Stakes in the Straits and Chips on the Table

America’s spy chief visits Havana, the U.S. Justice Department announces the indictment for murder of former Cuban dictator, Raul Castro, Cuba’s current rulers are reported to have received more than 300 military attack drones from Moscow and Tehran while ordinary Cubans suffer power outages, medicine shortages, and soaring food prices. Guests Carrie Filipetti of the Vandenberg Coalition and Connor Pfeiffer of FDD Action join host Cliff May to discuss how these developments add up and whether the liberation of the Cuban people from the zombie Castroite regime is finally possible.

New York Times bestselling author Peter Schweizer joins host Cliff May to discuss his new book, "The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon." The two take a deep dive into the recent U.S.-China summit, comparisons between the Islamic Republic and the former Soviet Union, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Peter’s explosive discovery of a "Manchurian Candidate"-style weaponization of the U.S. immigration system.

The world is entering a more dangerous era.China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly coordinating across every domain of power. Wars are expanding. Nuclear threats are rising. America’s alliances are under pressure. And President Trump is heading to Beijing.Former U.S. ambassador to Finland and Turkey Eric S. Edelman joins guest host Bradley Bowman to break down the new age of great-power competition — from China and NATO to Iran, deterrence, and the growing risk of global conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz isn't just about Iran. It's a stress test for American will, allied confidence, and the deterrence architecture holding the Indo-Pacific together.FDD's RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, fresh from a trip to Taiwan, and Craig Singleton, FDD China Program Senior Director, join Cliff May to connect the dots — from the naval blockade's economic pressure to the lessons Beijing and Taipei are both drawing, in real time, from the Iran war.

Negotiations between President Trump’s envoys and those of the Islamic Republic of Iran were postponed. Operation Epic Fury halts in an uneasy ceasefire as Operation Economic Fury begins cutting off Tehran’s revenue streams. The Strait of Hormuz is not yet a safe space. FDD Research Fellow Max Meizlish, a former Treasury official, and Adjunct Fellow Joseph Zacks, a former CIA official, join host Cliff May to take stock.

Three shocks. Three fronts. One world shifting fast. In Hungary, Péter Magyar topples Viktor Orbán’s grip. In Washington, Lebanese–Israeli talks edge beyond ceasefire toward something more consequential—rattling players from Hezbollah to Emmanuel Macron. And after failed diplomacy in Islamabad, U.S. Vice President JD Vance now faces a new phase: an American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, squeezing Tehran’s lifeline. Host Cliff May sits down with FDD experts Edmund Fitton-Brown and Simone Rodan-Benzaquen to make sense of a moment that may redraw the map.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, Turkey offered a sliver of optimism in a region defined by turmoil — a Muslim-majority democracy, a NATO ally, and even a friend of Israel. But after more than two decades under the rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that Turkey is long gone. So, what happened? And what does it mean for America, NATO, Israel — and the future of the Middle East? FDD Turkey experts Sinan Ciddi and Jonathan Schanzer join host Cliff May to assess Turkey’s transformation, including the strategic consequences only now coming into focus.

As Washington prepares for a high-stakes Trump–Xi meeting, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party examines Beijing’s anti-American ambitions and strategies. Chairman John Moolenaar joins host Cliff May to discuss what can be done to counter them.

Fresh off the frontlines, FDD's Mark Montgomery recently returned from Ukraine and other hotspots abroad. He joins host Cliff May for an in-studio debrief on what he saw and what comes next. Also joining the conversation: FDD Action's Daniel Vaynshteyn, former Legislative Director in the U.S. House of Representatives and liaison to the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

For more than two decades at FDD, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May and Mark Dubowitz have tracked the evolution of America’s enemies—from al Qaeda to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism in Tehran. Long before many grasped the threat, Mark focused on the Islamic Republic’s ideological war, its open commitment to jihad against the “Great Satan” and “Little Satan,” and a decades-long campaign too often misunderstood. On the one-year anniversary of Mark's FDD podcast, The Iran Breakdown, Cliff sits down with him to unpack what too many still miss: what the regime believes, how it wages war, and why it matters now more than ever.