Night Owls

Episode Three : The not-a-partnership partnership of one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs and one of the world's richest men is a case study in modern China. David describes the "partnership" that became the subject of an extraordinary report co-produced by The New York Times and David's news magazine, The Wire China.

Episode Two :  We begin our conversation with David about China and whether the " Thucydides Trap " can be avoided .

Episode One :  David Barboza, former Shanghai Bureau Chief for The New York Times, is building a new kind of media company. Call it Bloomberg for China. 

In the final episode of our Cortico trilogy, we talked with the company's founder and CEO, Deb Roy, about the future of "building civic muscle" and his roadmap for a national Cortico network. 

Part two of our conversations with the senior management of Cortico, the platform for "deeper conversations". Featuring Deb Roy and Alex Kelly Berman.

Cortico , in collaboration with the  MIT Center for Constructive Communication  (CCC), has built a platform that connects rather than divides communities, and in so doing, helps create a healthier society.  We talked to its CEO and co-founder,  Deb Roy , and one of its Directors,  Prof. Kathy Cramer , about how it works and how it's working.   

Part Two of our interview with Jane Metclafe, a woman who saw the future clearly. Twice. 

Part One of our interview with Jane Metclafe, a woman who saw the future clearly. Twice. 

An interview with University of California San Diego Professor Barbara Walter, whose book -- "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them" -- examines the risk factors that presage civil wars. Those factors are "anocracy," factionalism, loss of power and loss of hope, all hyper-linked by social media. The U.S. has been on her watch list for civil war for some time. She's ke...

A last look at the 2024 presidential campaign. A disagreement about Jeff Bezos. A watershed moment in Germany. And more! 

Rita Singh is one of the leading voice forensics scientists in the world. In this podcast, she discusses her work at length; what our voices tell us about our physical stature, our ethnicity, our age, our health, our honesty, our intentions and our mental states. It's riveting.   

General David Petraeus (Ret.) talks about the paperback edition of his book, Conflict, written with Andrew Roberts—and brings us up to date on the state of war in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and potential wars in Iran and Taiwan.

Three topics -- the VP debate, the Middle East and Hurricane Helene -- in 30 minutes. Joe's experience covering the Middle East is on full display. 

Part 2: John talked with Daron Shaw, one of the nation’s best pollsters who most people have never heard of. They talked about polling, politics and the presidential election. 

John talked with Daron Shaw, one of the nation’s best pollsters who most people have never heard of. They talked about polling, politics and the presidential election.     

John and Joe discuss yesterday's presidental debate 

John and Joe welcome Paul Vallas to the show! Paul Vallas is best known for his innovative work in public education — as superintendent of schools in Chicago and in the all-charter school system in New Orleans — and (most recently) his impressive campaign for Mayor of Chicago (he got 48% of the vote, running against the mighty machine of the Chicago Teachers Union). Joe Klein, who has been campaig...

Joe and John interview Zongyuan  Zoe  Liu,  Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow for China studies  at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), about her recent article in Foreign Affairs, "China's Real Economic Crisis." 

Joe and John assess the Democratic National Convention, the collapse of RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign, and the rising political influence of the crypto-currency "industry." 

Joe and John discuss volatility in the markets and the Middle East...and Kamala Harris's running mate: "Coach" Walz.

Joe and John talk with Ann Selzer, the great Iowa pollster. It's a smart, interesting conversation about the 2024 presidential campaign, because she knows what she's talking about.   

Is Trump the the one to beat as the polling suggests? What does VP Kamala Hariss's ascent to the to the presidential nominee mean for her chances? Joe and John discuss

The last days of the Biden campaign? Joe and John go back and forth.

Rebecca Patterson, the former chief investment strategist at Bridgewater Associates, gave us a guided tour of the global economy. She's very smart and very articulate; the perfect podcast guest. 

Why is government stuck in the muck? Philip K. Howard tells Night Owls how to make schools, infrastructure projects and environmental regulations work better.