Richard Haass and John Ellis

Alternate Shots with Richard Haass and John Ellis

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The idea of the podcast is this : We talk about “three things” that are interesting, important or both. The third thing will be about something from the world of sports. Richard is a veteran diplomat (he served in the Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush administrations). He was president of the Council on Foreign Relations for two decades (he’s now president emeritus ). He’s a Senior Counselor at Center|View Partners , a prominent New York City-based investment banking firm. He also distributes a weekly newsletter — Home a

Author

Richard Haass and John Ellis

Episodes

Episode Six 21.10.2025 28:55

In this new episode of 'Alternate Shots', Richard and John discuss the diplomatic twists and turns of the Ukraine "peace" negotiations, the "Donroe Doctrine" and Venezuela, financial "cockroaches", and the politics of the U.S. government shutdown and Congressional map redistricting. At the end, Richard yet again bemoans the sorry state of the New York Giants...

Episode Five 07.10.2025 29:03

John Ellis and Richard Haass discuss various pressing global issues, starting with the Middle East situation and the potential for a deal involving hostages and ceasefire in Gaza. They explore the political dynamics in Israel, the rise of right-wing politics in Europe, and the implications of AI-generated videos on political discourse. The discussion also touches on the declining trust in news med...

Episode Four 25.09.2025 35:54

There was a famous rap song (at the time) entitled “ Things That Make You Go Hmmmm ”. That’s the general sentiment of this episode of “ Alternate Shots ”. Richard and John discussed (1) President Trump’s “unusual” speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations, (2) the shift in the president’s thinking about the Ukraine war, one of more than one since his election, (3) H-IB visas vs. China’s...

Episode Three 16.09.2025 31:32

In Episode #3 of "Alternate Shots", John and Richard discuss five "stories" much in the news of late: (1) the active/passive Trump presidency, (2) the local election results from Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's largest state, (3) The murder of Charlie Kirk and the globalization of MAGA politics, (4) Charlie Kirk and the "youth vote" in the 2024 election, and (5) RFK...

Episode Two 04.09.2025 26:24

In the latest episode of Alternate Shots , hosts Richard Haass and John Ellis begin with a discussion of Richard’s new essay in Foreign Affairs , “A Palestinian State Would Be Good for Israel ". It could also be a win for President Trump. Next up: Xi's anti-American gathering of world leaders in Beijing and the evident breach in U.S.-India relations. In the realm of geopolitics, the brea...

Episode One 22.08.2025 32:12

On the inaugural episode of their podcast, Richard Haass and John Ellis discuss how a president might prepare for a summit, how President Trump flips that on its head, the results of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, and what’s next for the war in Ukraine. They dig into broader geopolitical implications of resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, possible motivations of leaders on all sides, and gl...