CSIS Podcasts

The Trade Guys are joined by the new Scholl Chair in International Business, Dr. Philip Luck, to provide an update on tariffs on Canada and Mexico and to discuss the Mar-a-lago Accords. 

On March 4, Jon Alterman spoke with Renad Mansour, senior research fellow and director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House, and Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, about the resilience of Iranian networks in the Middle East. Their discussion builds upon a recent Chatham House report Renad co-wrote on the topic. The following episode is a slightly...

In this episode of Pekingology which aired in February 2022, Jude Blanchette is joined by Xuezhi Guo, the Lincoln Financial Professor of Political Science at Gilford College, to discuss his book, The Politics of the Core Leader in China: Culture, Institution, Legitimacy, and Power.

In this episode, we discuss the Wadhwani AI Center’s latest publication on the implications of DeepSeek for the future of export controls (0:40), Chinese company Manus AI (9:05), what Secretary Hegseth’s memo means for the DOD AI ecosystem (15:27), and xAI’s acquisition of 1 million square feet for its new data center in Memphis (21:28). 

Senator Todd Young (R-IN), a national champion of U.S. technology leadership in the global competition with China, joins Navin Girishankar on the Economic Security and Technology Department’s new series: Betting on America. Girishankar and Senator Young discuss a ‘tech power playbook’ for the United States including investments in chipmaking and biotech, tech diplomacy abroad, and the importance o...

A short, spoken-word summary from CSIS’s Matthew P. Funaiole on his report with Brian Hart and Aidan Powers-Riggs, Ship Wars: Confronting China’s Dual-Use Shipbuilding Empire.

On this episode of China Field Notes, Scott Kennedy speaks with Tu Xinquan, a leading Chinese expert on the World Trade Organization (WTO) and global economic governance. They review the initial enthusiasm accompanying China’s accession to the WTO two decades ago, the debates on whether China’s behavior conforms with its WTO commitments, and the need for WTO reform to address industrial policy, na...

This is part-two of Mariana's discussion with Evan Greenberg—Chairman and CEO of Chubb Insurance, a CSIS Trustee, and her husband. The pair breaks down the state of the insurance industry, Evan's experience operating in China, his experience as an entrepreneur, and his outlook for the future.

Mike hosts Sue-Lin Wong, the Economist’s Southeast Asia correspondent. She was formerly a China correspondent for The Economist and host of The Prince, a multiple award-winning Economist podcast series about Xi Jinping. They discuss Southeast Asia and her new podcast Scam Inc.

As one of his first actions in office, U.S. president Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign assistance pending review for alignment with U.S. foreign policy goals. Subsequent moves by the administration, including the aggressive downsizing and de facto elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development have roiled Washington and resulted in far-reaching implications. Within the...

On Tuesday night, President Trump delivered the first broadcast address of his second term to Congress. Though his remarks on the Middle East were sparing and largely expected, U.S. policy in the region has largely been the opposite. Trump’s pronouncements on Gaza have sent especially powerful shockwaves throughout the Middle East, and hints of a new approach to Iran have also elicited attention....

Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Cameron, Professor, Brown University, and former senior official in global health security and biodefense at the White House and USAID, kindly shares her thoughts on the radical changes unfolding inside the U.S. government surrounding biothreats. Two internal factions within the Trump administration vie with one another. “It’s a bleak picture” in the accumulating damage to the...

Greg and Elina talk with Khang Vu. They discuss Vietnam’s bureaucratic reforms and its declaration of an “Era of National Rise.” Japhet and Lauren cover the latest from the region, from Ramadan to an update on scam centers in Thailand and Myanmar.   

Three West African countries - Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso - have finalized their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Another thing they have in common? All three countries are under junta rule after military coups that took place in recent years. They have since formed their own union - the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).   Why have these three countries exited ECO...

Introducing Hidden Depths, a six-part narrative podcast miniseries exploring the dynamics of water conflict and the possibilities for water cooperation. Join us as we dive into the shared future of this most critical resource. First two episodes drop Wednesday, March 12th wherever you get your podcasts.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Max Bergmann, head of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at CSIS. Previously, Max held a variety of positions at the State Department, including senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. He later went on to serve as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he researched security cooperation...

In this episode of Pekingology from June 2022, Jude Blanchette is joined by Victor Shih, associate professor and Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego. They discuss his book, Coalitions of the Weak: Elite Politics in China from Mao’s Stratagem to the Rise of Xi.

Andreyka welcomes new co-host John Augé to Pacific Airwaves to discuss Trump’s return to the White House, the impact of USAID cuts to the region, the Cook Islands’ cooperative agreements with China, and more.

Dr. Vanessa Kerry, founder of Seed Global Health, Associate Professor, Harvard School of Medicine, and since June 2023 the WHO Director-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change and Health, joined The CommonHealth to unpack her recent article ‘Health is a Cornerstone of Global Security,’ published February 14 in Foreign Policy. In it, she argues the need to rethink health as the first line of defe...

On Tuesday this week, Saudi Arabia hosted the first set of high-level talks between the United States and Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Saudi Arabia’s role in facilitating the negotiations has drawn attention to Riyadh’s pursuit of an increasingly elevated status on the world stage. It also comes amid intensive U.S. efforts to win Saudi Arabia’s support for a normalization deal with I...

Gunfire on Haitian airports and an assault on the largest public hospital show that even the country’s critical infrastructure is not immune to gang violence. Massacres in November and December, claiming over 350 lives, prompted many aid organizations to pull up stakes. While the announcement of elections scheduled for mid-November this year sparked a glimmer of hope, past postponements, the deepe...

Catherine Nzuki is joined by Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo, a fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and a recent computer science Ph. D. graduate from Cornell University. Dr. Okolo provides an overview of Africa’s AI industry (1:54); DeepSeek and what it means for AI startups (6:40); common misconceptions about AI development (7:54); how to make AI sa...

Mike hosts Tarun Chhabra, former Coordinator for Technology and National Security on the Biden administration’s National Security Council. He was also formerly the NSC Director for Strategic Planning and Director for Human Rights and National Security issues in the Obama Administration. They discuss developments in U.S.-China technological competition.

On this week's episode of the Trade Guys, Bill and Scott are joined by special guest Doug Irwin, the John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and a leading trade policy expert.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Alessandro Accorsi, a senior analyst for social media and conflict at the International Crisis Group. Prior to joining ICG, he worked for five years at the European External Action Service, where he led a taskforce countering foreign interference and information manipulation in the Middle East. He also worked for five years as a freelance journalist in...