America is seeing a renewed push to expand nuclear energy, driven by rising electricity demand, data centers, and growing geopolitical competition. But building new reactors is slow, expensive, and risky, raising hard questions about financing, siting, and political will. Can the United States realistically catch up to China and Russia while rebuilding its domestic nuclear supply chain? And should Washington prioritize speed, self-sufficiency, or deeper cooperation with allies?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Kenneth Luongo, President of the Partnership for Global Security. Luongo is a member of the Advocacy Council of Nuclear Matters and the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition (NENSC). He served from 1994-1997 as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy for Nonproliferation Policy and simultaneously as the Department of Energy’s Director of the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Director of the Department of Energy’s Russia and Newly Independent States Nuclear Material Security Task Force, and Director of the North Korea Task Force.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

Mass protests in Iran have been met with brutal repression, raising the stakes for the Trump administration which is now weighing whether to respond in support of the demonstrators. Do the protests threaten the Islamic Republic's existence, or is it yet another cycle of unrest the regime believes it can weather through force? What are the risks of U.S. military intervention? And how far would Washington need to go to avoid strengthening the very hardliners it hopes to weaken?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Greg Priddy, a Senior Fellow for the Middle East at the Center for the National Interest. Priddy consults for corporate and financial clients on political risk in the region and previously served as Director for Global Oil at Eurasia Group.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

The stunning U.S. raid that removed Nicolás Maduro from power has upended Venezuela’s political landscape and forced Washington to confront what comes next. Rather than pushing immediately for regime change, the Trump administration appears to be testing a pressure-and-incentives strategy, with sanctions relief, oil production, and economic access used as leverage to shape the behavior of the remaining leadership. Can this approach actually deliver meaningful political reform in Caracas, or will regional stability and U.S. energy interests take precedence over Venezuela's democratic transition?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Dr. Vanessa Neumann, the founder and president of Asymmetrica, a Latin American business advisory firm. Neumann served as the Official Representative for Interim Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó to the United Kingdom and Ireland, from March 2019 through November 2020. Prior to her diplomatic posting, she served as group leader at the High Level Risk Forum Task Force on Charting Illicit Trafficking at the OECD.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.