The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer Podcast By Vox Media Podcast Network cover art

The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer

The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer

By: Vox Media Podcast Network
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The Long Game is a weekly national security podcast hosted by Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s National Security Advisor, and Jon Finer, his Principal Deputy—senior aides who sat in on the classified Presidential Daily Brief each morning and translated raw intelligence into policy advice. Each week, Jake and Jon will pull back the curtain on how power really works helping you make sense of the national security stories unfolding today. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • The Iran War Energy Crisis Is Here (with Helima Croft)

    The Iran War Energy Crisis Is Here (with Helima Croft)
    Mar 19 2026
    Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets and former CIA economic analyst, joins Jake and Jon as the war with Iran triggers the most severe energy disruption in decades. They discuss: - What happens when the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint, is effectively shut down? How much oil and gas is actually offline, and why there may be no quick fix? - Why markets misread the risks leading up to the war and why oil prices may no longer be a reliable indicator of geopolitical danger. - Who bears the brunt of this crisis, from LNG-dependent economies in Asia and Europe to global supply chains already under strain. Finally, Jake and Jon introduce a new segment: The Options Memo, a look at the kind of choices a president faces at a real inflection point. They lay out 3 paths forward: declare victory and wind the war down, escalate in hopes of forcing de-escalation, or go all in militarily to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube.Show notes are available here. Transcript coming soon. Join us on Substack. Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com. The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • America Doesn’t Understand Iran And It Shows (with Danny Citrinowicz)

    America Doesn’t Understand Iran And It Shows (with Danny Citrinowicz)
    Mar 12 2026
    Former Israeli Defense Intelligence officer Danny Citrinowicz joins the show to assess where the war with Iran stands following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — and what comes next under new leadership in Tehran. They discuss: - Has the campaign reduced the nuclear threat — or increased the likelihood that Iran moves “beyond the Rubicon”? What does the removal of Khamenei mean for Iran’s decision-making? - Are U.S. and Israeli objectives fully aligned — or beginning to diverge? And how should we think about escalation risks, from regional proxies to attacks on critical infrastructure? In a final segment, Jake and Jon run a Red Team/Blue Team exercise on one of the most consequential unresolved questions of the war: - Should the United States consider sending ground troops to secure or neutralize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile in Isfahan? What would success look like — and what could go wrong? Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. Watch the video of this episode on Youtube. Show notes of the episode are available here. Transcript here, coming soon. The Long Game book recommendations here. Join us on Substack Email Jake and Jon with your thoughts and questions at longgame@voxmedia.com. Or leave a comment below. The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Iran After Khamenei & Pentagon vs. Anthropic (with Karim Sadjadpour)

    Iran After Khamenei & Pentagon vs. Anthropic (with Karim Sadjadpour)
    Mar 5 2026
    Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins the show to unpack the U.S.–Israel strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s retaliation across the Middle East, and the uncertainty surrounding what comes next in the war. They discuss: What happens to the Islamic Republic after the loss of its supreme leader? Is the regime likely to fracture, harden, or consolidate — and how far might retaliation go? Can the Revolutionary Guards hold the system together? And what are ordinary Iranians thinking as violence escalates? In a final segment, Jake and Jon turn to Washington, where a standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon raises significant policy questions about AI, national security, and who sets the rules. What does the “supply chain risk” threat mean — and what precedent does this set for frontier AI companies working with the U.S. government?Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. Watch the video of this episode on Youtube. Show notes of the episode are available here. Transcript here, coming soon. The Long Game book recommendations here. Join us on Substack Email Jake and Jon with your thoughts and questions at longgame@voxmedia.com. Or leave a comment below. The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 12 mins
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