The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer

Acclaimed investigative journalist and New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss his new book, London Falling.

They discuss London’s dirty-money economy, “Say Nothing” and the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement, whether the CIA helped spread the Scorpions’ “Wind of Change” behind the Iron Curtain, what a year inside the Pentagon taught Patrick about Washington, and why powerful people rarely see themselves as villains. At the end, Patrick, Jake and Jon share their summer reading list.

In an exclusive segment for subscribers to The Long Game+ on Apple or Substack: Patrick, Jake, and Jon examine how Trump-era impunity and outrage fatigue can normalize corruption.

Access to video versions of exclusive podcast segments, transcripts, and more on Substack: https://thelonggame.substack.com/

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Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com.

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The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław “Radek” Sikorski joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to assess Europe’s security at a moment of growing strain in the transatlantic alliance.

They discuss whether Europe can deter Russia with a reduced US military presence, how NATO should respond to Russian sabotage and possible false-flag operations, and whether America can still be counted on if Article 5 is tested.

Sikorski also lays out Ukraine’s possible path to victory, the pressure building on Russia’s economy, the prospects for tougher sanctions, China’s leverage over Vladimir Putin, and why he sees the European Union as a strategic shield for Poland and Ukraine.

Then, Jake and Jon discuss Sikorski’s strikingly cautious assessment of the US commitment to NATO—and revisit the closest they came to an Article 5 crisis while serving in the Biden administration.

For subscribers to The Long Game+ on Apple Podcasts: Jake and Jon break down the FCC’s new restrictions on foreign-made humanoid robots and connected power inverters—and what the action reveals about the widening US technology competition with China.

Subscribe to The Long Game on Substack for access to video versions of exclusive podcast segments, transcripts, and more: https://thelonggame.substack.com/

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@podlonggame

Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com.

Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly.

The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Zelensky just fired his defense minister, his top general, and his prime minister in a single reshuffle — and thousands of Ukrainians poured into the streets. Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer unpack what's really driving it: a generational war over how to fight, Zelensky's wariness of rivals who outshine him, and a reckoning over corruption in military procurement. They trace how Ukraine's homegrown drone industry — now the front line of the war — grew out of a 2023 "tech sprint," and why it may soon make Ukraine one of the world's largest arms exporters.

Then, Iran. With the ceasefire dead and the Strait of Hormuz closed, Jake and Jon reopen their "options memo" — keep striking, cut a deal, go for a knockout blow, or walk away.

Subscribe to The Long Game on Substack for access to exclusive podcast segments, transcripts, and more: https://thelonggame.substack.com/

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com.

Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly.

The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Photo credit: Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images
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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss the security of the 2026 midterm elections — just a day before President Trump’s primetime Thursday address, expected to focus in part on “election integrity.”

They discuss Trump’s claims about noncitizen voting, the SAVE Act, efforts to access state voter rolls, the dismantling of federal election security infrastructure, and whether federal agents could be deployed to polling places.

Then Jake and Jon debate whether Russia might escalate against NATO as Ukraine gains ground — and what that would mean for the alliance.

For subscribers to the Long Game+ on Apple: Jake and Jon break down the latest on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, including the unraveling ceasefire and Trump’s decision to reimpose a blockade of Iranian exports.

Subscribe to The Long Game on Substack for access to video versions of exclusive podcast segments, transcripts, and more.

Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com.

The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Photo credit: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Historian and author of the “Letters From An American” newsletter Heather Cox Richardson joined Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss the historical roots of today's political moment, the relationship between American democracy and U.S. global leadership, the future of the international order, and what a new foreign policy for the 21st century could look like.

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For exclusive podcast segments, become a member of the Long Game on Substack or Apple.

Show notes are available here.

Transcript here.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com.

The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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