About today's guest—

He's here with us to discuss the tools in our toolbox that can help us effectively combat authoritarianism and promote democracy around the world.

From 2010 to 2015, Brent worked as a counterterrorism analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency and is now a freelance writer, publishing pieces at numerous outlets on related topics, including at the Los Angeles Times.

About today's topic—

This conversation was especially fun and wide-ranging, covering what went wrong in Vietnam and Afghanistan all the way to what mass shooters have in common with ISIL militants and what we can do to remedy those societal illnesses. There's a lot of insight on a lot of different issues packed into this discussion, much of it reinforcing a critical belief of Spectacles: the importance of proactivity. Don't miss it, and, as usual, here's a table of contents, if you'd like to skip around.

00:00— Getting started
01:01— How should we deal (or not deal) economically with authoritarian powers?
06:46— Are we comfortable being as sanguine about China as we are about Russia?
12:32— What should we do about crucial strategic partners who may be less-than-democratic (or worse)?
18:55— You said we could have done nation-building in Afghanistan successfully. How?
28:33— How can we formulate an attractive economic policy package to partners in Asia?
33:52— What motivates mass shootings? Is it ideology or something else?
42:47— Wrapping up

If you'd like to follow Brent, you can find him on Twitter here.

Enjoy the conversation, and a special thanks to Brent Giannotta for sitting down with us!