news
Hosted by Ray Powell & Jim Carouso · news · EN · 176 episodes
Chart the world's new strategic crossroads. Join co-hosts Ray Powell , a 35-year U.S. Air Force veteran and Director of the celebrated SeaLight maritime transparency project, and Jim Carouso , a senior U.S. diplomat and strategic advisor, for your essential weekly briefing on the Indo-Pacific. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground military and diplomatic experience, they deliver unparalleled insights into the forces shaping the 21st century. From the U.S.-China strategic competition to the flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait , we cut through the noise with practical, practitioner-focused analysis. Each episode goes deep on the region's most critical geopolitical, economic and security issues. We bring you conversations with the leaders and experts shaping policy, featuring some of the world's most influential voices, including: Senior government of
Required Pod Score for this show. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.
Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
35%
Guest openness
Selective
Sign up to generate a grounded pitch for Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?.
Signup to Generate a PitchChart the world's new strategic crossroads. Join co-hosts Ray Powell, a 35-year U.S. Air Force veteran and Director of the celebrated SeaLight maritime transparency project, and Jim Carouso, a senior U.S. diplomat and strategic advisor, for your essential weekly briefing on the Indo-Pacific.
Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? is hosted by Ray Powell & Jim Carouso. The show has published 176 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Why Should We Care What Southeast Asia Wants from the Quad? | with Arzan Tarapore" (16 October 2026, 51 minutes), "Why Should We Care if the “Asian Century” is a Myth? | with Bilahari Kausikan" (2 October 2026, 49 minutes), and "Why Should We Care if the Illicit Iran-China Oil Trade Goes Through Malaysia? | with Charlie Brown" (25 September 2026, 46 minutes).
Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 53 minutes across 176 episodes.
Booking probability for Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? is 35%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?'s contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? are Defense & International Affairs. Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? has a news audience.
Ray Powell & Jim Carouso hosts Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?, a news show with 176 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #171
The “Quad” – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – insists it isn’t here to make anyone choose sides, while Southeast Asia keeps saying “Please don’t make us choose sides.” So if everyone agrees, why is...
Episode #169
For decades we've been told this is the Asian century: that the region's economic weight will turn into geopolitical power, and maybe into China's century. Retired Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan calls that "a snappy...
Episode #168
Roughly $4 billion a month. That is what Iran’s sanctioned oil trade with China was worth when it ran normally, according to Charlie Brown, and the revenue goes directly to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Brown...
Episode #167
Onstage at the Seoul Defense Dialogue, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro was taking a question about Chinese coercion in the South China Sea when a forum staffer handed him a note...
Episode #166
Melissa Sanderson returns to unpack why China’s grip on the world’s supply of rare earths has become one of the most consequential economic stories in the Indo-Pacific, and why a deadline just weeks away could reshape...
Episode #164
Could Scarborough Shoal become China’s next artificial-island outpost? Can transparency effectively counter gray-zone coercion at sea? Why did scholars from seven Chinese universities suddenly claim that Batanes, the...
Episode #163
If China controls maritime East Asia, what would that mean for Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, global trade, and U.S. security? In Episode 165, Ray Powell and Jim Carouso speak with retired U.S. Navy Captain Brent...
Episode #162
On July 6, a Chinese submarine fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile out of the South China Sea. It likely overflew parts of the Philippines before coming down in waters between Tuvalu, Nauru and Solomon Islands...
Episode #161
Nearly all global internet traffic quietly moves through fiber-optic undersea cables on the seabed, yet most people still think of the internet as “the cloud.” In this episode, Ray Powell and Jim Carouso sit down with...
Episode #160
Days before ASEAN's foreign ministers landed in Manila, a Chinese Coast Guard sailor clubbed a Filipino sailor bloody at Second Thomas Shoal. Beijing normally lowers the temperature before diplomatic set pieces. This...
Episode #159
China posted a record $1.2 trillion global trade surplus in 2025, and its export machine is still accelerating. From electric vehicles and batteries to electronics and household goods, Chinese products are pouring into...
Episode #158
For the first time, China's coast guard is asserting sovereignty over waters beyond the First Island Chain and out in the open Pacific, far to the east of Taiwan. To justify it, a hastily assembled group of Chinese...
Episode #157
We picture China as a place where no one dares speak out, but the reality is quite different. In 2025, despite one of the most sophisticated censorship machines on earth, workers protested over unpaid wages, homebuyers...
Episode #156
What if the most important strategic relationship of the 21st century is the one Washington is actively damaging? In this episode, hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso sit down with Kurt Campbell - former Deputy Secretary...
Episode #154
Washington is engaging plenty with its Indo-Pacific allies these days … just not always on the things they want, and too often on things they don't. So how do savvy allies steer that relationship when the world's most...
Episode #153
Is Vietnam quietly drifting into China's orbit, and what does that mean for the United States and the future of Southeast Asia? Dr. Nguyễn Khắc Giang explains why Hanoi is hedging harder than ever because, as the...
Episode #152
Japan sits just 68 miles from Taiwan, while the Philippines is even closer at 61. As one guest puts it, “You can’t invade Taiwan if you don’t control the northern Philippines.” That geography is exactly why three...
Episode #151
<p>Indonesia’s former trade minister Gita Wirjiwan - Stanford visiting scholar and host of the Endgame podcast - joins Ray Powell and Jim Carouso to unpack what the closure of the Strait of Hormuz means for Southeast...
Episode #150
<p>While U.S. attention has been consumed by wars in the Middle East and Europe, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is expanding his nuclear arsenal, testing missiles from land and sea, and locking in a new strategic partnership...
Episode #149
<p>In this episode, hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso sit down with retired U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, who led America’s embassy in Manila from July 2022 to January 2026, one of the most...
Recent guests on Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Hoover Fellow at Stanford University
author of Countering China’s Great Game, Hudson Institute
maritime historian, professor, and podcast host, Campbell University
PitchCentric classifies Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
Is this podcast yours and you'd like to remove or correct details? Request removal or email privacy@pitchcentric.com.
Questions about the free trial? See the pricing FAQ