The Rational Policy Podcast is back with Episode 53! In this installment of the show, your hosts Mike Coté and Art Vandelay spend the duration talking about the United Nations General Assembly and all of the foreign policy happenings that are taking place alongside it. We discuss the overall utility of the UN – spoiler alert: it has none – and how it would be better off if they just relocated to a villainous underwater lair. That would certainly be more in character for that dastardly organization than is its current home in midtown Manhattan. We talk about some of the logistical and security challenges of hosting such a huge international event, as well as the absurdity of the idea that America lets our enemies come here unmolested to rail against us from a podium we largely paid for.
After those pleasantries – we love ragging on the UN here at Rational Policy! – we dive into the meat of the matter and talk about all the big developments and meetings occurring on the sidelines of UNGA. We talk about the Trump-Xi meeting and how the best-case scenario is an unfruitful, ideally angry, discussion, as any concessions to China are bad for the country. Then we break down the latest news out of Greenland, exploring the new security deal agreed to by all parties and explaining how this is not only a significant change from the previous 1951 agreement, but an absolute boon to American domestic and hemispheric security. We shift after that to the Middle East, where we go into an Iran update and talk about how Iranian leaders should never have been allowed into the US for UNGA. Finally, we travel to Europe, where we talk about the progress of the Ukraine War, explore the Russian way of combat, and discuss how Putin may escalate to save his own bacon.
Check it out, follow us on Twitter/X (Mike / Art), and share the podcast with anyone you think might appreciate it. Thanks for listening. We’ll be back next week with another great episode. Until then, go watch the classic James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. I promise you won’t regret it (and you’ll get all of our references). See you next time!
