WAC Houston

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Education

Stay informed on global affairs with the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston Podcast. Featuring expert insights from world leaders, diplomats, and thought leaders, this podcast brings you the impactful discussions and engaging conversations from our live events—now available anytime, anywhere. Gain a deeper understanding of international issues, global economies, and cultural perspectives that shape our world. Tune in and stay globally connected.

  1. 20h ago

    TGL 33 | Is The U.S. Winning In Iran? - Michael O'Hanlon

    Fear of a wider war is easy — the harder question, says defense strategist Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, is how this one actually ends. In this episode of The Greater Loop, host Maryanne Maldonado sits down with O'Hanlon, six months into the US-Iran conflict, to unpack why "short war" predictions almost always fail, what's really happening in the Strait of Hormuz, and whether Iran is betting it can outlast Washington politically. Plus: the strain in the US-Israel relationship, what role China and Russia are playing behind the scenes, and O'Hanlon's blunt definition of what "winning" should actually mean. Hosted by Maryanne Maldonado | The Greater Loop — A podcast of the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world. What's Covered Why leaders who promise short wars are almost always wrong — and how overconfidence shaped the US-Iran conflictIran's Strait of Hormuz strategy: wearing down the US economy ahead of the midtermsIs diplomacy still realistic? What has to happen before talks can actually workThe strained state of US-Israel alignment and Netanyahu's influence on Trump's decision-makingHow China and Russia are indirectly propping up Iran's ability to withstand the warWhy the Gulf states are stuck between fear of Iran and fear of all-out confrontationSuccession inside Iran's leadership — and why the next generation may be even harder lineO'Hanlon's case for what "winning" should really mean: reopening the Strait, ending the violence, and curtailing Iran's nuclear ambitions

    TGL 33 | Is The U.S. Winning In Iran? - Michael O'Hanlon

  2. Aug 6

    TGL 32 | AI Won't Take Your Job. Standing Still Will - Leon Coe

    Fear of AI is everywhere — but according to Leon Coe, founder of Amplify Intelligence and president of the Houston AI Club, the only way that fear becomes reality is by doing nothing about it. In this episode of The Greater Loop, host Maryanne Maldonado sits down with "the Houston AI guy" to unpack what AI actually is, why compute is becoming the new oil, and how Houston — with its energy, medicine, and shipping muscle — could quietly become the applied AI capital of the world. Plus: who should write the rules for AI, the biggest AI myths still floating around, and why Leon's boldest predictions for 2026 came true months ahead of schedule.

    TGL 32 | AI Won't Take Your Job. Standing Still Will - Leon Coe

  3. Jul 14

    TGL 31 | America's Foreign Policy Report Card: The Best and the Worst - James Lindsay CFR

    What makes a foreign policy decision great? And what turns one into a historic catastrophe? Jim Lindsay, Senior Vice President at the Council on Foreign Relations, surveyed hundreds of historians from the world's largest professional association devoted to US foreign policy, and asked them to rank the 10 best and 10 worst decisions in American history, spanning from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 all the way to 2020. The results are fascinating, sobering, and uncomfortably relevant right now. The best decision? The Marshall Plan, the post-WWII commitment that rebuilt Western Europe, pushed back Soviet expansion, and solidified democracy across the continent. The worst? The US invasion of Iran, a war launched on pretenses, followed by a bloody occupation that squandered blood and treasure for little strategic gain. But the list doesn't stop there. The refusal to admit Jewish refugees before World War II. The Vietnam War doubling down. The Senate's rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. And the lessons embedded in each one that echo loudly in the decisions being made right now. Hosted by Maryanne Maldonado | The Greater Loop: A podcast of the World Affairs Council of Houston Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world. Topics covered: The #1 best US foreign policy decision — and why historians agreed overwhelmingly The #1 worst — and what it reveals about military overreach Why foreign policy failures come from doing too much AND too little The Jewish refugee crisis as a foreign policy failure of inaction Vietnam: how LBJ doubled down on a war he didn't believe in The Marshall Plan's secret — George Kennan's two words: "Avoid trivia" America's isolationist era and what it cost the world What history tells us about global leadership vs. turning inward How to find CFR's full ranking of 120 decisions at CFR.org   Check the upcoming program with James Lindsay https://wachouston.org/event/james_lindsay/

  4. Jul 9

    TGL 30 | Earthquake in Venezuela - Henry Ziemer CSIS Fellow

    Two powerful earthquakes. More than 50,000 people unaccounted for. A death toll still climbing. And a government blocking aid deliveries to maintain control. Venezuela was already one of the most fragile states in the Western Hemisphere. Now it's facing a catastrophe that is exposing and deepening every crack in its political and economic foundation. Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Henry Ziemer, Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to break down what's really happening on the ground in Venezuela, and what it means for the country's political future, its oil sector, its $240 billion debt restructuring, and the surprisingly transformed relationship between Washington and Caracas. Because here's what's jarring: US Marines are now operating at La Carlota Air Base in downtown Caracas. The same country that burned aid trucks at its border in 2019 is now receiving American military assistance relatively freely. That's not a small shift. That's a geopolitical earthquake on top of a geological one. Hosted by Maryanne Maldonado | The Greater Loop: A podcast of the World Affairs Council of Houston Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world. Topics covered: Scale of the disaster: 2,000+ dead, 50,000 unaccounted for Why Venezuela's hollowed-out state made the earthquake so much deadlier The Chavista inner circle blocking aid — and what that means politically Two possible outcomes: regime entrenchment or democratic pressure US Marines in Caracas: how Washington-Venezuela relations transformed Venezuela's oil sector: how damaged, and what it means for energy markets The $240 billion debt restructuring, the largest sovereign debt in history Latin America's pro-US coalition and the Shield of the Americas test What Venezuela looks like in the years ahead

  5. Jun 22

    TGL 29 | The Most political World Cup Ever - Dr. Kristian Ulrichsen

    Iran's national team can't spend the night in the United States. A referee arrived with a valid visa and was turned back at the border. FIFA promised free movement for all teams. Trump didn't care. Welcome to the 2026 World Cup, the most geopolitically charged sporting event in modern history. Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Dr. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute Middle East Institute and one of the leading voices on the intersection of sports, politics, and global affairs, to break down what's really happening beneath the surface of this tournament. From sportswashing and FIFA's Faustian bargain with Trump, to what Houston's diversity means in a World Cup era of ICE fears and diaspora communities, to the jaw-dropping scenario of the US potentially playing Iran on July 3rd, this episode connects the beautiful game to the ugliest geopolitical tensions of our time. And when the final whistle blows? The legacy might not be the politics. It might be a generation of American kids who fell in love with soccer. Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world. Topics covered: Iran's team commuting from Tijuana — is this a FIFA breach? How Trump outmaneuvered FIFA's free movement guarantee What sportswashing actually means — and why this World Cup inverts it Gianni Infantino's strategy with Trump — and why it failed Houston as a host city: diversity, ICE concerns & diaspora communities The 2028 LA Olympics — what the IOC is watching right now Could the US play Iran on July 3rd? What that would mean America 250 celebrations in the middle of the tournament The lasting legacy: politics or grassroots soccer growth?

  6. Jun 11

    TGL 28 | What Trump Gave Away in Beijing - Scott Kennedy, Senior Advisor CSIS

    The headlines called it a diplomatic breakthrough. A leading China expert calls it something else. Scott Kennedy, Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and one of America's foremost authorities on the Chinese economy, with 38 years of on-the-ground experience in China, joins Maryanne Maldonado to break down what actually happened at the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, and what was conspicuously left unsaid. The two sides agreed to a framework of "constructive strategic stability." But Kennedy argues that framework is far more comfortable for Beijing than Washington. China used rare earth restrictions to force the US to retreat on tariffs and export controls, and in doing so, grabbed control of the dial that sets the temperature of the entire relationship. Now both sides hold it. And Taiwan, Iran, human rights, and Chinese industrial policy were all quietly sidelined in favor of soybeans, beef, and Boeing contracts. What does this summit mean for Taiwan? For Iran? For the future of AI competition between the world's two superpowers? And when historians look back in five years, what will this moment actually represent?  Hosted by Maryanne Maldonado | The Greater Loop — A podcast of the World Affairs Council of Houston  Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world.  Topics covered: Was the Beijing summit a turning point or a tactical pause? How China used rare earths to force US concessions What "constructive strategic stability" actually means to Beijing The G2 framework — and why China is quietly thrilled Taiwan: why anxiety spiked after the summit Iran, the Middle East & why Washington needed Beijing's help AI safety dialogue — what was agreed and what it means Trade deals: Boeings, beef, soybeans & energy purchases The bigger framing shift that will define US-China relations for years

  7. Jun 8

    TGL 27 | America Fired Its Diplomats. Houston Just Hired One — at the Public Library.

    Washington has fired career diplomats, shuttered USAID, and pulled back from international engagement. Houston is doing the opposite. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Ambassador Chase Untermeyer, veteran of the Reagan and Bush administrations, former US Ambassador to Qatar, and director of the Voice of America, and Nick Sawicki of the Houston Public Library Foundation to announce something that has never been done at any public library in the United States: a Diplomat in Residence program. Ambassador Untermeyer, who grew up reading at the Houston Public Library, is now its inaugural Diplomat in Residence, bringing decades of firsthand foreign policy experience directly to one of the most diverse cities in America, free and open to everyone. The conversation covers what diplomacy actually looks like at street level, why Houston's consular corps keeps growing while the federal government retreats, what Sharia law actually is (and why politicians who campaign against it can't define it), and why the library, not a think tank, not a university, might be exactly the right place for this conversation to happen.  Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world.  Topics covered: The first Diplomat in Residence program at any public library in the US How Houston is filling the diplomatic vacuum Washington left behind Ambassador Untermeyer's career: Reagan, Bush, Qatar, Voice of America What Sharia law actually is, and why it's being misused politically How the Houston Public Library connects 2.4 million visitors to global affairs Diplomacy in closed rooms vs. diplomacy for everyday people The lost US Information Agency libraries, and what replaced them Houston's growing consular corps and international business community

  8. Jun 1

    TGL 26 | Standing at the DMZ and the Silk Road - Travel with the WAC

    Most people travel to see the world. WAC Houston members travel to understand it. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with travel expert Ilyas Hokkaci to preview two of the most geopolitically charged trips the World Affairs Council has ever offered: Uzbekistan, sitting at the center of a quiet new great power competition between Russia, China, and the West, and South Korea & Taiwan, two democracies living on the most volatile fault lines on earth. In Uzbekistan, travelers will walk through the ancient cities of Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand, the heart of the Islamic Golden Age, and connect that history directly to today's new Silk Road rivalry. In South Korea and Taiwan, they'll stand at the DMZ, meet with North Korea intelligence specialists, and visit the semiconductor companies and democratic institutions that the world's superpowers are competing to control. This isn't a tour. It's a lens.    Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world.  What's covered: Why Uzbekistan is the gem of Central Asia — and a geopolitical battleground The Silk Road as information highway, not just a trade route Khiva, Bukhara & Samarkand, Islamic civilization made visible The DMZ: what it actually feels like to stand there Meeting North Korea intelligence specialists in Seoul Taiwan's survival story. Why a small island matters to the whole world South Korea & Taiwan as parallel democratic fault lines How WAC Houston connects ancient history to today's headlines 2027 trips preview: Japan, Mongolia, the Baltics & more Book your spot: https://wachouston.org/events/category/travel/ — wachouston.org

See All (53)

About

Stay informed on global affairs with the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston Podcast. Featuring expert insights from world leaders, diplomats, and thought leaders, this podcast brings you the impactful discussions and engaging conversations from our live events—now available anytime, anywhere. Gain a deeper understanding of international issues, global economies, and cultural perspectives that shape our world. Tune in and stay globally connected.

Information

  • Creator
    World Affairs Council of Greater Houston
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 World Affairs Council of Greater Houston
  • Show Website
    WAC Houston

You Might Also Like