Episode
The World in Pieces with Walter Russell Mead | Live Bonus Episode
- Published
- May 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4874
- Processing state
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Summary
Recorded live at Bard College, this bonus episode features Roger Berkowitz in conversation with Walter Russell Mead, the Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft at the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida and Global View columnist for The Wall Street Journal. They discuss whether the post-1945 American-led liberal world order has fractured and what is replacing it as global power shifts toward the Indo-Pacific. Mead argues the old transatlantic model rested on Westernization as a global aspiration and on European centrality, both of which have eroded as non-Western powers pursue their own paths and Europe falls behind militarily, politically, and technologically. He contends U.S. influence remains structurally resilient, driven by capitalist innovation, though legitimacy and power are changing amid upheaval. In Q&A with the audience, they discuss the UAE leaving OPEC and how U.S. fracking reshaped energy geopolitics, risks around China and Taiwan given drone warfare and blockade dynamics, Trump’s improvisational bargaining style, why predictions of American decline persist, and threats to U.S. dynamism including antisemitism, anti-science sentiment, identity fragmentation, and unsustainable immigration politics, ending with Mead’s advice to read deeply in history and literature. This live event was held on April 29th, 2026, and co-sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement and the Alexander Hamilton Society at Bard College. ABOUT: Produced by the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, this podcast offers close readings of Arendt's books alongside engaging interviews and thought-provoking conversations. Released weekly, each episode provides listeners with a deeper understanding of Arendt's philosophy and it…