Just two days after Pacific Century interviewed Japan’s Defense Minister, Misha returns solo for breaking news: Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, unexpectedly resigned. Misha discusses Abe’s legacy, how he changed Japan, and what his resignation means for Japan, Asia, and the United States.

With John off promoting his new book, Misha flies solo to interview retired Air Force general and current Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell. Misha and the Assistant Secretary talk about the Trump Administration’s policy of reciprocity towards Beijing, and how that led to the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston. They also discuss response to the new national security law in Hong Kong, the 5G race, Beijing’s propaganda campaigns, and in the South China Sea.

The podcast snares its hardest-to-get guest: host Misha Auslin! John Yoo interviews Misha on his new book, Asia’s New Geopolitics: Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific, just out from Hoover Institution Press. John and Misha discuss Misha’s striking view comparing the Pacific to the Mediterranean, the sources of Chinese and Japanese foreign policy, and how a future historian might view a US-China military conflict.

Michael Auslin and John Yoo welcome Nadege Rolland to the podcast. After working as a China analyst for the French Government for two decades, Rolland joined the National Bureau of Asian Research as a senior fellow. Her new report, “China’s Vision for a New World Order” discusses how the Chinese Communist Party is using “discourse power” to delegitimize liberal ideas and values and reshape global norms. Beijing is then challenging Western and American ideas of what the global order should look like, in order to create its own hegemony. Rolland sees this new hegemony as partial, loose, and malleable, stretching across the globe, with a particular focus on the Global South.

Misha and John welcome Bill Bishop, author of the widely-read Sinocism Newsletter, called by some “the presidential daily brief for China hands.” Bishop is an entrepreneur and former media executive with more than a decade living in and decoding China. Misha and John ask him about the importance of the recent National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing and its decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong. They end by discussing options for the United States and its allies in response to China’s tightening of control over Hong Kong.

Misha and John welcome a special guest, Anastasia Lin. Lin grew up in China, emigrated to Canada at the age of 13, and won the Miss World Canada title in 2015. She won international attention when Beijing barred her from participating in the world pageant because of her outspoken advocacy for human rights in China. She shares her experience growing up in China, how to change the increasing authoritarianism there, and why she became such a fierce critic of Beijing.