As part of the WACA 2021 National Conference, we gathered three experts to speak on the issue of climate change. These experts included: Alice Hill, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations Kate Gordon, Senior Advisor to Secretary Jennifer Granholm Vicki Arroyo, Associate Administrator for Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Alice Hill focused on insights from her book, The Fight for Climate After COVID-19. This session was recorded on November 18, 2021.

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Thursday, October 28, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, features Carla Power, journalist and author.

In Home, Land, Security: Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism, Carla Power wanted to chip away at the stereotypes by focusing not on what radicalized young people had done but why: What drew them into militancy? What visions of the world—of home, of land, of security for themselves and the people they loved—shifted their thinking toward radical beliefs? And what visions of the world might bring them back to society? 

Power begins her journey by talking to the mothers of young men who’d joined ISIS in the UK and Canada; from there, she travels around the world in search of societies that are finding new and innovative ways to rehabilitate former extremists. We meet an American judge who has staked his career on finding new ways to handle terrorist suspects, a Pakistani woman running a game-changing school for former child soldiers, a radicalized Somali American who learns through literature to see beyond his Manichean beliefs, and a former neo-Nazi who now helps disarm white supremacists. Summary from Penguin Randomhouse.

The discuss will be moderated by Patrick Ryan, President of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.

ABOUT CARLA POWER:

Carla Power was a foreign correspondent for Newsweek and a contributor for Time Magazine, writing on the culture and politics of Islamic societies. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vogue and Foreign Policy, and has earned her an Overseas Press Club award, a Women in Media Award, and the National Women’s Political Caucus’s EMMA award. She holds a graduate degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford and degrees from Yale and Columbia. She travels to the United States frequently from England.

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Thursday, September 9, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, features Philip Stephens, Director of the Editorial Board and Chief Political Commentator at Financial Times.

Britain Alone: The Path from Suez to Brexit

Britain Alone is a story of a nation's attempt to reconcile its past and present in a confident national identity—in the description of the American statesman Dean Acheson, to find a role after the end of empire. It is a story of inflated ambition rubbing up against its diminished circumstance, of a glorious past and an unforgiving present, and ultimately of Britain’s effort over many decades to come to terms with its place as an important, but second rank power. It's a story that touches at every turn neuralgic issues of national pride, identity and history.

ABOUT PHILIP STEPHENS:

Philip Stephens is an award-winning journalist and chief political commentator at the Financial Times. He was previously director of the FT’s editorial board. Throughout his career, he has had unique access to foreign policymakers in Britain and around the world. Stephens won the David Watt Prize for Outstanding Political Journalism; the UK Political Studies Association’s Political Journalist of the Year; and Political Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards. He is the author of Politics and the Pound and Tony Blair.

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Tuesday, August 31 at 2:00 PM ET, features Craig Whitlock, an investigative reporter for The Washington Post.

The Afghanistan Papers contains startling revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war, from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, the statistics were distorted, the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government.

ABOUT CRAIG WHITLOCK:

Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. He has covered the global war on terrorism for the Post since 2001 as a foreign correspondent, Pentagon reporter, and national security specialist. In 2019, his coverage of the war in Afghanistan won the George Polk Award for Military Reporting, the Scripps Howard Award for Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Freedom of Information Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for international reporting. He has reported from more than sixty countries and is a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. 

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Wednesday, August 18, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, features Mei Xu, Founder and CEO of Yes She May, BlissLiving Home and Chesapeake Bay Candle.

Burn: How Grit, Innovation, and a Dash of Luck Ignited a Multi-Million Dollar Success Story

In Burn, entrepreneur and international businesswoman Mei Xu tells her story of ingenuity, determination, and luck. Spanning three decades, from 1991 when she arrived at Washington’s Dulles Airport, to today, Xu’s story is one of stunning success. She built a multi-million-dollar company, met and counseled thousands of entrepreneurs and business people, and even advised the President of the United States Barack Obama on the topic of job creation.

ABOUT MEI XU:

Mei Xu is a Chinese American entrepreneur. The founder and CEO of three global companies, Yes She May, BlissLiving Home® and Chesapeake Bay Candle®. Xu successfully negotiated the sale of Chesapeake Bay Candle to Newell Brands in 2017, a conglomerate with a $14 billion portfolio of consumer goods. Mei is now focused on helping women-owned consumer product companies grow and prosper with the Yes She May product platform. Click here to read her full biography.

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Carmen Carcelén lives in a small town on the Colombia-Ecuador border. One night in 2017, she invited 11 beleaguered Venezuelan migrants into her home for a meal and a decent night's sleep. From there, word of Carmen's shelter spread on hand-written notes along the migrant route all the way back to Venezuela. In this episode, journalist Kimberley Brown takes us to that small town in Ecuador, where Carmen has now housed more than 10,000 migrants.  

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For the past several decades, foreign policy experts have been sounding the alarm bells about a rising China who would one day pose a threat to the United States of America as a global leader. Those bells seemingly ring louder each and every day. Whether it is a trade war, war of words, or something worse, the relationship between the two countries are at an all time low. This episode explores a new report from the Foreign Policy Association that looks to reimagine the relationship between the world's two biggest economies. The report's author, Sarwar Kashmeri, tries to get his audience to think differently about how these two countries interact and engage. It is his assertation, and that of many war game simulations, that the U.S. does not hold a strategic advantage in the military space anymore and this demands a new posture that looks for cooperation on key issues. Follow this link to read the full report: https://www.fpa.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Printproduction09Jul_red.pdf  

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When a wave of citizen-led uprisings swept the planet last summer, the Black Lives Matter movement forced a moment of reckoning at many international institutions. The word “racism” used to be taboo in many donor circles, but now people are talking openly about the role that race and colonialism have played in making foreign aid ineffective. Will this momentum affect meaningful, systemic change or is it just rhetoric? 

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Emily Haber has been Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States since June 2018. Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed political director and, in 2011, state secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as state secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018.

Emily Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union, including Head of the Political Department. At the Foreign Office in Berlin, she served as Head of the OSCE Division and as Deputy Director-General for the Western Balkans, among other positions. 

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Last March, six Asian-American women were killed by a gunman in Atlanta. The murders focused the public, as never before, on violence against America’s Asian communities—but a lot of Asian Americans saw this spike in hate crimes coming. In this collaboration with the podcast Self Evident, we look at what happens when we ignore anti-Asian hate—and what happens when we mobilize against it instead. Self Evident co-founder James Boo takes us to New York City at the height of the pandemic and explains how he anticipated the latest wave in hate crimes. Then, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Renee Tajima-Pena takes us to 1980’s Detroit, where anti-Japanese rhetoric fueled another burst of shocking violence. 

To learn more, check out Self Evident’s original series on anti-Asian hate, Renee Tajima-Pena’s documentary, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, and Tajima-Pena’s docuseries, Asian Americans.

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Fisher and Garten will discuss Garten’s new book, THREE DAYS AT CAMP DAVID, which describes how and why the Nixon administration broke the link between the dollar and gold, setting shock waves throughout the world economy and upending America’s most important political and military alliances. They will explain why this decision was perhaps the biggest one ever made in the international monetary system since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944, how it led to floating exchange rates, to more financial engineering, more intense globalization, and even to the emerging world of crypto and digital currencies. And they will examine the challenges to the dollar today, from China, from new forms of currency, from new kinds of protectionism, and from dysfunctional elements of our political system and institutions.

Jeffrey Garten is the former dean of the Yale School of Management, undersecretary of commerce for international trade, and managing director of the Blackstone Group. He now teaches courses at Yale on the global economy, international crisis management, and US foreign economic policy. He is the author of several books on global political and economic subjects including FROM SILK TO SILICON: The Story of Globalization Through Ten Extraordinary Lives. 

Richard Fisher was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 2005 to 2015. He began his career in private banking before becoming assistant to the secretary of the treasury during the Carter administration. He served as deputy U.S. trade representative in the Clinton administration. Ambassador Fisher’s experience also includes working for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s strategic advisory firm and founding his own firm, Fisher Capital Management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

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This breaking-news program provides context on the current state of affairs in Haiti in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7, 2021, as well as insight on the broader U.S.-Haitian relationship, and the history of Haitian leadership.

Paula Caldwell St-Onge (B.Sc.Queen's University, MBA (Leadership and Sustainability) University of Cumbria, recipient of the Head of the Public Service Award for Excellence in Policy and the Queen’s Gold Jubilee medal, began her career in the Public Service in 1989. She worked in several government departments where she gained expertise in communications, environmental sustainability and political risk. She has been a Director General of Canada’s Environmental Federal national programs on Enforcement, Environmental assessments and Emergency and Preparedness as well as Director General of the Pan African bureau at Global affairs Canada. 

She has lived and served abroad for 28 years having been brought up in Latin America and the Caribbean and served as Senior Trade Commissioner, Minister Counsellor of Trade, Consul General and Ambassador in Brazil, Mexico, Texas (and 5 surrounding States), and Haiti respectively. She speaks five languages fluently and is married to Daniel St-Onge and the couple has one daughter.

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The United Arab Emirates recently joined the small group of nations to have successfully launched a spacecraft to Mars, further proving space is the new domain for international cooperation—or competition.

On this episode, we speak with the woman who led the UAE's successful mission to Mars, and one of the world's rising stars in space and technology: H.E. Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri. 

She is the nation's first-ever Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency.

H.E. Minister Al Amiri talks with us about those yet-to-be answered questions in the emerging space domain—from opportunities for technological innovation and global peacebuilding, to what it means for national security—and beyond.

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Awakening, a global look at the worldwide impact of the #MeToo movement, shines a light on the far-reaching effects of the rise in women’s activism that sprang from a hashtag. Weaving together the personal stories of women from seven vastly different countries, and focusing on the international cultural reckoning the movement sparked, Awakening looks at #MeToo on the world stage through political analysis and anecdotal evidence, providing an in-depth look into how the campaign has reached across borders since its beginning in 2017.

Rachel Vogelstein is the director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she is also the Douglas Dillon senior fellow. During the Obama administration, Vogelstein served as top counselor on women’s issues to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and was a member of the White House Council on Women and Girls. She currently sits on the boards of Planned Parenthood Global and the National Women’s History Museum. She is a contributing writer on global women’s issues at the Washington Post and Foreign Affairs. Vogelstein holds degrees from Columbia University and Georgetown Law School. 

Meighan Stone is the senior fellow for Women and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. She previously served as president of the Malala Fund from 2014-2017 and was an entrepreneurship fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center. Stone’s work in women’s advocacy, international development, and media projects has led her to partner with the ONE Campaign, the UN, the World Economic Forum, FIFA World Cup, and the G7 Summit. She has written about global women’s issues for TIME and Foreign Affairs, among others. Stone holds a B.A. from George Mason University and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

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In the past year, reports of anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked in major cities, and a third of Asian Americans say they live in fear of racially-motivated attacks. A lot of this is attributed to anti-Asian rhetoric about the pandemic. But the hard truth is that whenever tensions escalate between the United States and Asian nations overseas, Asian-Americans bear the brunt of that anger at home. This week, we’re revisiting an episode we first released in May that explores the structural racism Asian Americans face within our government. We hear from US Congressman Andy Kim about how the power competition between China and the US creates fear and anxiety on the homefront, which often escalates to anti-Asian rhetoric. Then, we hear the stories of two scientists, Wen Ho Lee and Xiaoxing Xi. Both were racially profiled by the FBI—and falsely accused of spying for the Chinese government.  

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Monday, July 12, at 2:00 PM ET, will feature Jan-Werner Müller Professor of Politics at Princeton University and author of Democracy Rules. as part of WACA's Engage America: Wunderbar Together: The Future of Democracy series.  

Democracy Rules

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About Jan-Werner Müller:

Jan-Werner Müller studied at the Free University, Berlin, University College, London, St. Antony’s College, Oxford, and Princeton University. From 1996 until 2003 he was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford; from 2003 until 2005 he was Fellow in Modern European Thought at the European Studies Centre, St. Antony’s College. Since 2005 he has been teaching in the Politics Department, Princeton University.

He has been a Member of the School of Historical Studies, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, and a visiting fellow at the Collegium Budapest Institute of Advanced Study, Collegium Helsinki, the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, the Remarque Institute, NYU, the Center for European Studies, Harvard, as well as the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence. He has also taught as a visiting professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, the Ludwig Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, the Humboldt Universitaet in Berlin, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris.

Professor Müller is a co-founder of the European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA), Berlin, Germany’s first private, English-speaking liberal arts college, for which he served as founding research director. He maintains a strong interest in international teaching and research initiatives centered on the liberal arts. Read his full bio here.

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When Tokyo first hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964, it was widely regarded as a coming out moment on the international stage, where Japan could say it had risen from the ashes of World War II and was again an international player. More than fifty years later, Japan found itself in a similar position, poised to host the 2020 Summer Games and show the world it had successfully recovered from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. But the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into those plans, postponing the games for a year. And now, COVID-19 is on the rise in Japan -- and its  government just declared a fourth state of emergency in Tokyo. So, why are the Summer Olympics still happening? This week, we are exploring what happens when a country holds the world’s largest sporting event in the middle of a global pandemic. Olympic Historian John MacAloon, Olympic Athlete Keturah Orji and New York Times Tokyo Bureau Chief Motoko Rich join us on this week’s podcast to talk about sports, diplomacy, public health, protest and human rights at the Tokyo Olympics and beyond.

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China’s restriction on the free flow of information is no secret in the western world. Many are aware of the “Great Firewall,” as well as the intense surveillance of visitors and Chinese citizens. But what is life really like under such invasive conditions?

In The Perfect Police State, Asia-based reporter Geoffrey Cain shares intel from inside China’s surveillance network in the country’s westernmost province of Xinjiang. Informed by first-hand testimony and Cain’s own investigations into China’s “effective and enduring technological dystopia,” Cain argues that China has indeed created a perfect police state. 

Geoffrey Cain is an award-winning foreign correspondent and author. He was formerly a correspondent at The Economist and is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, Time, The New Republic, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and Bloomberg. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project. Cain is a Fulbright scholar who earned a master’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, as well as a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.

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General Daniel Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Farah Pandith, first ever Special Representative to Muslim communities, David Sanger, NYTimes National Security and Cyber expert, and many more leaders in global security are featured in this special highlights episode. Tickets for the Council's annual Global Security Forum go on sale this week, so we’re bringing you some of our favorite discussions from past forums, with topics ranging from artificial intelligence to China’s future global role.

Reserve your tickets and learn more about the Forum at www.gsf2021.com 

Members-only presale opens Wed., July 7 and General Admission ticket open Sat., July 10. 

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The recent discovery of over 1,000 unmarked graves at the sites of three former residential schools for First Nations people, has brought these institutions back into the spotlight. However, many people were never taught about the history of these programs to wipe out native cultures. In this month's episode we talk with Dr. Ronald Niezen of McGill University about the ongoing history of the treatment of First Nation peoples. 

Dr. Niezen is the author of a 2017 book, "Truth and Indignation: Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools", which explored the Canadian government's truth and reconciliation process that occurred from 2010-2015. There is still more work to be done, despite the 94 calls to action that the commission came out with. Explore this important topic with us.

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On August 3, Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge with close ties to Ayatollah Khameini, will replace Hassan Rouhani as President of Iran. And now, the fragile Nuclear Deal negotiated under former President Obama, hangs in the balance. As a candidate, President Biden promised to return to the Iran Nuclear Deal, and relieve crippling economic sanctions imposed under Trump’s policy of maximum pressure. But in the recent aftermath of his landslide victory, Ebrahim Raisi has already rejected a meeting with President Biden and said that he will not negotiate over Tehran’s ballistic missile program, nor its support of regional militias. In this week’s episode, we talk with US-Iranian relations expert, Trita Parsi, and journalist Negar Mortazavi, about the recent elections in Iran, and whether the Iran Nuclear Deal can get back on track. Plus, we host a conversation between Barbara Slavin and former US Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel. 

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Yemen is a nation on the brink of collapse. Devastated by more than 5 years of civil war, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is dire. Economic volatility and conflict have stretched Yemenis’ ability to cope to the breaking point, leaving millions deeply vulnerable and famine a real threat. In the first half of 2021, about 16 million people face acute levels of food insecurity, with a return of famine-like conditions for the first time in two years. Over 24 million people rely on humanitarian assistance to get by. According to the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises—an analysis of global food insecurity by 16 partners including the United Nations World Food Programme—conflict remains the leading driver of hunger globally, with about 99 million severely hungry people living across 23 conflict-affected countries. If adequately funded this year, the United Nations World Food Programme aims to provide emergency food assistance to about 13 million people as well as malnutrition treatment and prevention to 3.3 million children and mothers. Join our panelists for an inside view into Yemen’s hunger crisis and how the U.N. World Food Programme is feeding and assisting Yemenis and working to build resilience. 

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Ambassador Meron Reuben, Consul General of Israel to New England speaks to Council CEO Megan Torrey about Israel’s new government and the country’s post-Netanyahu future. For the first time in 12 years, Israel has a new prime minister. The new coalition government is led by Naftali Bennet, who claims this will be a “government of change.” Meanwhile, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that he and his party would be back. Is Israel really entering a new era? How will this new coalition government fare in the country and region?

This event was in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Hartford and the Consulate General of Israel to New England.

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts 

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When Syrian protesters tore down pictures of their dictator, Bashar al-Assad, toppled statues, demanded government reform and braved a military crackdown in 2011, Feras Fayyad was twenty-six years old.  He picked up a camera and filmed it all. As his country devolved into warring factions, Fayyad bore witness, documenting the horror, and went on to make two Academy Award nominated films. More than ten years after that first protest, 600,000 people have been killed, more than 6 million Syrians are now refugees, and Assad’s forces have retaken much of the country. This war may have fallen off the front page, but it’s not over, and it’s not just some humanitarian crisis on the far side of the world. On this week’s episode of the podcast we revisit a program about Syria’s war. We explore what was accomplished after 10 years of bloodshed and what could happen if justice is not served for Syria’s people. 

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George Friedman, Ph.D., chairman of Geopolitical Futures and author of The Storm Before the Calm, sits down with Council CEO Megan Torrey about his geopolitical predictions of the next decade. Dr. Friedman had predicted that the 2020s would be a period of dramatic upheaval and reshaping of American government, policy and culture. Can we predict current and future events based on historical patterns? And is this period really the “storm before the calm"?

Check out Dr. George Friedman's recent book, The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond.

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts

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As COVID-19 spread rapidly around the globe last year, teachers, parents and students scrambled to adapt to a world in lockdown. Some students turned to virtual and hybrid learning. Others had in-person school with social-distancing and masks, but some saw school closures and increased responsibilities at home. Now, many Americans are starting to get vaccinated, making it easier to imagine a normal school year in the fall, but the pandemic has disrupted the education of about 1.6 billion students worldwide. This massive disruption not only limits the skills of students now, but it could have economic implications for the rest of their lives. In this episode, we look at the lasting effects of the pandemic on education around the world.

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Fiona Hill, senior fellow at Brookings, and former deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council, is interviewed by Council CEO Megan Torrey on the state of U.S.-Russia relations. This month, President Biden and President Putin will meet for the first time since the Biden Administration took office. What's at stake for this historic summit? Can these two global powerhouses live in harmony?

This conversation was sponsored by Hoffman Auto Group.

Check out Fiona Hill's upcoming book, There Is Nothing for You Here, which will be released later this year.

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts

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The year is 2050. With 9.7 billion residents on Planet Earth, how will we feed everyone? In what ways will our lifestyles, and our global food system, adapt to meet the needs of a changing, warming and expanding planet? Today, we already have food shortages and the pandemic has revealed just how fragile our global food system is. On this week’s episode, we hear from two experts with competing visions of how we can sustainably feed a growing planet. Please join Ray Suarez, Raj Patel and Robert Paarlberg on a journey through the international food system. 

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When Jean Becker closed up President Bush’s Houston office in 2019 after his death, she told the Houston Chronicle, “What a pleasure. What a journey.” In The Man I Knew, the former chief of staff to President George H. W. Bush shares an intimate look into the post-presidency of one of America’s most influential one-term presidents. Becker served as Bush 41’s chief of staff for nearly 25 years, handling monumental tasks like the opening of the George Bush Presidential Library in 1997 and overseeing the former president’s state funeral in 2018. 

From the perspective of one of the president’s closest confidantes, who was at his side when he died, The Man I Knew offers a behind-the-scenes look into how President Bush continued to lead a life of service after losing the 1992 election – going on to see his own son become president after him and serving as a mentor to Presidents Clinton and Obama.

Jean Becker was chief of staff for President George H. W. Bush from 1994 until his death in 2018. In 1999, Becker took a leave of absence to focus on editing and research for the memoir, All the Best, George Bush. Becker also served as deputy press secretary to First Lady Barbara Bush (1989-1992), with whom she worked on Barbara Bush, A Memoir. Becker is a former journalist and a member of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Missouri.

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Iran is a key player in the Middle East and occupies an outsized amount of U.S. attention when it comes to foreign affairs. From proxy wars in Yemen, Syria, and other places, to the ongoing nuclear negotiations, understanding Iran is key to understanding U.S. policy in the region. With an upcoming election in just a few days, it is important to examine what this latest election can tell us about the future of Iran.

In this episode we talk with Negar Mortazavi and Trita Parsi to find out more about the process and likely outcomes of the election. As a slate of mostly hardliners jockey for the role of President, many Iranians are dissatisfied with the overall process.  

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When NATO leaders, including US President Joe Biden, meet in Brussels on June 14, one of the items at the top of the agenda is how the alliance should handle threats and opportunities from emerging technologies. What is the security impact of climate change? How can we responsibly harness artificial intelligence for defense? How do we strengthen cyber security and prepare against the threat of cyber warfare? As autonomous and quantum technologies are changing the world, how should NATO work with the private sector? On this episode of the podcast, Markos Kounalakis talks with David Van Weel, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General, and Sarah MacIntosh, the permanent representative to the British delegation to NATO. 

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Dr. Stefan Szymanski, Stephen J. Galetti Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan, and Harry Watling, Head Coach of the Hartford Athletic, sit down to talk about what the proposed Super League means for the future of the world's most popular sport. The initial effort collapsed in spectacular fashion, and in the process, drew the near unanimous ire of the world's 3.5 billion soccer fans. Is this saga, at its heart, a battle between globalization and nationalism? How did the American sports model inform the decision to create a Super League in European soccer? Moderated by Amanda Jolly, VP of Programs & Communications.

This conversation was in partnership with the Hartford Athletic and sponsored by Hoffman Auto Group.

Follow the Dr. Szymanski on Twitter @sszy and check out his book, Soccernomics. Follow the latest news with the Hartford Athletic on Twitter @hfdathletic.

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts

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Israeli politics are moving fast right now, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s future hangs in the balance. But no matter who wins the country’s latest political battle, many Palestinians see little hope for real change. Co-host Ray Suarez explores one of the underlying tensions that fuels the Israeli-Palestinian crisis by focusing on a single house in East Jerusalem. We hear from Samira Dajani, a Palestinian resident who’s facing eviction from her family home; Terry Boulatta, a Palestinian advocate; and Avi Bell, an Israeli-American law professor who advocates for the Jewish settlers. 

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Jason L. Riley’s biography of Sowell, Maverick, tells the story of the successful and provocative career of one of America’s foremost intellectuals and the experiences that shaped his insights and ideas. In Riley’s recently released companion documentary Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World, Larry Elder said of Sowell, “He is America’s greatest contemporary living philosopher.” 

Jason Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs. He is the author of several books, as well as a columnist and editorial board member for the Wall Street Journal, which he joined in 1994. Riley is a commentator on Fox News and frequently appears on ABC, NBC, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He holds a B.A. in English from The State University of New York at Buffalo.

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In the early 1960s, President Kennedy said the United States was in an "hour of maximum danger," as the Soviet Union was winning the space race. Then, on February 20, 1962, Friendship 7 began its orbit of Earth. With astronaut John Glenn on board, Friendship 7 got America back into the space race at one of the tensest moments of the Cold War. Jeff Shesol draws on historical archives, interviews, and Glenn’s personal notes to tell the story of the mission that changed the dynamics of the space race and restored American confidence during the Cold War.

Jeff Shesol’s two previous books, Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court and Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud That Defined a Decade, have won numerous awards. He also spent three years in the White House as one of President Clinton’s speechwriters. Shesol is a founding partner of West Wing Writers and formerly taught presidential history at Princeton University. He is a Rhodes Scholar who holds a master’s degree in history from Oxford University and a B.A. from Brown University. 

Peter Baker is the New York Times’ chief White House correspondent. Baker spent 20 years at the Washington Post, including four years as Moscow bureau chief in collaboration with his wife, journalist Susan Glasser. He has authored six award-winning books.

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In May, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis erupted into all-our war… again. Over 260 people were killed, the vast majority of them Palestinians in Gaza. Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, and as of this reporting, it seems to be holding. They’ve also both declared victory, but neither party has much to show for it—and both have been accused of war crimes. So, where does the conflict go from here? And what role will the US play in future peace prospects? In this episode, we look at this seemingly never-ending conflict, Biden and Netanyahu’s approaches to the conflict, and emerging models of Palestinian governance. 

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Throughout her nine terms in Congress, Jane Harman served on all major security committees, including as a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee in the years following the September 11 attacks. As a recognized expert on national security and public policy – with the resume to back it up – Harman has won numerous awards for her distinguished service. 

Now, in Insanity Defense, Harman recounts her decades on the national security front, arguing that no less than four presidential administrations have failed to address the most pressing threats to the nation. In a push to shift away from Cold War strategies, Harman lay outs her solutions for meeting the challenges of our times, in which rapidly advancing technology and multi-faceted global power structures may eventually redefine American dominance.

Jane Harman served nine terms as a U.S. Representative in Congress. She resigned in 2011 to become the first female president and CEO at the Woodrow Wilson Center, where she spent the past decade. Harman currently serves as a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and sits on the advisory board of the Munich Security Conference, as well as the board of Iridium Communication Inc. She is a member of the Presidential Debates Commission and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Harman holds a B.A. from Smith College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

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Number one bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat,Daniel James Brown has collaborated with a nonprofit that preserves the oral histories of formerly-interned Japanese Americans to produce Facing the Mountain, a heartbreaking and eye-opening account of four Japanese American families whose sons volunteered for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, deploying to the frontlines of Europe while their families were imprisoned at home. A tale of Americans “striving, resisting,” “laying down their lives, and enduring,” Facing the Mountain shines a light on the bravery and patriotism of a few young men during one of the darkest moments in American history. 

Daniel James Brown is a narrative nonfiction author who has published three previous books that strive to bring historical events to life. He taught writing at San José State University. As a California native, he received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. from University of California, Los Angeles.

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The World Affairs Council of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will host WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Wednesday, May 26, at 7:00 PM ET, featuring award-winning journalist Tara Kangarlou.

The Heart of Iran: Real Voices of A Country and Its People

Tara Kangarlou will discuss the role of media and society in the U.S. and Iran, and her insights about the Iranian people and culture as the western media seems to highlight only a slim view of this country of 80 million people.

Kangarlou's new book, The Heartbeat of Iran: Real Voices of a Country and Its People, will be released June 1. It captures the heart and soul of a country that's often seen through news headlines and a political fog that blurs the reality of life for millions of Iranians. Kangarlou was born and raised in Tehran and is fully bilingual in English and Farsi.

ABOUT TARA KANGARLOU

She is an award-winning journalist who has reported, written, and produced breaking news, investigative pieces, and broadcast stories for NBC-LA, CNN, CNN International and Al Jazeera America. Her writing and reporting has also appeared in digital news outlets such as TIME, Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, and Al Monitor. She previously served as a fellow at the East West Institute, is a contributor to Al Jazeera, and a frequent commentator on various news outlets covering the MENA region and humanitarian issues worldwide.

In 2015, she led Al Jazeera America's team with unprecedented access to report from inside Iran during the nuclear negotiations. In recent years, she has reported extensively from the Syrian border regions of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan covering issues that impact Syrian refugees, host countries, and the Middle East at large. In 2016, she founded Art of Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the psychosocial and mental health needs of refugees in Lebanon.

Her forthcoming book, The Heartbeat of Iran will be released June 1, and captures the heart and soul of a country that's often seen through news headlines and a political fog that blurs the reality of life for millions of Iranians inside the country. Each chapter is an incredibly nuanced, textured, and intimate journey into the diversity of beliefs, struggles, and complexities of life in today's Iran - all told through the real stories of its people. Tara was born and raised in Tehran and is fully bilingual in English and Farsi.

REGISTER HERE!

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Roya Hakakian, poet, journalist and writer, sits down with the Council to talk about her personal journey to the United States as a refugee and her new book, A Beginner’s Guide to America.  For immigrants and refugees, the challenges and triumphs of life in the United States can be vast, so what is the best practical advice and information for those who settle in the U.S.? And how has a U.S. citizen who came to America as a refugee from Iran turned her experience into a helpful guide for the newly arrived? 

This episode was made possible by generous support from Connecticut Humanities with additional support by Murtha Cullina LLP.

Follow Roya on Twitter @RoyaTheWriter and check out her new book, A Beginner's Guide to America.

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts

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Even before COVID-19, the world’s people were pulling apart from each other. Now, as the pandemic rages on, our differences are even more obvious as people focus on taking care of their own and feel estranged, fearful and suspicious. Turning inward is an understandable response to the heartaches of 21st century life, but is more isolation really what the world needs right now? Drawing from an ancient Sanskrit phrase, “the world is one family,” author Vishaka Desai challenges us to consider a different way of looking at each other and the world we share. She joins co-host Ray Suarez on the podcast to talk about her new book World as Family: A Journey of Multi-rooted Belongings. 

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Daniel Levin was at his office when he got a call from an acquaintance with an urgent, cryptic request to meet in Paris. A young man had gone missing in Syria. No government, embassy, or intelligence agency would help. Could he? Would he? So begins a suspenseful, shocking, and at times brutal true story of one man’s search to find a missing person in Syria over twenty tense days. Levin, a lawyer turned armed-conflict negotiator, uses his extensive contacts to chase leads throughout the Middle East, meeting with powerful sheikhs, drug lords, and sex traffickers in his pursuit of the truth. He also discovers remarkable people who retain their essential goodness and spirit in the face of adversity.

In Proof of Life, Levin dives deep into a shadowy world where few have access—an underground industry of war where everything is for sale, including arms, drugs, and even people. He offers a fascinating study of how people use leverage to get what they want from one another and where no one does a favor without wanting something in return, whether it’s immediately or years down the road. 

Proof of Life is a fast-paced thriller wrapped in a memoir, a must-read for anyone interested in power dynamics, international affairs, the Middle East, or our growing number of forever wars.

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Arthur House, former Cybersecurity Risk Officer for the State of Connecticut, Cybersecurity Policy Advisor to Connecticut’s Secretary of the State and Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut, is among the cybersecurity experts who warned of a large-scale cyberattack for years.  He joins the Council to discuss the recent attack on Colonial Pipeline, which is responsible for about 45% of the East Coast fuel supply, and how to better protect U.S. critical infrastructure. How did this unprecedented attack happen in the first place? Why is the United States' most critical infrastructure so undefended? What can the U.S. do to prevent the next attack?

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts

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The world’s refugee population is the highest it’s been since World War II. After fleeing violence, poverty and climate change in their home countries, many displaced people seek asylum in the United States. But coming to the US as a refugee is not easy. Our resettlement system is hopelessly bureaucratic, and four years of President Trump’s nativist immigration policies just made things harder. On the campaign trail, Joe Biden promised to raise a cap on the number of refugees admitted to the US per year, but he’s wavered in recent months. In this episode, journalist Hana Baba talks with former refugee Maryan Hassan and author Ty McCormick, whose new book Beyond the Sand and Sea tells the story of Hassan and her family’s heroic journey from Somalia, to the world’s largest refugee camp in Kenya, and eventually, on to the United States. Then we hear from Nazanin Ash, Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee, who walks us through the state of displaced people worldwide. 

McCormick first learned about Maryan Hassan's Family's journey from this story about Maryan returning to Dadaab to visit her family after leaving Dadaab as a 19 year old in 2005. Maryan's brother, Asad Hussein, also wrote this article: "My Family Waited 13 Years to Resettle in the United States. Then Trump Slammed the Door in Our Faces" about the impact of the the Muslim ban in 2017 for Foreign Policy. It covers his family’s journey to reunite in the United States. Luckily, for his family, this story has a happy ending.

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China And Russia With Jack Devine And Jonathan WardGlobal I.Q. Podcast

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As one of the country’s leading authorities on American foreign policy and what goes on behind the scenes, James M. Lindsay has a wealth of knowledge about where the U.S. stands on the global stage, how it’s affected by shifting power dynamics, and how all these elements come together to shape our understanding of current issues.

Lindsay is the co-author of The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Leadership and America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy, for which he has won multiple awards. On his blog, The Water’s Edge, Lindsay writes about the ways in which politics influence U.S. foreign policy decisions and how those decisions affect global power structures and domestic politics – topics that are frequently discussed on Lindsay’s podcasts, The President’s Inbox and The World Next Week. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Lindsay is a recipient of the Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs, as well as the CFR International Affairs Fellowship.

James M. Lindsay is senior vice president, director of studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg chair at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has held leadership positions across many prestigious organizations, including the Brookings Institution, the National Security Council, the United States Institute of Peace, and the Center for International Affairs. He holds an A.B. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan, as well as an M.A., M.Phil., and a Ph.D. from Yale University. 

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Roy Kamphausen, President of the National Bureau of Asian Research, joins us to address China, the U.S., and each nation’s respective vision for the future of their country, their bilateral relationship, and the world they want to shape. Today, we’re addressing 5 key strategic domains in the US-China relationship: defense, economy, global leadership, space and technology. In each domain we’ll ask: where is U.S.-China competition fiercest – and most consequential?

Read more from Roy and the National Bureau of Asian Research on their website.

For more visit: www.ctwac.org/podcasts

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In the past year, reports of anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked in major cities. A lot of this is attributed to anti-Asian rhetoric about the pandemic. But the hard truth is that whenever tensions escalate between the United States and Asian nations overseas, Asian-Americans bear the brunt of that anger at home. In this episode, we hear from US Congressman Andy Kim about how the  power competition between China and the US creates fear and anxiety on the homefront, which often escalates to anti-Asian rhetoric. Then, we hear the stories of two scientists, Wen Ho Lee and Xiaoxing Xi. Both were racially profiled by the FBI—and falsely accused of spying for the Chinese government. 

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When a new president is elected, administration officials change but the White House staff often does not. Many of these “White House lifers” maintain their roles for decades – like Dale Haney, the chief groundskeeper since 1972. In The Secret Life of the White House, Susannah Jacob paints a vivid picture of the daily life of the residence staff behind the scenes – illuminated with interviews from dozens of former and current longtime professionals. Jacob argues these individuals are symbols of the independence of the White House, conserving the legacies of past presidents and “continuing to do their jobs and serve whoever moves in.”

Susannah Jacob is a writer and former speechwriter for President Barack Obama. As a Ph.D. student in Yale University’s Department of History, Jacob's interests focus on twentieth century America, labor, and political history. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and the New York Times. She holds a B.A. in history from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a professor of history and public affairs. He has authored nine books about contemporary politics and foreign policy. Suri is also a contributor for the New York Times, Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, and Foreign Affairs. He holds an A.B. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Ohio University, and a Ph.D. from Yale University, all in history. 

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When Joe Biden ran for president, he pledged to make climate change a major priority. During his first 100 days in office, he rejoined the Paris Agreement, pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, and his administration hosted a global climate summit. Now comes the hard part; convincing Congress to pass a $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan. This week on the podcast, the World Affairs Council (Northern California) talks about climate policy with former California Governor Jerry Brown, oceanographer Sylvia Earle and former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, 2016 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, they visit Paradise, California, the site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history.

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Murithi Mutiga, Project Director for the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group, joins the World Affairs Council of Connecticut CEO Megan Torrey to talk about the present and emerging crises he’s tracking today. From a humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia to political violence in Somalia, an already tumultuous region is facing more challenges than usual. As we look ahead in 2021 which evolving movements, trends, and crises might lie ahead in the Horn of Africa?

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It is hard to believe, but there is a world leader who laments that previous dictators did not kill more of their countrymen. He also has pretty clear ties to violent militias, including one militia who killed a city councilwoman in Rio. However hard it may be to believe, this is the case with Brazil and their President, Jair Bolsonaro. In this episode we speak with Harvard University Professor, Bruno Carvalho, about the rise of President Bolsonaro and how people can support such a man. This insightful discussion provides listeners with the opportunity to learn more about authoritarians and how they come to power. It is helpful to understanding the wider trend of democratic backsliding and what needs to be done to confront it.

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When Joe Biden ran for president, he pledged to make climate change a major priority. During his first 100 days in office, he rejoined the Paris Agreement, pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, and his administration  hosted a global climate summit. Now comes the hard part; convincing Congress to pass a $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan. This week on the podcast, we talk about climate policy with former California Governor Jerry Brown, oceanographer Sylvia Earle and former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, 2016 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, we visit Paradise, California, the site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. 

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Fifty-three years after the phrase “Space! The final frontier…” entered U.S. pop culture via the television series “Star Trek,” the United States Space Force became the newest branch of the American Armed Forces. Operating within the Department of the Air Force, the USSF began developing military doctrine for space power and military space systems to protect the U.S. and its allies in space in December 2019. In an exclusive, members-only event, Lt. Gen. William J. Liquori will pull back the curtains for an inside view of how the need for a military presence in space came to be – followed by a look ahead to what’s in store for this exciting new endeavor.

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When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that companies and labor unions enjoy the same right to political speech as individuals, many restrictions on money in American politics were lifted. Super PACs now rule our political landscape and can pour hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns, as long as their efforts remain independent of candidates. The influx of large sums of money into politics can damage trust in government, suppress turnout, and put corporate interests before the interests of constituents. To what extent is this a uniquely American issue? How much influence is for sale and what can be done about it?

Meridian Young Professionals are invited to join our virtual conversation with Ann Drumm of American Promise on the impact money has in our local and federal system and whether a new constitutional amendment is appropriate to combat this phenomenon.

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Wednesday, April 28, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, featured co-authors Robin Broad, Professor of International Development at American University, and John Cavanagh, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Studies. 

The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed

At a time when countless communities are resisting powerful corporations—from Flint, Michigan, to the Standing Rock Reservation, to Didipio in the Philippines, to the Gualcarque River in Honduras—The Water Defenders tells the inspirational story of a community that took on an international mining corporation at seemingly insurmountable odds and won not one but two historic victories.

In the early 2000s, many people in El Salvador were at first excited by the prospect of jobs, progress, and prosperity that the Pacific Rim mining company promised. However, farmer Vidalina Morales, brothers Marcelo and Miguel Rivera, and others soon discovered that the river system supplying water to the majority of Salvadorans was in danger of catastrophic contamination. With a group of unlikely allies, local and global, they committed to stop the corporation and the destruction of their home.

Based on over a decade of research and their own role as international allies of the community groups in El Salvador, Robin Broad and John Cavanagh unspool this untold story—a tale replete with corporate greed, a transnational lawsuit at a secretive World Bank tribunal in Washington, violent threats, murders, and—surprisingly—victory. The husband-and-wife duo immerses the reader in the lives of the Salvadoran villagers, the journeys of the local activists who sought the truth about the effects of gold mining on the environment, and the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the corporate mining executives and their lawyers. The Water Defenders demands that we examine our assumptions about progress and prosperity, while providing valuable lessons for those fighting against destructive corporations in the United States and across the world.

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Fiona Hill, one of the nation’s foremost experts on Russia, is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 through 2019. In November 2019, Hill testified before the House Intelligence Committee during the committee’s impeachment hearing.

Dr. Hill has researched and published extensively on Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, specifically on issues related to regional conflicts and energy. She is the author of “The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold” and “Energy Empire: Oil, Gas and Russia’s Revival.” Hill also co-authored “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin” with Clifford Gaddy.

Dr. Fiona Hill holds a master’s degree in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University. She also holds a master’s degree in Russian and modern history from St. Andrews University and has studied at the Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Kerry McCoy, two-time US Olympian, 2008 Olympic Coach and current Executive Director at the California Regional Training Center, and Dr. Ashleigh Huffman, Program Specialist in the Sports Diplomacy Division at the U.S. Department of State, join the Council to unpack the power of sports diplomacy. Sports and politics are two of the most polarizing topics in the world. Then again, they both have an undeniable ability to bring people together regardless of country, background and beliefs. From the Olympics to the United Nations, how does sports diplomacy work to create a safer and more stable world? What skills can we adapt from athletics to build stronger communities, both at home and abroad? 

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US military forces have occupied Afghanistan for almost 20 years and now, President Biden says it’s time to end the war. But Afghanistan is still fragile, and the Taliban is more powerful now than it has been in years. In February of 2020, the Trump Administration signed a historic peace agreement with the Taliban, requiring them to renounce attacks on American forces and allies, and the US agreed to withdraw its troops, but the Afghan government wasn’t included in the negotiation -- and Afghan civilians continue to be targeted by the Taliban. Biden says that the US accomplished its goal of degrading Al Qaeda to the point that it cannot not use the country as an operations base again.  But it’s possible Afghanistan could devolve into a civil war if the right decisions aren’t made. In this episode, we look at the legacy of America’s longest war -- and what’s at stake as the US brings its troops home.

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US military forces have occupied Afghanistan for almost 20 years and now, President Biden says it’s time to end the war. But Afghanistan is still fragile, and the Taliban is more powerful now than it has been in years. In February of 2020, the Trump Administration signed a historic peace agreement with the Taliban, requiring them to renounce attacks on American forces and allies, and the US agreed to withdraw its troops, but the Afghan government wasn’t included in the negotiation -- and Afghan civilians continue to be targeted by the Taliban. Biden says that the US accomplished its goal of degrading Al Qaeda to the point that it cannot not use the country as an operations base again.  But it’s possible Afghanistan could devolve into a civil war if the right decisions aren’t made. In this episode, we look at the legacy of America’s longest war -- and what’s at stake as the US brings its troops home. 

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Shahmahmood Miakhel, Designated Ambassador of Afghanistan to Qatar, joins the Council live from Kabul to tackle the biggest questions surrounding President Biden's announcement that the U.S. would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11th. After twenty years of conflict, America is finally ready to put a close on its longest war in history -- but what does it mean for Afghanistan as a country and for its people? What role will the Taliban play, if any, in domestic Afghani politics?

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Vaccine hesitancy is actually nothing new, and Pakistani Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq has been working to address the problem for a long time. In this episode, she talks with Ray Suarez about what we can learn from Pakistan’s experience distributing the polio vaccine. Even after CIA agents staged a fake vaccine campaign to collect intelligence on Osama bin Laden, stoking vaccine skepticism, health workers managed to brave death threats and convince people to vaccinate their children. They talked with families about the effects of polio, introduced them to victims of the disease and vaccinated the Prime Minister on live TV. Can we use the same strategies with COVID-19?

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John Boehner was a small business owner when he first decided to run for elected office after witnessing what he considered the negative effects of “high taxes and red tape” on American entrepreneurs. After two decades in office, Boehner became Speaker of the House in 2011 and immediately found himself in opposition to President Obama’s vision for America. In On the House, Boehner reflects on his time in Congress, recounting the lessons of success and failure he has learned from leaders – from Gerald Ford to Joe Biden – he has encountered.

John Boehner is the former Speaker of the House of Representatives (2011-2015). From 1991 until his resignation in October 2015, Boehner represented the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio as a Republican. In Congress, Boehner’s stated goals were a “smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government.” Since 2016, he has been a senior strategic advisor at Squire Patton Boggs LLP.

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Vaccine hesitancy is actually nothing new, and Pakistani Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq has been working to address the problem for a long time. In this episode, she talks with Ray Suarez about what we can learn from Pakistan’s experience distributing the polio vaccine. Even after CIA agents staged a fake vaccine campaign to collect intelligence on Osama bin Laden, stoking vaccine skepticism, health workers managed to brave death threats and convince people to vaccinate their children. They talked with families about the effects of polio, introduced them to victims of the disease and vaccinated the Prime Minister on live TV. Can we use the same strategies with COVID-19?

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It’s no secret that China is in the midst of dynamic change. Through an incisive look at President Xi Jinping’s political and economic reforms, Elizabeth Economy analyzes that transformation as it’s occurring today.

One of the nation’s foremost experts on Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Economy writes with authority in her latest book, “The Third Revolution,” about the widespread implications of China’s actions on the rest of the world. In an attempt to regain its past glory, Economy argues that China has embarked on a mission to reimagine global norms to better fit the vast nation’s “ambitious geostrategic objectives.”

Elizabeth Economy was called by Politico Magazine one of the “10 Names That Matter on China Policy” in 2018. She is a senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Her work is widely published and she is the author of several books on China. Economy holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, an M.A. from Stanford University, and a B.A. from Swarthmore College.

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Brenda Gayle Plummer, Ph.D., professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and foundational scholar in the realm of race and international relations, joins the Council to discuss the deep global roots of today’s U.S. movements for social justice. After George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota protests for racial justice erupted around the world. The words “I can’t breathe” appeared on protest signs in cities from Berlin to Seoul. On this episode, we ask: what made these protests go global so immediately? How has the movement for civil rights always been a global movement?

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As vaccine roll-outs bring the end of the pandemic closer in wealthier countries, many poorer nations are enduring a surge in coronavirus cases without access to life-saving vaccines. COVAX, a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, is working hard to bridge the divide. Anuradha Gupta, deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, talks with Ray Suarez about why vaccinating the whole world is not only the right thing to do, but will keep the disease from mutating into a more dangerous one. Can we vaccinate a planet of 7.9 billion before the virus gets the best of us?

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Kaitlyn Johnson, Deputy Director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) knows a thing or two about space. What’s more, is she and her team at CSIS seamlessly combined counterspace defense systems with Harry Potter to make an easily accessible, but wholly comprehensive, report on counterspace weapons (the “dark arts”). Whether defending satellites from attack or saving the wizarding world from evil, special circumstances require special countermeasures. What is the current state of space and counterspace defenses today? How can the United States maintain a distinct strategic advantage over the “dark arts” in space? 

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H.R. McMaster, a retired Army lieutenant general and former national security advisor, says the last twenty years of US foreign policy have been characterized by a belief that the world revolves around us. The result? A series of strategic blunders, from the war in Iraq to our missteps in Syria. And we’re not the only political power players who are guilty of “overconfidence” and “strategic narcism.” In this episode, we look at what happens when you think you know what you’re doing and don’t listen to the people you are trying to help.

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A decade after the Arab Spring began in 2011, where does the Middle East stand today? At the time, the uprisings stunned the world and appeared to ignite a flame of freedom across the Arab world. But what came of the movements?

From an ongoing civil war in Syria to the burgeoning democracy of Tunisia and reemerging protests in the region, the lasting effects of the Arab Spring span a wide range. In the western world, a debate continues as to whether the Arab Spring was a failure, a success, or if perhaps we are still in its midst. Scholar Steven Cook will delve into these questions and more, illuminating the reasons why this debate is important and what it means for U.S. policy.

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What Séverine Autesserre has learned from two decades working on the ground in war torn countries, from Afghanistan to The Republic of Congo, is that the top-down approach to international peacekeeping, practiced by what she refers to as “Peace, Inc,” doesn’t work. With examples drawn from across the globe, she shows how peace can grow in the most unlikely circumstances. Contrary to what most politicians preach, building peace doesn't require billions in aid or massive international interventions. Real, lasting peace requires giving power to local citizens.

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Elisabeth Braw, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins the Council to discuss the fragility of the global shipping infrastructure. When the massive Ever Given cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal in early March, it not only blocked waterways, but also billions of dollars in trade. From proxy wars to GPS spoofing attacks and accidental crises, like the Ever Given event, events like these expose some of the overlooked vulnerabilities of global shipping infrastructures. This shipping mishap caused many to ask some long overdue questions like, how can disruptions in our supply chains create ripple effects around the world? How can we be more responsible consumers when purchasing goods?

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When so many of our home goods and clothing items are made in China, it may be a good idea to step back and understand how those goods actually get to us.

In 2012, an Oregon mother, Julie Keith, came face to face with the reality of cheap American consumerism when an SOS letter from China fell out of a box of $5 Halloween decorations. The writer’s name was Sun Yi, an engineer imprisoned in a Chinese labor camp, where he was forced to carve foam headstones and stitch clothing for more than 15 hours a day as part of his “reeducation” by the Chinese government.

In Made in China, Amelia Pang follows Sun Yi’s story, as well as those of others like him, tracking down China’s “falsified supply chains,” that start with gulag-like labor camps and end in American homes.

Amelia Pang is an award-winning investigative journalist of Uyghur descent. She is an editor at EdTech Magazine. Her book, Made in China, to be released in February 2021, was shortlisted for the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award by the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Pang holds a BA in Literary Studies from the New School.

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On our planet, hunger is nothing new, but with the economic turmoil caused by COVID-19 and the climate crisis collapsing the ecosystems that sustain us, we could be on the brink of famine on a global scale. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a stark warning of what much of the world could be facing if we don’t do something about it now.

After more than five years of civil war, Yemenis are bracing for what could be the worst famine the world has seen in decades. "Hunger Ward," a new documentary film, follows two healthcare professionals, on opposite sides of the war, who are fighting to save the children of Yemen from starvation. Oscar-nominated director Skye Fitzgerald and Dr. Aida Al-Sadeeq talk with WorldAffairs producer Teresa Cotsirilos about how hunger is being used as a weapon of war -- and what can be done to stop it.

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World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth's virtual conversation with former Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis will be moderated by Council President Emeritus Jim Falk. General Mattis served as the 26th secretary of defense from January 2017 through December 2018 after retiring from his 43-year career as an infantry marine in 2013. Through his decades of experience, General Mattis has developed an acute understanding of American foreign policy and the United States’ role on the global stage and is a fierce advocate for education.

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In 2018, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was elected with a promise to transform the country into a fully-fledged democracy after its people faced decades of oppressive rule. In 2019, he won a Nobel Peace Prize for peacemaking efforts with neighboring Eritrea. Last fall, however, Ethiopia’s democratic experiment seemingly fell apart. Now, the country is at the center of a humanitarian disaster. If Ethiopia erupts into an all-out civil war, it could trigger a regional conflict throughout the Horn of Africa, the continent’s ethnically diverse eastern peninsula.

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Yaya J. Fanusie, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American security discusses the launch of China’s new digital Yuan. He sits down with Amanda Jolly to talk about China’s new national digital currency - what it is, how it works, and what implications it may have for financial security and privacy in China and around the world. Will China’s digital currency model set the template for all national digital currencies going forward? Should the U.S. launch its own? How can we harness the power of digital currency while safeguarding citizens and businesses from digital authoritarianism? 

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Paul Haenle will discuss the factors driving the downturn in the U.S.-China relations in recent years and the outlook for the relationship under the Biden administration. He will share his perspective on how Washington and Beijing can chart a more constructive path forward for the relationship, analyzing areas of confrontation, competition, problem-solving, and cooperation.

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Where does the global fight against climate change stand? What can you do about it? Why is it important on both a local and international scale? Speaking with Julie Cerqueira of the US Climate Alliance and Rob Werner, State Director of the League of Conservation Voters, we dive into these questions and more to help you better understand what is needed to avoid a potential disaster.

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Former military officers and award-winning authors Admiral James Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman have written a geopolitical thriller about an imagined naval clash between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea in 2034. Based upon “actual decisions already made,” the novel imagines how “a single technological leap forward” enables China to blind and bind our military. Jim Mattis’ review of the novel said, “…Jim Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman’s chilling novel presents a realistic series of miscalculations leading to the worst consequences. A sobering, cautionary tale for our time.”

Jay Young is moderating this conversation. Contributors' Circle members will be able to spend an extra 15 minutes of Q&A time with Admiral Stavridis.

James Stavridis is a four-star admiral whose 30 years in the U.S. Navy included postings as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and Commander of U.S. Southern Command, where he led all U.S. military operations in Latin America. Admiral Stavridis is the author of nine books on the military and leadership. This is his first novel. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Tufts University, where he served as the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy for five years.

Elliot Ackerman is an award-winning author and former marine who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He is former White House fellow and has written fiction and non-fiction books. His writing often appears in Esquire, The New Yorker and the New York Times, where he is a contributing opinion writer.

Jay T. Young began his career in the U.S. Government as a military analyst, serving on task forces for major military operations and authoring assessments on key issues in Latin America and the Persian Gulf. His long business career includes senior leadership positions in the management consulting, information technology services, and diversified manufacturing industries. He is currently the principal of Obsydian Consulting, LLC. Jay also served for 25 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve retiring as a Captain in 2018.

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Christian Brose, author of The Kill Chain, Head of Strategy at Anduril Industries and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, gives us an in-depth rundown of the future of high-tech weaponry and warfare. The U.S. must choose: to modernize and innovate its military, or risk losing the next war. What will our military leaders need to consider while confronting this new battle landscape? How can America build a battle network of systems to rapidly understand and respond to evolving threats?

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Last week, there were seven mass shootings in seven days. And though other nations with better gun control see this as an American problem, the US has been exporting its gun problem abroad for years. Arms traffickers thrive on the country’s inconsistent gun laws. And while President Biden is urging Congress to create stronger gun regulations, it’s unclear whether they will take any meaningful action beyond the usual “thoughts and prayers.” In this episode, journalists J Brian Charles and Ioan Grillo join us to talk about how complicated gun violence is, and how tighter gun laws could help reduce it.

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Ayman Safadi has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs & Expatriates for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan since 2017 and has also served Deputy Prime Minister since October 2020. As you can see in his Twitter posts, he meets on a daily basis with foreign ministers and heads of state of countries in all regions of the world. In previous public appointments, he served as adviser to King Abdullah, Minister of State, spokesperson for the Jordanian government, and spokesperson for the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq.

Safadi began his professional career in journalism and communications. He has served as CEO of Abu Dhabi Media Company, Director General of Jordan Radio and Television Corporation, editor-in-chief and columnist for the Al-Ghad daily newspaper, and editor-in-chief of The Jordan Times.

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Diplomacy’s equivalent of the military’s special forces is the “expeditionary diplomat,” a resourceful professional with specialized training from the Department of Defense and CIA who can take on the toughest diplomatic assignments in high threat, unstable or failed states.

Join diplomatic correspondent Paul Richter, author of the “The Ambassadors,” for a virtual conversation with three of America’s preeminent diplomats – Ryan Crocker, Robert Ford and Anne Patterson – whom he profiled in his book along with Christopher Stevens, who was killed in Libya in 2012.

Paul Richter covered the State Department and foreign policy as a Washington-based correspondent for the Los Angeles Times before leaving the publication in 2015. Throughout his three-decades-long career, Richter reported from 60 countries. He is a graduate of Clark University in Massachusetts.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker was a career Foreign Service Officer, who served as Ambassador to Afghanistan (2011-2012), Iraq (2007-2009), Pakistan (2004-2007), Syria (1998-2001), Kuwait (1994-1997), and Lebanon (1990-1993). He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) and currently serves as diplomat in residence at Princeton University. He holds a B.A. in English and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Whitman College.

Ambassador Robert S. Ford served as U.S. Ambassador to Syria (2011-2014) and Algeria (2006-2008) before retiring from the Foreign Service in 2014. He is a recipient of the U.S. Department of State’s Secretary’s Service Award (2014) and the John F. Kennedy Library’s Profile in Courage Award (2012), which he received for his work defending human rights in Syria. He is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Ambassador Anne Patterson spent more than four decades in the Foreign Service, serving as Ambassador to Egypt (2011-2013), Pakistan (2007-2010), Colombia (2000-2003), and El Salvador (1997-2000). She was appointed to the National Defense Strategy Commission by Congress in 2017, where she contributed to an independent review of U.S. national security needs. From 2017 to 2018, Patterson served as a senior fellow at the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.

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Harry Lester, Economic Counsellor at the Embassy of Ireland, celebrates Saint Patrick's Day with the Council by discussing the U.S.-Ireland economic partnership. World Affairs Council of Connecticut CEO Megan Torrey is joined by guest moderator Conall O Móráin, Host of That Great Business Show, as they tackle questions such as, what can the United States learn from Ireland’s economic success? How does a new U.S. administration impact the U.S.-Ireland alliance? 

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President Biden launched his first airstrikes in Syria only a month after he took office. The targets were Iranian backed militia groups in response to attacks on American personnel in Iraq. This is just the latest manifestation of the dangerous proxy wars at play in Syria, involving Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Syrian people are caught in the crossfire and have essentially lost their country. A decade of war has killed an estimated 600,000 people and displaced 12 million more. So what’s happened to the people who were forced to flee? And What does justice for Syria’s people look like? In this episode, a Syrian filmmaker, an author and refugee, and a journalist who covers national security explain how we got here.

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Elizabeth Kolbert asks: “After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it?” In 2015, Kolbert won a Pulitzer Prize for her book chronicling humanity’s destructive behavior towards nature. She now turns her focus to the ways in which that very same human development may now be used to protect and save the planet. Meeting with scientists, engineers, and researchers, Kolbert shines a light on the environmental innovations in development worldwide and some of the world’s most unique ecosystems.

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From reestablishing relationships with loyal allies to navigating a new Middle East, 2021 is shaping up to be a challenging year ahead for the Biden administration and his new U.S. foreign policy agenda. Is President Biden's agenda a revolutionary departure from tradition or just more of the same? Which nation deserved the first call from new U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he entered office? Which countries in the Middle East are 'in' and which are 'out' when it comes to U.S. favor? Amanda Jolly speaks with a few of our favorite leaders and thinkers for a roundtable discussion to uncover what 2021 might hold for the Biden administration. Featuring Steven Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Fred Kyeremeh, Founder and Author, Ghanaian American Journal; and Megan Torrey, CEO, World Affairs Council of Connecticut.

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How do we weigh the benefits of artificial intelligence with its potential harm? In Turning Point, Darrell West outlines a policy blueprint to maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides of AI.

As AI becomes increasingly an unavoidable part of our lives, West breaks down the uses of AI, how it actually works, and how “the transformative technology of our time” causes economic disruptions. Near-term policy decisions may be the deciding factor in where this revolutionary technology leads to utopia or dystopia.

Darrell West is the vice president and director of governance studies at Brookings Institution. He is the Co-Editor-In-Chief of TechTank and the director of the John Hazen White Manufacturing Initiative. His article “E-Government and the Transformation of Service Delivery and Citizen Attitudes” was named one of the 75 most influential articles since 1940 by the Public Administration Review in 2014.

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Ambassador Derek Mitchell, former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar and current President of the National Democratic Institute, sits down with the World Affairs Council of Connecticut to tackle recent events in Myanmar, including the military coup d’état that ousted the nation’s democratically elected leaders and subsequent nationwide protests. But what led up to this point and what happens next? Is this coup a sign that democracy is in retreat around the world?

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When Israelis head to the polls on March 23, it will be the fourth time in just two years. The most recent coalition government fell apart last December, when the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) failed to pass a budget, automatically triggering new elections. The vote is regarded as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayau who is facing corruption charges. At the same time, Israel leads the world in COVID-19 vaccinations and is normalizing relations with some of its Arab neighbors. The Palestianians have been sidelined and will likely hold their own elections in May. In this week’s episode, World Affairs (Northern California) gets two perspectives on the region’s political transitions, one Israeli and one Palestinian.

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At what cost should the U.S. continue leading the world? The Biden Administration has indicated in its first month that it is taking a different stance regarding alliances, particularly with Europe. How will this affect transatlantic relationships?

Karen Donfried, president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, has spent the entirety of her career trying to answer questions just like these. Since first joining the German Marshall Fund in 2001, Donfried has held numerous positions within the organization, as well as in the U.S. government and the World Economic Forum. Her work in this arena was recognized with the honor of the Cross of the Order of Merit from the German government, which she received in 2011, in addition to many other awards.

Karen Donfried took the helm of the German Marshall Fund in 2014 after working as a special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs and on the National Security Council. Donfried spent time as a national intelligence officer for Europe on the National Intelligence Council and served for ten years as a European specialist at the Congressional Research Service. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in laws and diplomacy from Tufts University, a magister from the University of Munich, and a B.A. in government and German from Wesleyan University.

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Eleanor Roosevelt died nearly sixty years ago, but she remains a monumental figure in modern American history – a woman who devoted her life to the betterment of others as a diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and the longest-serving First Lady.

David Michaelis’ newest book Eleanor offers readers the first-ever single-volume biography of all six decades of Eleanor Roosevelt’s extraordinary life. From orphaned child to wife of the country’s longest-serving president and everything that followed, Michaelis covers all of the important moments of Eleanor’s life while digging deeper to reveal the person she was outside of her remarkable accomplishments. Called “a sympathetic view of a complicated woman who changed and grew with every challenge” by the Wall Street Journal, Eleanor paints a picture of an American ideal.

David Michaelis has authored six books, including national bestsellers “N.C. Wyeth” (1999 Ambassador Book Award for Biography winner) and “Schulz and Peanuts.” His work has also been featured in Condé Nast Traveler and the Best American Essays anthology. Michaelis is an alumnus of Princeton University.

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Seamus Hughes, Deputy Director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University is an expert on terrorism, homegrown violent extremism, and countering violent extremism. He speaks with Megan Torrey about the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, domestic terrorist threats, and the best way to approach this growing issue. Listen as WAC Connecticut and Seamus Hughes answer: What are the roots of this homegrown violence? What are the motivations of these domestic extremist groups? What threat does growing extremism pose to the U.S. and the world? 

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It’s International Women’s Day and WAC Connecticut is celebrating with a bonus micro-episode of State of the World!

In response to the pandemic, have female heads of state really produced better outcomes when compared to their male counterparts? We’ll find out what the data says with Dr. Supriya Garikipati, associate professor at the University of Liverpool, and author of the globally-recognized paper, “Leading the Fight Against the Pandemic: Does Gender ‘Really’ Matter?” Moderated by WAC Connecticut CEO, Megan Torrey.

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On February 1, Burma’s military stormed the country’s capital, arrested its elected leaders, and declared a military state of emergency. Since then, protesters throughout Burma (also known as Myanmar) have taken to the streets, even as the military threatens more violence. Dozens of people have been shot and killed by the military junta, and the crackdown has been compared to the 1989 protests and massacre in China’s Tiananmen Square. Burma was supposed to be a transitioning democracy, and the power-sharing agreement between its military and civilian leadership was regarded as one of the Obama Administration’s major foreign policy achievements. So, what went wrong? In this episode, we talk with former US Ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Yun and Thant Myint-U, a former diplomat, historian and author, about what fueled the coup and what’s different about this protest movement.

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When Syrian president Bashar al-Assad deployed chemical weapons against his own people in 2012, he crossed the “red line” drawn by President Obama. To avoid committing to another never-ending war, the U.S. president accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to facilitate the removal of Assad’s chemical weapons. But it soon became clear that Russia’s end goal was to preserve Assad’s rule, leaving the U.S. with dwindling influence over the outcome of the civil war in Syria – all the while ISIS gained more territory as the group took advantage of the gaping power vacuum created by the region’s instability.

In Red Line, Joby Warrick draws on his original reporting to tell “a character-driven narrative” about how avoiding one catastrophe can unintentionally lead to another.

Joby Warrick is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and national security reporter for the Washington Post. In addition to Red Line, Warrick has authored two books – “Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS” and “The Triple Agent”, which recounts the 2009 suicide attack by an al-Qaeda informant that killed seven U.S. intelligence operatives. Warrick holds a BA in journalism from Temple University.

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Nobel Prize-winning economist, best-selling author and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says that there are economic misunderstandings about subjects such as health care, housing bubbles and tax reform that seem immortal, and he calls this “zombie economics.” He attempts to slay a few of these zombies in his newest book, breaking down the most pressing policy issues into engaging and easily understandable pieces.

For his appearance at the 2021 Baylor Global Business Forum, Krugman will be in conversation with Austan Goolsby, another economist well known for his ability to explain economics clearly.

Paul Krugman’s op-ed column has appeared in the New York Times since 1999 and he has authored and edited more than 27 books. One of the founders of the “new trade theory,” Krugman won the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work. He is a distinguished professor at the Luxembourg Income Study Center at the City University of New York and professor emeritus at Princeton University. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from MIT.

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Wednesday, March 3, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, features Charles Kupchan, Professor of International Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself From the World

In his Farewell Address of 1796, President George Washington admonished the young nation “to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” Isolationism thereafter became one of the most influential political trends in American history. From the founding era until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States shunned strategic commitments abroad, making only brief detours during the Spanish-American War and World War I. Amid World War II and the Cold War, Americans abandoned isolationism; they tried to run the world rather than run away from it. But isolationism is making a comeback as Americans tire of foreign entanglement. In this definitive and magisterial analysis—the first book to tell the fascinating story of isolationism across the arc of American history—Charles Kupchan explores the enduring connection between the isolationist impulse and the American experience. He also refurbishes isolationism’s reputation, arguing that it constituted dangerous delusion during the 1930s, but afforded the nation clear strategic advantages during its ascent.

PLEASE NOTE: While Cover to Cover has traditionally been conducted over a conference call format, this Cover to Cover program will be a live Zoom webinar. 

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Ira Rosen, who has been a producer at 60 Minutes for nearly 25 years, reveals how episodes come together for one of American television’s longest-running programs. Full of personal anecdotes about some of the show’s biggest stars, including Chris Wallace, Diane Sawyer, and Barbara Walters, his book “Ticking Clock” exposes interview secrets, power dynamics between colleagues, and the journalistic process behind “unearthing shocking revelations.” This tell-all account of “the show that invented TV investigative journalism” is a “60 Minutes story on 60 Minutes itself.”

Ira Rosen has been a producer at 60 Minutes for nearly 25 years, during which time he has worked on many of the most important stories the show has covered. Rosen has won 24 National Emmy Awards, four du Pont Awards, two RFK Awards, and two Peabody Awards. He is co-author of “The Warning: Accident and Three Mile Island.”

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Dr. Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, joins Megan Torrey, to talk about the Iran Nuclear Deal, America’s potential return to the negotiating table and his hope for the future of U.S.-Iran relations. As the world waits to see which country will make the first move, we are left to wonder: will the deal be recovered, renegotiated or rejected altogether? 

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On February 1, 2021, the military instigated a coup of the democratically elected government. In short order, this relatively new democracy went from aspirational to regressive. Protests started immediately and have only grown over the past month. In this episode, WACNH speaks with an American who has lived in Myanmar since 2016. She has a close connection to New Hampshire, having served as an AmeriCorps member several years back. They speak with her about her experiences living in the country during an overthrow of a government and what the reality on the ground is. This inside view provides unique insights and perspectives to the realities of the situation and the dangers it poses within the country and around the world.

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Computer security experts at the Department of Homeland Security sighed in relief after seeing minimal Russian interference in the 2020 elections. What they didn’t realize was that hackers were in the process of performing what might be the largest and most sophisticated cyberattack on the United States. SolarWinds is named after the software hackers used to breach computers throughout the federal government, including nuclear labs and the Department of Homeland Security, the agency charged with keeping us safe. Today, more than 35 countries have the technology to perform a major attack on the US while only nine have nuclear capabilities. In fact, cyberattacks are much easier to get away with because they’re hard to track and retaliate against. This week on WorldAffairs, New York Times reporters David Sanger and Nicole Perlroth join WAC (Northern California) to talk about the threat of cyberwarfare, how the United States is uniquely vulnerable, and whether or not there is something we can do to prevent it.

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When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a series of agricultural reforms last November, the country's farmers launched what might be the largest protest movement in modern history. Last November, an estimated 250 million Indians went on strike in solidarity, and today, tens of thousands of farmers are camped just outside the nation’s capital. Modi’s government has responded by silencing journalists and detaining activists, raising troubling questions about the state of the world’s largest democracy. Then pop star Rihanna tweeted about the protests, causing an international incident, and all hell broke loose. In this episode, World Affairs Council (Northern California) talks with journalists and academics about India’s new agricultural reforms, why farmers don’t like them, and how platforms like Facebook and Twitter are influencing the conflict.

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Heather Fischer, senior advisor for human trafficking in the Philanthropy sector, most recently served as the first-ever White House special advisor for human trafficking. She sits down with Megan Torrey and chronicles what tools the U.S. has to confront global and domestic human trafficking, how citizens can make a difference, and how conspiracies have hurt efforts against such crimes. When confronted with such a widespread and urgent issue, how do we decipher fact from fiction? What can we help to end human trafficking around the world?

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Thursday, February 18, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, featured Kathryn Stoner, Deputy Director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, and at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, all at Stanford University.

Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order

Stoner shows that Russia is neither as weak as we think, nor as strong as its leadership would like it to be viewed. This book directs a spotlight on the interac­tion between domestic politics and foreign policy to explain Russian power and purpose in the twenty-first century. From Russia's seizure of Crimea to its military support for the Assad regime in Syria, the country has reasserted itself as a major global power. Stoner offers an eye-opening reassessment of the country, identifying the actual sources of its power in international politics and why it has been able to redefine the post-Cold War global order. 

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The National Interest said of Robert Zoellick: “He was instrumental in shaping the course of American foreign policy, and his impact is still felt today.” Having served as president of the World Bank, U.S. Trade Representative, and Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick has deep experience in global trade, technology and U.S. relations with Mexico. Zoellick will offer both a historical framework and understanding of the strategic and existential challenges facing America’s U.S. foreign policy when he appears at the 2021 Baylor Global Business Forum, a joint virtual presentation by the Council and Baylor University.

Zoellick’s recently published book argues that there are five traditions that can be used to better understand post-Cold War presidencies: the importance of North America; the importance of trading, transnational, and technological relations; changing attitudes toward alliances; the importance of public support; and the belief that American policy should serve a larger purpose.

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Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner take a closer look at Russia — a country whose economy has continued to grow despite international sanctions—as Vladimir Putin cracks down on protestors. Then discuss her new book, Russia Resurrected.

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A new biography published about George Washington is unlike any other. Described as “form-shattering and myth-crushing,” “keen and savage,” as well as “spirited and engaging,” historian Alexis Coe’s “You Never Forget Your First” chronicles the life of our first president from a 21st century and “decidedly feminist” perspective. Coe says, “I set out to write a book that was true, and different, and that added any kind of diversity in approach, perspective, and, of course, author. I set out to take a giant leap away from hagiography and great man history—and really mean it.”

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Stephenie Foster, co-founder and partner at Smash Strategies, joins World Affairs Council of Connecticut CEO Megan Torrey to define what a feminist foreign policy is and how it might make the United States, and world, more secure. After Sweden announced its feminist foreign policy agenda in 2014, other countries have joined the European country - but the United States remains unconvinced. We ask: does the U.S. want - or need - a feminist foreign policy agenda? And should we join nations such as Sweden, Canada, France, and Mexico in implementing such policies? 

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In his inaugural address, president Biden declared, “Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause -- the cause of democracy.” But is the United States still a beacon for aspiring democratic societies around the globe?  In this episode, we’re partnering with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University to look at the state of democracy with Francis Fukuyama and Michael McFaul.

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As the US reckons with the shock of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, the FBI has arrested dozens of alleged rioters, and we still don’t fully know why law enforcement was so unprepared for the attack. In this episode of the podcast, we talk with former FBI assistant director of counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi about the issues now facing authorities in the wake of the January 6 insurrection and reflect on the FBI’s history and culture. In his new book, The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence, Figliuzzi makes the case that the FBI, for all its recent and historic public controversies and transgressions, still sets a gold standard for excellence and ethics that should be followed more widely.

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Sebastian Mallaby’s decades of experience covering economics make him one of the top financial reporters in the world. He worked as a reporter at The Economist for 13 years before joining the Washington Post in 1999 and was a contributing editor at the Financial Times. Mallaby’s work has also appeared in The Atlantic. At the Post, Mallaby’s topics of interest include “central banks, financial markets, the implications of the rise of newly emerging powers, and the intersection of economics and international relations.”

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When footage of rioters storming the US Capitol was broadcast live around the world, some far-right extremists in Germany were watching it like a soccer game. The country has spent decades confronting its dark history, but neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists remain a threat. In this episode, we hear from Stephan Kramer, the head of domestic intelligence in the eastern German state of Thuringia. He talks with Ray Suarez about what he’s learned trying to stop this movement.

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Senator Chris Murphy, member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sits down with Megan Torrey, World Affairs Council of Connecticut CEO, to highlight which foreign policy goals President Biden will tackle over the next four years. From the deadly conflict in Yemen to the military coup in Myanmar, and from confronting climate change to thwarting Russian cyberattacks, where should the U.S. start? What foreign policy priorities must the Biden administration address first? 

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Has China reached the limits of its global expansion? Will it struggle to overcome new risks and endure global backlash as countries around the world come to terms with the repercussions of close relations with China – primarily strategic vulnerabilities to their independence and competitiveness?
Informed by his meetings with activists, business managers, diplomats, and thinkers from across Africa, Latin America, East Asia, and Europe, Luke Patey argues that China’s overreach could be its downfall. After decades of a “predatory economic agenda, headstrong diplomacy, and military expansion,” Patey says many countries have grown weary of China’s ambitions of global domination.

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In Washington’s farewell address of 1796, the president advised his successors to “steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." For the first century of American history, presidents heeded Washington’s advice. But events including the Spanish-American War and the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor required new engagements.

World War II and the Cold War fundamentally changed American strategy, as the U.S. began to “run the world rather than run away from it.” Charles Kupchan asks, where is the middle ground between doing too much and doing too little?

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Dr. Meghan O’Sullivan, Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, speaks with WAC Connecticut CEO Megan Torrey about the energy market during the pandemic and one of the world’s most vital liquids: oil. As markets continue to shift and new alliances form, will COVID provide an opportunity to reshape the energy sector, and the world? 

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After years of agonizing political and economic uncertainty, the United Kingdom has finally left the European Union, and Brexit is the law of the land. The stakes couldn’t be higher. While Brexit is far from resolved, it’s already sent shockwaves through the UK’s economy. Scotland is talking about independence again, and tensions are on the rise in Northern Ireland. There’s a chance that Brexit could break the UK apart. This week, we talk with Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole and two political activists on opposite sides of the Brexit debate.

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Like much of the rest of his Presidency, the Trump Administration's Foreign Policy legacy draws quite different reactions based on who you speak with. In this episode, we focus solely on breaking down the successes, failures, and missed opportunities of the past four years. Speaking with Gil Barndollar, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship, we dive into these issues and his overall assessment. From relations with China, to coming to the brink of war with Iran and North Korea, there is certainly a lot to unpack.

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President Joe Biden was just sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and inherited a plethora of national security and foreign policy challenges. What should be first on President Biden’s agenda in the next 100 days? What do his appointees tell us about the direction of U.S. foreign policy? Amanda Jolly sits down with some of our favorite leaders and thinkers for a roundtable discussion to answer these questions and more. Featuring Arthur House, Former Cybersecurity Risk Officer, State of Connecticut; Luke Knittig, Senior National Security and Public Affairs Professional; and Megan Torrey, CEO, World Affairs Council of Connecticut.

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The Economist’s Adrian Wooldridge and John Mickelthwait argue that authoritarian East Asian governments have outperformed Western governments in their response to the stress test of the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result, “In terms of geopolitics, the crisis has left the West weaker and Asia stronger.” As the public’s trust in government’s abilities has declined over the last fifty years, they point to excessive regulation stifling innovation and a lawyer-driven political culture versus science and engineering. “Leviathan overreached, promising more than it could deliver.”

Adrian Wooldridge is The Economist’s political editor and writes the “Bagehot” column on British life and politics. From 2000 to 2010 he was based in Washington, DC as bureau chief and “Lexington columnist” and served as West Coast correspondent, management correspondent and Britain correspondent. Wooldridge is the author of nine previous books, including “Capitalism in America” co-written with Alan Greenspan and six co-written with John Micklethwait. Wooldridge earned a doctorate in history from Oxford University, where he was a Fellow of All Souls College.

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Donald Trump is no longer in charge, and much of the world is hoping Joe Biden will rebuild America’s international reputation. President Biden got the ball rolling his first week by rejoining the World Health Organization and the Paris Accords, and stopping construction on a border wall with Mexico. How will his administration mend relationships with the rest of the world after four years of unpredictability? Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia, and Jorge Castañeda, former Foreign Minister of Mexico, join co-host Ray Suarez to talk about how to best address foreign policy moving forward.

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Dr. Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign relations gives us a primer on our world as it is, our greatest threats and why global education might be our greatest defense. As we wade through the uncertainty of what our next greatest security challenges will be, we ask: how can we navigate and secure an increasingly connected world? 

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WACA's Cover to Cover webinar on Thursday, January 21, at 4:00-5:00 PM ET, featured Secretary Michael Chertoff, Former Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009). This webinar was moderated by Bryan Cunningham, Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute at UCI.

Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age

The most dangerous threat we—individually and as a society and country—face today is no longer military, but rather the increasingly pervasive exposure of our personal information; nothing undermines our freedom more than losing control of information about ourselves. And yet, as daily events underscore, we are ever more vulnerable to cyber-attack. In this bracing book, Michael Chertoff makes clear that our laws and policies surrounding the protection of personal information, written for an earlier time, need to be completely overhauled in the Internet era.

This event was hosted by WAC Orange County with promotional partners including: World Affairs Councils of America, Los Angeles WAC & TH, and WAC San Diego.

Prefer listening to the audio podcast? Hear Secretary Chertoff on WACA's Podbean station.

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Abby Rapoport is publisher and co-founder of the award-winning Stranger’s Guide, a unique travel publication for the globally connected age that encompasses print guides and newsletters along with curated products and partnerships.

In an effort to combat stereotypes and encourage global awareness, more than half of the writers featured in Stranger’s Guide come from the location being covered. Writers are often world-renowned names - such as Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka - and often appear in the Best American Travel Writing anthologies.

Stranger’s Guide uses “arresting photography, luminous essays, and fascinating facts and figures” to cover a diverse array of content, from lifestyle pieces to critical assessments of the major issues affecting a place. Its unique style landed it a nomination for the National Magazine Award in General Excellence.

Before founding Stranger’s Guide, Abby Rapoport was publisher of the Texas Observer and previously worked as a political reporter for the Texas Tribune, the Texas Observer, and The American Prospect, where she covered Texas politics.

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For months, the domestic terrorist attack on the US Capitol was planned in plain sight on social media. So why weren’t we ready for it? This week, former FBI special agent Michael German explains why the bureau deprioritized the threat posed by white supremacists… and why the Department of Homeland Security says they pose “the most persistent and lethal threat to the homeland.” Then, historian Nell Irvin Painter breaks down how a legacy of racism in the United States brought us to this moment. Can we change our trajectory? She argues that the Black Lives Matter Movement of 2020 could bring lasting, positive change to this country.

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Dr. Laurence Ralph, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center of Transnational Policing at Princeton University, sits down with WAC Connecticut CEO Megan Torrey to unpack continuing racial injustices and inherent biases within U.S. law enforcement. As we grapple with the question of effective police reform, we ask: which policing models in other nations have succeeded, which have failed, and what can we learn from them? 

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In Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate, former senate-insider Adam Jentleson takes a critical look at the history of the filibuster and how it has been used on the Senate floor.

Jentleson argues that the emergence of the filibuster has moved the Senate away from the founding fathers’ original vision for the legislative body by allowing individuals to “gridlock the federal government.”

By offering a glimpse into the backrooms of Capitol Hill, Jentleson argues that the greatest challenges of our era – “partisan polarization, dark money, and media-manufactured outrage” – are nowhere more prevalent than in the Senate.

Adam Jentleson is the former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid (D – Nevada, 1987-2017). He is currently the public affairs director at Democracy Forward, a legal services and public policy research organization in Washington, D.C. Jentleson is also a columnist for GQ and a political commentator on MSNBC.

Matthew Wilson, Director of the Center for Faith and Learning and Associate Professor of political science at Southern Methodist University and senior fellow of SMU’s John Tower Center and of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. Wilson’s research focuses on public opinion, elections, representation, and the role of race and religion in domestic and foreign politics. He is the author of three books. Wilson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Louisiana State University in political science and history and holds a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University.

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When President Trump incited his followers to storm the US Capitol on January 6, interrupting the certification of the election, it marked the first time since the Civil War that the transfer of power from one president to the next could not be called peaceful. And yet, the peaceful transfer of power is a principle at the heart of our democracy — one that countries around the world have tried to emulate. As the world watches, the core of American civic values are being threatened by our president. Some Americans have expressed shock at the insurrection, but historians who have studied autocrats, have been warning us about this type of violent threat to our democracy ever since Donald Trump entered the political arena. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat has spent her career writing about the stealth strategies authoritarian leaders use to gain power. In her new book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, she outlines the “strongman playbook” used by authoritarian leaders including Donald Trump. She argues that the January 6 insurgency by far-right extremists, meant to facilitate Trump’s self-coup, lays bare just how much the 45th president has in common with dictators like Benito Mussolini and Vladimir Putin.

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As each country manages the pandemic differently, the already fragile global economy has been disrupted by broken supply chains and shifts in demand. Now we’re questioning the role of the government, the future of capitalism and changing our values. The choices we make now could change the world for decades. On this week’s episode, we revisit a conversation about the future of the global economy with James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, and Gillian Tett, Editor at Large at the Financial Times. 

Guests: 

James Manyika, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company; Chairman and Director, McKinsey Global Institute

Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor, Allianz 

Gillian Tett, Chair of Editorial Board and Editor-at-Large, US, Financial Times

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Over the past several years, attention has waxed and waned on a number of global conflicts that are more important to global affairs than their coverage seems to give them.  In this month's episode, we talk with Alejandro Velasco, Associate Professor at NYU, about the current crisis in Venezuela. We also speak with Elise Giuliano about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. As you will hear, just because coverage of these issues have disappeared, doesn't mean they are any less important or challenging.

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