The Truth of the Matter (CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies)

CSIS’s Joseph Majkut and Jon Alterman join the podcast to deconstruct Saudi Arabia’s recent push to slash oil production and what it means for the United States, our allies, and the global energy landscape.

CSIS’s James Andrew Lewis joins the podcast to discuss Russia’s cyber capability and willingness to wage cyberwar with Ukraine and NATO.

Jonathan Karl, ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent and author of NYT Bestseller “Front Row at the Trump Shop,” reflects on the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump’s isolation in his last days as president, and on the incoming Biden administration and the challenges it faces on day one.  

CSIS’s Dr. Seth Jones joins the podcast to talk about the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and what options the Biden administration has in addressing the situation.

CSIS’s Dr. J. Stephen Morrison joins the podcast to discuss President Biden’s vaccine mandates, plans for a “Covid-19 reset” and the situation in Afghanistan with respect to Covid.

Philip Luck, director of the CSIS Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business, joins the podcast to discuss the new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, their potential impact on industry and consumers, and other ways to address China's impact on the global economy.

CSIS’ Norm Rule, who served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing significant programs relating to the Middle East, joins the podcast to discuss Iran and what it may do in retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

CSIS’s Ben Cahill and Gerard DiPippo join the podcast to talk about the effectiveness of sanctions on Russian energy, gas prices, and the impact on U.S. and global inflation.

CSIS’ Max Bergmann joins the podcast to discuss European nations’ decision-making processes on strengthening their individual and collective defense in response to Russian aggression and the lurking shadow of China.

International Rescue Committee (IRC) president and CEO David Miliband joins the podcast to discuss the IRC’s Annual Emergency Watchlist report. According to the new report, the IRC finds global “system failure” driving record levels of humanitarian need and that Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Yemen top the list of countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2022.

In this hybrid episode of Truth of the Matter and the Impossible State, CSIS’ Victor Cha and Steve Morrison join Andrew Schwartz to discuss South Korea’s innovative systems for tracking Covid-19 and whether they can work for the United States.

CSIS’s Joseph Majkut joins the podcast to discuss how accelerating gas prices and the war in Ukraine are forcing the United States to reimagine energy and climate policy.

In this episode, Bob and Andrew invite CSIS’s Seth G. Jones, Harold Brown Chair, director of the Transnational Threats Project, and senior adviser to the International Security Program. They discuss the latest news about the Ukrainian aircraft that was shot down by Iranians, as well as President Trump’s address to the nation, and Iran’s vulnerabilities. This episode was recorded on January 9th at 2pm, prior to The House of Representatives approving a war powers resolution that would prevent President Trump from taking military action against Iran without congressional consent.

Dr. Stephen J. Morrison joins the podcast to discuss the ongoing confusion over Covid’s origins and what it means for U.S. and global pandemic preparedness going forward.

In this episode, Andrew is joined by CSIS's Victor Cha to discuss how South Korea is battling COVID-19 and the innovative strategies they took to prevent a wider spread of the virus. Victor also gives insight into what is and isn't known on how North Korea is responding to the global pandemic, noting their recent missile tests. Victor Cha is a senior adviser and the inaugural holder of the Korea Chair at CSIS. He is also a professor of government and holds the D.S. Song-KF Chair in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University.

CSIS’s Seth Jones joins the podcast to assess Ukraine after six months of war with Russia, plus, the assassination of Russian nationalist Daria Dugina, and winter is coming.  

Stephen Morrison, Director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, rejoined the podcast to discuss the state of the pandemic, vaccine distribution and hesitancy, and achieving herd immunity in the U.S. 

CSIS’s Lily McElwee and Maria Snegovaya join the podcast to discuss the Xi-Putin summit in Russia, and what it means for the United States. 

CSIS’s Chris Johnstone, former NSC director for East Asia, joins the podcast to discuss the aftermath of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the current policies of Prime Minister Kishida going forward.

In this special episode, award-winning best-selling author Steve Silberman (“Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity”) joins the podcast to talk about the passing of his close friend, singer-songwriter David Crosby last week at 81. Over the past several years, Silberman hosted a podcast with Crosby called “Freak Flag Flying” which explored the musician’s life and career. In this episode, Silberman describes how Crosby was singular as a musician, a unique American, and discusses the incredible life Crosby led.

In a crossover episode with It's More Than Grit, a new podcast from CSIS, Linda Rottenberg, Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, joins Mariana Campero and Andrew for a discussion on Linda’s journey to Endeavor. She highlights the qualities of a good entrepreneur and the regions she is most optimistic about. As a leader of the global entrepreneurship movement, Linda also shares advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Linda Rottenberg is one of the world’s premier voices on global entrepreneurship, technology, and business transformation. As Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, Linda helms the leading global community of, by, and for entrepreneurs. Endeavor selects, supports, and invests in founders across 40 countries. Linda also serves as President of Endeavor Catalyst, the rules-based investment arm of Endeavor, with $500M in AUM.

Peter Bergen, Vice President at the New America Foundation, CNN national security analyst, and host of In the Room with Peter Bergen, joins the podcast to discuss the foreign policy of each presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 election.

In this episode, Andrew invites New York Times columnist Bret Stephens to discuss the concepts of one-state and two-state solutions for Israel, and what steps could be taken to have a peaceful resolution between Israelis and Palestinians.

Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor NSC, Joshua Geltzer, joins the podcast to discuss the re-authorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) 702 provision. Section 702 is a key provision of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 that permits the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons outside the United States, with the compelled assistance of electronic communication service providers, to acquire foreign intelligence information. The government uses the information collected under Section 702 to protect the United States and its allies from hostile foreign adversaries, including terrorists, proliferators, and spies, and to inform cybersecurity efforts.

CSIS’s Jake Kurtzer joins the podcast to talk about the rescue of civilians stuck in the war-torn cities of Ukraine. 

CSIS’s Jon Alterman joins the podcast to discuss the dramatic developments in Syria, the external actors involved, and potential U.S. approaches.

For the past two years, CSIS’ Global Food and Water Security Program directed by Caitlin Welsh has analyzed the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food security and on Ukraine’s agriculture sector and has shed light onto the ways that agriculture and food are central to Russia’s military strategy in Ukraine and its political strategy for expanding influence around the world. Caitlin joins the podcast to discuss these issues.

CSIS’s J. Stephen Morrison joins the podcast to discuss the situation surrounding Gaza’s hospitals as Israel fights against Hamas.

In this crossover episode with CSIS's Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast, Andrew Schwartz and Steve Morrison are joined by Dr. Larry Gostin, professor of global health law and the faculty director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. They discuss the aftermath of the April 18 nationwide injunction to block government mask mandates on public transportation. In Judge Mizelle’s opinion, the C.D.C. has exceeded its legal authority. But if the C.D.C. doesn’t have the power to make someone do something as unintrusive as wearing a mask, what can it do? If this ruling stands, it changes the role of the government, and our regulatory institutions will lose the power to protect us. The C.D.C. has been in a weakened position since the Trump administration but is staffed by strong scientists who want to do their best for Americans. Dr. Gostin argues for a High-Level Commission to take a top-down and bottom-up review of the C.D.C. to determine what systems, data, scientists, funding CDC needs, and what powers are legitimate. He does have hope: the U.S. is approaching higher levels of immunity, and the darkest days of the pandemic may be behind us.

CSIS's Jon Alterman joins the podcast to discuss the geopolitics associated with the World Cup and the broader ramifications for the United States and the Middle East.

Jonathan Shank, CEO of Terrapin Station Entertainment joins the podcast to discuss live music, immersive entertainment and the impact of the Grateful Dead on social media and the future of rock and roll. 

Former New York Times Beijing bureau chief Jane Perlez joins the show to discuss her new Harvard podcast and the latest tensions in the U.S.-China relationship. 

CSIS China Power Project director and senior fellow for Asian security, Bonny Lin, joins the podcast to discuss China’s support of Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and the implications that invasion has for Taiwan.

In this crossover episode with the CSIS podcasts “The Impossible State” and "Coronavirus Crisis Update," CSIS’s Dr. Victor Cha and Dr. Steve Morrison discuss the Covid-19 outbreak in North Korea and its global health and geopolitical implications.

In this crossover episode with the CSIS Coronavirus Crisis Update Podcast, we asked Cary Funk, Pew Research Center, to make sense of how the pandemic has impacted our society and American opinion as we approach the pandemic’s two years. “It can be confusing.” Polarization now increasingly aligns between the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated, versus simple partisan identity. At the fundamental level, Americans are split over whether Covid-19 is a common problem. Does the “Big Lie” bleed over into the field of public health? “It’s all complicated.” “The political lens” increasingly encompasses so much of public health, accelerating the erosion of public trust and confidence in science, a trend that had already been underway for years. False statements can travel the globe in 48 hours, but knowing the impact is much more difficult. Are we at a turning point, a softening of polarization? “We need to wait and see.” Heightened US international engagement enjoys majority support and has not become politicized. What is the impact of the loss of 757,000 lives on opinion? We have to continue looking at that.  Cary Funk is director of science and society research at the Pew Research Center.

Professor Paul Barrett, deputy director of the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights joins the podcast to discuss his new report, “Fueling the Fire: How Social Media Intensifies U.S. Political Polarization—And What Can Be Done About It.”

CSIS’s Jude Blanchette joins the podcast to discuss U.S. policy confusion surrounding Taiwan, our concepts of “strategic ambiguity” and “strategic clarity” and how China can be deterred.   

CSIS’s Dr. Eliot Cohen joins the podcast to discuss his recent visit to Kiev and meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky, his assessment of Polish efforts to help Ukraine, and his analysis of Vladimir Putin’s next moves.  

In this episode, Andrew sits down with Gregory C. Allen, director of the Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies and discuss 2023 AI biggest developments, newest policies, and our responses to it all. This episode is a crossover with the AI Policy Podcast, a podcast by CSIS' Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies.

In this episode, CSIS’s Steve Morrison and Stephanie Segal join Andrew Schwartz to get to the Truth of the Matter about the conflicting approaches to saving lives and saving the U.S. economy. 

In this episode, Andrew invites a team from the CSIS International Security Program (ISP): Kathleen Hicks, Andrew Hunter, and Todd Harrison. They discuss Defense 360's "Bad Ideas in National Security" series that highlights brief articles written by CSIS and outside scholars on a number of bad ideas in the defense and foreign policy space. In addition to analyzing their own pieces, they nominate their frontrunners for what might be considered the "worst" bad idea. Kathleen Hicks is senior vice president at CSIS, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and director of the ISP. Andrew Hunter is director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and a senior fellow in the ISP. Todd Harrison is director of Defense Budget Analysis, director of the Aerospace Security Project, and a senior fellow in the ISP.

CSIS's Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, joins the podcast to discuss Iran's missile strikes in Israel, Israel's entry into Lebanon, attacks on Hezbollah, and more as the conflict in the Middle East continues to expand.

Navin Girishankar, president of CSIS’s new Economic Security and Technology Department, joins the podcast to discuss his experience working at the Department of Commerce, Bridgewater Associates, and the World Bank, as well as CSIS’s renewed focus on economic statecraft and technology to address 21st-century security threats.

CSIS’s Mariana Campero, host of Mexico Matters and co-host of It’s More than Grit with Andrew Schwartz, joins the podcast to discuss Mexico’s historic election of Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first woman and first Jewish president, and how Mexicans are reacting to the election results.

In this episode, Andrew Schwartz, Victor Cha, and distinguished guests discuss the Kremlin's motivations, the potential impacts on the battlefield in Ukraine, what North Korea is likely to receive in return, how Beijing may perceive this development, and more.

In this special crossover episode with CSIS podcast, The Trade Guys, Bill Reinsch and Scott Miller unpack the latest news about the impacts of the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs and how markets, trading partners, and consumers will respond. 

In this episode, Andrew invites Seth Jones to discuss what CSIS data reveals on the increasing terrorism problem in the U.S. Seth draws on his CSIS brief, "The Escalating Terrorism Problem in the United States," to unpack where the most significant threats are likely to come from and what factors will likely cause those threats to rise throughout the rest of 2020. Dr. Seth Jones holds the Harold Brown Chair, is director of the Transnational Threats Project, and is a senior adviser to the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Former Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Deputy National Security Adviser Juan Zarate, a CSIS Senior Advisor, joins the podcast to discuss sanctions in wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

“While AI is digital in nature, the binding constraint is physical.” While many think of the race for AI dominance as who can develop the best model, that’s only one piece of the puzzle. Frontier models, data centers, leading-edge chips, energy sources, and digital networks all form the full stack of AI leadership—and any one of them could be a point of failure. CSIS’s Navin Girishankar, president of the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department, and Joseph Majkut, director of the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change program, join the podcast to discuss their new research on how to secure U.S. full stack leadership in AI, especially expanding energy production to power future AI needs.  Read CSIS’s latest research on full stack AI leadership here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/securing-full-stack-us-leadership-ai

CSIS’s Max Bergmann joins the podcast to discuss congressional funding for Ukraine and what it means for Ukraine’s war against Russia.

In this crossover episode with the Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast, Andrew and Steve are joined by John Barry, historian and author of the award-winning The Great Influenza; the Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, a study of the 1918 pandemic. He is currently working on a volume on Covid-19: “Writing books makes me happiest and craziest.” He has penned many editorials over the course of the pandemic, drawing lessons from 1918. What has he discovered? “What we learn from history is we learn nothing.” Where are we today? “Until vaccines are widely distributed and there is easy access to antivirals, the virus will rule. … I am optimistic the virus will continue trending to mildness” but there may be intermediate steps. “Mutations are random.” “We are at a potentially dangerous time” if we throw away our defenses and become indifferent or complacent. His high school football coach taught him a lesson for today: late in the game, you are tired and the other guy is tired. “The guy who focuses at the end will win.” That does not mean you “live in a box” and isolate yourself. Aaron Rodgers, while a great football player, “lied” about his vaccination status. He “is a total jackass.” Before becoming a writer, John Barry coached football at the high-school, small college, and major college levels. He is a Distinguished Professor at Tulane University’s Bywater Institute and a professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.  

In this episode, former United States National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley joins the podcast to discuss his new book, “Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama.” Hand-Off details the Bush administration’s national security and foreign policy as described at the time in then-classified Transition Memoranda prepared by the National Security Council experts who advised President Bush. Thirty of these Transition Memoranda, newly declassified and here made public for the first time, provide a detailed, comprehensive, and first-hand look at the foreign policy the Bush administration turned over to President Obama. In a postscript to each memorandum, these same experts now in hindsight take a remarkably self-critical look at that Bush foreign policy legacy after more than a dozen years of watching subsequent administrations attempt to deal with the same vexing agenda of threats and opportunities— China, Russia, Iran, the Middle East, terrorism, proliferation, cyber, pandemics, and climate change—an agenda that still dominates America’s national security and foreign policy. The book makes public for the first time a set of 30 newly declassified Transition Memoranda that were prepared by President Bush’s National Security Council staff for the incoming Obama administration to outline the key foreign policy challenges it would face.

CSIS Khosravi Chair and Human Rights Initiative director, Marti Flacks, joins the podcast to discuss the latest evidence of war crimes committed against civilians by Russian forces in Bucha, Ukraine, and the U.S. and European response.

Tatiana Serafin and Nikolas Gvosdev from The Doorstep podcast join the show to discuss the latest in the Russia-Ukraine war.  

Admiral James Stavridis, a retired four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy and former commander of NATO and SOUTHCOM, and award-winning author Elliot Ackerman, contributor at The Atlantic and veteran of the U.S. Marines, join the podcast to discuss their new novel, “2054,” which explores where the United States could find itself in the middle of this century. “2054” is a sequel to New York Times bestseller “2034.”

CSIS’s Scott Kennedy, who recently returned to Washington from 2 months in China, joins the podcast to discuss the widespread protests in China and the conditions which precipitated them.

CSIS’s Max Bergmann joins the podcast to discuss the UK’s new PM and the energy and economic war she, and Europe are facing.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporters Eileen Sullivan and Steven Lee Myers join the podcast to discuss their July piece “Disinformation Has Become Another Untouchable Problem in Washington.” In their article, Sullivan and Myers report that numerous federal agencies agree that disinformation threatens the nation’s security, but that there is bipartisan gridlock surrounding how to create policy in order to address the issues.

CSIS’s Catrina Doxsee joins the podcast to discuss the uprising by the paramilitary Wagner group and what is next for its leadership, for Russia and for the void Wagner leaves in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa.

CSIS’ Emily Harding discusses her new report Move Over JARVIS, Meet OSCAR, which calls for the Intelligence Community to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) capabilities with respect to unclassified cloud capability. In her report, Harding draws from her personal experience as an analyst to identify problems with the Intelligence Community’s existing systems for collecting information, and makes actionable recommendations that will break the logjam and allow the intelligence community to revolutionize open-source intelligence. 

CSIS’s Mvemba Dizolele joins the podcast to discuss Russia’s second Africa summit and its objectives with the 54 countries on the continent.

Charlie Sykes, Founder and Editor-at-large of The Bulwark and host of The Bulwark podcast joins the show to discuss the campaign to minimalize the events of January 6, tribalism in the Republican Party, and the prospects for bipartisanship in our fractured politics.

CSIS’s Natasha Hall joins the podcast to discuss the rot inside the Assad regime, the country’s new power center and the internal tensions that remain.

In this episode, Bob and Andrew invite Stephanie Segal, senior fellow of the CSIS Simon Chair in Political Economy, to give a forecast of the global economy in 2020. They unpack President Trump's recent address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the U.S.'s growing national debt, as well as the current state of the economy and where it might be heading.

Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll chairman Mark Penn joins the podcast to discuss the results of his February poll on U.S. attitudes toward Israel and Hamas.

CSIS’s J. Stephen Morrison joins the podcast to discuss the possible end of the pandemic, how Ukraine impacts combatting coronavirus, booster burnout, the covid culture war, and what is happening with China’s lockdowns.

In this crossover episode with CSIS's The Impossible State podcast, Andrew Schwartz is joined by Victor Cha and Tom Karako to discuss the implications of the current conflict in Ukraine on North Korea's missile threat. They also discuss what it means for North Korea's capability going forward and what practical steps can be taken to accomplish denuclearization.

CSIS’ Victor Cha joins the podcast to discuss South Korea’s “Quiet Crisis” of leadership and the vacuum in wake of President Yoon’s impeachment, plus, the impact of President Trump’s tariffs while the ROK seeks to elect its next leader over the next two months.

In this crossover episode with CSIS's Unpacking Impact podcast, Andrew and Navin are joined by Marc Lasry, the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. They discussed the war in Ukraine and its impact on the U.S. and global economy, business, basketball, and American politics.  Before co-founding Avenue Capital, Marc managed capital for Amroc Investments, L.P. Marc also clerked for the Honorable Edward Ryan, former Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the Southern District of New York. Lasry graduated with a B.A. in History from Clark University and a J.D. from New York Law School.

In this episode, Georgetown Law professor and National Task Force on Election Crises member Joshua Geltzer discusses the challenges that Covid-19, disinformation campaigns, cyber-attacks and partisanship bring to the 2020 election.

The New York Times’ David Sanger joins the podcast to discuss his best-selling new book, “New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West.”

CSIS’s Seth Jones joins the podcast to discuss Ukraine’s stunning battlefield advances. 

Matthew Pearl, director of the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program, joins the podcast to discuss all things spectrum, including his recent testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on spectrum policy, how spectrum impacts our national security, actions that Congress and the administration can take to restore U.S spectrum leadership, spectrum’s impact on AI innovation, and more. Read or watch Matthew Pearl’s recent congressional testimony on spectrum: https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-spectrum-auction-delays-give-china-edge-and-cost-us-jobs

CSIS’s James Andrew “Jim” Lewis joins the podcast to discuss the fallout from the spy balloon and how China’s spying efforts toward the U.S. are waged—plus, a discussion of U.S. countermeasures.

CSIS’s Max Bergmann, director of the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, joins the podcast to discuss the current state of European security, the potential for a U.S.-Europe tech war, how Ukraine negotiations might evolve, and more. Read or listen to Max Bergmann’s new report, The Transatlantic Alliance in the Age of Trump: The Coming Collisions, here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/transatlantic-alliance-age-trump-coming-collisions

Seth Jones, President of the CSIS Defense and Security Department and Harold Brown Chair in Strategy, joins the podcast to discuss the data on increasing violence between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran presented in a new CSIS publication. Latest CSIS analysis on escalating war between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran

CSIS’s Mike Green joins the podcast to talk about Taiwan, strategic ambiguity, One China policy and the impact the war in Ukraine could have on Taiwan

CSIS’s Dr. Eliot Cohen joins the podcast to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and how Israel and the United States have increasing concerns about Iran’s military and nuclear weapons program.

CSIS’s Erin Murphy, deputy director of the CSIS Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics, joins the podcast to discuss why subsea cables are so important to global security, the global actors most likely to sabotage these cables, how they play into great power competition with China, and policy recommendations to mitigate these threats.

Former CEO of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI) and host of the CSIS podcast “Mexico Matters” joins the podcast to discuss Mexico’s historic 2024 presidential election featuring two female candidates and the issues at stake for Mexico and the United States.

CSIS’s Stephanie Segal joins the podcast to preview the upcoming G7 Summit where leaders will focus on China and Ukraine as well as the new threats posed by generative artificial intelligence.

Democratic data scientist David Shor joins the podcast to talk about what’s working and what isn’t with the Democratic Party’s approach to voters in gearing up for the 2022 midterm elections. 

CSIS’s Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the Critical Minerals and Security Program, joins the podcast to break down the recent U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal and its implications for global resource security. They discuss why Ukraine agreed to the deal without security guarantees, the risks this poses for private investment, and the broader geopolitical stakes. Baskaran also draws comparisons to China's mineral deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and highlights the urgency of securing U.S. supply chains. Plus, a look at her upcoming book, Critical Minerals in the Future of the U.S. Economy, and what it means for national security. Background Reading: https://www.csis.org/analysis/critical-minerals-and-future-us-economy

New York Times technology reporter Tiffany Hsu joins the podcast to discuss the impact and potential impact that AI has on misinformation, national security, and could have on U.S. elections.

In this crossover episode with CSIS's The Reopening, Robin Hood Foundation CEO Wes Moore, author of the new book “Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of An American City” discusses how changes in public policy must occur for poverty and racial inequality to end in America.

CSIS's Max Bergmann joins the podcast to discuss the main goals of the upcoming NATO summit in Washington, Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, NATO's role in Ukraine, and more.

U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-Il), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee traveled to Israel and subsequently to Saudi Arabia to speak at the World Economic Forum. In Israel he joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress. He joins the podcast to discuss what he saw and his impressions of the war in Gaza and potential cease-fire deal.

In this episode, Bob and Andrew invite Kimberly Flowers, director of the Humanitarian Agenda and Global Food Security Project at CSIS. They analyze the political and humanitarian impact of climate change on food security and global hunger. Kimberly also draws on a recent brief that she co-authored, "Climate Change and Food Security: A Test of U.S. Leadership in a Fragile World."

CSIS’ Seth Jones joins the podcast to discuss U.S. strikes on targets in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. In addition, Dr. Jones discusses his recent trip to Israel and meetings with senior officials there.

In this episode, Andrew invites New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman. Maggie draws from one of her latest reports, "Trade Adviser Warned White House in January of Risks of a Pandemic," to discuss WH trade adviser Peter Navarro's memo to the Trump administration about the implications of Covid-19, dated back in January. She also details what it's like covering the WH during this pandemic and what areas of coverage currently take priority.

Wall Street Journal Middle East Correspondent Dion Nissenbaum joins the podcast to discuss his reporting from aboard the U.S. George H.W. Bush in the Mediterranean Sea while the United States and Israel conducted their largest-ever military exercises, and Israel’s drone strike inside Iran just days later.  

Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Avi Mayer joins the podcast to discuss the catastrophic blast at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, his tour of the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, mood of the Israeli people and government, challenges that lay ahead and the role of media in the conflict.

“If you’re a reporter in Beijing right now, you have to assume that the Chinese government knows every source you’re meeting with, that they know every interview you’re going to do.” When Jane Perlez worked as the New York Times bureau chief in Beijing, she supervised 15 journalists. Now, the Times has only two journalists permanently based in China—and only 20 American journalists remain in the country. Jane Perlez, who spent 7 years reporting in China for the Times and is now the host of “Face-Off: The U.S. vs China,” joins the podcast to discuss the journalism climate in China right now and how the U.S.-China political-economic relationship has evolved since COVID and President Trump’s re-election.

CSIS’s Dr. Seth Jones joins the podcast to talk about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and what the U.S. should be prepared to do next.

In this crossover episode with the CSIS Coronavirus Crisis Update Podcast, Dr. Leana Wen, Washington Post columnist and CNN analyst joined CSIS’s J. Stephen Morrison and Andrew Schwartz to discuss the current state of Covid in the United States plus her new book, “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.”

CSIS Senior Vice President and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center J. Stephen Morrison joins the podcast to discuss the current surge of Covid-19, the newest variants of the virus, and the politicization of vaccines before the 2024 election.

In this special crossover episode with CSIS podcast, The Trade Guys, Bill Reinsch and Andrew give their first takes on the April 2 tariff announcements from the White House.

“This is not good for China’s economy, but they have staying power, and I don’t see them backing down.” While the pandemic years were tough on China’s economy, the country has recently recovered financially, recording a 5 percent growth rate last year. China is also becoming increasingly less dependent on exports to the United States and is diversifying investments in Southeast Asia, putting it in a good position to weather the storm of U.S. tariffs. Scott Kennedy, CSIS senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, joins the podcast to discuss the latest in the U.S.-China trade war, including China’s technological capabilities, new export controls, and the possibility of future decoupling.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs Deborah Rosenblum who is also serving as interim Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, joins the podcast to discuss the impact on global supply chains from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

New York Times global economic correspondent Peter S. Goodman joins the podcast to discuss his new book, “How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain,” and how economics are a matter of national security.