Five More Questions With Stephen Kotkin: Can America Still Lead The World?

Five More Questions With Stephen Kotkin: Can America Still Lead The World?

From Uncommon Knowledge by Hoover Institution

May 29, 2026 · 1h 17m · Episode 461

About this episode

Stephen Kotkin discusses America's global leadership and challenges in geopolitics.

Stephen Kotkin returns to Uncommon Knowledge for another round of five questions, this time on Iran, China, Ukraine, and the future of the American republic. Kotkin argues that America still possesses unmatched strengths — economic, technological, military, and cultural — but warns that self-inflicted political dysfunction could squander them. Kotkin dissects Trump’s Iran strategy, explains why China wants Taiwan “for free,” argues that Ukraine has already won the sovereignty war against Russia, and delivers a powerful defense of America’s founding ideals at a moment when both authoritarian regimes abroad and political extremism at home are testing them. Sharp, provocative, and deeply informed, this is classic Kotkin: history as a guide to the geopolitical storms of the present. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk

People in this episode

Host: Uncommon Knowledge

Guest: Stephen Kotkin

Topics covered

  • geopolitics
  • American leadership
  • international relations
  • political dysfunction
  • sovereignty

Keywords

  • Stephen Kotkin
  • America
  • Iran
  • China
  • Ukraine
  • political dysfunction
  • geopolitical storms

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Uncommon Knowledge, Hoover Institution

Places: Iran, China, Ukraine, America, Taiwan, Russia

More episodes of Uncommon Knowledge

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Uncommon Knowledge podcast page.