China and Russia have rarely been friendly - until now. Xi and Putin have been open about their bromance, exchanging gifts, sharing lavish dinners, even celebrating a birthday together. Are the two dictators, Xi and Putin, aiming to forge a new arrangement in the world that diminishes the traditional role of the United States? Our guest, Lyle Goldstein, former professor at US Naval War College, and now teaching at Brown University, is an expert on China and Russia. He talks about the new order under President Trump, and how Russia and China, aligned with each other, approach the US in different ways.   Guest: Lyle Goldstein: Former professor at US Naval War College, now at Brown University. Book Recommendations:  Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf China and Russia by Philip Snow.  Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has given China five years to dominate Artificial Intelligence. He believes China must accomplish this goal in order to become the world’s tech giant. But the United States is doing everything it can to stop China from reaching its goal. Can Washington stop US and European advanced chips from reaching China? It seems not, as the arrival of DeepSeek shows. Will AI development be throttled by the Chinese government’s heavy censorship? Can China achieve its goal?  Guest: Karen Hao, journalist and engineer. Writing appears in The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal. Author of the upcoming Empire of AI.  Book Recommendations:  AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee  Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future by Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face-Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2015 the Chinese government declared that they would become the world leader in EVs by 2025. Major car companies scoffed. Who wants an EV? Today, China automakers have surpassed Japan, Germany and the US to become the number one exporter of cars. A record number of Chinese EVs were sold globally last year. How did China become the global leader in EVs? We’ll talk with the man who literally wrote the book on the rise of China’s car industry.  Guest: Michael Dunne, Auto executive in China and the US, author American Wheels, Chinese Roads.   Books: Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century by Tim Higgins. Michael Dunne's new book will publish in mid-2025. Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices