Net Assessment

Chris, Zack, and Melanie have a discussion about how America's allies and partners, after decades of relying on the US for security, are derisking from what they view as an increasingly unpredictable and unfriendly power. How much of their hedging is about President Trump, and how much is due to the growing clout of middle powers, world events, or other factors? What should our allies be doing to constructively protect themselves in terms of their economic and national security? And what do the reactions of world leaders to the conflict in Iran tell us about how they view their relationships with the United States?
 
Chris has a grievance for people, especially those with inside information, betting on war, Zack congratulates Congress for exercising its oversight responsibilities, and Melanie wonders what the purpose of the UN even is anymore. 
 
Show Links:
 
James M. Lindsay, "Will US Allies Succeed in Hedging Against the United States?", Council on Foreign Relations, February 18, 2026.

Shayan Sardarizadeh, X feed.

Emmanuel Macron, Speech on France's Nuclear Deterrence, March 4, 2026.

"At Last, Reasons to be Cheerful about European Tech," The Economist, March 1, 2026.

Henry J. Gomez, "Vance's anti-war posture collides with his more hawkish views on Iran," NBC News, March 3, 2026.

Chris Cook, Oliver Hawkins, Eade Hemingway and Stephanie Stacey, "Polymarket users won big with unusual bets on US attack on Iran," Financial Times, March 3, 2026

Flight 93 National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

Chris, Melanie, and Zack debate the wisdom of President Trump's proposal for a Golden Fleet of new American "battleships." They question the strategic logic, timelines, cost estimates, and political dynamics behind the proposal. Chris commends USA Hockey for its gold medal performance at the Olympics while Melanie questions Eileen Gu's comments there and Zack expresses appreciation for the Supreme Court's tariff decision.
 
Show Links:
 
Eli Rosenberg, "Who is US women's hockey star Megan Keller? A BC alum, and more," NBC Connecticut, February 19, 2026.

Christopher A. Preble and Celia Clark, "The Brooklyn Navy Yard revived | 12 | A defense conversion case study," 2016.

Sam Mercoliagno, X post, February 22, 2026.

Ben Jensen, "Why the Golden Fleet Will Sail," CSIS, January 9, 2026.  

Fighting Instructions, US Navy, February 9, 2026.  

Carline Downey, "Alysa Liu Is a Spunky, Gen Z National Treasure and a Force of American Athleticism," National Review, February 21, 2026.

Sean Gregory, "'I Don't Believe in Limits': How Eileen Gu Became Freestyle Skiing's Biggest Star," Time, January 22, 2026.

Trent Hone, "Why the U.S. Navy Doesn't Build Battleships Anymore," War on the Rocks, January 12, 2026.

Mark Cancian, "The Golden Fleet's Battleship Will Never Sail," CSIS, December 23, 2025.

U.S. Navy, "Webpage currently under construction," accessed February 24, 2026.

Ellen Nakashima et al., "Tulsi Gabbard's appearances at Fulton County FBI raid raises questions," Washington Post, January 30, 2026

Zack Cooper, "Asia After America," Foreign Affairs, March/April 2026

In this episode, Chris, Melanie, and Zack, discuss a recent Council on Foreign Relations special report which explores varies grand strategies, and proposes an alternative known as "Resolute Global Leadership." Is this strategy realistic? Does it accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives? And what did the report leave out, or fail to develop adequately, to ensure that it will succeed where others failed? Grievances for what Jeff Bezos has done to the Washington Post, to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for their doomsday clock, and to Donald Trump for weighing in on the Japanese parliamentary elections in favor of Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party. Attas to Takaichi for her stunning and unprecedented victory, to Javier Milei for turning around Argentina's economy, and to Anduril's Palmer Luckey for admitting that the Pentagon spends too much on the wrong stuff.
 
Show Links:
 
America Revived: A Grand Strategy of Resolute Global Leadership, Council on Foreign Relations, January 2026

Monica Pitrelli and Sydney Goh, U.S. can spend billions less on defense, says Anduril Industries founder, CNBC, February 6, 2026

Benjamin Mullin, Katie Robertson and Erik Wemple, Washington Post Cuts More Than 300 Jobs, The New York Times, February 4, 2026

Commission on the National Defense Strategy

Jack Butler, "A Doomsday Crock," Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2026.

Zack, Melanie, and special guest Kelly Grieco take a look at the Department of War's 2026 National Defense Strategy. What does a "decent peace" with China look like? Is that what China wants? What does the document get right and wrong about burden-sharing among allies and partners? Will this strategy actually help deliver the "peace through strength" that is so important to this administration? Zack has an atta for the foreign affairs reporters at the Washington Post, Kelly has an atta for the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots, and Melanie has even more grievances for the administration's chaotic tariff policies. 
 
Show Links:
 
National Defense Strategy, Department of War, January 2026.

Editorial Board, "Trump's Tariffs Can't Cover a Bill This Staggering," Washington Post, January 26, 2026.

Friedrich Merz, Speech at the World Economic Forum, January 23, 2026.

Jim Geraghty, "Tearing Apart NATO, Over a Trinket," January 20, 2026.

Fresh off the shock of the U.S. operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, the Net Assessment team debates the merits of the operation and what it means for Venezuela's future. They also discuss why it caught (some of) them off guard, and what it implies about the Trump administration's decision-making going forward. Chris also questions Trump's proposed defense budget increase, Melanie gives Denmark a badly needed attaboy, and Zack critiques Pete Hegseth's punishment of Mark Kelly.
*The Net Assessment Podcast is hosted by the Stimson Center and produced by University FM.
Show Links:
Emma Salisbury, "The Trump-Class Battleship," Behind the Front, January 8, 2026.

Leo Shane III, "The 5 Republicans who voted against Trump on Venezuela," Politico, January 8, 2026.

Eric Boehm, "Did Marco Rubio Lie to Congress About Venezuela?" Reason, January 5, 2026.

Matthew Cullen, "Trump Said His Global Power Was Limited Only by His 'Own Morality'," New York Times, January 8, 2026.

"TCS: President Trump's $1.5 Trillion Budget Proposal Must Be Rejected," Taxpayers for Common Sense, January 7, 2026.                                                                                            

"$1.5 Trillion Military Budget Would Add $5.8 Trillion to Debt Over Decade," Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, January 7, 2026.

Stephen Collinson, "Trump's new US mission statement: Strength, force, power," CNN, January 6, 2026.

David E. Sanger et al., "Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by 'My Own Morality'," New York Times, January 8, 2026.