The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

Van Jackson spent years as a Pentagon strategist focused on North Korea and the Asia-Pacific before becoming an academic in New Zealand, and The Un-Diplomatic Podcast is where he puts that background to work. Co-hosted with Julia Gledhill and Matt Duss, the show covers geopolitics through a political economy lens, with the Korean peninsula showing up regularly as a core topic. Jackson literally wrote the book on North Korea deterrence strategy (On the Brink, published by Cambridge University Press), so when he talks about Pyongyang's nuclear posture or U.S.-DPRK negotiations, he's drawing on firsthand policy experience rather than just summarizing news reports. The show publishes twice a week and has racked up nearly 300 episodes since launching in 2019. Episodes typically run 45 to 90 minutes and carry an explicit rating because the hosts do not hold back on their opinions. The 4.6 star rating from 71 reviewers reflects a loyal audience that appreciates the combination of genuine expertise and unfiltered commentary. What Jackson brings to the North Korea conversation specifically is the ability to explain why certain diplomatic moves fail, what military planners actually think about Korean contingencies, and how domestic politics in Washington shape policy toward Pyongyang. The show's broader international relations coverage also helps listeners see North Korea in context rather than as an isolated problem. It's opinionated and won't pretend to be neutral, but the analysis is rigorous and grounded in real policy experience.