"The Case for American Power" with Shadi Hamid
Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps
Josh Szeps
4.5 • 905 Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The left has become increasingly uncomfortable about arguing for the moral superiority of the United States, let alone for the exercise of American dominance around the world. But is the American Empire something which even left-wingers should, in fact, fight for?
Shadi Hamid is a columnist at The Washington Post who opposed the Iraq War and supported Bernie Sanders. An Arab-Muslim American, he lived in Jordan on a Fulbright Scholarship and got his PhD in political science from Oxford University. He's not your average neo-conservative.
Shadi and Josh debate American influence, American decline, the Gaza War, democracies, dictatorships, China, Russia, Ukraine, Trump, and the future of the American Empire.
Go to https://surfshark.com/joshs or use code JOSHS at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey humans. You know, putting on your pants is a lot like using a VPN. It keeps the important staff private, |
| 0:09.2 | and if you don't get around to doing it before you need to, you find yourself unexpectedly exposed. |
| 0:14.9 | Hallelujah, Surf Shark VPN is giving you four extra months of their military grade encryption at surfshark.com slash |
| 0:24.4 | Josh S or by using the code Josh S at checkout. |
| 0:28.9 | You know, without a virtual private network, you're a sitting duck for snoopers and trackers |
| 0:33.3 | and identity theft and fraud, especially on public Wi-Fi, which I use a lot at libraries and |
| 0:39.6 | airports and such, which is one reason I use Surf Shark VPN. |
| 0:44.5 | That's not the only reason, though, the privacy stuff. |
| 0:47.1 | Speaking of airports, you should take a look at what happens when you turn on Surf Shark VPN |
| 0:51.9 | and you start browsing flights and hotel reservations from different |
| 0:56.8 | regions. There are location-based price differences. This is a little secret travel hack to save you |
| 1:04.1 | money. Hotels and airlines and travel booking sites offer different prices to different countries. |
| 1:10.1 | And with Surfshark.com slash |
| 1:12.2 | Josh S, you can be anywhere you want to be. Plus, wherever you are, a Surfshark VPN also |
| 1:18.7 | enables you to stream your favorite shows or access websites that are geo-blocked from the region |
| 1:23.7 | that you're actually in. With Surfshark, you can break through all the online barriers and access content from |
| 1:28.7 | all over the world. |
| 1:29.4 | So don't let online threats catch you off guard, take control of your online security with a 30-day |
| 1:35.5 | money-back guarantee. |
| 1:37.3 | Go to surfshark.com slash Josh S or use the code Josh S at checkout to get four extra |
| 1:43.7 | months of Surfshark VPN and secure your digital life. |
| 1:51.1 | Gahay, humans. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Josh Szeps, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Josh Szeps and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.