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Foreign Policy ProvCast
by Providence Magazine
Providence is a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy equipping the American mind to engage the real world.
Episodes
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Ep. 110 | Should Government Promote Christianity as the Only True Religion?
Providence Managing Editor James Diddams is joined by James Baird, a pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Naples, Florida, to discuss Baird's new book, King of Kings: A Reformed Guide to Christian Government. The central argument of King of Kings is built around a simple syllogism…
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Ep. 109 | The Rise of Postliberal Protestantism
In 2026, the phrase "integralism" as shorthand for Roman Catholics who do not believe in classical liberalism as understood through figures like John Locke, Adam Smith, and the American Founders is no longer a novelty. But over the last five or so years, another group of Christians, this time...
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Ep. 108 | How Hungary Became Postliberal Christian Paradise
On April 12, Viktor Orbán, Hungary's prime minister since 2010, lost his bid for reelection. To many in the United States, Orbán had become known for corruption and his pro-Putin stance within the European Union, often complicating efforts to deliver unified support to Ukraine. But beyond…
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Ep. 107 | Japanese History and the US-Japan Alliance
Providence Managing Editor James Diddams is joined by Japan Society President & CEO Joshua Walker to discuss Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent electoral victory and what it signals for Japan's emergence as a more proactive actor in international affairs. While many Americans date...
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Ep. 106 | Why Christians Should Be Liberally Educated
Why is it important for Christians to read—from the great classics to contemporary works? What does it mean to embrace a broad, liberal arts education from a Christian perspective? Providence Managing Editor James Diddams is joined by Nadya Williams—Contributing Editor at Providence, Books Editor...
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Ep. 105 | Will the Iran War Prove Prudent or a Waste of Political Capital?
Providence editors Marc LiVecche, Mark Tooley, and Robert Nicholson are joined by Redeemer Universitry's Robert Joustra to discuss the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, nearly three weeks since the start of Operation Epic Fury on February 28th. While there may be just cause in striking Iran, is...
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Ep. 104 | Political Theology Needs the Old Testament
When Christians attempt to derive political principles from the New Testament absent the context of the Old Testament, the result is sloppy political theology. But why is that? Providence Magazine Managing Editor James Diddams is joined by Tim Milosch, lecturer in politics at Biola University and...
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Ep. 103 | Just War & EPIC FURY in Iran
Providence Managing Editor James Diddams and Executive Editor Marc LiVecche are joined by Redeemer University Professor of Politics and International Robert Joustra to discuss Operation EPIC FURY in its ethical and strategic dimensions. Can we expect to see a flowering of democracy in Iran soon…
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Ep. 102 | After Two Years of War, a Chance for Peace?
On the second anniversary of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, the Provcrew sits down to review Donald Trump's proposal for ending the war. Although it's a good plan with significant support, many ambiguities and questions remain. Will the Arab states step up? Will the Israeli far-right…
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Ep. 101 | So Reinhold Niebuhr and John Wesley Walk into a Bar…
(…actually, Wesley was a teetotaler so not possible.) Ladies and gentlemen, the Provcrew is at war. "Can you be a Wesleyan Protestant and a Christian realist?" The battle lines are drawn. Providence editor Mark Tooley, a Methodist Christian realist, says yes; editor at large Robert Nicholson, a...
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Ep. 100 | Recovering 'Hebraic Mortar' to Patch Crumbling Foundations
The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk is a wakeup call for Americans of every stripe. What is happening to our society? How can we fix it—and where do we start? In a fascinating conversation with Wilfred McClay and Stuart Halpern, authors of a new book entitled The Jewish Roots of American...
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Ep. 99 | An America(s) First Foreign Policy?
In a weird twist of history, the United States has spent the bulk of its diplomatic energy everywhere but its own backyard: the Western Hemisphere. President Trump has vowed to change that, wisely re-prioritizing Latin America after years of neglect, but may be undermining his chances of success...
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Ep. 98 | Are We All Going to Die?
In an essay commemorating the end of World War II, Providence editor Dr. Paul Miller argues that increased global anarchy and democratic decline are pushing US towards another global war. "The question is not whether there will be conflict," Miller writes, "but when, what kind, and how large." In...
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Ep. 97 | America, Destroyer of Worlds?
On August 6, 1945 at 8:15 AM, US forces dropped a new kind of bomb—one which harnessed the very power of the sun—on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The devastation was total and unprecedented: some 70,000 Japanese died in the blast and tens of thousands more by year's end. The event marked the...
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Ep. 96 | The West and Weapons of Mass Destruction 80 Years after Hiroshima
Taking a break from guest interviews, the Provcrew (Tooley, Diddams, LiVecche, Nicholson) meets up to discuss a few big topics looming above the current news cycle. First, they talk through a recent Washington Post article from George Will arguing the need for more clarity about the nature and...
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Ep. 95 | Why We Need the Apocalypse
The end times get a bad rap. Typically associated with Christian fundamentalists, the apocalypse has in fact been an object of human fascination for thousands of years. In this offbeat conversation with Robert Joustra, professor of politics and international studies at Redeemer University, the...
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Ep. 94 | What We Mean by 'Judeo-Christian'
On June 30th, Providence and Tikvah partnered to convene a panel titled "What We Mean by 'Judeo-Christian'" to discuss the role of the Hebrew Bible as a shared point of reference in the American traditions of liberal democracy and constitutional republicanism. This panel was inspired by the...
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Ep. 93 | The Israeli General Who Predicted Oct 7 – and What He's Predicting Now (Yossi Kuperwasser)
In July 2023, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser saw something catastrophic on the horizon: a Hamas invasion of Israel. A year later, in a conversation with Providence, he predicted an aggressive IDF military campaign to proactively degrade Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and Iran itself -- another...
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Episode 92 | Is America Betraying Middle East Christians?
Responding to two recent essays, the Provcast team interview Rich Ghazal, Executive Director of In Defense of Christians, to discuss the question of Christian persecution as it relates to US foreign policy past and present—and particularly to the well being of Christians now under threat in…
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Episode 91 | Is Israel's Fight for Survival also America's Fight?
Talking with Iranian scholar and policy expert Dr. Farhad Rezaei, the Provcast crew get caught up on the latest developments related to the Iran-Israel war before talking through a number of hard questions: the nature of America's involvement, the potential for escalation and unexpected outcomes,...
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Episode 90 | Is There a "Trump Doctrine"? And What Just Happened in Ukraine?
In this two-part conversation, the Provcast crew unpacks Ukraine's surprise drone attack on Russia and what it means for the war (and the future of war in general), America's involvement, and whether the attack risks escalation with Russia. The crew then shifts to President Trump's recent speech…
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Episode 89 | The Sources of Iran's Revolutionary Ideology
Providence Managing Editor James Diddams is joined by Jozef Kosc, Hamilton Center Fellow at the University of Florida, to discuss the varied ideological parentage of Iran's official state ideology, which includes not only Islamic sources but also European philosophers such as Martin Heidegger,...
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Episode 88 | How Hindu Political Theology Halted, then Restarted Indian Nuclear Proliferation
Providence Editor James Diddams is joined by Bill Drexel, Fellow at Hudson Institute in US-India relations and geopolitical competition with China, to discuss his April 4th article "How Competing Hindu Theologies Drove India's Nuclear Decision Making—In Opposite Directions." The story of India's...
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Episode 87 | Of American Popes and American Power in a Multipolar Age
Pondering recent events in the Vatican, the Provcast crew talks through the legacy of Pope Francis and the rise of "Pope Bob from Chicago" (the first Bishop of Rome to laugh at the Blues Brothers?) against the backdrop of a more important question: What role should the Roman Pontiff play in…
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Episode 86 | Providence Magazine's 10th Anniversary
As Providence Magazine approaches 10 years since its launch, editors Mark Tooley, Marc LiVecche, Robert Nicholson, and James Diddams discuss the founding vision of Providence and how the magazine has functioned as a forum for Christian realism since its inception.
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Episode 85 | Early America: Christian Republic—or Republic of Christians?
In his recent book "Religion and Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War" (Davenant, 2024), Miles Smith IV, Assistant Professor of History at Hillsdale College, explores the interplay between faith and politics in early America, revealing a more complex picture than current...
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Ep 84 | Peter Berkowitz on Liberal Education, Progressive Ideology, and the Israel-Hamas War
Marc LiVecche joins Providence contributor Keith Pavlischek and the Hoover Institution's Peter Berkowitz on a wide-ranging exploration of Israel's war against Hamas and adjacent themes. Taking place on the leeward side of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, they discuss...
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Episode 83 | Reflections One Year After Oct. 7, 2023
The world looks very different a year after the Iran-orchestrated Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023. With Israeli counterstrikes in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iran itself—and with hatred for Israel reaching an all-time high around the world—it's worth asking what it all means. In this episode, Marc...
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Episode 82 | On Tim Walz, Military Ethos, and Service Before Self
In the midst of ongoing debate regarding the military service record of Democratic party vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, Providence's Marc LiVecche spoke with Marine Corps veterans Mac Owens and Keith Pavlischek to clarify the real issues. Focusing on the charge that Walz placed his own...
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Episode 81 | (In)vincible Ignorance andJust Getting it Wrong About Hamas (Keith Pavlischek)
Marc LiVecche hosts COL Keith Pavlischek, USMC (RET), long-time Providence contributor for a long-form discussion about the Israel-Hamas War. Points of focus include getting the meaning of proportionality right, the criticality of making basic distinctions between good and evil, right and wrong,...
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Episode #80 | How America Combats Human Trafficking (Rebecca Munson)
Rebecca Munson—department chair for government and public policy at Liberty University's Helms School of Government—talks with Mark Melton about how the United States has combatted human trafficking globally. She explains how big of a problem human trafficking is and assesses America's role in...
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Episode #79 | China as Democracy Falls in Hong Kong (Olivia Enos)
Olivia Enos of the Heritage Foundation speaks with Mark Melton about how the Chinese government has been snuffing out liberty in Hong Kong. She discusses the recent arrests of Cardinal Zen and pro-democracy advocates and explains what they mean for religious liberty in the city-state. She also...
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Episode #78 | The Russia-Ukraine War after the Battle of Kyiv (Paul Miller)
In this episode, Mark Melton speaks with Paul Miller about what may happen in Ukraine now that the Battle of Kyiv appears to be over and the war is moving into a new, probably longer phase. In addition to discussing the current situation in the country, Miller covers what Russia's relations with...
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Episode #77 | How to Help Ukraine Effectively without a NATO-Russia War (Lt. Col. Tyson K. Wetzel)
In this episode, Mark Melton speaks with Lieutenant Colonel Tyson K. Wetzel (US Air Force) about how the United States can help Ukraine fight Russia effectively without NATO and Russia getting into a war. Wetzel helped conduct a survey and write a report for the Atlantic Council that created a...
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Episode #76 | Just War Perspective on the Ukraine War (Marc LiVecche and Rebeccah Heinrichs)
In this wide-ranging and impassioned conversation about the war in Ukraine, Providence editors Marc LiVecche and Rebeccah Heinrichs, also of the Hudson Institute, discuss the latest developments, the intersection of just war reasoning and the facts on the ground, future options against Putin, how...
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Episode #75 | A Conversation with the "Daughters of Diaspora" (Mariam Wahba And Adela Cojab)
In this episode, Mariam Wahba and Adela Cojab talk about their new show "American-ish: Daughters of Diaspora", which covers the topics of faith, culture, religion, and more. Wahba is a Coptic Christian who was born in Menya, Egypt, and Cojab is a Syrian-Lebanese Jew born in Mexico City. They both...
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Episode #74 | America's New Law on Forced Labor in Xinjiang (Christine McDaniel and Weifeng Zhong)
Weifeng Zhong and Christine McDaniel of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University talk with Mark Melton about the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. They cover how forced labor in China works and how the world knows this is happening. Zhong and McDaniel also discuss potential difficulties...
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Episode #73 | On The Looming Russian Invasion Of Ukraine (Rebeccah Heinrichs)
Rebeccah Heinrichs of the Hudson Institute speaks with Mark Melton about the Russian threat to Ukraine. She gives an update of the latest situation in Ukraine at the time of recording (the morning of February 7) and explains why Americans should be concerned about a Russian invasion of the…
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Episode #72 | "It's a Wonderful Life" 75 Years Later (Dark Ops)
In this special Dark Ops episode of the podcast, Mark Melton and Marc LiVecche discuss the 1946 movie It's a Wonderful Life and the short story that inspired it, "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. The film premiered in New York City 75 years ago on December 20, 1946. During the…
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Episode #71 | Brazil In The World Under Jair Bolsonaro (Igor Sabino)
In this episode Mark Melton speaks with Igor Sabino about the political situation in Brazil and that country's role in global affairs. They focus on the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, and Sabino explains the reasons why Brazilian evangelicals supported him. While courting the evangelical vote,...
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Episode #70 | Tigray vs. Ethiopia Civil War (Joshua Meservey)
Just a few years ago, Ethiopia was a darling of foreign policy observers, with some comparing it to Taiwan and South Korea in decades past. Meanwhile, its prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. But now civil war has changed the country's trajectory. In this episode,...
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Episode #69 | The Future of Afghanistan and Vulnerable Afghans (Paul D. Miller)
Paul D. Miller speaks with Mark Melton about the current situation in Afghanistan as well as what might happen in the country next. In particular, they cover the perils that religious minorities and other vulnerable groups face, the possibility of civil war, the collapse of the Afghan economy…
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Episode #68 | America's Enemies and Allies in the Middle East (Joel Rosenberg)
In this episode, Joel Rosenberg talks about his latest book, "Enemies and Allies: An Unforgettable Journey inside the Fast-Moving & Immensely Turbulent Modern Middle East." He reviews why he considers certain countries enemies and allies in the region, and points to troubling and positive trends....
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Episode #67 | Religious Freedom In Turkey (Tugba Tanyeri-Erdemir And Aykan Erdemir)
In this episode, Mark Melton speaks with Tugba Tanyeri-Erdemir and Aykan Erdemir about religious freedom issues in Turkey. In particular, they cover what reports from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) say about Turkey and how the Turkish government's restrictions on…
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Episode #66 | The Fall of Afghanistan and Joe Biden's Withdrawal (Rebeccah Heinrichs)
In this episode, Rebeccah Heinrichs of the Hudson Institute talks with Mark Melton about the fall of Afghanistan. She describes what went wrong in Afghanistan, the problems of nation-building, whether the "forever war" is over, and how the United States military had been conducting...
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Episode #65 | The Patriotism of C.S. Lewis (Eric Patterson)
For the July 4th weekend, Eric Patterson and Mark Melton discuss what C.S. Lewis teaches Christians about patriotism and "love of home," particularly in The Four Loves. They review how Lewis served his country in both the First World War and the Second World War, which demonstrates that he writes...
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Episode #64 | America "After Nationalism" (Samuel Goldman)
Samuel Goldman (PhD, Harvard) talks about his latest book, After Nationalism: Being American in an Age of Division, with Mark Melton, who recently reviewed it in National Review. Even though some on the right have argued that the United States needs to return to a strong common national identity…
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Episode #63 | Just War For Ordered Liberty? (Paul D. Miller)
Mark Melton speaks with Paul D. Miller about his recent book "Just War and Ordered Liberty" (Cambridge University Press, January 2021, available here: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Ordered-Liberty-Paul-Miller-ebook/dp/B08QD19SB8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr). Miller explains how just...
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Episode #62 | What the USCIRF's 2021 Report Got Right And Wrong (Steven Howard)
Steven Howard, advocacy director at In Defense of Christians (IDC), speaks with Mark Melton about the 2021 annual report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In particular, they cover what the IDC thinks USCIRF got right and how they missed the mark. Howard also...
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Episode #61 | America's Withdrawal From Afghanistan (Paul D. Miller)
Providence executive editor Marc LiVecche spoke with contributing editor and Georgetown professor Paul Miller about President Joe Biden's plans to withdraw all remaining US military personnel from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. While opposed to the withdrawal itself, Paul has no illusions…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Providence is a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy equipping the American mind to engage the real world.
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Providence Magazine
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Foreign Policy ProvCast have?
Foreign Policy ProvCast currently has 112 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Foreign Policy ProvCast about?
Providence is a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy equipping the American mind to engage the real world.
How often does Foreign Policy ProvCast release new episodes?
Foreign Policy ProvCast publishes regularly with 112 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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Who hosts Foreign Policy ProvCast?
Foreign Policy ProvCast is created and hosted by Providence Magazine.
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