Betting on America: Winning the Global Tech Race

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) joins Navin Girishankar to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and the broader reindustrialization process. She explores how to ensure that historically underserved communities benefit from technological transformation and shares her views on the U.S. trade agenda, its implications for the Indo-Pacific, and the importance of strong exp...

Marc Andreessen, Co-founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joins Betting on America to press past the settled question of whether AI is going to transform our world. They explore more substantive questions: who bears the cost, can our institutions absorb disruptions, and what government and the private sector must each do to ensure the gains are broad and the losses are survivable. Tu...

Co-founder and CEO of Form Energy, Mateo Jaramillo, joins Navin Girishankar to discuss the challenge of building long-duration energy storage from the ground up. He explores iron-air batteries as a scalable and bankable innovation, the precision manufacturing process required to bring this technology to market, and why West Virginia was the right place to build. He also reflects on the evolving ro...

Join us for an episode of Betting on America, recorded at the CSIS Futures Summit. Navin Girishankar moderates the panel "U.S. Commercial Diplomacy Through the Lens of the Private Sector," joined by Cynthia Conner, Senior Manager for International Policy at Chevron; Nicole Issac, Vice President of Global Public Policy at Cisco; and Katherine F. Pickus, Chief Sustainability Officer at ADM. They dis...

Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA) joins Navin Girishankar to discuss the importance of reviving economic alliances amid rising global threats. He explains the roots of today’s economic security challenges, as well as the dual goal of achieving balanced economic integration with countries like Japan, Korea, and India while rebuilding the U.S. domestic industrial base. He highlights his legislative effort...

Under Secretary Darío Gil joins Navin Girishankar to discuss the Genesis Mission—a Department of Energy–led initiative to build an AI-driven platform for accelerating scientific discovery. Under Secretary Gil outlines the Mission's integration of AI, supercomputing and quantum technologies for scientific exploration, alongside institutional innovations such as public-private partnerships and inter...

Senator David McCormick (R-PA) joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to discuss the urgency of economic renewal in the face of myriad challenges to national power. In this wide‑ranging conversation, Senator McCormick discusses the AI revolution, U.S. trade policy, defense tech innovation, and workforce issues. He reflects on Pennsylvania’s experience and its potential to offer lessons for...

Join us for a special episode of Betting on America, recorded live at the 42nd Annual National Association for Business Economics Policy Conference. Navin joins the panel, “Industrial Policy and Economic Security: Confronting the China Challenge,” alongside Oliver Melton, Director of Rhodium Group’s China practice; Laura Taylor-Kale, Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics and Defense at the Council on For...

Join us for a special episode of Betting on America from a recent live CSIS event featuring Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senator Todd Young (R-NC), discussing what it will take to secure U.S. technology leadership in the long-term competition with China. The discussion highlights bipartisan priorities for strengthening critical supply chains, accelerating innovation, and building resilient ec...

Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to discuss how his company is reimagining the American city, how the U.S. can rediscover its ability to build, and why it is vital for U.S. economic security. In this conversation, they explore what it takes to build a city from scratch, and how government, business, and labor can work together to build the factor...

Paul Ryan, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America for a wide-ranging conversation on the big forces shaping politics and policy—competing populisms, U.S. trade policy and its discontents, out-of-control fiscal deficits, the future of the U.S. dollar, and the tech race with China. Speaker Ryan shares his thoughts not only on the challenges...

David Beasley, former South Carolina governor and former executive director of the World Food Programme, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to share lessons on U.S. global leadership for a new era of economic security. They discuss his experience leading the WFP and negotiating in conflict zones, along with his views on the role of the U.S. private sector in the Global South, addressing...

Join us for a special episode of Betting on America from a recent live CSIS event featuring Dr. Mark Calabria, Chief Statistician of the United States, alongside leading experts from government, industry, and the research community. The discussion examines what it will take to build a modern statistical system—one that is accurate, credible, and capable of supporting America’s economic security in...

David Ulevitch, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to discuss the American Dynamism Fund and the growing trend of national interest investing. They discuss how these venture investors are looking for returns in sectors that will drive U.S. competitiveness and national security. Ulevitch shares his views on the U.S.-China technology competition and...

Henry McVey, Partner, Head of Global Macro & Asset Allocation, and Chief Investment Officer of KKR’s Balance Sheet, KKR, and CSIS Board Member, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to explore the role of resilience driving policy and markets, what he calls “the security of everything.” They also discuss the evolving role of the state, the impact of AI on productivity, and stablecoins.   S...

With over 1 billion subscribers across more than 200 countries, LinkedIn provides a unique, real-time perspective on jobs, skills, and AI adoption. Navin Girishankar and Karin Kimbrough explore how the AI revolution is impacting small businesses and the global market for talent. Karin shares insights from LinkedIn’s research on how AI is impacting companies and workers. She also discusses how priv...

A special episode of Betting on America features a recent live CSIS event with Jarrod Agen, Executive Director of the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council, and Joseph Majkut, Director of the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program. Tune in for a conversation on how the United States can build the energy backbone to meet its industrial and technology demands—with speed and predic...

Blake Scholl, Founder & CEO of Boom Supersonic, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to explore how innovations in advanced manufacturing and software as well as government policies are creating opportunities for the United States to once again push the frontier of commercial aviation. They also discuss the race with China to build supersonic jets, the impact of tariffs and deregulation o...

Betting on America welcomes Carol Tomé, Chief Executive Officer of UPS. With over half a million employees operating in more than 200 countries, UPS sits at the center of a global economy transformed by pandemic shocks, trade wars, and technological revolutions. Navin Girishankar and Tomé explore how AI, robotics, and data are redefining logistics—from time-critical networks to the delivery of vit...

LTG (ret.) H.R. McMaster, former U.S. National Security Advisor and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins Navin Girishankar for a wide-ranging discussion on the current state of U.S. economic security policy. They discuss the economic and technology competition with China, the U.S. offer to the Global South, and the role of 'patriot investors' in driving American innovation across advan...

Scott Nolan, Founder & CEO of General Matter and Partner at Founders Fund, joins Navin Girishankar on Betting on America to chart America’s nuclear fuel comeback. He breaks down General Matter’s partnership with the Department of Energy to restart uranium enrichment in Paducah, KY, why securing fuel for the nation’s nuclear fleet is a strategic imperative, and how public–private collaboration is e...

This special episode of Betting on America features a recent live CSIS event with Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in conversation with Gregory C. Allen, Senior Advisor with the Wadhwani AI Center. Director Kratsios discusses the goals of the White House's newly released AI Action Plan along with the administration's plans for AI infrastr...

Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, joins Navin Girishankar for a wide-ranging conversation on global growth prospects as well as challenges and opportunities for developing countries. Indermit shared his insights on the causes of persistent trade imbalances, the role of international financial institutions, economic reforms amid rising populism, as well as...

Brad Smith, CSIS Trustee and Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, joins Navin Girishankar's Betting on America to share his thoughts on "The Golden Opportunity for American AI."  Brad discusses the responsibility of technologists, the potential for AI diffusion across the economy, the role of export controls, and the U.S. AI offer to the Global South.

Matthew Borman joins Navin Girishankar to discuss the evolution of U.S. export controls as a key economic security tool and their effectiveness at securing innovative and sensitive technologies. Matt is a non-resident Senior Technical Expert at CSIS and served as principal deputy assistant secretary for strategic trade and technology security and deputy assistant secretary for export administratio...