Karen Elliott House, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, returns to Clearer Than Truth to discuss Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership and the future of Saudi Arabia. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience in the kingdom, House examines the tension between Saudi Arabia’s sweeping social transformation and its continued political repression, MBS’s ambitions to become a global powerbroker, and the economic and security pressures created by regional conflict. She also explores Saudi Arabia’s relationships with the United States, Iran, Israel, and other regional powers, the risks of a wider war, and whether the kingdom can sustain its modernization ambitions amid instability. Looking decades ahead, House weighs Saudi Arabia’s prospects against the shifting balance of global power and explains why she remains pessimistic about the near term but more optimistic about America’s long-term position.

00:00 Introduction: Karen Elliott House on Saudi Arabia
00:58 How Mohammed bin Salman Has Changed
01:57 Modernization Without Political Freedom
04:44 Can the West Trust MBS?
07:59 Saudi Arabia’s Regional Partnerships
09:53 MBS’s Ambitions and the War’s Economic Cost
11:54 The Saudi Relationship With Trump
13:45 Could the Conflict Threaten MBS’s Rule?
16:13 Saudi Youth and the Limits of Political Opposition
18:08 How Secure Is the Saudi Monarchy?
19:16 Vision 2030 and the Future of NEOM
21:40 The Economic Impact of Regional Instability
23:21 Can Saudi Arabia Get Its Economy Back on Track?
25:02 MBS’s Security and the Risk of Escalation
27:36 Oil Revenue and Saudi Arabia’s Economic Vulnerability
29:36 The Risk of a Wider Regional War
32:03 Saudi Arabia and the Global Balance of Power
35:05 Why House Remains Optimistic About America
36:05 What Makes MBS Different?
39:34 Where to Follow Karen Elliott House’s Work
40:54 Closing Remarks

Support the show

Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, joins Clearer Than Truth to examine the strategic challenges facing the United States in an increasingly contested world. From the Trump administration’s approach to military force and the future of American alliances to defense spending, the competition with China, and the growing role of artificial intelligence, Fontaine explores whether the United States has a coherent strategy to match its global power. He also explains why Washington has repeatedly struggled to prioritize the Indo-Pacific, how allies are reassessing American reliability, and why he remains cautiously optimistic about America’s long-term advantages.

00:00 Richard Fontaine on America's Changing Foreign Policy
00:32 Is America's Grand Strategy Fundamentally Changing?
01:53 The Lasting Shift Toward Protectionism
03:12 Does Trump's Foreign Policy Have Historical Precedents?
05:28 What Would John McCain Think of America Today?
07:04 Has America Become an Overextended Superpower?
09:40 Can America Still Trust Its Alliances?
11:52 Trump's Way of War vs. the Powell Doctrine
13:41 Why Clear Military Objectives Matter
15:05 The Problem With Trump's Flexible War Strategy
17:32 What the Powell Doctrine Would Say About Iran
18:51 Can America Afford Another Major War?
19:19 Could America Defend Taiwan Against China?
21:17 America's Defense Industrial Base Problem
22:16 How AI Will Reshape Global Power
24:16 Should America Stay Ahead of China in AI?
25:46 Can America and China Agree on AI Safety?
28:57 What Nuclear Arms Control Can Teach Us About AI
30:06 Why Crises Sometimes Force International Cooperation
32:34 Why America Keeps Failing to Pivot to Asia
34:10 How Middle East Wars Derail America's Asia Strategy
35:21 Is China Still America's Biggest Strategic Rival?
36:36 What CNAS Is Working on Now
37:42 Can America Rebuild the International Order?
38:45 What Still Makes America Powerful?
40:38 Why Richard Fontaine Remains Optimistic
41:13 Where to Follow Richard Fontaine

Support the show

Ambassador Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and author of Autocrats Versus Democrats, joins Clearer Than Truth to examine how Vladimir Putin transformed Russia’s relationship with the West and why the war in Ukraine remains so difficult to end. McFaul argues that Putin’s greatest fear is not NATO expansion but the spread of democracy, which threatens the legitimacy of his autocratic rule. He reflects on the achievements and failures of the Obama administration’s Russia reset, contrasts Putin’s leadership with Mikhail Gorbachev’s approach to Eastern Europe, and discusses the uncertain prospects for political change inside Russia. The conversation also explores Ukraine’s nuclear disarmament and security guarantees, the risks of leaving Ukraine outside NATO, China and India’s limited roles in seeking peace, and why McFaul believes stronger military support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions offer a better path toward a negotiated settlement than appeasing Putin.

00:00 Michael McFaul on Russia and Putin
01:13 Why Putin Fears Democratic Expansion
02:07 What the Russia Reset Was Really About
03:45 What U.S.–Russia Cooperation Achieved
05:01 Why Dual-Track Diplomacy Failed
06:37 Could Russia Have Taken a Different Path?
08:22 How Putin Became More Paranoid and Imperial
09:36 Gorbachev, Eastern Europe, and Nuclear Secrets
11:23 Why Individual Leaders Shape History
12:35 Gorbachev vs. Putin on Democratic Movements
14:02 Why Arms Control Requires Verification
15:12 Could Putin Lose the Support of His Elites?
16:06 How Putin Tightened His Grip on Russia
18:19 Why Revolutions Seem Impossible—Until They Happen
19:15 Ukraine’s Independence and the Nuclear Question
20:27 Putin’s Early Political Years
22:16 The Budapest Memorandum and Ukraine’s Security
23:24 Should Ukraine Join NATO?
24:59 Why China and India Aren’t Helping End the War
26:27 Russia’s War as an Imperial Project
27:19 Why Appeasing Putin Won’t Work
29:06 What Putin Really Wants From Ukraine
30:37 Why Putin Wants the Donbas
31:56 Is Russia Trying to Break Ukraine’s Will?
32:20 The People Who Turned to Putin
34:33 How Propaganda Becomes a Business
35:28 The Dinner That Revealed Putin’s Worldview
37:07 Why Putin Thinks Everyone Can Be Bought
37:35 Michael McFaul’s Latest Book and Writing

Support the show