{"podcast":{"title":"Memos to the President","slug":"memos-to-the-president-7160594","podcast_index_feed_id":7160594,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/nLuyQlk3","website_url":"https://memos-to-the-president.simplecast.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/c1d5476c-8cb9-47c4-b717-5aeec4144685/b0992849-0b54-4098-b144-358986976f9d/3000x3000/memos_to_the_president.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"Ylli Bajraktari, Special Competitive Studies Project - SCSP, SCSP","episode_count":49,"summary":"Memos to the President is a podcast series from the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), dedicated to providing bold, actionable ideas to the current U.S. administration. Hosted by SCSP’s CEO Ylli Bajraktari, it features conversations with experts and leaders on critical issues related to national security, technology, and economic competitiveness.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T22:19:16.391247+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/memos-to-the-president-7160594"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 47: A Conversation with Taro Kono, Former Foreign, Defense & Digital Minister of Japan","slug":"episode-47-a-conversation-with-taro-kono-former-foreign-defense-digital-minister-of-japan","published_at":"2026-07-09T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/memos-to-the-president-7160594/episode-47-a-conversation-with-taro-kono-former-foreign-defense-digital-minister-of-japan","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/memos-to-the-president-7160594","url":"https://memos-to-the-president.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-47-a-conversation-with-taro-kono-former-foreign-defense-digital-minister-of-japan-eiYsiVfH","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/373c28e2-36eb-4099-a957-82cb2df2ee52/ffe93215-d0aa-4aaf-bb37-97d5352287a1/episodes/audio/group/2cae0984-1186-448b-9dc3-ea3b6c3a221a/group-item/3f2fa201-5256-4787-bc67-7ccb4a764ef6/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=nLuyQlk3","summary":"In Tokyo, SCSP President Ylli Bajraktari and Senior Director for Foreign Policy Joe Wang sat down with Taro Kono — former Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, and Digital Minister of Japan, and one of the most influential figures in the LDP — for a wide-ranging conversation on Japan's place in a rapidly shifting world. Kono traces how China's rise changed everything, offers a candid read on Trump's Beijing visit and what it signaled to Tokyo, lays out Japan's path toward higher defense spending and a domestic defense industry, and reflects on his time as Digital Minister — from AI in government to drone warfare and why he sees a \"quad plus\" technology alliance, not sovereign AI, as the way forward.","meta_description":"In Tokyo, SCSP President Ylli Bajraktari and Senior Director for Foreign Policy Joe Wang sat down with Taro Kono — former Foreign Minister, Defense Minist…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1945,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/memos-to-the-president-7160594/episodes/episode-47-a-conversation-with-taro-kono-former-foreign-defense-digital-minister-of-japan/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/memos-to-the-president-7160594/episode-47-a-conversation-with-taro-kono-former-foreign-defense-digital-minister-of-japan.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}