Christopher M. Tuttle, a senior fellow at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the people that President-Elect Donald Trump has nominated for foreign policy and national security positions. This episode is the third in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2025 presidential transition and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode   “Trump and the Middle East, With Steven A. Cook (Transition 2025, Episode 2),” The President’s Inbox   For an episode...

Steven A. Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how Middle Eastern countries are reacting to former President Donald Trump’s election victory and his potential policy for the region. This episode is the second in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2025 presidential transition and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode   Steven A. Cook, The End of Ambition:...

Stephen Hadley, a principal of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC and former national security advisor to President George W. Bush, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the presidential transition process and the challenges that all incoming presidents face in staffing up their administration. This episode is the first in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2025 presidential transition and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode   Stephen Hadley,...

Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, and Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the nature and significance of growing cooperation between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This episode is the seventh in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie...

Liza Tobin, senior director for economy at the Special Competitive Studies Project, and Jake Werner, acting director of the East Asia program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the challenges the next president will face navigating relations with China. This episode is the sixth in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode   Robert...

Oriana Mastro, a Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and David Sacks, a fellow for Asia studies at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss U.S. policy toward Taiwan in light of talk that China might seek to compel the island’s reunification with the mainland. This episode is the fifth in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode   Council on...

Steven A. Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at CFR, and Amy Hawthorne, independent consultant on the Middle East, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the widening war in the Middle East and the challenges it poses for the United States. This episode is the fourth in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode   Steven A. Cook, The End of Ambition:...

Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the CFR and the Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor at Western Washington University, and Ana Swanson, a trade and international economics journalist at the New York Times, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss opportunities and constraints that the next U.S. president will confront on U.S. trade policy. This episode is the third in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New...

Alice Hill, the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at CFR, and Varun Sivaram, a senior fellow for energy and climate at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what the United States has done and should do to confront a changing climate. This episode is the second in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode    Alice C. Hill, The Fight for Climate After...

Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at CFR, and Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the future of U.S. policy toward Russia and the risks posed by heightened tensions between two nuclear powers. This episode is the first in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   Mentioned on the Episode    Liana Fix, “NATO and Ukraine: The Peril of Indecision,” Survival   Liana Fix...

Max Boot, the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at CFR and a columnist for The Washington Post, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss Ronald Reagan’s life and his impact on U.S. foreign policy.    Enter the CFR book giveaway by September 24, 2024, for the chance to win one of ten free copies of Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot. You can read the terms and conditions of the offer here.    Mentioned on the Episode   Max Boot, “Reagan Didn’t Win the Cold...

Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the potential for a wider war in the Middle East as Iran vows to retaliate against Israel for the killing of a top Hamas official in Tehran.   Mentioned on the Episode   Steven Cook, The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox...

Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia.   Mentioned on the Episode   Liana Fix, “NATO and Ukraine: The Peril of Indecision,” Survival   Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage, “The Ukraine Scenarios,” Foreign Affairs   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/ukraines-attack-kursk-liana-fix 

Stephen Heintz, president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the United States should adapt to an era of renewed great power competition and domestic disagreement over what it should seek to achieve abroad. This episode is the fourth in a special TPI series on U.S. grand strategy.   Mentioned on the Episode    Stephen Heintz, “A Logic for the Future: International Relations in the Age of Turbulence,” Rockefeller Brothers Fund John F....

Rush Doshi, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and director of the China Strategy Initiative, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how America should navigate its geopolitical rivalry with China.    Mentioned on the Episode    Graham Allison, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’ Trap?   Hal Brands and Michael Beckley, Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict With China   Rush Doshi, The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order   Rush Doshi, et...

Christopher Kirchhoff, former special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Raj M. Shah, managing partner of Shield Capital, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the efforts by the U.S. Department of Defense to incorporate cutting-edge technology into its operations.    Mentioned on the Episode    Ashton B. Carter, “Keeping America’s Military Edge,” Foreign Affairs   Christopher Kirchhoff and Raj M. Shah, Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming...

Charles A. Kupchan, a senior fellow at CFR and a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the United States should adapt to an era of renewed great power competition and domestic disagreement over what it should seek to achieve abroad. This episode is the third in a special TPI series on U.S. grand strategy.      Mentioned on the Episode    "A New U.S. Grand Strategy: The Case for Liberal Internationalism, With John...

Sir Robin Niblett, distinguished fellow at Chatham House, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss a potential second Cold War between the United States and China.   Mentioned on the Episode    Graham Allison, Destined for War: Can American and China Escape Thucydides’ Trap?   Barry Buzan, “A New Cold War? The Case for a General Concept,” International Politics   Robin Niblett, “The G-7 Must Prepare Now for Trump,” Foreign Policy   Robin Niblett, The New Cold War: How the Contest Between...

Stephen Flynn, chair of the Committee on Assessing WMD Nuclear Terrorism at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and a political science professor at Northeastern University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the steps the U.S. government should take to prevent and respond to nuclear terrorism.   Mentioned on the Episode    Nuclear Terrorism: Assessment of U.S. Strategies to Prevent, Counter, and Respond to Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Academies of...

Matthias Matthijs, senior fellow for Europe at CFR and associate professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and Daniela Schwarzer, a member of the executive board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the results and consequences of the snap elections in France and the United Kingdom.     Mentioned on the Episode    Matthias Matthijs, “Pivotal Elections for France—and Europe,”...

Jack Rakove, the William Robertson Coe professor of history and American studies and professor emeritus of political science and law at Stanford University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss why the United States declared independence in 1776 and its meaning for the country today.    This episode first aired: July 4, 2023 Mentioned on the Podcast   Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Paul Revere’s Ride”   Jack N. Rakove,...

Robert D. Blackwill, the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at CFR, and Richard Fontaine, the chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the U.S. response to the rise of China.     Enter the CFR book giveaway by July 8, 2024, for the chance to win one of ten free copies of Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power by Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine. You can read the terms...

Michelle Gavin, the Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the ongoing deadly conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.   Mentioned on the Episode    Michelle Gavin, “The World’s Shameful Neglect of Sudan,” CFR.org   “Sudan’s Civil War, With Michelle Gavin,” The President’s Inbox   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/sudans-ongoing-civil-war-michelle-gavin 

Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the CFR, and Matthias Mattijs, senior fellow for Europe at CFR and associate professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the results and consequences of the 2024 European Parliament elections.   Mentioned on the Episode    Liana Fix, A New German Power? Germany’s Role in European Russia Policy    Caroline Kapp and Matthias Matthijs, “What’s at...