The President’s Inbox

Staffing a New Administration, With Stephen Hadley (Transition 2025, Episode 1)

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, Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama 

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/staffing-new-administration-stephen-hadley-transition-2025-episode-1 

The Axis of Autocracies Challenge, With Jennifer Kavanagh and Andrea Kendall-Taylor (Election 2024, Episode 7)

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 Corporation of New York.

 

Mentioned on the Episode

 

Daniel R. DePetris and Jennifer Kavanaugh, “The ‘Axis of Evil’ is Overhyped,” Foreign Policy

 

Richard Fontaine and Andrea Kendall-Taylor, “The Axis of Upheaval: How America’s Adversaries Are Uniting to Overturn the Global Order,” Foreign Affairs 

 

Walter Lippmann, U.S. Foreign Policy: Shield of the Republic

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/axis-autocracies-challenge-jennifer-kavanagh-and-andrea-kendall-taylor-election-2024  

 

The China Challenge, With Liza Tobin and Jake Werner (Election 2024, Episode 6)

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 Atkinson and Liza Tobin, "The Missing Piece in America's Strategy for Techno-Economic Rivalry with China," Lawfare

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

 

Jake Werner, "A Program for Progressive China Policy," Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/china-challenge-liza-tobin-and-jake-werner-election-2024-episode-6

The Taiwan Challenge, With Oriana Mastro and David Sacks (Election 2024, Episode 5)

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 Foreign Relations, China's Belt and Road: Implications for the United States

 

Council on Foreign Relations, U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era: Responding to a More Assertive China

 

Oriana Skylar Mastro, “The Pivot That Wasn’t,” Foreign Affairs

 

Oriana Skylar Mastro, “This Is What America Is Getting Wrong About China and Taiwan,” New York Times 

 

Oriana Skylar Mastro, Upstart: How China Became a Great Power

 

David Sacks, “Taiwan’s Trump Conundrum,” CFR.org.

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/taiwan-challenge-oriana-mastro-and-david-sacks-election-2024-episode-5

The Middle East Challenge, With Steven A. Cook and Amy Hawthorne (Election 2024, Episode 4)

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: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East

 

Jake Sullivan, “The Sources of American Power,” Foreign Affairs

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/middle-east-challenge-steven-cook-and-amy-hawthorne-election-2024-episode-4   

The Trade Challenge, With Edward Alden and Ana Swanson (Election 2024, Episode 3)

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 York.

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Edward Alden, Failure to Adjust: How Americans Got Left Behind in the Global Economy

 

When the World Closed Its Doors: The Covid-19 Tragedy and the Future of Borders- https://global.oup.com/academic/product/when-the-world-closed-its-doors-9780197697818?cc=us&lang=en& 

 

David Autor, Anne Beck, David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson, “Help for the Heartland? The Employment and Electoral Effects of the Trump Tariffs in the United States,” National Bureau of Economic Research

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/trade-challenge-edward-alden-and-ana-swanson-election-2024-episode-3

The Climate Challenge, With Alice Hill and Varun Sivaram (Election 2024, Episode 2)

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 COVID-19

 

Varun Sivaram, Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/climate-challenge-alice-hill-and-varun-sivaram-election-2024-episode-2 

The Russia Challenge, With Liana Fix and Thomas Graham (Election 2024, Episode 1)

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 and Michael Kimmage, “The Ukraine Scenarios,” Foreign Affairs

 

The U.S. Election and Foreign Policy, CFR.org

 

Thomas Graham, Getting Russia Right

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/russia-challenge-liana-fix-and-thomas-graham-election-2024-episode-1 

Ronald Reagan on U.S. Global Leadership, with Max Boot

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 War,” Foreign Affairs 

 

Max Boot, Reagan: His Life and Legend

 

Max Boot, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam

 

Shreya Chattopadhyay and Miguel Salazar, "22 Nonfiction Books to Read This Fall," New York Times

 

Edmund Morris, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan

 

Ronald Reagan, "Address to the Nation About Christmas and the Situation in Poland"

 

Ronald Reagan, "Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger"

 

Ronald Reagan, “Remarks at a Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, D-Day"

 

“Ronald Reagan, Mastermind,” Saturday Night Live

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/ronald-reagan-us-global-leadership-max-boot

A Wider Middle East War, With Steven Cook

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 at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/a-wider-middle-east-war-with-steven-cook