Patrick Cronin appears on the Defense and Aerospace Podcast to discus political chaos in Washington and its impact on international relations, Chinese and Russian influence operations (minute 17), and Beijing’s sensitivity to soft power—from soccer star Lionel Messi’s snub during a football match in Hong Kong to Taylor Swift’s immense popularity (minute 37).

Caption
A woman walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast of a North Korean military parade showcasing a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles in Seoul on February 9, 2023. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)