FDD Events Podcast

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Listen in on FDD Events featuring discussions on today’s most pressing national security and foreign policy challenges and opportunities with top policymakers and leading experts. Webpage: https://www.fdd.org/events/

  1. Previewing the Trump-Xi Summit

    1 DAY AGO

    Previewing the Trump-Xi Summit

    As President Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, the summit arrives not as a diplomatic breakthrough but as a carefully managed pause in an accelerating strategic competition. FDD Senior Fellow Craig Singleton framed the meeting as a continuation of last fall's tactical trade truce — "stalemate with a stage" — in which both sides are protecting the trade and tariff lane while continuing to apply pressure everywhere else. Expected deliverables remain narrow by design: agricultural purchases, Boeing orders, and a Board of Trade mechanism to separate lower-risk commerce from sensitive technology sectors. Elaine Dezenski, senior director of FDD's Center on Economic and Financial Power, identified China's dollar dependency as its structural Achilles heel and flagged the fentanyl front as largely unresolved, with roughly 97% of Chinese precursor chemical manufacturers now accepting cryptocurrency, shifting money flows beyond the reach of regulated financial institutions. On Iran, she noted Beijing's dual-track posture: publicly ordering Chinese firms to defy U.S. sanctions on Iranian refineries while quietly directing its largest banks to suspend new loans to those same entities. RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, identified Taiwan as the summit's highest-risk variable, warning that any restraint on foreign military sales would be deeply damaging given a U.S. arms delivery backlog already exceeding $20 billion. He cautioned equally against any shift in declaratory policy toward opposing rather than merely not supporting Taiwan independence, which Beijing would immediately weaponize in a lawfare campaign against Taipei. Craig Singleton is a senior fellow and senior director of FDD's China Program. Elaine Dezenski is senior director and head of FDD's Center on Economic and Financial Power. RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery is a senior fellow and senior director of FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. The call was moderated by Joe Dougherty, FDD's senior director of Communications. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/05/07/previewing-the-trump-xi-summit/

    54 min
  2. AI on the Front Line: Lessons from the Iran Conflict

    2 DAYS AGO

    AI on the Front Line: Lessons from the Iran Conflict

    The conflict in Iran reveals urgent lessons about AI as a weapon of war and statecraft. Led by one of Washington's top experts on Iranian strategy, military doctrine, and the IRGC, this panel provides an assessment of how the Iranian regime has used autonomous systems and machine learning to expand its reach; how AI tools have supercharged propaganda campaigns and cyber-enabled information warfare; and in the financial realm, how emerging technologies have enabled large-scale fraud and illicit funding of Tehran's proxies. What does the Iranian regime's battlefield experimentation reveal? And how can the policy, technical, and intelligence communities respond? To explore these questions and more, join Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program; Max Lesser, senior analyst on emerging threats at FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI); and Max Meizlish, research fellow at FDD's the Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP), at the Special Competitive Studies Project's AI+ Expo. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2026/05/06/ai-on-the-front-line-lessons-from-the-iran-conflict/

    1hr 5min
  3. A Gameplan for American Economic Security

    3 DAYS AGO

    A Gameplan for American Economic Security

    Join Elaine Dezenski, CEFP senior director and head; Josh Birenbaum, CEFP deputy director; and Thomas Hill, as they break down a forthcoming CEFP memo, ‘A Gameplan for American Economic Security.’ This comprehensive and actionable economic security framework articulates how the United States can strengthen alliances, reinforce market transparency and accountability, and defend against growing economic coercion from adversarial states exploiting market vulnerabilities. The memo offers policymakers and the private sector new ways of addressing emerging economic and national security threats and opportunities.  The conversation will begin with introductory remarks by Juan C. Zarate, CEFP chairman, and is moderated by the Washington Post's Warren P. Strobel. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/05/04/a-gameplan-for-american-economic-security-supercharging-u-s-statecraft-from-an-economic-pentagon-to-the-near-global-economy/

    1hr 18min
  4. The Ramifications of the UAE Leaving OPEC

    30 APR

    The Ramifications of the UAE Leaving OPEC

    The UAE's decision to exit OPEC is not a procedural footnote — it is a structural rupture in the cartel that has shaped global energy markets and constrained American foreign policy for decades. The UAE was OPEC's third-largest producer, and its departure arrives on the heels of prior defections and years of Saudi unilateralism that have steadily hollowed out the cartel's ability to coordinate production and move prices. What remains of OPEC is a diminished institution whose most vulnerable member, Iran, will depend heavily on elevated oil prices to fund post-conflict reconstruction. But the cartel that once enforced that pricing floor is fracturing — and the UAE’s exit accelerates that fracture. That is not a coincidence. It is a strategic opportunity. The UAE's exit is inseparable from the broader regional realignment triggered by Iran's retaliatory attacks against its neighbors and decision to close the Strait of Hormuz. Those actions drove the UAE toward closer alignment with the United States and away from any institutional arrangement that seats it alongside its chief antagonist. Leaving OPEC allows Abu Dhabi to pump freely, erodes the pricing floor Tehran requires, and adds economic pressure to nuclear negotiations at a moment when Iran's financial position is already precarious. For the UAE, this was not a difficult calculation. The implications extend well beyond the Gulf. OPEC's core function has always been coordinating production cuts to artificially prop up the price of oil — a mechanism that has imposed real costs on American consumers and handed leverage to adversarial petrostate regimes for generations. That function requires internal cohesion OPEC no longer has. The question now is not whether the cartel can recover its influence, but whether the United States is prepared to openly welcome its decline and shape what comes next. To walk journalists through the geopolitical, economic, and energy security dimensions of the UAE's exit, FDD hosts three experts: Richard Goldberg, senior advisor and head of FDD's Energy and National Security Program, who previously served on the White House National Energy Dominance Council and the NSC's Iran directorate; Elaine K. Dezenski, senior director and head of FDD's Center on Economic and Financial Power, an expert on economic statecraft, illicit finance, and supply chain resilience; and Bernard Haykel, senior fellow and Princeton professor of Near Eastern Studies. The discussion is moderated by Joe Dougherty, FDD's senior director of Communications. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/04/29/the-ramifications-of-the-uae-leaving-opec/

    55 min
  5. Iran's economic damage from Operation Epic Fury

    23 APR

    Iran's economic damage from Operation Epic Fury

    U.S. and Israeli strikes under Operation Epic Fury have inflicted severe economic damage on the Iranian regime — damage that now shapes the landscape of ongoing ceasefire negotiations. FDD's Center on Economic and Financial Power has produced the first systematic, model-based estimate of Iran's economic losses, projecting that Tehran has lost roughly $144 billion, or approximately 40 percent of its pre-war GDP, in under two months. The losses are not evenly distributed: some sectors have been hit harder than others, and critically, much of what has been destroyed — including Iran's F-14 fleet, its nuclear scientific personnel, and its advanced centrifuge supply chains — cannot be replaced under continued sanctions. These are not recoverable line items; they represent permanent degradation of Iran's strategic and industrial capacity. The economic picture was already dire before the war began. Iran's economy was in deep recession, its population bearing the cost of decades of mismanagement and sanctions pressure. The question now is how much more the clerical regime can absorb — and whether conventional assumptions about Iran's leverage, including its ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, hold up under scrutiny. FDD's analysis suggests that leverage may be more of a weakness than a weapon. To walk journalists through their economic model and discuss the implications for nuclear negotiations, FDD hosts three experts from its Center on Economic and Financial Power: Elaine Dezenski, Senior Director and head of CEFP, Miad Maleki, Senior Fellow specializing in economic sanctions, and Daniel Swift, CEFP Senior Research Analyst. The discussion is moderated by Joe Dougherty, FDD's Senior Director of Communications. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/04/23/irans-economic-damage-from-operation-epic-fury/

    50 min
  6. Hezbollah at War: What Comes Next for Lebanon and the Region

    9 APR

    Hezbollah at War: What Comes Next for Lebanon and the Region

    Israel's military escalation against Hezbollah — an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Lebanon that recently reignited conflict with Israel in solidarity with Iran — has created a rare opening for Lebanese sovereignty. The Lebanese government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has taken unprecedented steps, formally stripping Hezbollah of its long-standing "right of resistance" designation and voting to disband its military wing — the first Lebanese government in 30 years to do so. However, these decisions remain unenforceable: the Lebanese Armed Forces have declined to confront Hezbollah directly, the Iranian ambassador declared persona non grata remains in Beirut, and Hezbollah has responded with open defiance. Iran is now attempting to bundle a Lebanon ceasefire into its own nuclear negotiations — a move rejected by both Israel and, notably, the Lebanese government itself, which is insisting on direct bilateral talks with Israel rather than being negotiated over by Tehran. This represents a generational opportunity: Israeli military operations have severely degraded Hezbollah, while U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have exposed the Islamic Republic's vulnerabilities and rattled its regional proxy network. The central question now is whether Lebanon can translate its political declarations into action — and whether the U.S. can help it do so — before a ceasefire allows Hezbollah to regroup and rearm, as it has done repeatedly since 2006. To discuss these developments with journalists, FDD hosts three of its scholars: Jonathan Schanzer, executive director and Middle East scholar, David Daoud, senior fellow focused on Lebanon and Hezbollah, and Hussain Abdul-Hussain, research fellow on Israel and Gulf Arab states. The discussion is moderated by Joe Dougherty, FDD’s senior director of Communications.

    1hr 4min
  7. Between Ally and Adversary: Turkey’s Strategic Calculus in the Iran War

    12 MAR

    Between Ally and Adversary: Turkey’s Strategic Calculus in the Iran War

    As the war involving Iran reshapes the strategic landscape of the Middle East, Turkey finds itself navigating one of the most complex geopolitical dilemmas in its modern history. Sharing a long border with Iran and balancing its role as a NATO member with its regional ambitions, Ankara is attempting to manage the fallout of a conflict that could dramatically alter the balance of power across the region. Turkish leaders have condemned U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran while simultaneously warning Tehran against expanding the conflict, reflecting a delicate strategy of hedging between competing interests. For Ankara, the stakes extend well beyond diplomacy. The prospect of regime collapse in Iran raises fears of refugee flows, border instability, and the emergence of new security threats along Turkey’s eastern frontier. At the same time, the conflict presents opportunities for Turkey to expand its regional influence and position itself as a mediator between global and regional powers. Meanwhile, recent incidents demonstrate how quickly the war could draw Turkey directly into the crisis. What does Ankara want from this conflict? Is Turkey seeking to prevent the collapse of the Iranian regime, contain regional chaos, or exploit the turmoil to advance its own geopolitical ambitions? And how should the United States and its allies interpret Turkey’s actions at this critical moment? For a timely discussion on Turkey’s priorities, anxieties, and strategic calculations as the war in Iran unfolds, FDD hosts Henri J. Barkey, adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; and Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. The discussion will be moderated by Sinan Ciddi, director of FDD’s Turkey Program. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2026/02/26/beyond-erdogan-turkeys-political-future-under-new-leadership/

    1 hr
  8. Surveying Foreign Influence in AI Tools

    4 MAR

    Surveying Foreign Influence in AI Tools

    Authoritarian regimes are gaining influence over how Americans understand the world through the AI tools trusted to be neutral arbiters of information. By optimizing authoritarian propaganda for AI consumption, adversarial governments are shaping the narratives in AI tools relied on by millions for research, education, and everyday information. This event will explore how propaganda outlets are strategically filling legacy media’s void by positioning content to be cited by large language models, analyze Russia's campaigns to influence AI training data and embed Kremlin-aligned narratives into chatbot responses, and discuss the repercussions for the growing deployment of Chinese-built AI models in the United States. To discuss these emerging vulnerabilities and the options available to policymakers, technologists, and the media ecosystem, FDD hosts Joseph Bodnar, senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of George Mason University’s National Security Institute. The discussion is moderated by Leah Siskind, FDD director of impact & AI research fellow. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2026/03/04/surveying-foreign-influence-in-ai-tools/

    1 hr
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Listen in on FDD Events featuring discussions on today’s most pressing national security and foreign policy challenges and opportunities with top policymakers and leading experts. Webpage: https://www.fdd.org/events/

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