The President’s Inbox

Challenges Facing the U.S. Military, With John Barrientos and Kristen Thompson

John Barrientos, a captain in the U.S. Navy and a visiting military fellow at CFR, and Kristen Thompson, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a visiting military fellow at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to provide an inside view on how the U.S. military is adapting to the challenges it faces.

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/challenges-facing-us-military-john-barrientos-and-kristen-thompson 

Iran’s Attack on Israel, With Steven Cook and Ray Takeyh

Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at CFR, and Ray Takeyh, the Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle East studies at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel and the prospects for a broader Middle East war.

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Steven A. Cook, "Iran Attack Means an Even Tougher Balancing Act for the U.S. in the Middle East," CFR.org

 

Steven A. Cook, The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East [forthcoming]

 

Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh, “Keeping U.S. Power Behind Israel Will Keep Iran at Bay,” New York Times

 

Ray Takeyh, "Iran Attacks on Israel Spur Escalation Concerns," CFR.org

 

Ray Takeyh, The Last Shah: America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/irans-attack-israel-steven-cook-and-ray-takeyh 

Russia, Ukraine, and Global Instability, With Michael Kimmage

Michael Kimmage, a history professor at the Catholic University of America and a senior associate with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the origins of Russia’s war in Ukraine and its repercussion for the global order.

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Michael Kimmage, Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/russia-ukraine-and-global-instability-michael-kimmage 

The War in Gaza, With Steven A. Cook

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 the state of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the prospects for an end to the fighting, and the tensions in U.S.-Israeli relations.

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Steven Cook, “Five Months of War: Where Israel, Hamas, and the U.S. Stand,” CFR.org

 

Steven Cook, The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East [forthcoming]

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/war-gaza-steven-cook  

Confronting the Nuclear Threat, With W.J. Hennigan

W.J. Hennigan, a correspondent for the Opinion section of the New York Times, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the risk of nuclear war in an era of growing geopolitical competition. 

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

"At the Brink," New York Times

 

J. Hennigan, "How America Made Nuclear War the President's Decision," New York Times

 

J. Hennigan, "Nuclear War Is Called Unimaginable. In Fact, It's Not Imagined Enough," New York Times

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at:  https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/confronting-nuclear-threat-wj-hennigan 

A New U.S. Grand Strategy: The Case for U.S. Retrenchment Overseas, With Stephen Wertheim

Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss whether and where the United States should be less involved in the world. This episode is the first in a special The President’s Inbox series on U.S. grand strategy.

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Stephen Wertheim, “Internationalism/Isolationism: Concepts of American Global Power [PDF],” in Rethinking U.S. World Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign Relations, ed. Daniel Bessner and Michael Brenes

 

Stephen Wertheim, Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy 

 

Stephen Wertheim, "Why America Can't Have It All: Washington Must Choose Between Primacy and Prioritizing," Foreign Affairs

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/new-us-grand-strategy-case-us-retrenchment-overseas-stephen-wertheim 

The Crisis at the U.S. Southern Border, With Dara Lind

Dara Lind, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the record surge in migrants and asylum seekers crossing the U.S. southern border. 

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Dara Lind, "What We Know About the Senate Negotiations That Could Wreck Asylum in the U.S.," Immigration Impact

 

The Weeds, Vox

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/crisis-us-southern-border-dara-lind  

International Women’s Day, With Ann Norris

Ann Norris, a senior fellow for women and foreign policy at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss International Women’s Day and the challenges facing adolescent girls around the world and the solutions to address them. 

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

Ann Norris, ⁠⁠Renewing the Global Architecture for Gender Equality

 

United Nations, "⁠SDG 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls"

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/international-womens-day-ann-norris  

Combating Global Poverty, With Kate Schecter

Kate Schecter, president and CEO of World Neighbors, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss progress and setbacks in promoting economic development in some of the world’s poorest countries.

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/combating-global-poverty-kate-schecter 

Year Three of the Ukraine War, With Miriam Elder and Carla Anne Robbins

Miriam Elder, the Edward R. Murrow press fellow at CFR, and Carla Anne Robbins, a senior fellow at CFR and co-host of CFR’s The World Next Week podcast, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss where the war between Russia and Ukraine is headed as it enters its third year. 

 

Mentioned on the Episode 

 

“House Republicans Fear Trump Too Much to Aid Ukraine,” Economist

 

Simon Shuster, The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky

 

The World Next Week, Council on Foreign Relations

 

“Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief on the Breakthrough He Needs to Beat Russia,” Economist

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/year-three-ukraine-war-miriam-elder-and-carla-anne-robbins