Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare | Book Launch & Conversation with Eddie Fishman and Ali Velshi

What happens when the world’s most powerful nation turns its economy into a weapon?

In his gripping new bestseller, Chokepoints: American Power in the Era of Economic Warfare, former U.S. State Department official Eddie Fishman reveals how the United States has reshaped global conflict—not through troops or tanks, but by weaponizing its dominance in finance, trade, and technology. With unprecedented access and insider perspective, Fishman takes us behind the scenes of America’s economic campaigns against Russia, China, and especially Iran, where sanctions have become a central tool in the high-stakes struggle over nuclear ambitions and regional power. 

Join us for a timely conversation between Fishman and Philadelphia’s own Ali Velshi (MSNBC), as they explore the people, policies, and moral questions behind this new era of economic statecraft. In a fractured and increasingly volatile global order, Chokepoints – a finalist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year- offers a vital window into how American power is exercised—and what’s at stake when it is.

More about the Interviewer

Ali Velshi is an award winning journalist, host of “Velshi” and Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, and a weekly economics contributor to NPR’s “Here And Now.” He has covered multiple U.S. Midterm and Presidential elections and significant news stories around the globe, including extensive reporting from Israel during the war with Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion, the Syrian refugee crisis from Turkey and Jordan, and the Iran Nuclear Deal in Tehran. He hosts the “Velshi Banned Book Club” on MSNBC, and the “Velshi Banned Book Club” podcast. Velshi is known for his immersive on-the-ground reporting and his interactive discussions with small groups, which form part of his ongoing series, Velshi Across America. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera America and CNN. He has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, and is the recipient of two National Headliner Awards and a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award.

More about the Author

Edward Fishman is a foreign-policy expert, business operator, and investor with experience spanning government service, technology startups, media, and think tanks. An expert on the intersection of business, economics, and national security, Mr. Fishman is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy and an Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, where he teaches a graduate-level course on economic statecraft and strategy. He is concurrently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

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