Tim Talks Politics

One Year of Trump 2.0 with Scott Waller, Matt Van Hook, Dustin Steeve

It’s a panel discussion on the podcast today as Dr. Scott Waller, Dr. Matt Van Hook and Dustin Steeve rejoin the podcast to unpack the arguable normal first year of Trump 2.0 despite the consequential vibes. Bottom line, despite movement on key campaign promises with measurable results, Waller notes that the Trump administration’s first year is something of a “normal” presidency, and Van Hook makes the point that what makes it feel consequential is that the Biden administration was just so poor in its execution that “normal” presidential behavior makes it seem extreme. Steeve underscores that point by unpacking the extent of the Biden administration’s dereliction of duty on immigration, in particular. With the midterm election cycle taking shape and voters registering some displeasure with the economy and the handling of immigration, my guests all agree that the Trump administration has leaned into doing the hard work of governing, even if it means short term pain in the approval ratings, a posture for which we give the Trump administration high marks, even as we wait to see how a lot of these efforts play out. Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% off for podcast listeners)!

The Political Philosophy of the Trump National Security Strategy with Ron Dodson

You’d think that with all the power moves Trump is making on the international stage (Greenland, Venezuela, Iran, etc.) the publication of the administration’s National Security Strategy in December of 2025 would’ve been the source of much public attention. Unfortunately, mainstream media largely overlooked the document with much of the analysis relegated to the foreign policy community. That’s all set up for introducing my guest who offered a very intriguing and original take on the NSS: it’s a true strategic document in that it’s primarily focused on first principles and philosophical arguments. In other words, it’s a work of political philosophy as opposed to a work of bureaucratic prioritization. More intriguing, my guest isn’t some career foreign policy type or academic who spends his days buried in the particulars of global politics and international security concerns.  My guest today is Ron Dodson, the founder and CEO of Dallas North Capital Partners, a Texas-based hedge fund, and something of a polymath. My burning question for Ron is “How did a hedge fund manager in Dallas see something in the NSS that the broader foreign policy community missed?”  Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% off for podcast listeners)!

The Ethics of Drones and Autonomous Systems with Kerry Chavez

US Air Force Academy professor Dr. Kerry Chávez is back on the show to pick up where we left off in our last conversation: the ethical considerations, quandaries and pitfalls surrounding drones, AI, and other emerging tech in their military applications. While a lot of attention has been focused on armed drone use in war zones, there’s a whole realm of military application that drones and emerging autonomous vehicles that may be less visible to the public eye and cadres of armchair generals on X: medivac, ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), C2 (command and control), and other many other “back end” elements of military logistics.  While these non-kinetic applications for emerging technology may appear at first blush to be ethically and morally neutral. However, when considering things like the field performance (and limitations) of these vehicles, the potential for bias in data being fed into them, and the still nascent norms, legal, and regulatory components governing their use by states (nonstate actors are a whole other consideration) Kerry suggests that there’s more of the ethical and moral here than meets the eye.  Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% off for podcast listeners)!

Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and the Abraham Accords with Joseph Epstein

We’re back for 2026 and another season of the Tim Talks Politics Podcast.  2025’s end of year project, The Kirk Effects, was wonderful and worthwhile, but it did draw my attention away from the international sphere before taking that holiday break. Now, as we enter 2026, the world is in flux in a way few thought possible just last month. Before we dive into conversations on Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, etc. (don’t worry, they’re in the pipeline), I want to start the year off with a conversation on Central Asia and Kazakhstan’s ascension to the Abraham Accords. To discuss this critical region and the potentially huge impacts of the Abraham Accords on that region, Joseph Epstein returns to the podcast to give us a dime tour of the region and to flesh out the possibilities surrounding Kazakhstan joining the Accords.  Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% off for podcast listeners)!

Christmas Interlude

A short message wishing you all a "Merry Christmas" as I take a slightly earlier intended Christmas break. Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% off for podcast listeners)!