Building the Future: Freedom, Prosperity, and Foreign Policy with Dan Runde

Dan is joined by his colleague, Marti Flacks (Director of CSIS Human Rights Initiative) and Agnieszka Rawa (Managing Director of Data Collaboratives for Local Impact at the Millennium Challenge Corporation) the outcome of the Summit for Democracy held in December 2021. The three also discuss the agenda ahead for the “Year of Action” and how digital connectivity can better serve democracy and freed...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde speaks with Jim Harmon. As the Chairman and CEO of Caravel Management LLC, co-chair of the Board of the World Resources Institute, and former President of the Export-Import Bank, Mr. Harmon has had a storied career across government, finance, and philanthropy. He shares his many experiences through his memoir, Up and Doing: Two Presidents, Three Mi...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde interviews Chris Giancarlo about his new book CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money and the future of digital currencies. Mr. Giancarlo, the 13th chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), discusses America’s move towards cryptocurrency in the age of the internet and digital markets. He explains the role of the CFTC and...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde interviews Fiona Hill on her new book, There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century. Fiona, the former senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council, talks about her journey into policy and government and her work in the Trump Administration’s National Security Council. As an exp...

In this Spanish-language bonus episode of “Building the Future”, Dan Runde interviews Gabriel Sánchez Zinny, current Director of Blue Star Strategies, about his new book Sin Trabajo, which talks about the lack of formal work in Latin America and the Caribbean and recommendations for moving toward a more prosperous future job. Mr. Zinny also shares the lessons he learned during his time as Minister...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde interviews Sarina Faizy, a former Provincial Council Member of Kandahar-Afghanistan. Sarina recalls her experiences working for a local Afghan government while experiencing sexism and intimidation, and talks about how she overcame such odds. She shares her vision of Afghanistan's future and how women can continue to fight for gender equality and wo...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan speaks with Gary Edson, President of the Covid Collaborative, and longtime leader in U.S. development and global health initiatives. Gary and Dan speak on the Covid-19 response of the last year and a half, and how developed countries can help developing countries struggling with the pandemic and vaccine shortfall. They also address how the U.S. can prepa...

Dr. Peter Berkowitz, the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins this week’s episode of Building the Future. As the former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department from 2019 to 2021, Peter discusses the Trump Administration’s take on competition with China, recent events in Afghanistan, and the multilateral system. The pair talk about the current state o...

In part two of Dan’s interview with Dr. Carter Malkasian, the pair discuss the lessons of the Afghanistan War and what the U.S. government can do to elevate their foreign service programs. They reason that in order to better reach populations that the United States have operations in, the State Department needs to integrate specialized language programs such as Dari, Pashto, and more. This episode...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde speaks with Dr. Carter Malkasian, a premier scholar-practitioner on the Afghanistan War. Dr. Malkasian served as the senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from 2015 to 2019 and spent several years in Afghanistan and Iraq. Dr. Malkasian recalls his experiences on the ground, how his experiences shaped his v...

Hardin Lang, Vice President for Policy and Programs at Refugees International, joins Dan Runde in this week's episode of Building the Future. Dan and Hardin discuss the ballooning refugee crisis and the latest updates on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Their conversation spans the different countries that could take in Afghan refugees, the magnitude of the refugee crisis, and the action...

Ambassador Richard Bernal joins Dan Runde in this episode of Building the Future. Ambassador Bernal was the Jamaican Ambassador to the United States from 1991 to 2001 and has a lauded career as a professional economist and professor. The episode dives into Ambassador Bernal’s new book, Corporate versus National Interest in U.S. Trade Policy: Chiquita and Caribbean Bananas. The pair talk about the...

Please note: We will be taking a hiatus for the month of August and will be back on September 1 with a conversation with Dr. Richard Bernal. We look forward to seeing you again in the fall! In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, Associate Professor at UCLA and author of The Trump Paradox: Migration, Trade, and Racial Politics in US-Mexico Integration. The...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Dr. Richard Feinberg, an economics professor at the University of California, San Diego with over 40s years’ experience in inter-American relations. Dr. Feinberg recently published “Widening the Aperture: Nearshoring in Our ‘Near Abroad”, a report on Biden administration’s domestic economic agenda. The discussion centers around American inte...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Shelby Scarbrough, founder of Practical Protocol and author of her new book Civility Rules! Creating a Purposeful Practice of Civility. The pair discuss Shelby’s career and how her experiences taught her the importance of treating people civilly in professional interactions. Shelby talks about the difference between civility and being nice,...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Allan J. “Alonzo” Wind, former USAID Foreign Service Officer as they discuss his career and new book “Andean Adventures: An Unexpected Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Discovery Across Three Countries”. They begin with his early career in South America with the peace corps and NGO work. This conversation is framed in a larger discussion over...

CSIS Americas Deputy Director, Maggie Seminario, guest hosts this week's Building the Future episode on Gender Equity and Financial Inclusion. In this episode, we talk with Mia Mitchell (from the U.S. Department of State) and Sonja Kelly (from the Women's World Banking) to understand the barriers we face to enabling inclusive access to finance to women around the world while discussing the various...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Ambassador Javier Rupérez, former Spanish Ambassador to the United States for the second part of their conversation. They begin by discussing the diminishing role of Christian Democratic Parties within Europe. They then shift into the importance of NATO, the differing views on China and Russia within Europe, and the cooperation needed in dea...

In this episode, Dan is joined by Ambassador Javier Rupérez, former Spanish Ambassador to the United States. They begin by discussing Rupérez's experiences growing up under the Franco regime and his initial political experiences in organizations that opposed the dictator. After university, Rupérez joined the Spanish foreign service where he was exposed to the international system. Rupérez then des...

In this episode Dan is joined by Dr. Bill Steiger, former Chief of Staff at USAID. Previously, Dr. Steiger was successively Managing Director and Chief Program Officer at Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon and worked as a Senior Advisor at the Global Fund. He was also Special Assistant for International Affairs to the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush Administration. Dan and Dr. Ste...

Dan's colleague and long-time friend John Simon guest hosts this week's episode to talk about how the developing world can develop and adopt a functional, reliable, and secure digital ID. Achieving universal financial inclusion requires a reliable and inclusive identification document –– a digital one, given the modern world. John, who was the former US Ambassador to the African Union, sits down w...

In this episode, Dan speaks with his colleague and director of the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project, Jonathan E. Hillman, who is the author of a new book on the Belt and Road Initiative, The Emperor's New Road: China and the Project of the Century. This conversation comes at an interesting time as the United States is mapping out its own infrastructure investment needs. Jon and Dan have worked close...

In this episode Dan speaks with Nicolás Massot, a politician, who currently serves on the Board of Directors of Banco Ciudad, the third largest bank in Argentina. Nicolás was also the former majority leader of Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies, the youngest leader in the Chamber’s history, and is a member of Republican Proposal, one of the most prominent parties in Argentina. In addition, he had a l...

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan speaks with Jack Hamilton who is the Hopkins P. Breazeale Professor at Louisiana State University for the Manship School of Mass Communication and a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. Jack and Dan begin this podcast by discussing Jack’s most recent book Manipulating the Masses: Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of American Propaganda.” They talk about why Ja...

In this episode, Dan Runde sits down with Dr. Diana Negroponte who is a current Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. Dan and Dr. Negroponte begin their conversation by discussing her new book, Master Negotiator: the Role of James A. Baker, III at the End of the Cold War. They talk about why Dr. Negroponte wrote the book and in particular, how she decided to write about his legacy during the end of...