The "Middle-Aged Dads" Edition

The "Middle-Aged Dads" Edition

From Rational Security by The Lawfare Institute

May 14, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

The episode discusses major national security news including the U.S.-China summit and Iran negotiations.

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Senior Editor Michael Feinberg and Foreign Policy Editor Dana Stuster for a little chat with the guys about the week’s big national security news stories, including: “Minding Your Bs and Ts.” President Trump arrived in China this week alongside top U.S. officials and business executives for a much-anticipated summit with President Xi Jinping. U.S. diplomats hope the summit will revolve around the “five Bs”—meaning U.S. beef, soybeans, Boeing airplanes, and proposed boards for investment and trade—while Chinese officials want to talk about the “three Ts” of Taiwan, technology, and tariffs. What should our expectations be for the summit? And how much will the Iran war loom over the negotiations? “Crude Awakening.” This past week, negotiations between Iran and the United States appeared to reach a standstill, without any movement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz or restoring the flow of oil and other goods that have driven crude oil prices to record highs. As each side seems poised to wait out the other, how long can they last before having to capitulate (or escalate)? And what do these dynamics mean for this war of…

People in this episode

Host: Scott

Guests: Michael Feinberg, Dana Stuster

Topics covered

  • national security
  • U.S.-China relations
  • Iran negotiations
  • drug cartels
  • trade
  • summit expectations

Keywords

  • national security
  • U.S.-China summit
  • Iran
  • drug cartels
  • trade negotiations
  • Taiwan
  • oil prices

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: President Trump, China, U.S., CIA, CNN

Places: Taiwan, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Mexico

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