Episode 40- From Long Island To Kyiv: How A Wine Guy Ended Up Delivering Ambulances

A backpack to Nepal set the course for a life spent solving hard problems with simple tools. We sit down with entrepreneur and civic operator Christopher Fussner to map how a Jesuit-rooted mobile clinic program expanded to five hubs and roughly 150,000 patient visits a year, using local sisters, schoolhouses as pop-up clinics, and low-cost medicines sourced in Nepal and India. The model is lean, replicable, and deeply human—proof that small teams can deliver big health outcomes without waiting for massive bureaucracies to move.

From there we widen the lens to U.S. soft power and what happens when it shrinks. Chris shares a ground-level view of USAID’s retreat, the impact on groups like IRI and NDI, and why election observation and refugee support matter for credibility abroad. Then we tackle the 2025 national security strategy: rebuilding industrial strength, investing in chips, AI, biotech, and quantum, and asking Europe to carry more of the defense burden. It’s a candid assessment of where America should lean in and where allies must step up.

Ukraine brings policy down to pavement. Chris walks us through buying used ambulances across Europe, driving them to Kyiv and near the front, and why air defense, long-range fires, and drone innovation could let Ukraine automate the fight and hold the line without European boots on the ground. We also look east: freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a major arms package to Taiwan, Japan–Korea cooperation, ASEAN’s limits, and Australia’s growing role through AUKUS and Pacific partnerships. Throughout, the throughline is practical: real deterrence pairs hard power with visible, humane presence.

If this conversation expands your view of what’s possible—whether in a Nepali mountain village or along a contested border—follow the show, share it with a friend who cares about global affairs, and leave a review to help others find it.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening And Guest Introduction
• 2:12 Nepal Mobile Clinics And Model
• 5:25 Scaling Care Without Big Bureaucracies
• 9:05 The Fall And Future Of U.S. Soft Power
• 12:21 National Security Strategy 2025 Overview
• 16:20 Europe’s Defense Burden And NATO Spend
• 19:45 Ambulances To Ukraine: Field Logistics
• 23:40 Frontline Deliveries And Risks
• 27:20 What Ends The War In Ukraine
• 31:10 Drones, Patriots, And Automating War
• 35:00 Lines That Can And Cannot Be Crossed
• 38:20 Asia Strategy: First Island Chain And Taiwan
• 42:05 Japan, Korea, And China’s Pushback
• 45:35 ASEAN’s Limits And Border Conflicts
• 49:10 Australia, AUKUS, And The Pacific
• 52:00 Where Fussner Diverges From Trump
• 55:10 Closing, Next Steps, And Wine Aside