S1E120 - Max Boot - The Greatest Geopolitical Challenge

In this episode, Michael Krasny sits down with political commentator and Washington Post columnist Max Boot for a wide-ranging discussion on contemporary American politics, international relations, and the evolving media landscape. Their conversation spans from immediate concerns about editorial independence to broader historical comparisons between presidential administrations and their foreign policy approaches.

The episode began with a question from Krasny to Boot about the Washington Post's future editorials in light of the Jeff Bezos-ordered changes. It proceeded to a full discussion of the Reagan and Trump presidencies, Trump's attitudes toward Zelensky and Putin, and the present shift in relations between the U.S., its allies, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Questions emerged about China and Taiwan and the South China Sea; tests for presidents before assuming office; the inconsistent and mercurial nature of the presidency; and the influence of Ronald Reagan on fake news. The discussion also touched on Reagan and Trump's belief in divine intervention.

Krasny told a funny story about Reagan and a Lebanese ambassador, while Boot spoke of social media regulation and editorial boundaries. Krasny then brought up the difference in cruelty between Reagan and Trump.

The two concluded by discussing when the Russia-Ukraine war might end, Russian war crimes, and the economic views of Reagan and Trump. They also explored Boot's own political shift from the right, Musk and Vance's support for AfD in Germany, and where hope for the future may reside.

Biography

Max Boot is a historian, best-selling author and foreign-policy analyst. He is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a weekly columnist for The Washington Post. Max Boot’s new biography of Ronald Reagan, Reagan: His Life and Legend, is a New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Editor’s Pick. It has been acclaimed as the "definitive biography" (The New Yorker), a “magisterial,” “vivid,” and “splendid” account (The Washington Post), and a book that "stands out for its deep research, lucid prose and command of its subject’s broad political and social context" (The New York Times).

Conversation recorded on February 28, 2025.