Foreign Policy Live

While the conflict in Iran has dominated headlines in the last two months, accounts of ordinary life in the Islamic Republic are scarce. According to journalist Ali Hashem, who spent six weeks in Tehran and has visited several times in the last decade, life in the capital looks more normal than one might imagine. Shops and restaurants are largely open, and regular people seem to be rallying around the flag in the face of an external threat. And while the internet as we know it is shut down, an intranet of sorts—with access to local versions of Netflix, Uber, and WhatsApp—is allowing people a semblance of regular life. Hashem speaks with host Ravi Agrawal about his reporting from Iran.  Ali Hashem: Iran Is More Unified Than Ever Ali Hashem: The Iran Cease-Fire Has Only Divided the War Ali Hashem: Waiting for the War to End in Tehran Ali Hashem: Iran Is Becoming America’s Ukraine Ali Hashem: Iran Is Built to Withstand the Ayatollah’s Assassination Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for another ask-me-anything edition of FP Live. This one takes on the war in Iran from many angles: the economic impact, regional balance of power, the longer-term global impact, and much else. Producer Dana Sherne puts audience questions to FP’s editor in chief Ravi Agrawal. Ravi Agrawal: The World Is Paying the Price for America’s War Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Losing the War in Iran Stephen M. Walt: The End of America’s Soft Power Amir Handjani: The Real Meaning of the UAE’s OPEC Exit Aaron David Miller and Daniel C. Kurtzer: Why Trump Might Come to Regret the Iran War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is like a ticking time bomb for the global economy, disrupting the flow of energy and rippling through industries from agriculture to semiconductors. How bad could it get? The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for global growth this year from 3.4 percent to 3.1 percent in the best-case scenario and 2 percent in the worst case. What countries will be the most affected, and what can they do to protect themselves? Gita Gopinath, an economics professor at Harvard University who was formerly the first deputy managing director of the IMF, joins FP Live to discuss. IMF’s World Economic Outlook: Global Economy in the Shadow of War Ravi Agrawal: The World Is Paying the Price for America’s War Keith Johnson: Why Iran Isn’t Blinking Yet Jason Bordoff and Spencer Dale: Making the U.S. More Resilient to Oil Price Shocks Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The extension of a fragile cease-fire in the Middle East has left the region with no clear path forward. The Strait of Hormuz is still blocked, which means the global energy crisis will get worse. But Tehran’s new leaders are suffering too. What is their plan? Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins FP Live to discuss the shifting state of the war. Plus, Ravi shares his read on how the war’s economic fallout is worst in Asia. Ravi Agrawal: The World Is Paying the Price for America’s War David Ignatius: Both Sides Want a Deal. Both Keep Acting As if They Don’t. Menahem Merhavy: The Man Who Represents Post-Clerical Iran Bobby Ghosh: Tehran Can’t Count on Hormuz Philip H. Gordon and Rebecca Lissner: The Strategic Aftershocks of Trump’s Iran War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Iran war has become the most serious foreign-policy challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump in his second term. But does it reveal a larger point about U.S. power? Stephen M. Walt, a professor at Harvard University and Foreign Policy columnist, argues that it does and that the United States is increasingly acting like a rogue state. What damage will this cause, and what can countries do about it? Plus, Ravi offers his read on Hungary’s election and why it matters for the world. Thomas Carothers: Why Viktor Orban’s Fidesz Party Lost Stephen M. Walt: The United States Has Become a Rogue State Foreign Affairs: Stephen M. Walt: The Predatory Hegemon Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Ushering In a More Transactional World Howard W. French: Trump’s Recipe for Accelerated U.S. Decline Pew Research Center: International Views of China Turn Slightly More Positive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration’s plans in the Middle East are often criticized by those who say he shouldn’t have attacked Iran. But the White House is also facing flak from those who say that it didn’t go far enough. John Bolton is a longtime proponent of regime change in Iran. He served as national security advisor in the first Trump administration before falling out with the president. Bolton joined FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a debate. Plus, Ravi gives his read on the tenuous Middle East cease-fire.  Ravi Agrawal: Why Trump Mishandled Iran New York Times: John Bolton: Finish the Job: How Trump Can Still Win in Iran Ali Hashem: The Iran Cease-Fire Has Only Divided the War Raphael S. Cohen: Trump’s Iran War Is a Dilemma, Not a Debacle Eric Brewer: Preventing an Iranian Bomb Is Only Getting Harder Stephen Walt: America’s Pro-War Elites Must Be Held Accountable Rishi Iyengar: Trump’s Pivot to Pakistan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After news of a 14-day cease-fire in the middle east conflict, Ravi shares his initial thoughts and analysis. Plus, the rationale for attacking Iran revolved around security. How did the global narrative become about energy? Iran’s strongest weapon has turned out to be its ability to strangle the Strait of Hormuz, an important trade choke point. What does the return of energy as a weapon mean for the global economy?  Meghan O’Sullivan, author of Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power, explains how countries need to think about their energy security. She is a professor at Harvard University and has previously served as deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan in the George W. Bush administration.  Ravi Agrawal: Why Trump Mishandled Iran New York Times: How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran Amir Handjani: The War Will End With a Hormuz Toll Booth Nils Gilman: Electrostates vs. Petrostates Jason Bordoff and Spencer Dale: Making the U.S. More Resilient to Oil Price Shocks Foreign Affairs: Jason Bordoff and Meghan L. O’Sullivan: The Return of the Energy Weapon Foreign Affairs: Jason Bordoff and Meghan L. O’Sullivan: The Iran Shock And the Dangerous Allure of Energy Autarky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the U.S.-Israel war against Iran enters a second month of conflict, how is Tehran’s surviving leadership thinking about an endgame? And how will the conflict reshape geopolitics in the region? Ali Vaez has extensive contacts with Iranian lawmakers and sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss the regime’s options. Vaez is a project director at the International Crisis Group. Plus, Ravi’s Read on how the White House seems to be winning the battle but losing the war.  Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Losing the War in Iran Robert A. Pape and Ali Vaez: The Iran War Has Escaped Its Authors Zakiyeh Yazdanshenas: What Iran Wants From the War Thomas Juneau: Get Ready for a Weaker but Nastier Iran Menahem Merhavy: Iran’s Civilizational Rhetoric Is Hollow Arash Reisinezhad: Iran’s Biggest Wartime Advantage is Geography Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crude and gas prices are soaring after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on regional energy infrastructure amid war in the Middle East. How bad could the energy shock get and for how long? FP columnist Jason Bordoff sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Bordoff previously served in the Obama administration as a senior director for energy and climate change in the National Security Council. He is also the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Jason Bordoff and Spencer Dale: Making the U.S. More Resilient to Oil Price Shocks Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy Jason Bordoff and Erica Downs: How the Iran War Could Consolidate China’s Energy Dominance Keith Johnson: Iran Is Putting a ‘Toll Booth’ in the Strait of Hormuz Nils Gilman: Electrostates vs. Petrostates Keith Johnson: Europe and the U.S. Still Haven’t Choked Off Russia’s Energy Riches Maisoon H. Kafafy: Empty Words Don’t Open Straits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s widely accepted that the post-WWII order has changed, but the question remains—what comes next? Political scientist Hal Brands maps out three possible scenarios in a cover essay for Foreign Policy’s latest print issue and joins FP Live to discuss.  Brands is a professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World. Hal Brands: Three Scenarios for a Post-Trump World Emma Ashford: A Better Trans-Atlantic Relationship Is Entirely Possible Sarang Shidore: Can Middle Powers Gel? Suzanne Nossel: What Would an Abundance Foreign Policy Look Like? Nils Gilman: Electrostates vs. Petrostates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no secret that democracy is in trouble. Studies show that a growing number of countries are less free, and polls suggest ordinary citizens are losing faith in their governments. What can be done to fix this? Hélène Landemore has a radical solution: to get rid of politicians and electoral politics and instead create assemblies of ordinary citizens. She explores this concept in her new book, Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule, and joins FP Live to interrogate the idea.  Hélène Landemore: The Problem With Representative Democracy Nicholas Bequelin: The Age of Defensive Democracy Hélène Landemore: More Power to More People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the war in Iran soon enters its third week, two experts join FP Live for a debate. Were the United States and Israel justified in attacking Iran? And will the war advance U.S. interests in the region, or set them back? Trita Parsi and Matthew Kroenig sit down with executive editor Dan Ephron to discuss. Parsi is the executive vice president at the Quincy Institute, and Kroenig is an FP columnist and a senior director at the Atlantic Council. Trita Parsi: Iran’s Despair Is U.S. Policy Matthew Kroenig: The Case for Destroying Iran’s Nuclear Program Now Matthew Kroenig: Why a Wider War with Iran Is Unlikely Matthew Kroenig: Trump Made History. Now the Iranian People Can, Too. Michael Hirsh: So This, Finally, Is the ‘Trump Doctrine’ John Haltiwanger: The Trump Administration’s Iran War Justifications Keep Changing Suzanne Nossel: It’s Time to Retire the Pottery Barn Rule Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the United States and Israel attack military facilities across Iran, Tehran has been retaliating. But it has attacked Gulf countries more than it has targeted Israel. Why? And how will the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates respond? Will it shift their geopolitical alignment away from the United States? Regional experts Mina al-Oraibi, the editor in chief of the National, and Firas Maksad, a managing director at the Eurasia Group, join FP Live to share their perspectives. Khalid al-Jaber and Omar H. Rahman: Security Alliances With the U.S. Have Made Gulf States More Vulnerable David Petraeus and Clara Kaluderovic: The Drone Attrition Trap Macdonald Amoah, Morgan D. Bazilian, and Jahara Matisek: The First 36 Hours of War Consumed Over 3,000 U.S.-Israeli Munitions Firas Maksad: The Middle East Has Two New Rival Teams Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Saturday, Israel and the United States struck Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran has been responding with volleys of missiles aimed at Israel—and also at several other countries in the region. How will the conflict end? How long can Tehran sustain this fight? Iran expert Vali Nasr joined Ravi Agrawal for an emergency episode that ran live on the afternoon of Monday, March 3.  Daniel Byman: 6 Questions About Operation Epic Fury Barbara Slavin: Death Comes to the Dictator Ali Hashem: Iran Is Built to Withstand the Ayatollah’s Assassination Alireza Nader and Nik Kowsar: Khamenei Is Dead. Who’s In Charge of Iran? Amos C. Fox and Franz-Stefan Gady: Iran, Israel, and the U.S. Are Racing the Clock Anchal Vohra: Iran’s Proxies Are Out for Themselves for Now Emma Ashford: Trump Is Betraying His Base by Waging War on Iran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As U.S. President Donald Trump considers a military strike on Iran, what are the options on his table? What will his military advisors recommend he should and shouldn’t do? David Petraeus has often been in the position of providing such advice to the White House, and he joins FP Live to explain what could happen in the coming days. Petraeus ran U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command (CENTCOM) and later ran the CIA.  Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine. FP Contributors: Four Years of War in Europe Marc Lynch: Four Scenarios for a Postwar Iran Arash Reisinezhad and Arsham Reisinezhad: What War With Iran Would Look Like Ali Hashem: The United States Is Dangerously Misreading Iran Ali Hashem: Iran Dangerously Misunderstands Its Situation Brought to you by: quince.com/fplive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. President Donald Trump’s China policy often seems deliberately ambiguous. Is that a virtue or a flaw? Kurt Campbell is a longtime China watcher who rose up to run Asia policy under the Biden administration. He was the original architect of the so-called “pivot to Asia” during the Obama administration. He joins FP Live to discuss Trump, former U.S. President Joe Biden, and the world’s most important bilateral relationship.   Plus, One Thing from Ravi on Trump’s Board of Peace. ⁠Aaron David Miller: Billions in Pledges Expected for Trump’s Board of Peace but Doubts Persist⁠ ⁠Mira Rapp-Hooper and Ely Ratner: Washington’s Silence in Asia Is a Gift to Beijing⁠ ⁠New York Times: On China, Trump Is Rolling the Dice on America’s Future⁠ ⁠Foreign Affairs: The U.S.-China Crisis Waiting to Happen⁠ ⁠A. Wess Mitchell: The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy⁠ ⁠Craig Singleton: China Grapples with Trump’s Radical Use of Power⁠ ⁠Lili Pike: Did Biden Get China Right?⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the age of nuclear nonproliferation over? There are certainly worrying signs. New START, the main nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia, recently expired. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal. Talks to bring Iran back to the negotiating table seem to be at an impasse. And one increasingly hears about the possibility of South Korea or Japan going nuclear. What can the world do in response? Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, sits down with Ravi Agrawal. Rebecca Lissner and Erin D. Dumbacher: The Pillars of the Global Nuclear Order Are Cracking Decker Eveleth: The Real Risk After New START Isn’t Arms Racing Fareed Zakaria: The Post-Cold War Nuclear Era Might Have Just Ended Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: An Oil Deal for Trump Can Mean a Nuclear Deal for Iran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pentagon’s policy chief Elbridge Colby recently called for a “NATO 3.0”, stating that the United States would “continue to provide the U.S. extended nuclear deterrent” to Europe, but when it came to most defense matters, Europe would need to “assume primary responsibility.” Colby is the undersecretary of war for policy and joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal at the annual Munich Security Conference. And in part two of this podcast, Colby and Agrawal were joined by four other guests: Richard Marles, the deputy prime minister and defense minister of Australia; Judith Collins, the minister of defense of New Zealand; Toshimitsu Motegi, the foreign minister of Japan; and David van Weel, the foreign minister of the Netherlands.  Plus, One Thing from Ravi on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference.  Listen to Munich Moments on Apple or Spotify. A transcript of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s 2025 speech at the Munich Security Conference. A transcript of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 2026 speech at the Munich Security ConferenceA transcript of Colby’s interview with Ravi A collection of FP’s reporting and analysis from the Munich Security Conference Matthew Kroenig: Two Cheers for the National Security Strategy A. Wess Mitchell: The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. tariffs have upended decades of trade policy, but new U.N. data shows that the economies suffering most are those that can least afford a setback. At the Munich Security Conference (MSC), FP’s Ravi Agrawal hosted a panel on the trade wars, with policymakers on the front lines of these economic changes: Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization; Finnish President Alexander Stubb; German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil; and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis.  Follow FP’s MSC coverage here. Wendy Cutler: How Countries Should Respond to Trump’s Tariffs Keith Johnson: Tariffs Have Hurt, Not Helped, the U.S. Economy Rishi Iyengar: EU Don’t Need U.S.? Ramon Pacheco Pardo and Robyn Klingler-Vidra: Middle Powers Don’t Have to Work Together to Get Ahead Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the White House continuing to threaten military action against Tehran even as diplomatic talks continue, Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal to discuss what might come next. Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on a sobering new report about a world “Under Destruction.” A transcript of J.D. Vance’s 2025 Munich Security Conference speech Under Destruction: Munich Security Report 2026 Amitav Acharya: The World-Minus-One Moment Follow FP’s MSC coverage here The Atlantic: Karim Sadjadpour and Jack A. Goldstone: Is the Iranian Regime About to Collapse? Trita Parsi: Iran’s Despair Is U.S. Policy Saeid Golkar: Why Iran’s Regime Didn’t Collapse Abbas Milani: Iran’s Crown Prince Has Become Indispensable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FP’s Ravi Agrawal sits down with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to discuss NATO, a shifting European defense strategy, and more. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the rising nuclear threat. Ravi Agrawal: Greek PM: ‘I haven’t given up on the trans-Atlantic relationship.’ Stavros Papastavrou: The Trans-Atlantic Energy Relationship Is Stronger Than Ever Kristi Raik: Europe’s 4 Different Ways of Handling Trump Luke McGee: Europe Is Prepared to Create Its Own Army Stephen M. Walt: NATO’s Leader is Totally Lost Rebecca Lissner and Erin D. Dumbacher: The Pillars of the Global Nuclear Order Are Cracking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pursuit of Greenland has brought a geopolitical hot spot—the Arctic—back into the fore. Host Ravi Agrawal is joined by Heather A. Conley, one of the leading experts on the region, to hear more. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on China’s latest military purge. Casey Michel: Annexing Greenland Would Be a Strategic Catastrophe Imran Bayoumi: Trump’s Greenland Threats Paper Over a Lack of Arctic Strategy Christina Lu: Greenland’s Rare Earths Aren’t All That Stephen M. Walt: What Spheres of Influence Are—and Aren’t Michele Barbero: To Protect Greenland, Europe Kicks Into High Gear Deng Yuwen: As Generals Fall, Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign Is Eating Itself Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ravi Agrawal is joined by world leaders and industry executives on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The panelists include Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources; Jonathan Price, the president and CEO of Teck Resources; Boitumelo Mosako of the Development Bank of Southern Africa; and SandboxAQ’s Jack Hidary. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on dueling speeches by U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Ravi Agrawal: In Davos, a Tale of Two Speeches Transcript: Trump Says He ‘Won’t Use Force’ to Acquire Greenland Transcript: ‘A Rupture in the World Order’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is driving U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in his second term? Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer says it is the “law of the jungle ... it’s always been about power.” Bremmer sits down with Ravi Agrawal to share his assessment of Trump 2.0 and what the coming months could look like. Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on U.S universities and immigration. New York Times: Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip Steven A. Cook: Faulty Assumptions About Iran Have Driven a Failed U.S. Policy Marc Lynch: Why a U.S. Attack on Iran Would Backfire A. Wess Mitchell: The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy Oliver Stuenkel: The EU-Mercosur Deal Is a Hedge Against the Donroe Doctrine The Atlantic: Is the Iranian Regime About to Collapse? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What comes next after U.S. President Donald Trump’s shocking capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro? Does Trump have a day-after plan? Most experts say no. But FP columnist Matthew Kroenig disagrees, arguing in a recent piece for Foreign Policy that a plan is coming into focus. He shares his take with Ravi Agrawal. Plus Ravi’s One Thing on the nationwide protests in Iran. Alireza Nader and Nik Kowsar: Iran’s Currency Crisis Could Be the Regime’s Downfall Matthew Kroenig: Trump Has a Strategy for Venezuela Matthew Kroenig: Two Cheers for the National Security Strategy Matthew Kroenig: Trump Should Oust Maduro Vasabjit Banerjee and Maria I. Puerta Riera: Venezuela’s Military Won’t Surrender Its Privileges Easily David Ignatius: Trump Might Have His Hubris Checked in Venezuela Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comfort Ero joins FP Live for her annual analysis of the 10 conflicts to watch this year.  Plus Ravi’s One Thing on the stunning capture of Nicolás Maduro and the future of Venezuela. Ravi Agrawal: 5 Unanswered Questions About Trump’s Venezuela Plan Comfort Ero and Richard Atwood: 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2026 Casey Michel: Annexing Greenland Would Be a Strategic Catastrophe Christopher Sabatini: Trump Has No Real Plan for Venezuela Emma Ashford: Venezuela Might Be Where Trump’s Luck Runs Out Jesse Marks: Trump’s Venezuela Attack May Give China Cover on Taiwan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We begin 2026 with a look ahead. New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker joins host Ravi Agrawal to share his take on what’s to come in the new year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker sits down with Ravi Agrawal for a 2025 review. What have we learned from the first year of the Trump administration’s second term? And how have the White House’s foreign-policy choices in particular differed from previous presidencies? Vanity Fair Exclusive: Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff on Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tensions continue to rise off the coast of Venezuela as U.S. President Donald Trump orders a blockade on sanctioned ships to and from the country. James Story served as the U.S. ambassador in Caracas under both the Trump and Biden administrations, and he shares his predictions on what might happen next.  Plus Ravi’s One Thing on India, Pakistan, and 2025’s great U.S. policy pivot.  Keith Johnson: Trump’s Venezuela Fixation Is Not About the Oil Alexandra Sharp: Trump Intensifies Pressure Campaign on Venezuela Emma Ashford and Evan Cooper: Trump Should Stick to His Guns on Venezuela Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the growth of sovereign wealth funds, especially in the Middle East, transforming geopolitics? Jared Cohen, co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, sat down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to discuss why sovereign funds are so pivotal today.  Note: This discussion is part of a series of episodes brought to you by the Goldman Sachs Global Institute.  Jared Cohen and George Lee: The New Wealth of Nations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sits down with Ravi Agrawal in front of a live audience at the annual Doha Forum in Doha, Qatar. The two discussed the Trump administration’s just-released National Security Strategy, the impacts of U.S. foreign policy around the world, women’s rights, how Democrats can revive their fortunes, and also a controversy over remarks Clinton recently made about why young Americans are shifting their views on Israel.  Plus: Ravi’s One Thing on Trump’s National Security Strategy Ravi Agrawal: Hillary Clinton: ‘Congress Has Abdicated Its Responsibility’ Rishi Iyengar and Christina Lu: Trump’s New National Security Strategy Goes Full ‘America First’ Nathalie Tocci: Does Europe Finally Realize Its Alone? Daniel W. Drezner: Foreign-Policy Fantasy Literature Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Name a consistent throughline in the Trump administration’s foreign policy. The answer could very well be the global scramble for critical minerals. What are they and why are they so important? Why is China so far ahead and how can the United States catch up? Mining expert Gracelin Baskaran sits down with host Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Plus Ravi’s One Thing on Trump’s attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela. Ravi Agrawal: The Minerals That Drive Trump’s Global Agenda Christina Lu: Trump’s Chaotic Agenda Has a Critical Through Line Rishi Iyengar: The Countries Courting Trump With Critical Minerals Alasdair Phillips-Robins: Xi May Have Miscalculated on Rare Earths Patrick Schröder: Why Rare Earths Are About to Cost a Lot More Rachel Oswald: Republicans Criticize Hegseth for Deadly Caribbean Double Strike Emma Ashford and Evan Cooper: Trump Should Stick to His Guns on Venezuela Ellen Knickmeyer: U.S.-Led Regime Change Is Usually Disastrous Keith Johnson: Trump’s Venezuela Fixation Is Not About the Oil Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite headlines suggesting otherwise, this week’s guest says women’s rights around the world are making real gains. Lyric Thompson, the founder and CEO of the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative,  sits down with host Ravi Agrawal to share more. Transcript: The Good News on Women’s Rights Lyric Thompson: Women’s Rights Are Winning Rebecca Turkington and Saskia Brechenmacher: Trump Erases Women From Foreign Policy Hawon Jung: South Korean Women Are Powerful—and Powerless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for another Ask-Me-Anything edition of FP Live. Executive Producer Dana Sherne puts your questions to host Ravi Agrawal. Alexandra Sharp: Ramaphosa Capitalizes on Trump’s Absence at G-20 Summit Christian Caryl: Don’t Call This a ‘Peace Plan’ Rachel Oswald and John Haltiwanger: Trump’s Ukraine Peace Effort Devolves Into Chaos Over Conflicting Stories Ryan C. Berg: Toppling Maduro Without Boots on the Ground James Palmer: China-Japan Rift Deepens Over Taiwan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate summits such as the ongoing COP30 conference can often seem like a place where countries agree to disagree and little gets done. But Bill McKibben says there’s one key reason for hope: the sun. New advances in panels and battery technology mean solar power will soon provide a growing share of our electricity consumption.  McKibbon is the author of the new book Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. Plus Ravi’s One Thing on Iran’s water crisis. Nik Kowsar and Alireza Nader: Tehran’s Residents Are Panicking as the Taps Run Dry Christina Lu: How China Became a Solar Power Joseph Rachman and Indra Øverland: A Power-Hungry Southeast Asia Wants China’s Energy Nigel Pruvis: Will Belém Kill Paris? Jason Bordoff and Jack Andreasen Cavanaugh: AI’s Rapacious Appetite for Electricity Can Accelerate Clean Energy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the United States points its biggest warship at Venezuela, what is the White House trying to achieve in Caracas? How does it fit into the Trump administration’s broader Latin America policy? And how is the region responding? Host Ravi Agrawal sits down with scholar Oliver Stuenkel for answers. Stuenkel is a leading Latin America scholar and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Plus Ravi’s One Thing on COP30. FP Columnists: 5 Novelists on Their Favorite Climate Fiction Oliver Stuenkel and Adrian Feinberg: Milei’s Midterm Miracle Matthew Kroenig: Trump Should Oust Maduro Carlos Ruiz-Hernández: The Nostalgic Delusion of 1989 Philip A. Berry: The Use and Abuse of ‘Narco-Terrorism’ John Haltiwanger: Latin America’s Disjointed Reaction to Trump’s Drug Boat War Geoff Ramsey: What’s the U.S. Endgame in Venezuela? Ryan C. Berg: Toppling Maduro Without Boots on the Ground Catherine Osborn: How Migration Became a U.S. Foreign-Policy Priority Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China analyst and former policymaker Elizabeth Economy sits down with Ravi Agrawal to unpack the meeting that took place last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. What was agreed to? What does it mean for the broader trajectory of the world’s most important bilateral relationship? Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on Trump threatening military action in Nigeria. Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún: Why Is Trump Suddenly Talking About Invading Nigeria? Wall Street Journal: Lingling Wei: China’s New Strategy for Trump: Punch Hard, Concede Little  Rishi Iyengar, Christina Lu, and Keith Johnson: What Trump and Xi Did—and Didn’t—Agree to James Palmer: Trump and Xi Step Back From the Brink—for Now Alasdair Phillips-Robins: Xi May Have Miscalculated on Rare Earths Christina Lu: Will Trump’s Critical Minerals Blitz Pay Off? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the AI boom a bubble? What happens if it pops? Economist Jared Bernstein joined FP Live to sound the alarm on the growth and investment in the AI sector. Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the first Trump-Xi meeting in six years.  James Palmer: Trump and Xi Step Back From the Brink—for Now Rishi Iyengar, Christina Lu, and Keith Johnson: What Trump and Xi Did—and Didn’t—Agree To Sahil Shah: Trump’s Vagueness Over Nuclear Testing Could Fuel an Arms Race New York Times: Jared Bernstein and Ryan Cummings: Warning: Our Stock Market Is Looking Like a Bubble Ravi Agrawal: Is the AI Economy a Bubble? Bhaskar Chakravorti: 10 New AI Challenges—and How to Meet Them Bhaskar Chakravorti: American AI Is High on Its Own Supply Brought to you by: quince.com/fplive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can history help make sense of U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Greg Grandin shares how Trump’s imperialist impulses may be inspired by the country’s Founding Fathers, and that he “rummages around the trash bag of history to find what’s useful at any given moment.” Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the recent U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies. Keith Johnson: Will Trump’s Russia Oil Sanctions Finally Sway Putin? Greg Grandin: America, América: A New History of the New World Ravi Agrawal: Why Trump Is a ‘Scarcity President’ Syrus Solo Jin: With Territory Comes Torment Stephen M. Walt: Donald Trump Will Never Be a Restrainer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the cease-fire more than a week old, Palestinians now turn to what comes next: rebuilding and governing. Former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization Diana Buttu sits down with Ravi Agrawal to share her perspective. Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the Trump administration’s moves on Venezuela.  Diana Buttu: A ‘magic pill’ made Israeli violence invisible. We need to stop swallowing it. Omar H. Rahman: Can Palestinians Trust Donald Trump? Daniel Byman: One Question Looming Over the Gaza Deal: Why Now? Michael J. Koplow: Three Reckonings the Gaza Deal Will Force Christopher Sabatini: Will Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize Winner Stick With Trump? Geoff Ramsey: What’s the U.S. Endgame in Venezuela? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

43 percent of voters under 30 supported U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, a 7 percent jump in support from both the 2016 and 2020 elections. What’s underpinning this rightward shift among young voters? Conservative commentator and journalist Emily Jashinsky shares her take. Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the Israel-Hamas deal over hostages and an end to hostilities. Megan DuBois: The Shape-Shifting MAGA Hat Adrian Karatnycky: An Emerging Trump Doctrine? Emma Ashford: Four Explanatory Models for Trump’s Chaos Emma Ashford: If Trump Is Neither Hawk nor Dove, What Is He? Howard W. French: Trump Is Ushering in the Era of the Strongman Stephen M. Walt: How Assassinations Became Normal Again Julian E. Zelizer: Why Don’t Younger Americans Vote? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tuesday marks two years since Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, Israel has decimated Gaza in what many independent organizations are calling a genocide and attacked several countries in the region. How have all of these events impacted the world? FP columnist Stephen M. Walt sits down with Ravi Agrawal to share his take. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy Stephen M. Walt: Meet the New Middle East, Same as the Old Middle East Steven A. Cook: The Delusions Driving U.S. Policy in the Middle East Pankaj Mishra: How Gaza Shattered the West’s Mythology Emma Ashford: What Was the Tipping Point on Gaza? John Haltiwanger: Why Israel’s War in Gaza Has Been So Deadly for Journalists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With increased polarization and ongoing budgetary disputes, the U.S. government does not seem to be acting in the way that the American forefathers intended. Host Ravi Agrawal brings on historian Jill Lepore to share more. Lepore is a professor at Harvard University and the author of We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the U.S. government shutdown. Rishi Iyengar: How a U.S. Government Shutdown Could Impact Washington’s Foreign Policy John Haltiwanger: Why America’s ‘Unusual’ Democracy Leads to Shutdown Andrew O’Donohue: The U.S. Judicial Crisis Is Uniquely Dangerous Stan Veuger: Americans Need to Acknowledge Their Unwritten Constitution Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Qatar often presents itself as a neutral mediator in the world’s trickiest problems, but on Sept. 9, its sovereignty was violated as Israel launched a strike to assassinate top Hamas leaders in Doha. Will Qatar change its strategy? No, explains Majed al-Ansari, the spokesperson of the country’s Foreign Ministry, at a live event with host Ravi Agrawal along the sidelines of the 80th U.N. General Assembly.  Plus, One Thing from Ravi on a feeling that seems in rare supply but was surprisingly abundant in New York this week: hope. Mina Al-Oraibi: Qatar Strike Creates Rift but Not Rupture in Gulf-Israel Ties  Matthew Duss: Recognize Palestine, Then Put Real Pressure on Israel Ravi’s interview with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Ravi’s interview with Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How is Europe navigating the Trump administration and a troubling moment in the trans-Atlantic relationship? FP Live host Ravi Agrawal sits down with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, on the sidelines of the United Nations’ annual meetings to discuss relations with Washington, Russia’s war in Ukraine, recognizing Palestine, and dealing with China.  Plus, One Thing from Ravi on a spate of countries recognizing Palestine. South China Morning Post: China Tells EU it does not want to see Russia lose its war in Ukraine: Sources Sam Skove: Trump Makes U-Turn on Ukraine Rhetoric  Christian Caryl: Europe Is on Its Own With Russia Now Ravi Agrawal: How Europe Is Navigating Trump Agathe Demarais: Europe’s Hippopotamus Strategy for Handling Trump Caroline de Gruyter: Europe Has Found Its True Language Anchal Vohra: Trump’s Trade Deal With Europe Is Already Unraveling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development this year left countries scrambling, with many analysts going as far as calling the shutdown inhumane. But values were never the real driver of the global development agenda, says FP columnist Adam Tooze—it was actually about power. Now that the United States has stepped back, can China fill the void? Does it want to? Tooze sits down with host Ravi Agrawal to discuss his piece “The End of Development” in FP’s latest print issue. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the global connections to the Charlie Kirk killing. Alejandro Reyes: Why Charlie Kirk’s White Nationalism Resonated With Some Nonwhites Abroad Adam Tooze: The End of Development Adam’s economics podcast: Ones and Tooze Daniela Gabor: How Big Finance Ate Foreign Aid Henry Tugendhat and James Palmer: Can China Replace USAID? David C. Engerman: The Problem With the Global South’s Self-Help Push Suparna Chaudhry: Why the World Turned on NGOs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin has a plan for the U.S. Democratic Party. She’s promoting what she calls a “war plan” to revive the middle class as a way for her party to not only challenge President Donald Trump—and win the future for America. She joins host Ravi Agrawal to game out how to put her vision into action.  Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the Russian drones fired into Polish airspace earlier this week. Council on Foreign Relations: A New Vision for America’s National Security Julian E. Zelizer: Why Democrats Should Proceed to the Center With Caution Matthew Duss: Democrats Should Reclaim the Anti-War Mantle From Trump Christian Caryl: Russia Just Attacked NATO. Again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FP columnist Emma Ashford makes the case that we’re entering a post-unipolar world—that countries can sense that the United States is no longer an unchallenged superpower. If that’s the case, how should Washington adapt its foreign policy?  Ashford sits down with host Ravi Agrawal to discuss her new book, First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World.  Plus, One Thing from Ravi on South Korea’s latest soft power hit, KPop Demon Hunters. Ravi Agrawal: Is America Now Merely the First Among Equals? Emma Ashford: Passing the Baton in Europe Stephen M. Walt: The Realist Case for Global Rules Michael Hirsh: Why Everyone in Washington Is a ‘Realist’ Now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The relationship between the world’s two largest democracies—India and the United States—could be in trouble. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly embraced his Russian and Chinese counterparts at a summit this week, shortly after the Trump administration pushed ahead with sky-high tariffs on Indian exports. Is New Delhi considering a shift in its geopolitical posture? Former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao sits down with host Ravi Agrawal. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on China’s massive military parade this week. Nirupama Rao: Strategic Autonomy Is Nothing to Fear C. Raja Mohan: Modi, Lee, and Trump’s Nobel Prize Obsession Sam Roggeveen: China’s Military Is Now Leading Rudra Chaudhuri: Can India and the U.S. Repair Their Relationship? Anchal Vohra: India Is Struggling to Figure Out Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk a lot about Iran on this show, but we don’t often hear from Iranian leaders. I wanted to change that this week—and so I asked Mohammad Javad Zarif to come on the program. Zarif played a major role in crafting Iranian foreign policy over the last 15 years, as foreign minister from 2013 to 2021 and as the lead negotiator of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. While Americans perceived him as the diplomatic face of Iran, at home he was seen as a reformer trying to hold off the hard-liners. Zarif served as Iran’s vice president of strategic affairs from 2024 to earlier this year, but he’s now out of government and a bit more free to express his opinions. He spoke with me about the June war between Israel and Iran and the prospects for diplomacy with the Trump administration. Mohammad Javad Zarif: The Time for a Paradigm Shift Is Now Trita Parsi: The Next Israel-Iran War is Coming Steven A. Cook: In the Middle East, a Cold War Redux? Charli Carpenter: Why the Nuclear Taboo Is Stronger Than Ever Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States and China are constantly looking for a leg up in their rivalry for geopolitical primacy. But what if the real advantage lies in adopting a bit of the other’s culture? A new book makes the case that while China has become an engineering state obsessed with building, the United States has become a lawyerly society focused on procedures and blocking. Can they learn from each other? Author and scholar Dan Wang sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss his new book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future. Dan Wang: Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future Ravi Agrawal: Why China’s Tech Dominance Is Not Inevitable Bob Davis: America’s Flailing Industrial Policy Can Take Lessons From China James Palmer: A Guide to Censorship in China Brought to you by: quince.com/fplive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump-Putin summit on Friday, followed by Monday’s unprecedented White House meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky and seven other European leaders, has left analysts wondering whether recent diplomacy will result in an end to hostilities—or if it’s all just pageantry. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Sergey Radchenko sit down with Ravi Agrawal to debrief these two high-level meetings. Kendall-Taylor is a former CIA analyst and a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Radchenko is a Johns Hopkins University professor and the author of To Run the World: The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power. Ravi Agrawal: Grading Trump’s Ukraine Diplomacy Ivo H. Daalder: Russia and Ukraine Are as Far Apart as Ever Stephen M. Walt: Trump Has No Idea How to Do Diplomacy Rishi Iyengar: Key Takeaways From Trump’s Meeting with Zelensky Keith Johnson: 7 Lingering Questions After the Trump Ukraine Summit Michael Hirsh: Trump’s Putin Gambit Failed—but Maybe It Was Still Worth Trying Sergey Radchenko: Not Unprecedented but Unprincipled Christina Lu: ‘There’s No Deal Until There’s a Deal’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

European leaders, having agreed to spending 5 percent of their GDP on defense, now must decide where that money goes. What factors should they consider to make sure the money leads to the continent’s growth and a cutting-edge defense industrial base? Ravi Agrawal sits down with Jared Cohen, the president of global affairs at Goldman Sachs, to discuss. Note: This discussion is part of a series of episodes brought to you by the Goldman Sachs Global Institute. Ravi’s Recommendations: Amitav Acharya: Pharaohs, Maharajas, and the Making of a Multipolar World Robert Kagan: The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World Additional Reading: Ravi Agrawal: NATO Is Avoiding a Difficult Conversation Jared Cohen: Don’t Bet Against the Dollar Justin Logan: Trump Shouldn’t Settle for European Spending Pledges Kori Schake: Is NATO Dead? Matthew Kroenig: A Division of Labor Between Europe and Asia Won’t Work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvard University professor and economist Dani Rodrik first questioned in the late 1990s whether globalization had gone too far. He joins FP Live to share his take on the Trump administration’s tariffs and how to navigate a historically turbulent moment in global trade. Jamieson Greer: Trump’s Trade Representative: Why We Remade the Global Order Dani Rodrik: Where Is the Global Resistance to Trump? Ravi Agrawal: How to Navigate Trump’s Tariffs Cameron Abadi: Are Tariffs the American Brexit? Keith Johnson: Trump’s Long-Promised Tariffs Upend Global Trade Peter Coy: No Need for Hoarding Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As images of starvation in Gaza continue to circulate online, unequivocal support for Israel may be waning in the West, with Britain, Canada, and France moving to formally recognize Palestine in recent weeks. How might this shift the status quo in the region? Daniel Levy, former Israeli peace negotiator and co-founder of J Street, sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Stephen A. Cook: Why Recognizing Palestine Is Meaningless or Even Harmful Stephen M. Walt: Meet the New Middle East, Same as the Old Middle East Rob Geist Pinfold: Israel Is Sowing Chaos to Secure Displacement in Gaza Oz Katerji: Britain’s Palestine Action Ban Is a Dangerous Overreach Aaron David Miller and Lauren Morganbesser: Netanyahu’s Hold on Power Is Slipping. Will Trump Help? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Labubus and Chinese soft power to U.S. President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on Ukraine, join host Ravi Agrawal for another FP Live Ask-Me-Anything. Ravi Agrawal: Trump is Ushering In a More Transactional World Henry Tugendhat and Janes Palmer: China Isn’t Ready to Replace USAID Howard W. French: The U.S. Can No Longer Stave Off Competition From China Alexandra Sharp: Trump Announces a 25 Percent Tariff on India Rishi Iyengar: The Trump Trade Tracker Graham Allison: Is This the Start of a U.S.-China Friendship? Stephen M. Walt: Trump’s Missed Opportunities Are Piling Up Sushant Singh: Trump Is Pushing India to Submit to China Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, joins FP Live to assess the Trump administration’s shifting policies on Ukraine and how that could impact the ongoing war. McFaul is currently a professor at Stanford University and writes the McFaul’s World newsletter. Michael Hirsch: The Enduring Mystery of Trump’s Relationship with Russia Luke Coffey: Trump’s Ukraine Shift Sends the Right Signal to Putin Christian Caryl: Democracy is Ukraine’s Most Powerful Weapon Franz-Stefan Gady: The Air Battle That Could Decide the Russia-Ukraine War Brought to you by: quince.com/FPlive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. dollar has declined by more than 10 percent this year. Is the fall just a normal fluctuation, or is it a sign of something much more worrying? How seriously should we take threats to the dollar’s dominance as the world’s reserve currency? Economist Kenneth Rogoff shares more. Rogoff is a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and the author of Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider’s View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead. Kenneth Rogoff: How Low Can the Dollar Go? Ravi Agrawal: What the Dollar’s Decline Reveals About America Foreign Policy magazine’s Summer 2025 Print Issue Peter Coy: Trump’s Trade Contradictions Come Home to Roost Keith Johnson: America’s Economic Warfare is Sowing Its Own Demise Jared Cohen: Don’t Bet Against the Dollar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. foreign-policy coverage often focuses on the Middle East, China, or Europe. So, what is the view from what is sometimes called the world’s biggest invisible country? Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populated country and third-biggest democracy, gets surprisingly little attention. How is Jakarta navigating a changing world? Former Indonesian Vice Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal joins FP Live.  Derek Grossman: Why Rubio’s Asia Visit Was a Total Bust Oliver Stuenkel and Margot Treadwell: Will Trump’s Unpredictable Foreign Policy Boost BRICS? Salil Tripathi: How Will Prabowo Lead Indonesia? Christopher S. Chivvis and Beatrix Geaghan-Breiner: How Washington Should Manage Rising Middle Powers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman sits down with Ravi Agrawal to debrief this week’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Friedman is also the author of From Beirut to Jerusalem, among other books.  Thomas L. Friedman: How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again Thomas L. Friedman: If This Mideast War Is Over, Get Ready for Some Interesting Politics Thomas L. Friedman: How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle Adrian Karatnycky: An Emerging Trump Doctrine? Daniel C. Kurtzer and Aaron David Miller: Less Gloating and More Diplomacy Are Needed to Heal the Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Edward Luce is the author of a new biography on President Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet. He joins FP Live to share how this grand strategist’s legacy still shapes foreign policy today. Theodore Bunzel: Where Have All the Geostrategists Gone? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does India view a shifting world order? Former national security advisor Shivshankar Menon sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss New Delhi’s vision in a period defined by geopolitical flux and several global conflicts. Menon is also the author of Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy. Sumit Ganguly: Kashmir Attack Shatters Illusion of Calm Shivshankar Menon: A New Cold War May Call for a Return to Nonalignment C. Raja Mohan: India Sees Opportunities as Trump Jettisons the Western Order Brought to you by: quince.com/fplive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FP Live host Ravi Agrawal is on the ground at the NATO summit in The Hague this week. He shares his take on how European leaders pledged to increase their defense spending in a bid to please U.S. President Donald Trump. But where is that money going to come from? Insider: A Debrief on the NATO Summit Ravi Agrawal: NATO Is Avoiding a Difficult Conversation  NATO Public Forum LIVE Fabian Hoffmann: A Russia-NATO War Would Look Nothing Like Ukraine Edward Lucas: America Will Miss Europe’s Dependence When It’s Gone Philip H. Gordon and Rebecca Lissner: How Trump Can Reset His Failed Ukraine Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conflict broke out between Israel and Iran on Friday, with Israel launching an attack on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities and Iran responding in turn. Vali Nasr, a Middle East expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University, sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Nasr is the author, most recently, of Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History.  FP Staff: Israel Strikes Iran Iselin Brady and Daniel Byman: How the Israel-Iran War Might End Steven A. Cook: Israel Is Going for the Death Blow on Iran Jeffrey Lewis: Nuclear Claims Are a Smoke Screen for Hopes of Toppling Iran John Haltiwanger: Iran’s Military Just Lost Its ‘Brain Trust’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chinese exports of rare earths, a critical component in manufacturing high-end tech products, emerged as a key sticking point in this week’s trade talks between Beijing and Washington. Underpinning all of this is the race for artificial intelligence supremacy. Who is winning this competition? Who is best placed to control the supply chains of all the components that go into the top chips and AI models? Jared Cohen and George Lee, the co-heads of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, join FP Live. Note: This discussion is part of a series of episodes brought to you by the Goldman Sachs Global Institute. Jared Cohen: The AI Economy’s Massive Vulnerability Rishi Iyengar & Lili Pike: Is It Too Late to Slow China’s AI Development? Vivek Chilukuri: How the United States Can Win the Global Tech Race Brought to you by: nordvpn.com/fplive (Exclusive NordVPN Deal: Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drones are playing an increasingly decisive role in conflicts around the world. Coupled with artificial intelligence and other technological advances, the very nature of warfare is transforming in front of our eyes. Are countries and their policymakers prepared?  Mara Karlin, former assistant secretary of defense under U.S. President Joe Biden, joins FP Live to share her insights. Karlin is also the author of The Inheritance: America’s Military After Two Decades of War. John Haltiwanger: Drones are Transforming South Asian Warfare Stephen M. Walt: Ukraine’s Drone Attack Doesn’t Matter Christian Caryl: The Ukrainians’ New Way of War Mara Karlin: The Inheritance: America’s Military After Two Decades of War Stanley McChrystal and Anshu Roy: AI Has Entered the Situation Room Brought to you by: nordvpn.com/fplive (Exclusive NordVPN Deal: Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gen Z has come of age amid a pandemic, growing polarization, and deep distrust of bureaucratic institutions. How does this shape their political and economic views? Do they still believe in the American Dream? Economic analyst and author Kyla Scanlon joins FP Live to discuss. Suggested reading: Institute of Politics: Spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll Kyla Scanlon: Gen Z and the End of Predictable Progress Kyla Scanlon: FAFOnomics: How Chaos Became America’s Economic Strategy Kyla Scanlon: Dollar Devaluation and the Antisystem Youth Kyla Scanlon: In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work? Kathleen J. McInnis: How to Sell NATO to Gen Z Joseph E. Stiglitz: Big Tech Is Trying to Prevent Debate About Its Social Harms Jeongmin Kim: Why Young Koreans Love to Splurge Brought to you by: nordvpn.com/fplive (Exclusive NordVPN Deal: Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, thousands of Palestinians stormed an aid distribution site in Gaza, underlining the ongoing humanitarian crisis there and prompting the question: Why isn’t the world doing more? Martin Griffiths served as the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations from 2021 until 2024. He is currently with the Mediation Group International and joins Ravi Agrawal to push for solutions to the multiple crises spanning our globe. Suggested reading: Neha Wadekar: The World’s Refugee Relief Is Utterly Broken David E. Rosenberg: The Old War Is Over in Gaza, and a New One Is Underway Michael Hirsh: A New Authoritarian Era in the Mideast? Robbie Gramer: How the U.S. Fumbled Sudan’s Hopes for Democracy Brought to you by: nordvpn.com/fplive (Exclusive NordVPN Deal: Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**Hello listeners, an earlier version of this episode contained glitches due to an upload error. If you hear breaks in the audio, please download the episode again for the corrected version. Thanks for listening, and we apologize for the mishap!** Is Trump’s Middle East Policy a Break From the Past? Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump visited three countries in the Middle East—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar—on the first scheduled foreign trip of his second term. While many of the headlines from the trip focused on the 747 jetliner Qatar donated for use as Air Force One, it’s probably more notable that Trump rejected decades of Western intervention in the region and declared that there would be “no more lectures” from America. Is the Trump administration re-aligning American priorities in the region? F. Gregory Gause, visiting scholar at the Middle East Institute, joins FP Live to discuss why the Gulf monarchies are rising in importance.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Howard W. French: What Trump Got Right in the Middle East Agathe Demarais: The U.S. Economy Is Now Trump Enterprises Michael Hirsh: A New Authoritarian Era in the Mideast? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. President Donald Trump came to office promising mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, but he hasn’t actually hit the numbers he said he would. Is that because it’s harder than it sounds, or are more plans in the works? And what will Trump’s immigration policy do to America’s standing in the world? Janet Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona and secretary of homeland security under President Barack Obama, joins FP Live to share her experience managing the issue of illegal immigration.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Jonathan M. Katz: Trump’s Deportation Machine Takes Shape Christina Noriega: Trump’s Aid Freeze Is Undermining His Immigration Policy Daniel B. Baer: Trump’s Brain Drain Will Be Europe’s Gain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two nuclear-armed countries, India and Pakistan, are locked in their most serious conflict in two decades. Early Wednesday morning, after weeks of pledging to retaliate for the deadliest terrorist attack in more than a decade, India launched missiles across its border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan claims it took down Indian fighter jets and has vowed to respond. FP’s Ravi Agrawal asks Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, how far tensions could spiral. They discuss the options for de-escalation and what role external powers can play. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Ravi Agrawal: How India and Pakistan Can Pull Back From the Brink Rishi Iyengar: A Tale of Four Fighter Jets Sumit Ganguly: What Is the Risk of a Conflict Spiral Between India and Pakistan? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To mark the first 100 days of the second Trump White House, we have a special ask-me-anything episode. Amid a firehose of news, which policies will endure, and which are purely rhetorical? How does Foreign Policy find the signal in the noise? FP Live’s executive producer, Dana Sherne, turns the tables on host Ravi Agrawal as he assesses the implications of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Ushering In a More Transactional World Stephen M. Walt: Trump Is Not a Revolutionary Daniel Treisman: The Deep Familiarity of Donald Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

April 29 marks the 100th day of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term. What do foreign policy experts make of his administration’s performance so far, as it continues to wage a trade war, reshape long-standing diplomatic relationships with allies and alliances, and advance a new world order? FP columnist Emma Ashford sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Emma Ashford: Four Explanatory Models for Trump’s Chaos Emma Ashford and Matthew Kroenig: Is the World Overreacting to Trump? Nicholas Bequelin: The Key to Understanding Trump’s Chaotic Foreign Policy John J. Mearsheimer in Foreign Affairs: Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West's Fault Brought to you by: quince.com/fplive nordvpn.com/fplive (Exclusive NordVPN Deal: Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rollout of the Trump administration’s tariffs has rattled markets, prompting questions of what these protectionist policies mean for the global economy moving forward. Two top experts on globalization join FP Live to share their thoughts. Elisabeth Braw is an FP columnist and the author of Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World. And Eswar Prasad is a trade scholar and professor at Cornell University. We want to hear from you! Help us shape the future of FP Live by sharing your thoughts on the show by clicking here. Contact us anytime at live@foreignpolicy.com. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Is the World Going to Deglobalize? Elisabeth Braw: What’s the Cost of Doing Business Under Trump? Eswar Prasad: The World Will Regret Its Retreat From Globalization Joseph E. Stiglitz: Play by the Rules Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S.-China trade war has rattled the global economy, and there’s little sign of de-escalation. What does this mean for their respective economies? Where does this end? The Council on Foreign Relations’ Zongyuan Zoe Liu and the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Scott Kennedy join FP Live to discuss. We want to hear from you! Help us shape the future of FP Live by sharing your thoughts on the show by clicking here. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Scott Kennedy: Why Beijing Thinks It Can Beat Trump Deng Yuwen: Why Beijing Is Standing Up to Trump Howard W. French: Trump’s Tariffs Are a Gift to Xi Lili Pike and Christina Lu: Can Washington and Beijing Walk Back Their Trade War? Lizzi C. Lee: How China Should Handle Trump’s Tariffs James Palmer: China May Have a Revenge List for Tariff Wars Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze: How Tariffs on China Brought Back Decoupling With a Vengeance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The race is on to dominate the artificial intelligence economy, making the need for safeguards ever more pressing. Jared Cohen, the president of global affairs at Goldman Sachs, joins FP Live to discuss the potential risks and benefits of this growing market—and how so-called geopolitical swing states play an increasingly important role. This conversation was taped earlier this week, before the Trump administration's announcement of the 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs. We want to hear from you! Help us shape the future of FP Live by sharing your thoughts on the show by clicking here. Note: This discussion is part of a series of episodes brought to you by the Goldman Sachs Global Institute. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Jared Cohen: The AI Economy’s Massive Vulnerability Jared Cohen: The Next AI Debate Is About Geopolitics  Becca Wasser and Josh Wallin: Build Allied AI, or Risk Fighting Alone Peter Dombrowski and Bruce Jones: A New Era of Undersea Conflict Is Here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two leading economists debate the potential trade-offs of the Trump administration’s tariffs that are now roiling markets. Oren Cass, the founder of American Compass, joins Kimberly Clausing, a professor at UCLA, to discuss what this all means for the United States and the global economy.  We want to hear from you! Help us shape the future of FP Live by sharing your thoughts on the show by clicking here. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Wendy Cutler: How Countries Should Respond to Trump’s Tariffs Bob Davis: Trump Has the Whole Global Trade System in His Sights Michael Hirsh: Tariffs Can Actually Work—if Only Trump Understood How Lili Pike: Trump Threatens China With New 50 Percent Tariffs Joseph Rachman: Trump’s Tariffs Crush the ASEAN Economic Model Transcript: The Case for Trump’s Tariffs Edward Alden: Trump’s Wanton Tariffs Will Shatter the World Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legal scholars argue that the Trump administration’s push to curtail the power of the U.S. judiciary mirrors moves by several authoritarian governments around the world. What does this mean for the United States’ court system and the rule of law? And what can be learned from global advocacy and civil society defying these trends? Political scientist Andrew O’Donohue joins FP Live to share his findings. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Andrew O’Donohue: The U.S. Judicial Crisis Is Uniquely Dangerous Julian E. Zelizer: Why Republicans Love Strong Presidents David E. Rosenberg: Can Israel’s Highest Court Stop Netanyahu? Halil Karaveli: Erdogan Is Trying to Divide and Conquer Turkey’s Opposition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Several of the world’s wealthiest men stood behind Donald Trump as he was inaugurated for a second term, contradicting his image as a populist president. This prompts the question, how much influence do the wealthy have on U.S. politics? Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy joins FP Live to share his take on the state of U.S. democracy, and whether the United States is becoming more corrupt, to mark the launch of Foreign Policy’s latest print issue: “Billionaire Rule.” Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Spring 2025 Print Issue: Billionaire Rule Jodi Vittori: Is America a Kleptocracy? Adam Tooze: Elon Musk’s First Principles James Crabtree: How Modi and Trump Treat Billionaires Differently Priya Satia: The Deep Roots of Oligarchy James Palmer: Did China Get Billionaires Right? Andrew O’Donohue: The U.S. Judicial Crisis Is Uniquely Dangerous Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has dramatically shifted the United States’ long-standing relationship with Europe, pushing it to shore up its own defense. How is the continent grappling with these changes? And what does it mean for its policies, both foreign and domestic? Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Kishore Mahbubani: It’s Time for Europe to Do the Unthinkable Transcript: The Speech That Stunned Europe Edward Lucas: Comrade Trump Ivo H. Daalder: It’s Time for a New Trans-Atlantic Bargain Michael Hirsh: On Ukraine, Split the Difference Between Trump and Biden Anchal Vohra: Europe’s Economic Decoupling From America Is Underway Brought to you by: https://incogni.com/foreignpolicy. Use promo code "foreignpolicy" to get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Geopolitical risk analyst Ian Bremmer joins FP Live to assess U.S. President Donald Trump’s first 50 days in office and how it is impacting the world. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Ushering In a More Transactional World Daniel C. Kurtzer and Aaron David Miller: Lessons from the Trump-Zelensky Confrontation Howard W. French: Trump’s Plan for a Greatly Diminished America Daniel W. Drezner: Does the Madman Theory Actually Work? Stephen M. Walt: What I Got Wrong About Trump’s Second Term Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With so much of the focus in recent weeks on the Trump administration’s policies toward Europe, where does that leave the broader trajectory of the U.S.-China relationship? Expert and former Biden administration official Rush Doshi sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Doshi is currently the C.V. Starr senior fellow for Asia studies and director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Rush Doshi: Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order Lili Pike: Trump’s Europe Shock Creates an Opening for China Lili Pike: Did Biden Get China Right? James Crabtree: Trump Could Make China Great Again Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I don’t give up on Trump. I do think that, for the wrong reasons, we can get him to do the right things” says former Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth. Roth sits down with Ravi Agrawal to share his take on human rights today amid democratic backsliding, ongoing conflict, and a new U.S. administration on the world stage. Roth led Human Rights Watch for nearly 30 years and is the author of Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Can the World Do Anything About Conflict in 2025? Pankaj Mishra: How Gaza Shattered the West’s Mythology Matthew M. Kavanagh and Luis Gil Abinader: Abolishing USAID Is Both Unconstitutional and Disastrous Brought to you by: https://incogni.com/foreignpolicy. Use promo code "foreignpolicy" to get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finnish President Alexander Stubb sits down with Ravi Agrawal on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference to discuss European security in Trump 2.0. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Finland’s President: Trump’s Strategy ‘Is a Bit of a Seesaw’ Transcript: The Speech That Stunned Europe C. Raja Mohan: India Sees Opportunities as Trump Jettisons the Western Order James Crabtree: Trump Could Make China Great Again Kishore Mahbubani: It’s Time for Europe to Do the Unthinkable Kristi Raik: Europe’s 4 Different Ways of Handling Trump Bojan Pancevski and Alexander Ward: Vance Wields Threat of Sanctions, Military Action to Push Putin Into Ukraine Deal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How history will weigh the war in Gaza, with author Pankaj Mishra. Mishra recently previewed his new book on the subject with Foreign Policy, in a piece titled “How Gaza Shattered the West’s Mythology.” He shares more now with Ravi Agrawal. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Pankaj Mishra: The World After Gaza: A History Pankaj Mishra: How Gaza Shattered the West’s Mythology David E. Rosenberg: Why Gaza Is Israel’s Forever War Ran Greenstein: Settler Colonialism Isn’t What You Think It Is Howard W. French: Why Are We Ignoring Human Rights Criticism of Israel? FP Contributors: What Trump’s Gaza Plan Means for the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term with rapid-fire proposals ranging from invading Greenland to imposing tariffs on top trading partners. How are these moves being viewed globally? FP Live host Ravi Agrawal is joined by three experts, spanning three continents, to learn more. Nathalie Tocci serves as the director of the Italian think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali. Former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani is an author and geopolitical analyst. And Ed Luce is a columnist for the Financial Times. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Ravi Agrawal: Trump is Ushering In a More Transactional World Emma Ashford and Jennifer Kavanagh: Europe Isn’t Ready for Trump 2.0 Matthew M. Kavanagh and Luis Gil Abinader: Abolishing USAID Is Both Unconstitutional And Disastrous Stephen M. Walt: What IR Theory Predicts About Trump 2.0 Edward Alden: Trump Will Be His Own Trade Czar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a White House press briefing on Tuesday, the Trump administration maintained that it would impose a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1. This comes after announcing a 10 percent duty on China earlier in the week. Trade and capital expert Brad Setser is skeptical that it will follow through, though, saying that the economic ramifications of tariffs at that scale would be a “ pretty bloody big shock.” Setser sits down with host Ravi Agrawal to share more. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Aaron L. Friedberg: Tariffs Are a Scalpel, Not a Hammer Wendy Cutler: How Trump Could Strike a Trade Deal With China Keith Johnson: How to Read Trump’s Day-One Trade Actions Scott Kennedy: Markets Are Underpricing the Possibility of a U.S.-China Economic War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FP Live host Ravi Agrawal kicked off a lively discussion on the new frontiers of cybersecurity at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He was joined by panelists Samir Saran, president of the Observer Research Foundation; Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare; Andrius Kubilius, European commissioner for defense and space; Joe Kaeser, chairman of Siemens Energy’s supervisory board; and Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Minxin Pei: China’s Secret to Controlling the Internet Rishi Iyengar: North Korea Does More Cyberspying Than You Think Dmytro Kuleba: The Fight For Ukraine Is Forging a New World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immigration was a top issue among voters in the 2024 U.S. election, with President-elect Donald Trump calling for the “largest deportation operation in American history.” And with the incoming administration expected to take action as soon as Trump returns to office, what are the possible ramifications of this policy? Edward Alden, author of the recent book When the World Closed its Doors: The COVID-19 Tragedy and the Future of Borders, joins host Ravi Agrawal to share his insights. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Will Trump Actually Deport Millions of Undocumented Workers Edward Alden: When the World Closed Its Doors Edward Alden: The Great Deportation of 2025 Howard W. French: The U.S. Can’t Afford to Be a Bad Neighbor Christina Lu: What Trump’s Mass Deportations Would Mean for the U.S. Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FP Live is joined by Comfort Ero, the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, as she details the 2025 edition of “10 Conflicts to Watch.” From Sudan to Myanmar, Haiti, Ukraine, Iran, and beyond, why is the world facing so many crises at once, and how can it solve them? Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Comfort Ero and Richard Atwood: 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2025 Aaron David Miller and Lauren Morganbesser: Why the Gulf States Might Feature Prominently in Trump’s Foreign Policy Raphael S. Cohen: China and North Korea Throw U.S. War Plans Out the Window Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pundits love calling President-elect Trump’s leadership “transactional.” But is that true? FP editor in chief Ravi Agrawal shares his take in this audio essay from the upcoming print issue of Foreign Policy’s magazine. Take a listen. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Kori Schake: Why Biden’s Foreign Policy Fell Short Raghuram Rajan: Isolationism Won’t Make Anyone Great Again Adam Tooze: America Is Locked in a New Class War Daniel W. Drezner: Does the Madman Theory Actually Work? Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Ushering In a More Transactional World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and the author of Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, sits down with host Ravi Agrawal to look ahead to 2025.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Fareed Zakaria Looks Back at 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National security analyst and former Trump administration official Elbridge Colby joined FP Live earlier this year to share his take on what a second Trump term could mean for foreign policy. He was recently tapped to be the under secretary of defense for policy in the incoming administration. As such, he will be an integral part of Trump’s decision-making—making this episode newly relevant.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Decoding Trump’s Foreign Policy Elbridge Colby, Mackenzie Eaglen, and Roger Zakheim: How to Trim the Defense Budget Without Harming U.S. Security (2020) Elbridge Colby and David Ochmanek: How the United States Could Lose a Great-Power War (2019) Elbridge Colby: How to Win America’s Next War (2019) FP Staff: The Trump Transition Begins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year closed out with ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, and numerous incumbents forced out after a record year of elections around the world. Fareed Zakaria, author of Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, joins FP Live to reflect on the year and share his insights on what these trends could mean for our liberal global world order. Zakaria is also the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):  Transcript: The End of Left Versus Right Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top humanitarian aid official and longtime diplomat Samantha Power discusses lessons learned from her post at USAID and what she’d like to share with the next administration in this bonus episode. This conversation was taped before the passage of last week's Continuing Resolution. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Walter Kerr and Amanda Arch: U.S. Foreign Aid Is Broken but Fixable  Agathe Demarais: Aid Is the Next Battleground Between China and the West Laura Thornton: How a Second Trump Term Will Redefine Foreign Aid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The incoming Trump administration is expected to gut a key piece of President Biden’s climate legacy: the Inflation Reduction Act. How will rolling this law back shape energy policy in the future? And what does this mean for the Paris Climate Accords? The Biden administration’s top climate diplomat, John Podesta, joins FP Live to discuss.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):       Transcript: Will Trump Dismantle Biden’s Clean Energy Initiative Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze: The Complicated Legacy of Biden’s Climate Legislation Tim Hirschel-Burns: On Climate, Paying Now Is Cheaper Than Paying Later Jason Bordoff and David R. Hill: The Key to a Successful Trump Energy Agenda Is Electricity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside a nontraditional war: the chip wars. Can Trump’s tariffs stop China’s efforts to catch up on semiconductor production? How will the AI boom change the game? The leading expert on semiconductor competition, Chris Miller, joins FP Live to discuss the state of the tech race and the impact of a second Trump administration.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Rishi Iyengar: Everyone Wants a Chip Factory Chris Miller: Biden Opens Sneaky New Front in Trade War Against China Vivek Chilukuri: America Needs Clear Standards for China Tech Decoupling Chris Miller in the Financial Times: The global chip war could turn into a cloud war Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For most Middle East watchers, the big news last week was that after nearly 14 months of war, Israel and Hezbollah signed a cease-fire agreement. But before the ink on that agreement was dry, another big shift was afoot: Rebel groups in Syria took control of the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo, in less than four days of battle. Middle East expert Fawaz Gerges joins FP Live to discuss the regional and global implications. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Jeremy Hodge and Hussein Nasser: A Weak Assad Benefits Turkey—and Is a Headache for Trump Hamidreza Azizi and Nicole Grajewski: What the Fall of Aleppo Means for Russia The Guardian: One year on from 7 October, our panel considers: what next for the Middle East? Nathan J. Robinson: Biden Didn’t Really Try to End the War in Gaza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The global target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius looks increasingly unlikely. What approaches to solving the climate crisis can best provide solutions? FP deputy editor Cameron Abadi joins FP Live to debut his new book: Climate Radicals: Why Our Environmental Politics Isn’t Working, which compares the policies of Germany and the United States. He shares what he has learned with Ravi Agrawal. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze: Is Climate Activism Working? Christina Lu: COP29 Kicks Off Under Trump’s Shadow Cameron Abadi: Hard Truths Come for Germany’s Climate Prophet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices