Brian J Matos Podcast

08/08/2025

🌍 The world is no longer unipolar—and that changes everything.

In my latest episode, I sit down with renowned international relations scholar and former White House advisor Professor Charles Kupchan to explore how global power is shifting.

We discuss the end of Western dominance, the rise of a multipolar world, and the growing challenges facing liberal democracies in the digital age. From nuclear deterrence to economic disruption, this episode offers a compelling look at the forces reshaping international relations—and the future of U.S. foreign policy.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmX-E2CmZJM
📲 Follow for more insightful conversations on global affairs

In this episode, Brian J. Matos sits down with Professor Charles Kupchan—renowned international relations scholar, former White House advisor, and senior fel...

04/27/2025

In Dec., I published this conversation Dr. Mehmood Hussain on . While only one perspective, and sympathetic to the Pakistani position, it does offer important context to anyone who wants to better understand the events of the past week along the disputed border region.

Brian speaks with Dr. Mehmood Hussain to discuss his authorship on the Kashmir conflict and the concept of "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P). Dr. Hussain is ...

12/24/2024

We hear the term "ceasefire" used frequently by government officials, activists and human rights groups but do you really know what it means in theory or in practice? I recently interviewed Marika Sosnowski of Melbourne Law School, an author, lawyer, researcher and expert on ceasefires, who has spent much of her academic career exploring the complexities of ceasefire deals. She studied the Syrian ceasefire, that recently ended dramatically in an overthrown regime. Our conversation took place prior to the fall of the Assad government but it turned out to be prescient. Our conversation may also give you a new perspective on why a ceasefire deal has been so elusive in the Gaza conflict as well as in Ukraine. Listen. Share. Subscribe. Leave comments and reactions as well.

https://youtu.be/uHGQOS-w-oE via YouTube and you can listen anywhere you get your including Spotify and iHeartRadio

Brian explores the legal and practical concepts of ceasefire deals with Marika Sosnowski, an Australian-qualified lawyer, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at M...

10/23/2024

I recently spoke with Stephanie L. Canizales, PhD, a researcher, author, and professor in the Department of Sociology at UC Berkeley where she is Faculty Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative. We discussed her book Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United States and related issues. Listen. Share. Engage. Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts including Spotify and iHeartRadio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fGlEqN7ae8&list=PL_2v34KwIfqpoJ3Bn4ZQqVn4Q97ht8a1s&index=1 via YouTube

Brian interviews Stephanie L. Canizales, PhD, a researcher, author, and professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, w...

10/07/2024

Brian interviews Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (http://www.agsiw.org/) . He is also a weekly columni...

10/07/2024

Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, recently joined me for a conversation on the latest chapter of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, including a review of the historical events that led to the current war and an informed perspective on what may lay ahead for the people of this region.

Listen, share, subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts , Spotify , iHeartRadio , Amazon Music , Libsyn and YouTube to name a few.

Brian interviews Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (http://www.agsiw.org/) . He is also a weekly columni...

10/01/2024

Jake Meador, editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy and author of two books, "In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World" and "What are Christians for?: Life Together at the End of the World" joined me for a conversation about the state of religion in the United States and the future of faith communities. Listen, share, subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts , Spotify, iHeartRadio , Amazon Music , Libsyn and YouTube to name a few.

Brian interviews Jake Meador, editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy (https://mereorthodoxy.com/) and author of two books, In Search of the Common Good: Christia...

09/21/2024

Lyman Stone is a demographer who joined me for a conversation on the global decline in fertility rates and the relationship between fertility and religion.

This conversation explores a wide range of factors that may be impacting fertility rates and family planning choices from economics to social norms to technology. This is an important topic but one full on nuance and ongoing research, with evolving trends still to be fully understood. This episode is not designed to answer all the questions but rather, add to the conversation in your community with the addition of a perspective you may not have heard before.

Brian interviews Lyman Stone, a demographer who discusses the global decline in fertility rates and the relationship between fertility and religion. Lyman ex...

09/03/2024

I recently interviewed Fulton Armstrong, a senior fellow at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and adjunct professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Over two episodes, we discussed a wide range of regional issues including migration, gangs, drugs, violence, politics, economics, international relations and more. This episode is Part 1 of that conversation for those that want a deeper understanding of how Latin American concerns impact the entire Western Hemisphere and much of the world.

Fulton followed Latin American affairs for almost 30 years in a number of U.S. government positions. From 2008-2011, he served as a senior professional staff member responsible for Latin America on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prior to this, Armstrong served at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana and subsequently as senior analyst at the CIA. He served two terms as the director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council (1995-97 and 1998-99), between which he was deputy NIO for Latin America.

Fulton Armstrong and Brian explore the origins of the migration challenges in Latin America, focusing on the push and pull factors that drive people to leave...

08/12/2024

This episode is a thank you message to listeners and a recap of the topics covered so far in Season 2 that include issues being discussed on this show well before they emerge in legacy media coverage. I emphasize the importance of understanding big global trends and the benefits of staying ahead of the next big story, so you can confidently make informed decisions for yourself, your business, your family and your community. Some of the topics covered first on my podcast that emerged into mainstream consciousness include the path to the presidency for women (discussed before the nomination of Kamala Harris for President in the U.S.), cybersecurity issues (discussed before the outage), the threats posed by (discussed before new EU AI laws took effect), demographic changes (discussed before it became a social issue discussed in election campaigns across North America and Europe), and and in Europe (discussed before the major elections of 2024 across the continent). Catch up on past episodes because it is never too late to catch up, get informed and reignite your curiosity about the world around you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVfkknPaszE&t=38s via YouTube

08/04/2024

Rishi Iyengar, the global technology reporter for Foreign Policy, recently joined me for a conversation on the US-China cyber rivalry and the strategic objectives of both countries in .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ExmqbQa-RE via YouTube

Subscribe to the You Tube channel or anywhere you get your favorite including Apple Podcasts , Spotify . iHeartRadio , Amazon Music , Audacy and Libsyn

Rishi Iyengar, the global technology reporter for Foreign Policy Magazine, joins Brian for a conversation on the US-China cyber rivalry and the strategic obj...

07/21/2024

In June, I recorded this conversation with Catherine Reyes-Housholder on her research into women running for president in Latin America and their terms serving in the highest political office. Little did I know how important the observations she shared would be valuable context for the 2024 U.S. Election. Catherine told me months ago that the most common path to the for women in the modern era has been with the endorsement of a outgoing male political party leader... sound familiar? I pride myself on engaging guests who keep us ahead of the curve on trends and share insights that allow us to put current events into broader context. This episode is now a must listen for anyone following geopolitics and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did conducting the interview. Listen. Share. Subscribe anywhere you get a favorite and find my shows and clips on YouTube

Catherine Reyes-Housholder, PhD, joins Brian for a conversation about women in positions of political power in Latin America and beyond, particularly their r...