40:36

1+ y ago40:36

40:36

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Yaroslav Trofimov, a Ukrainian-born Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign-affairs correspondent, about his new book "Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence." They discussed why the Russians lost any chance of capturing Kyiv in the first day of the war by failing to take Hostomel a…

1
The Drone Wars: How Consumer Tech Is Shaping the Ukraine War 1:07:29

1+ y ago1:07:29

1:07:29

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), Rob Lee (Foreign Policy Research Institute) and Andrey Liscovich (UkraineDefenseFund.org) how the proliferation of FPV drones and countermeasures to them are changing the nature of warfare in Ukraine. They discuss: - Advantages and disadvantages of these new …

1
All Things AI: An Interview With White House AI Guru Ben Buchanan 46:22

1+ y ago46:22

46:22

Dmitri Alperovitch comes to the White House to interview Dr. Ben Buchanan, the White House Special Advisor on AI, about: - The risks and benefits of AI - What the US government is trying to achieve with the President's Executive Order on AI - Why Terminator AIs are not coming to kill us but evil people using AI just might - What the requirements to…

1
Why Chinese Economy Is Heading For Stagnation, Not Collapse 51:34

1+ y ago51:34

51:34

Dmitri Alperovitch and guest co-host Patrick Gray interview Alicia García-Herrero, a Spanish-born economist based in the indo-Pacific and who specializes on China. They discussed why China has exhausted its growth potential and is now facing structured deceleration, which will be a major global deflationary trend. Other topics covered: why the real…

1
Why Quantum Computing May be Overhyped but AI isn’t: Interview with the NSA 56:02

1+ y ago56:02

56:02

Dmitri Alperovitch interviews Gilbert Herrera, Director of Research at the National Security Agency (NSA) and a member of the U.S. National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. They discussed the current state of quantum computing, why its current applications outside of breaking certain types of public key cryptography are highly limited, why we…

1
How Ukraine Can Benefit From ATACMS Missiles 36:54

2y ago36:54

36:54

ATACMS episode: - What variants of the missile exist - What unique advantages they offer over already provided Storm Shadows / SCALP-EGs from UK and France - How many missiles may exist in the US inventory and why some can be provided to Ukraine without jeopardizing US military readiness - Why the German Taurus missile is also a much needed munitio…

1
Starlink in Ukraine: Why the Story Is Not So Simple 39:04

2y ago39:04

39:04

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Patrick Gray, host of Risky Business podcast, about why the Starlink-Elon saga is much more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Blaming Elon for his Crimea action is probably unfair, but he does deserve both praise and criticism for his contributions to Ukrainian battlefield successes and challenges. And so…

1
Why 702 is America’s most valuable intelligence program: Interview with the FBI 52:09

2y ago52:09

52:09

Dmitri Alperovitch sits down with Bryan Vorndran, Assistant Director of FBI's Cyber Division, to discuss why FISA Section 702 is by far the most valuable intelligence program in the US government's arsenal and is responsible for the majority of the most valuable intelligence the country collects. In this episode, Vorndran provides some examples of …

1
What the Death of Prigozhin Means for Wagner, Russia and Ukraine 1:04:52

2y ago1:04:52

1:04:52

Dmitri Alperovitch talks to Russian military analyst Rob Lee and Wagner Group expert Jack Margolin about the implications of reports of Prigozhin's fiery death in a plane crash in Russia. Where does Wagner go from here? What happens to Russian ambitions in Africa? Does this event help restore Surovikin, Russia's most competent commander of this war…

1
How Russian Intelligence operatives have attacked Ukraine in cyberspace: Interview with Ukrainian Security Service 52:17

2y ago52:17

52:17

In this joint Geopolitics Decanted and Risky Business feature interview, Dmitri Alperovitch and Patrick Gray talk to Illia Vitiuk, the Head of the Department of Cyber and Information Security of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) about the cyber dimension to Russia's invasion. From turning off Ukraine's power grid with a cyber attack in 2015, to…

1
Why Reports of the US Dollar’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated 38:45

2y ago38:45

38:45

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with geoeconomist Douglas Rediker (Senior Fellow at Brookings and formerly with the IMF Executive Board) about the enduring dominance of the U.S. dollar and why it won't change any time soon. Why the dollar continues to have no realistic alternatives and why Chinese renminbi is not a viable replacement. Also, what are the p…

1
Why Europe’s Dependence on the US Military Will Not Change 33:26

2y ago33:26

33:26

On the train ride to Kyiv, Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Franz Stefan Gady, one of the premier European military analysts, about why American military involvement in Europe is unlikely to be significantly reduced in the coming years and the dangers that a US conflict with China may present to European security. They discuss the slow pace of Europea…

1
How Drones Are Changing the Nature of Warfare in Ukraine 56:28

2y ago56:28

56:28

On the train ride back to Poland from Kyiv, Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Andrey Liscovich (President of Ukraine Defense Fund, a charity that provides non-lethal aid to the Ukrainian military) about how various types of drones are used for artillery correction, target identification and strike missions in Ukraine. They discuss why Chinese drones su…

1
Trip Report: What I Learned in Kyiv and Conversation with Mike Kofman and Rob Lee about Counteroffensive and Wagner 1:05:43

2y ago1:05:43

1:05:43

Guest host Patrick Gray interviews Dmitri Alperovitch about his recent trip to Kyiv and what he learned from his meetings with senior military and intelligence leadership there. Dmitri also interviews Mike Kofman and Rob Lee during their train ride to Kyiv about the current state of the Ukrainian counteroffensive and their thinking on the fallout f…

1
Mutiny in Russia: Who Won, Who Lost and What Caused It 48:29

2y ago48:29

48:29

In this edition of Geopolitics Decanted guest host Patrick Gray interviews Dmitri Alperovitch about Evgeny Prigozhin's so-called "March for Justice". What was it all about? Did it fail or succeed? What does Putin's reaction tell us about what will happen next in Russia? Music: Battle Hymn of PMC Wagner (https://rutube.ru/video/3152ef2154f8d3bd9aa0a…

1
Ukraine’s Offensive Has Begun: Analysis With Michael Kofman and Rob Lee 48:53

2y ago48:53

48:53

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with military analysts Michael Kofman and Rob Lee about this week's launch of Ukraine's counteroffensive: what are its objectives, how can we determine when it's successful, and what is likely to come next. Also covered: Why Kakhovka dam destruction is unlikely to have an impact on the counteroffensive, Prigozhin's trap for…

1
How AI Will Transform Future Militaries (And Societies) 58:00

2y ago58:00

58:00

Dmitri Alperovitch discusses the evolution of AI with Teddy Collins (former Assistant Director for Technology Strategy at the White House, Research Scientist at Google’s DeepMind and co-author of "Teams of Teams" with General Stan McChrystal): - The AI triad of Talent/Algorithms, Data and Compute which has driven so much improvement in the last 5 y…

1
How China Plans to Win the Chip War 39:25

2y ago39:25

39:25

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Chris Miller, author of the recent New York Times bestseller Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, about one of the central elements of the US-China confrontation: semiconductors. Topics discussed include: - Which chips are more critical: advanced or foundational (aka mature) - The history of ho…

1
How Ukraine Can Survive the Exhaustion of Its Air Defense Stocks 1:06:07

2y ago1:06:07

1:06:07

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Justin Bronk (Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology at RUSI and Professor at Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy) and Dara Massicot (Russian military analyst at RAND) about the dire implications of the dwindling stocks of Ukrainian air defense interceptors and what can be done to solve that problem. Justin m…

1
China and Russia: An Alliance, an Alignment or a Marriage of Convenience? 58:44

2y ago58:44

58:44

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Alexander Gabuev (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and Sergey Radchenko (Johns Hopkins SAIS), two of the foremost experts on the true nature of the China-Russia relationship. Topics discussed: - The signs that the Xi-Putin summit in Moscow last month may have achieved more substance than many may realize - H…

1
Why Taiwan’s Military Modernization Is Moving Too Slowly 1:03:47

2+ y ago1:03:47

1:03:47

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Vincent Chao, a Taiwanese politician and former diplomat and national security strategist, about why Taiwan is moving so slowly to modernize its military and increase deterrence of an existential threat of Chinese invasion. They discuss Taiwan's messy identity politics, whether Taiwanese will fight to defend their free…

1
Myth Busting With Michael Kofman: Debunking Common Misperceptions About the Ukraine War 38:59

2+ y ago38:59

38:59

Dmitri Alperovitch sits down once again with Michael Kofman, Russian military analyst, who has just returned from visiting the frontline in Bakhmut, to talk about his observations on the fighting there, as well as common misperceptions about Wagner Group, impact of Western training programs on Ukrainian military force composition, the adaptations a…

1
How Russia’s Winter Offensive Could Backfire 48:54

2+ y ago48:54

48:54

Dmitri Alperovitch sits down with Michael Kofman to discuss the strategic mistakes of Russia's current offensive in the Donbas and the prospects of an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive. We also dive into the implications of the remarkable Prigozhin vs Shoigu gangland-style fight ('razborki' in Russian) and how Russian incompetence may have been t…

1
Interview: This American Spent 10 Months Fighting in Ukraine 1:04:47

2+ y ago1:04:47

1:04:47

Dmitri Alperovitch talks to David Bramlette, a former U.S. Ranger and Green Beret combat veteran, who has recently returned from fighting with the Ukrainian Foreign Legion in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. David shares his experiences of the war, why he went over to risk his life for a foreign country, his impressions of the Russian and …

1
How Russia is Working Around Western Sanctions and Export Controls 24:54

2+ y ago24:54

24:54

Dmitri Alperovitch talks to Silverado's own experts - Sarah Stewart (CEO) and Andy David (Senior Director of Research and Analysis) about Silverado's new just published research report that dives deep into the analysis of Russian import trade flows to figure out how Russia is working around the export controls and sanctions it has been put under si…

1
Why Ukraine May Try to Retake Crimea Next 1:01:58

2+ y ago1:01:58

1:01:58

Since the start of the Russian invasion last February, it has been a commonly accepted wisdom that Ukraine will not try to retake Crimea - an action that many in the West worry will trigger an escalation - until it has taken back all of the territory lost since February 2022. In this episode, Dmitri Alperovitch once again talks to Sergii Grabskyi, …

1
How Dwindling Ammunition Stocks Could Decide the Outcome of the War 46:53

2+ y ago46:53

46:53

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Russian military expert Michael Kofman about: - Why this war may be decided by which side can stretch their ammunition supplies the longest - Putin's visit to Belarus and whether a new Russian offensive may be coming soon - 3 areas in which Russian military has been outclassed by Ukrainian forces - How Russian Military…

1
New Phase of the War: Ukraine Faces Tough Decisions 47:47

2+ y ago47:47

47:47

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman - The strategic impact of Russian terror strike campaign against Ukrainian critical infrastructure - Likelihood of a near-term Ukrainian offensive to retake the South - Is Ukraine trying to retake Kinburn Spit to control the Dniepier river? - Would tanks help Ukraine break through the Russian trenches in…

1
No Way Out: Why Negotiations Won’t End the War Soon 1:05:09

2+ y ago1:05:09

1:05:09

In this episode, Dmitri Alperovitch talks with historian and Russia expert Mark Galeotti about: - Whether Putin is capable of compromising his war aims in any potential future negotiations with Ukraine - The real reason for why he chose to invade Ukraine - Why he went ahead and annexed territories he didn't even have full control over - The similar…

1
Russia’s Cyber Game: What Worked and What Didn’t 45:45

2+ y ago45:45

45:45

In this episode, Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Dr. Danny Moore, a scholar of offensive cyber operations and a former cyber operator in the Israeli Defense Forces, about the successes and failures of Russian cyber attacks against Ukraine, the reasons for the lack of Russian cyber retaliation against the West, how the cyber component of warfare might…

1
How the Russian Air Force Failed in Ukraine 1:09:28

2+ y ago1:09:28

1:09:28

Why has Russia been unable to suppress Ukrainian air defenses? What is the true state of its missile stockpiles and production rates? Is the F-16 the best aircraft to provide to Ukraine to replace its old Soviet fighter jets? How can the West disrupt the chips supplies for the Russian military? Dmitri Alperovitch talks to Justin Brock and Dr. Jack …

1
Keys Lessons for Taiwan from the War in Ukraine 46:19

2+ y ago46:19

46:19

What lessons should Taiwan and its allies draw from the current conflict in Ukraine? Is the tank obsolete? Are commercial drones the future of warfare? Dmitri Alperovitch speaks to Franz-Stefan Gady, a research fellow at IISS and a deep thinker on the future of conflict and war, about his recent trip to Ukraine and the non-obvious lessons for Taiwa…

1
How Putin’s Reign Could End 52:49

2+ y ago52:49

52:49

Military coup or orderly transition? Nothing lasts forever and in this edition of the podcast, Dmitri Alperovitch speaks to Daniel Treisman, professor of political science at University of California, who specializes on Russian politics and economics, about how Putin's multi-decade reign of Russia might end…

1
Scenarios for How This War Might End 52:49

2+ y ago52:49

52:49

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman, who is just back from a trip to Ukraine. They discuss: - The latest on the fight in Kherson and Luhansk - Impact of Russian terror strikes on civilian infrastructure - Ukrainian morale - How Putin's mobilization is progressing - What the Russians are trying to achieve with the dirty bomb scares, - Lkeli…

1
How America Pulled the Plug on China’s Chips Sector 47:24

2+ y ago47:24

47:24

Dmitri Alperovitch and Silverado's Executive Director Sarah Stewart talk to Kevin Wolf, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, about the latest export control measures announced by the Biden Administration that are now crippling the Chinese semiconductor companies and why this is one of the most important actions the US c…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Silverado Policy Accelerator Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

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