Hudson Institute Events Podcast

The American industrial base once underwrote the nation's victory. Builders and workers rallied to win World War II. For most of the twentieth century, great American companies from General Mills to Chrysler had defense businesses that sent mankind into space and won the Cold War.

But the forges fell silent, and the furnaces went dark. China took the lead in manufacturing. And the relationship between America’s innovators and its warfighters deteriorated—until now.

Hudson Trustee and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar’s new book, Mobilize, spotlights this undeclared state of emergency and the bold reformers in government and industry who are taking action to respond. With Walter Russell Mead, Sankar will discuss his strategy to resurrect the American industrial base, win the twenty-first-century defense technology race, and prevent World War III.

Naval and commercial shipbuilding, maintenance, and shipping are crucial to the national security and economic prosperity of the United States and Japan. Both countries have rich naval and commercial maritime traditions, but such legacies have faced challenges in recent years. In response, Washington and Tokyo have established initiatives to strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation.

On March 10, Hudson Japan Chair will host a public discussion bringing together experts and practitioners to address US-Japan cooperation on these maritime issues. Experts will focus on how the two countries can strengthen their naval maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities; scale shipbuilding capacity; and address the needs of shipping companies and end-users.

Join Hudson for a discussion highlighting each nation's approach to these common challenges, as well as how US-Japan collaboration should best proceed.

Supply chains have been central to the second Trump administration’s foreign and national security policy platforms. As global security deteriorates, policymakers need to act quickly to ensure American manufacturers can access materials that are vital for national defense and economic resilience.

At the heart of this effort is the United States government’s drive, in collaboration with private industry, to develop domestic critical mineral supply chains. China’s near monopoly on critical mineral processing gives Beijing the ability to influence trade negotiations and exercise economic coercion. Through these unfair trade practices, China seeks to further weaken America’s vital industries and security interests.

Join Distinguished Fellow Mike Gallagher and Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA) for a discussion on the congressman’s recently introduced Securing Essential and Critical US Resources and Elements (SECURE Minerals) Actand Congress’s role in securing America’s economic security.

The end of Nicolás Maduro’s rule marked a historic turning point for Venezuela. But transitions do not secure themselves. Authoritarian systems often attempt to survive through controlled reform and partial concessions.

Venezuela’s interim authorities have introduced initial measures, including an amnesty law and economic adjustments. Yet a genuine democratic transition requires structural guarantees: the full release of political prisoners, the dismantling of repression, the reopening of civic space, the safe return of political exiles, and the establishment of a new, independent electoral authority capable of organizing free and fair general elections.

Please join Leopoldo López, who will outline the strategic roadmap for consolidating democratic change and explain why sustained clarity, leverage, and principled leadership from the United States remain essential to preventing backsliding and securing a stable, sovereign, and democratic Venezuela.

More than three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has sought to offset Western sanctions and isolation by deepening ties with China and expanding relationships with partners such as North Korea and Iran. Beijing, meanwhile, views cooperation with Russia as a strategic asset in its competition with the United States and its allies across Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Though the Sino-Russian partnership is asymmetric, increasingly coordinated military, energy, economic, and information cooperation is reshaping the security environment.

Hudson will host an event featuring representatives from the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and the Alliance Futures Initiative (TAFI) to assess the scope and implications of Sino-Russian cooperation across military and nonmilitary domains, examine shared and diverging threat perceptions, and discuss how these trends should inform national and collective defense planning. The discussion will also identify practical policy options for allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, including closer coordination between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Indo-Pacific security frameworks.