Are America and Russia Losing Their Wars? (Ft. Benjamin Studebaker)

Show notes

Get access to The Backroom (100+ exclusive episodes) on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OneDime Benjamin Studebaker joins me on 1Dime Radio for another episode in our regular series of wide-ranging conversations. This time we get into the geopolitical situations in Iran, Ukraine, and Cuba, asking whether the U.S. and Russia are both stuck in wars they cannot neatly win. We analyze how Iran’s power structure has changed, what Ukraine’s drone strategy signals about the war with Russia, and how North American energy business interests fit into the picture. We also touch on Cuba’s demographic pressures, the influence of the “success” of the Venezuela action, and the limits of the U.S. legislative system. In The Backroom on Patreon, Studebaker and I dig into a simple, yet highly nuanced question: what is politics, actually? What does it mean to DO politics? What makes something, or someone, political? When is something politics, and when is it not? What is the difference between Politics as usual, administration, and real politics? What differentiates Politics from social justice activism? Timestamps: 00:00:00 The Backroom Preview: A Better Future 00:03:48 Intro 00:06:07 Has Regime Change Already Occurred In Iran? 00:15:00 Will Iran Spike Oil Prices? 00:17:48 Israel vs America’s Interests 00:24:12 Trump’s Gas Price Problem 00:37:00 Iran’s Legitimacy Crisis 00:50:11 Can Cuba Survive? 01:05:42 Ukraine’s Drone War 01:11:37 The Energy Politics Behind Ukraine 01:20:00 Is America Politically Paralyzed? 01:28:37 Can Ukraine Still Negotiate? 01:35:00 Was Mearsheimer Right About NATO? 01:40:00 China, Trade, and Global Power 01:54:23 Backroom Preview: What Is Politics? GUEST: Benjamin Studebaker • Website: https://benjaminstudebaker.com/ • Substack: https://substack.com/@bmstudebaker • Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-legitimacy-in-liberal-democracies.html • Political Theory 101: https://open.spotify.com/show/3JwcqFCSwC9gwR6rUXwFFQ FOLLOW 1Dime: • Substack: https://1dimereview.substack.com/ • X/Twitter: https://x.com/1DimeOfficial • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1dimeman/ • Check out my main channel videos: https://www.youtube.com/@1Dimee Leave a like, drop a comment, and give the show a 5-star rating on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to this.