Why It Matters

A little over a week ago, Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory for the first time in history. And while the United States and Israel shot down almost all of the missiles and drones, the attack remains unprecedented. Since the release of this episode, Israel has launched a relatively moderate counter strike, and tensions appear to be cooling. But the Middle East might still be on the brink of a wider war. Host Dan Kurtz-Phelan and guests Suzanne Maloney and Ali Vaez discuss the consequences of deteriorating Iran-Israel dynamics and more in this Foreign Affairs Interview episode.   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit Foreign Affairs at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/can-israel-and-iran-step-back-brink 

Thirty years ago, Rwanda’s government began a campaign to eradicate the country’s largest minority group. In just one hundred days in 1994, roving militias killed around eight hundred thousand people. Would-be killers were incited to violence by the radio, which encouraged extremists to take to the streets with machetes. The United Nations stood by amid the bloodshed, and many foreign governments, including the United States, declined to intervene before it was too late. What got in the way of humanitarian intervention? And as violent conflict now rages at a clip unseen since then, can the international community learn from the mistakes of its past?   Featured Guests: Claude Gatebuke (Executive Director, African Great Lakes Action Network) David Scheffer (Senior Fellow for International Law and Criminal Justice, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/remembering-rwandan-genocide   

Many Americans are losing faith in the benefits of internationalism. But whether it’s wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, worsening extreme weather as a result of climate change, or the trade-offs of globalization, events abroad are increasingly having a local impact. At the same time,  more state and local officials in the United States are becoming involved in global affairs, conducting their own form of diplomacy on international issues and driving investment home. What role should the United States play in the world economy? And how do states and cities fit in?   Read about the RealEcon Initiative.   Featured Guests: Matthew P. Goodman, Distinguished Fellow for Global Economic Policy and Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies Nina Hachigian, U.S. Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/local-leaders-global-economy   

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real. And the truth about them is often hidden from the public, for reasons related to national security. That secrecy has fed conspiracy theories about the possibility of alien life on Earth, creating a stigma around the legitimate scientific search for life on other planets. Why are UFOs considered a defense concern? And does a defense framing of UFOs inhibit scientific research?   Featured Guests Philippe Ailleris (Copernicus Programme Project Controller, European Space Agency) Shane Harris (Intelligence Correspondent, Washington Post) Kai-Uwe Schrogl (President, International Institute of Space Law)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/ufos-close-encounters-national-security-kind

Every January, CFR’s annual Preventive Priorities Survey analyzes the conflicts most likely to occur in the year ahead and measures their potential impact. For the first time, the survey predicts that this year/in 2024 the United States will contend not only with a slew of global threats, but also a high risk of upheaval within its own borders. Is the country prepared for the eruption of election-related instability at home while wars continue to rage abroad?   Featured Guest:  Paul B. Stares (General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/2024-whats-worst-could-happen

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are again at war. The most recent iteration of the conflict, which erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, has stoked public debate throughout the world. In the United States, heated debates about the issue have played out at universities, in boardrooms, and on social media. Thus far, the U.S. government has strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself, sending warships and high-ranking officials to the region, but concerns are mounting about the civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. U.S. support for Israel is not new, but it has grown increasingly controversial, particularly among young people. Still, experts are skeptical that shifting U.S. public opinion of Israel and the Palestinian territories will influence the war’s trajectory.   Featured Guest: Steven A. Cook (Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/understanding-us-role-israel-hamas-war  

Billions of people will take to the polls next year, marking the world’s largest-ever electoral field. But this historic scale is not the only thing that will make 2024 unique. As new threats like deep fakes become cheaper and more widespread, these upcoming elections could serve as a test run for democracy in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. What risks does AI pose to elections next year? And will a surge in AI-powered disinformation change the nature of democratic elections?   Featured Guests: Kat Duffy (Senior Fellow for Digital and Cyberspace Policy) Yoel Roth (Technology Policy Fellow, University of California, Berkeley)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/year-ai-and-elections

The United States and India have a long and complex history. In recent years, the two democracies have grown closer, linked by their shared concern about the rise of China. But the relationship has also been marked by a number of challenges. Just last week, U.S. authorities foiled a plot by an Indian national to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil. Is the United States thinking about India the right way? And do the two countries share the same goals with regard to China? In this week's podcast takeover, host Dan Kurtz-Phelan and guest Ashley J. Tellis discuss all this and more in this Foreign Affairs Interview episode.   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit Foreign Affairs at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/will-india-take-americas-side-against-china 

International trade has shaped the world for much of the past century. Countries benefited from the global flow of goods, and the world became richer and safer. At the same time, many Americans lost their jobs to cheaper overseas competitors. Now, a series of compounding challenges, including great power competition and climate change, have led U.S. officials to rethink trade policy. What's next for international trade? And can the United States retain the benefits of trade while protecting critical supply chains and fighting climate change?   Featured Guests: Jennifer Hillman (Senior Fellow for Trade and International Political Economy) Inu Manak (Fellow for Trade Policy) Edward Alden (Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/turning-point-global-trade

Over the past few years, a new threat has emerged as a leading cause of death in the United States: fentanyl. Yet even as the drug wreaks havoc on Americans lives, preventing its flow into the United States is complicated, partially because of the supply’s overseas origins, which is often China. What is China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis?   Featured Guests: Tom Bollyky (​​Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development, and Director of the Global Health Program) Zongyuan Zoe Liu (Maurice R. Greenberg Fellow for China Studies)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/americas-fentanyl-epidemic-china-connection

Russia has caused unprecedented damage in Ukraine. And with no diplomatic end in sight to the conflict, many Ukrainians are wondering when, if ever, they will be able to go back to their homes. According to many experts, the answer is actually sooner rather than later. Can reconstruction begin before a war ends? Who pays, and where should world leaders begin?   Featured Guests:  Sam Greene (Director of the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Professor of Russian Politics, King's College London) Phillip Zelikow (White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us as https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/case-rebuilding-ukraine 

For decades, U.S. homeowners have counted on property insurance to protect them from catastrophic loss if their homes are destroyed—and the U.S. economy has rested on the functionality of that model. But as this summer’s extreme weather broke records, private companies reduced their coverage. As climate disasters become more frequent, can home insurance hold up?   Featured Guests: David Marlett (Managing Director of the Brantley Risk & Insurance Center, Appalachian State University) Nancy Watkins (Principal and Consulting Actuary, Milliman)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/could-climate-change-break-home-insurance 

Female representation in politics leads to numerous benefits, but the vast majority of the world’s most powerful politicians are men. Using the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women’s Power Index tool to track women’s leadership across the globe, this episode examines the problems that arise from a shortage of female leaders.   Featured Guests:  Sandra Pepera (Senior Associate and Director for Gender, Women and Democracy, National Democratic Institute) Linda Robinson (Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/who-runs-world-not-women 

A small island one hundred miles off the coast of China could be the flashpoint that determines the future of great-power competition. Experts increasingly warn that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be globally catastrophic, regardless of its success or if the United States intervenes. How concerned should Americans be?   James Lin (Assistant Professor at the University of Washington ) David Sacks (Fellow for Asia Studies, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/taiwan-china-and-threat-war 

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought lawmakers and industry leaders to the same conclusion: regulation is necessary to ensure the technology changes the world for the better. The similarities could end there, as governments and industry clash on what those laws should do, and different governments take increasingly divergent approaches. What are the stakes of the debate over AI regulation?   Featured Guests: Janet Haven (Executive Director, Data & Society) Sebastian Mallaby (Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/ai-meets-world-part-two  

After decades of seeming like another sci-fi catchphrase, artificial intelligence (AI) is having its moment. Some experts predict that AI will usher in an era of boundless productivity and techno-utopia; others see a new realm of great-power competition and the end of humanity. Nearly all agree that AI will change the world. But will it be for the better?   Featured Guests: Janet Haven (Executive Director, Data & Society) Sebastian Mallaby (Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/ai-meets-world-part-one 

Feeding the world's eight billion people has never been easy. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the market for fertilizer, that task has gotten even harder. The fertilizer crisis threatens to exacerbate food insecurity worldwide, especially in low-income countries already reeling from record-high inflation and rapidly depreciating currencies. What is fertilizer’s role in the food supply chain?   Featured Guests:  Laura Cross (Director, Market Intelligence, International Fertilizer Association) Michelle Gavin (Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/down-and-dirty-global-fertilizer-dilemma 

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of nuclear war felt like a problem of days past. Now, as great-power competition heats up, the potential for nuclear conflict seems higher than at any point in decades. How did the nuclear taboo fade, and what does nuclear proliferation mean for the United States?   Featured Guests: J. Andrés Gannon (Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, CFR) Rupal N. Mehta (Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/new-nuclear-age 

All current U.S. military personnel have one thing in common: they volunteered. But falling recruitment has raised questions of national security, military readiness, and the health of U.S. society. Can the all-volunteer force handle a changing international security landscape?   Featured Guests: Max Boot (Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, CFR) Amy Bushatz (Director and Executive Editor, Military.com) Colonel Timothy J. MacDonald (U.S. Army Fellow, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/army-some-recruiting-trouble-all-volunteer-force

Freedom of the press is under attack around the globe, but for journalists in Latin America in particular, reporting has become a matter of life and death. Populist leaders in the region have consolidated power and clamped down on press freedom, making the area the deadliest in the world for reporters. With anti-journalist sentiment on the rise, can a free and fair press prevail in an increasingly polarized world?   Featured Guests: Neil Brandvold (Documentary Filmmaker and Photojournalist) Jan-Albert Hootsen (Mexico Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists) Carin Zissis (Editor-in-Chief, AS/COA Online)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/silencing-messenger-global-threats-press-freedom