Ray Powell & Jim Carouso
174 episodes listed below
Strategic briefings from Asia’s pressure points.
Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? turns current crises into careful strategic briefings. Its conversations move from reefs, elections, tariffs, rescue missions, and energy routes toward the larger question of power in Asia.
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Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? is an interview-driven foreign-policy series for people trying to understand why specific events in Asia matter beyond the day’s headline. It starts with incidents. Then it widens the frame. A grounded Philippine ship in the South China Sea becomes a story about cyanide allegations, food supply, drinking water, military pressure, and public messaging. A new Chinese artificial island at Antelope Reef becomes a question about Vietnam, ASEAN guardrails, and what political documents can or cannot restrain. The show is especially strong on maritime friction. It treats reefs, coast guards, fishing boats, resupply missions, and artificial islands as practical instruments in a larger contest over sovereignty and access. It also follows the economic side of the region with care. Recent episodes examine Australia’s investment strategy in Southeast Asia, ASEAN’s scale as a commercial bloc, digitalization, sustainability, mining, infrastructure, and tariff uncertainty. The format favors expert explanation over personality chatter. Guests are given time to build arguments, and the questioning often pushes from what happened to what governments, companies, and allies may do next. Military and intelligence topics appear frequently, including an American rescue mission in Iran, Indo-Pacific posture, China’s theft of secrets, advanced chips, artificial intelligence, and the risk of strategic concessions. Energy security is treated with similar seriousness, especially when Middle East conflict threatens Asian oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Domestic politics are not ignored. Thailand’s elections, institutional power, party dissolution, border conflict, and sluggish economy all fit the show’s broader interest in how internal politics shape regional alignment. The tone is sober but not lifeless. It can be dry, occasionally sharp, and usually procedural, with the drama coming from the stakes rather than performance. The best episodes feel like a guided briefing: one clear question, one complicated region, and a patient effort to explain why it belongs on the strategic radar.
Made for: For listeners who follow foreign policy, security, trade, energy, and regional politics and want more than headline reaction. It suits people comfortable with policy language but still looking for clear context.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its incident-to-strategy discipline: a reef, tariff, election, chip sale, or tanker route becomes a structured discussion of power and consequence. It relies on named practitioners and regional specialists rather than broad punditry.
Chart the world's new strategic crossroads. Join co-hosts Ray Powell, a 35-year U.S. Air Force veteran and Director of the celebrated SeaLight maritime transparency project, and Jim Carouso, a senior U.S. diplomat and strategic advisor, for your essential weekly briefing on the Indo-Pacific. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground military and diplomatic experience, they deliver unparalleled insights into the forces shaping the 21st century.From the U.S.-China strategic competition to the flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, we cut through the noise with practical, practitioner-focused analysis. Each episode goes deep on the region's most...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It connects maritime flashpoints, economic policy and strategic competition to the practical choices facing governments across the Indo-Pacific.
Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? turns a sprawling geopolitical map into pointed questions, with Ray Powell and Jim Caruso moving from a headline or flashpoint to its wider strategic consequences.
Ray and Jim turn a grounded ship into the geopolitical question you did not know you needed.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A rusting reef outpost becomes a study in maritime pressure and information warfare.
At the center is a rusting ship deliberately grounded on a reef in the South China Sea, where a handful of Philippine Marines live under steady Chinese pressure as their government tries to keep them supplied.
A restrained South China Sea briefing that treats one dredging project as a regional signal.
The piece treats China's dredging at Antelope Reef as a deliberate signal, not a side note, and keeps Vietnam's claim and the South China Sea balance in frame.
A rescue mission opens into a broader argument about escalation, alliances, and Indo-Pacific priorities.
Ray Powell and Jim Caruso use a dramatic rescue of a downed American fighter crew as a way into a larger foreign-policy argument. The strongest part is the link between the operation and the questions around escalation, deterrence, and the role of allies and partners.
A clear-eyed look at Australia's trade and investment push in Southeast Asia.
This conversation treats Australia's push into Southeast Asia as a practical policy problem, not a slogan. Nicholas Moore draws a clean line between trade and investment, then walks through where Australian firms may still have room to matter, including mining, renewables,…
A serious foreign-policy briefing on theft, advanced chips, and the cost of strategic concession.
The episode treats China's campaign to steal secrets as a national power problem, not just an espionage story. It links the issue to jobs, industry, military capability, and the balance of power, with David Shedd lending weight as a former acting director of the Defense…
Civics, books, history, and Hillsdale voices.
Foreign policy under pressure, explained clearly.
Antiwar geopolitics with institutional memory.
The conversation opens on a rusting ship.
China's dredging at Antelope Reef sets the frame.
A downed American fighter crew is rescued from deep inside Iran, and the hosts begin with that operation.
Ray Powell, Jim Caruso, and Nidia Niao open by framing Australia's surprisingly thin investment footprint in Southeast Asia, even though trade with the region remains strong.
Ray Powell and Jim Caruso bring on David Shedd.
This episode explores why businesses continue to invest in Southeast Asia despite U.S.
The episode discusses the impact of the Iran war on energy markets and the Indo-Pacific region, featuring an interview with an energy association CEO.
Analysis of Thailand's recent election and its implications for democracy and regional stability in the Indo-Pacific.
This episode discusses the strategic importance of Diego Garcia island in the context of US-Iran tensions and broader Indo-Pacific security.
Analysis of a Chinese naval task group sailing near U.S.-allied Pacific islands, with insights from a former ambassador.
Analysis of the Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's tariff powers and its impact on Indo-Pacific trade dynamics.
Former diplomats analyze Myanmar's sham elections and the strategic interests of major powers in the Indo-Pacific.
An interview with Clive Hamilton about China's political interference in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.
Analysis of Japan's election landslide and its implications for the Indo-Pacific region.
An interview with human rights advocate Yaqiu Wang about China's transnational repression of its diaspora and the implications for democracy.
An interview with Ambassador Robert Blackwell about a new U.S.
This episode examines China's aggressive diplomatic tactics in the Philippines and how smaller nations can respond to such pressure.
This episode discusses India's upcoming free trade agreement with the EU and its implications for global supply chains and geopolitical alignment.
An interview with J.
This episode examines the deterioration of U.S.-India relations under President Trump, featuring an interview with author James Crabtree.
Co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso introduce an episode discussing unexpected geopolitical developments involving Venezuela and the Indo-Pacific, featuring expert guests.
Co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso interview Craig Singleton about Taiwan's energy vulnerability and the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific.
Co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso interview Justin Bassey of ASPI about the Australia-U.S.
Co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso interview Washington Post journalist Rebecca Tan about Chinese chemical exports fueling methamphetamine production in Asia.
U.S.
This episode explores the diplomatic tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan, featuring insights from China analyst Bonnie Glaser and former ambassador Shingo Yamagami on recent statements by Japan's Prime Minister Takeuchi.
This episode explores why everyday listeners should care about China's Law of the Sea and how Beijing uses domestic law and maritime operations to reshape international norms in key Asian waters.
This episode features CNN correspondent Hanako Montgomery discussing the historic election of Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takeuchi, and what her leadership means for Japan and the Indo-Pacific region.
Co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso interview international law expert Pak Arisjo Damawan about Indonesia's foreign policy under President Prabowo Subianto, including its BRICS membership and shifting alliances.
This episode features authors Marites Vitug and Camille Elemia discussing their book 'Unrequited Love, Duterte's China Embrace,' which analyzes former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's foreign policy shift from the U.S.