Episodes

Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
America’s Rise to Power, With Michael Mandelbaum
Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
Michael Mandelbaum, Christian A. Herter professor emeritus of American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the continuities and changes in U.S. foreign policy over the last two and a half centuries.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast
Michael Mandelbaum, The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy: Weak Power, Great Power, Superpower, Hyperpower (2022)
Michael Mandelbaum, The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth (2019)

Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Jamie Jones Miller and Shelly O’Neill Stoneman, executive committee co-chairs of The Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS), sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the challenges of achieving gender parity in the U.S. national security community.
Websites Mentioned on the Podcast
The Leadership Council for Women in National Security (2022)

Wednesday May 25, 2022
Grading Biden’s Foreign Policy for the Middle Class, With Heidi Crebo-Rediker
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Heidi Crebo-Rediker, adjunct senior fellow at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to assess the Biden administration’s “worker-centric” foreign economic policies.
Articles Mentioned on the Podcast
Heidi Crebo-Rediker and Doug Rediker, “A Real Foreign Policy for the Middle Class,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 2022)

Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Sheila A. Smith, CFR’s John E. Merow senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies, and Scott A. Snyder, senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what to expect from U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Japan and South Korea.
Books and Blogs Mentioned on the Podcast
Asia Unbound, CFR.org
Sheila A. Smith, Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power (2019)
Scott A. Snyder, Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Powers (2018)
Statements Mentioned
“U.S.-ROK Leaders’ Joint Statement,” The White House, May 21, 2021

Tuesday May 10, 2022
The Middle East’s Reaction to the Invasion of Ukraine, With Steven A. Cook
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Steven A. Cook, CFR’s Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how countries throughout the Middle East are responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Articles Mentioned on the Podcast
Steven Cook, “The Middle East Kumbaya Moment Won’t Last,” Foreign Policy, May 6, 2022
Books Mentioned
Steven Cook, False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East (2019)

Tuesday May 03, 2022
U.S. Policy Toward Russia, With Derek H. Chollet
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Derek H. Chollet, Counselor of the U.S. Department of State, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the Biden administration’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast
Derek H. Chollet, The Middle Way: How Three Presidents Shaped America’s Role in the World (2021)
Statements and Polls Mentioned
Ashley Parker, et al, “Big majority of Americans back sanctions on Russia, aid to Ukraine, poll finds,” May 2, 2022
“Secretary Antony J. Blinken on Russia’s Threat to Peace and Security at the UN Security Council,” U.S. State Department, February 17, 2022

Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Africa’s Reaction to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, With Ebenezer Obadare
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon senior fellow for Africa studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how African countries are responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Articles Mentioned on the Podcast
Ebenezer Obadare, “Analyzing the Russia-Ukraine Conflict from an African Standpoint,” CFR.org, March 3, 2022
Ebenezer Obadare, “Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine May Drive a Wedge Between the West and Africa,” CFR.org, March 22, 2022
Blogs & Books Mentioned
Ebenezer Obadare, Africa in Transition, CFR.org
Ebenezer Obadare, Christianity, Sexuality and Citizenship in Africa (2019)

Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
The Future of Diverse Democracies, With Yascha Mounk
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
Yascha Mounk, senior fellow at CFR and professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the challenges that ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse democracies face. This episode is part of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.
Enter the CFR book giveaway before May 4, 2022, for the chance to win one of ten free copies of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure by Yascha Mounk. You can read the terms and conditions of the offer here.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast
Yascha Mounk, The Great Experiment (2022)
Yascha Mounk, The People Vs. Democracy (2018)
Articles and Reports Mentioned
Dillingham Commission Reports, U.S. Senate via Hathi Trust (1911)
Publius Decius Mus [Michael Anton], “The Flight 93 Election,” Claremont Review of Books, September 5, 2016

Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
The Future of NATO, With Ivo H. Daalder
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Ivo H. Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what the Russian invasion of Ukraine means for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Articles and Podcasts Mentioned on the Podcast
Ivo H. Daalder, "The Return of Containment,” Foreign Affairs, March 1, 2022
Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, "Why Putin Underestimated the West," Foreign Affairs, April 7, 2022
Ivo H. Daalder, World Review with Ivo Daalder, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Books Mentioned
Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, The Empty Throne: America's Abdication of Global Leadership (2018)
Ivo H. Daalder, Getting to Dayton: The Making of America's Bosnia Policy (2000)

Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
War in the Digital Age, With Audrey Kurth Cronin
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Audrey Kurth Cronin, distinguished professor at American University’s School of International Service and founding director of the Center for Security, Innovation and New Technology, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how technology, innovation, and social media are shaping Russia’s war in Ukraine and what it might mean for the future.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast
Audrey Kurth Cronin, Great Power Politics and the Struggle over Austria, 1945-1955 (1986)
Audrey Kurth Cronin, Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow’s Terrorists (2020)