Strategic Simplicity Podcast

Pranay Vaddi

Arms Control

Russia

China

Nuclear Deterrence

Nuclear Strategy

Extended Deterrence

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

Ukraine War

Nuclear Policy

Euro Deterrent

Biden Administration

North Korea

Artificial Intelligence

NATO

U.S. Nuclear Posture

Defense Industrial Base

Strategic Defence Review

United States

Nuclear Disarmament

Operation Midnight Hammer

Trying to explain new and old, arcane and obscure international security issues in a conversational format. strategicsimplicity.substack.com

9 ratings

Publishes	Weekly	Episodes	29	Founded	8 months ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	GovernmentPoliticsNews

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Latest Episodes

Introducing the 2025 Project Atom Report with Heather Williams

Heather and I discussed the 2025 CSIS PONI Project Atom Report, entitled “Escalation Management in Acute and Protracted Conflicts in the Indo-Pacific.“ Project Atom brings several authors together to propose alternative strategies for managing escala... more

12 Dec 2025 • 1 hr 6 min

Tong Zhao helps unpack China's new arms control white paper

I was really lucky to have Tong Zhao, a Senior Fellow with the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, spend his late Friday afternoon with me to walk through the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs new white paper on arms control, disarmament and... more

6 Dec 2025 • 1 hr 4 min

Nuclear testing and emptying our mailbag

We finally pulled our thoughts together on the President’s recent comments regarding nuclear testing, in light of a steady drip of additional information from congress, other U.S. officials, as well as the media. After analyzing what this testing dis... more

23 Nov 2025 • 55 min

Debating Damage Limitation, Again (Pt. II in a series)

During our last conversation on U.S. nuclear strategy (about two weeks ago, primarily led by Austin Long and Charlie Glaser who have spent quite a bit of time debating damage limitation), we uncovered a few questions we just didn’t have time to addre... more

13 Nov 2025 • 1 hr 7 min

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Recent Guests

Heather Williams

Director of the Project on Nuclear Issues at CSIS

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Episode: Introducing the 2025 Project Atom Report with Heather Williams

Tong Zhao

Senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Episode: Tong Zhao helps unpack China's new arms control white paper

Charlie Glaser

A knowledgeable figure in nuclear strategy and policy discussions.

Episode: Debating Damage Limitation

Francesca Giovanni

Executive Director at the Belfour Initiative on Managing the Atom at Harvard University.

Harvard University

Episode: "Preventing an Era of Nuclear Anarchy: Nuclear Proliferation and American Security"

Eric Brewer

Deputy Vice President for NTI's Nuclear Material Security Program.

NTI

Episode: "Preventing an Era of Nuclear Anarchy: Nuclear Proliferation and American Security"

Toby Dalton

Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment.

Carnegie Endowment

Episode: "Preventing an Era of Nuclear Anarchy: Nuclear Proliferation and American Security"

Ankit Panda

An analyst focused on international security and military affairs.

Episode: Catching up on Korea

Taylor Fravel

Professor of Political Science, Director of the Security Studies Program at MIT

MIT

Episode: Part I of a (more) definitive conversation about China

Caitlin Talmadge

Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT, Senior Non-Resident Fellow at Brookings

MIT, Brookings

Episode: Part I of a (more) definitive conversation about China

Hosts

Pranev Adi

Host of the Strategic Simplicity Podcast, focusing on international security issues.

Vipin Narang

Co-host focusing on nuclear policy and strategy discussions.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts	#180	India/News/Politics
Apple Podcasts	#180	Sweden/News/Politics
Apple Podcasts	#229	South Korea/News/Politics

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Debating Damage Limitation, Again (Pt. II in a series)

Q: How important is damage limitation compared to other long-standing objectives in US nuclear strategy?

Damage limitation can be seen as a means to enhance extended deterrence, but other objectives may be equally important depending on the scenario, including ensuring the survival of the political entity of the nation.

Debating Damage Limitation, Again (Pt. II in a series)

Q: How comprehensive does damage limitation need to be to be considered meaningful?

Damage limitation capability needs to offset the bargaining advantage an adversary has due to stakes, requiring a higher effectiveness to be meaningful as the stakes difference increases.

Debating Damage Limitation, Again (Pt. II in a series)

Q: How important is it to have retention of damage limitation as an objective in our nuclear strategy for US extended nuclear deterrence?

While damage limitation capability is not necessary for an adequate extended deterrent, there are exceptions where having a damage limitation capability may be required.

Nuclear testing and emptying our mailbag

Q: Can China's quantitative buildup and Russia's development of these kind of new novel systems be seen as direct responses to US efforts to maintain or enhance its damage limitation capabilities?

I don't think that China's strategic breakout or Russia's novel systems are purely about US damage limitation, though I think they are largely.

Nuclear testing and emptying our mailbag

Q: What do you think the chances are of a limited nuclear conflict or even just the use of just one tactical weapon, for example, in Ukraine or a Taiwan related scenario?

Chances in a conflict are pretty good in either of those scenarios if you've gotten to a conventional war that's efficient, that one of the sides believes it has to use nuclear weapons.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Strategic Simplicity Podcast

What is Strategic Simplicity Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A captivating exploration of contemporary and historical international security issues is presented through thought-provoking conversations. The insightful discussions cover a wide range of topics, including nuclear proliferation, U.S. foreign policy towards North Korea and Iran, arms control, and the complexities of diplomacy amidst rising global tensions. Noteworthy is the podcast's emphasis on balancing serious analysis with a conversational style that invites audience engagement, making complex policies more accessible to listeners. The diverse array of expert guests and hosts enhances the depth of insights presented, appealing to those interested in the intricacies of global security affairs.

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Which podcasts are similar to Strategic Simplicity Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Strategic Simplicity Podcast:

1. Arms Control Wonk
2. Net Assessment
3. War on the Rocks
4. Russian Roulette
5. The Foreign Affairs Interview

How many episodes of Strategic Simplicity Podcast are there?

Strategic Simplicity Podcast launched 8 months ago and published 29 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Strategic Simplicity Podcast?

Recent guests on Strategic Simplicity Podcast include:

1. Heather Williams
2. Tong Zhao
3. Charlie Glaser
4. Francesca Giovanni
5. Eric Brewer
6. Toby Dalton
7. Ankit Panda
8. Taylor Fravel

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