Deep Dish on Global Affairs

In a recent 90-minute interview with the Financial Times , President Vladimir Putin detailed his thoughts not only about Russia, but also about the United States, China, Europe, and the Middle East. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, who conducted the interview, joins Council President Ivo Daalder and Deep Dish host Brian Hanson to discuss what the Russian president revealed about his worldview...

Sudan is careening towards a crisis. President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April after three decades in power, yet heavily armed groups are now fighting in Sudan for control. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and the United States are each vying for influence. Andrew Natsios, director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School at Texas A&M University and US...

For each bold move abroad, from the Belt and Road Initiative to island building, China seems confronted with new vulnerabilities at home, including the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Jessica Chen Weiss, author of an intriguing new essay in Foreign Affairs , and Ali Wyne of the Rand Corporation join Deep Dish to discuss what is intrinsic and what is incidental to Beijing's ambitions.

This week President Donald Trump touted a new agreement with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants into the United States. But Mexican officials claimed both sides were still evaluating the situation. Earl Anthony Wayne, a former US ambassador to Mexico, joins Deep Dish to discuss what can realistically be done about migrant flows.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is facing "the most severe crisis in the security environment in Europe since the end of the Cold War and perhaps ever," warn Douglas Lute and Nicholas Burns. The two former US ambassadors to NATO recently joined Deep Dish to explain why. 

As cities grow in size and power, local governments are increasingly shaping their own diplomatic agendas independent from national governments. New York City's Commissioner for International Affairs Penny Abeywardena and Montréal's Director of International Relations Henri-Paul Normandin join Deep Dish to discuss the rise of city diplomacy.

The Trump administration raised tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum last year in the name of national security. Last week, President Trump ended the tariffs as a new trade agreement, the USMCA, moves forward. Bruce Heyman, a former US ambassador to Canada, and the Council's Phil Levy join  Deep Dish  to discuss what happened and where the relationship goes now.

The White House escalated warnings about a threat from Iran this week, Tehran warned it may resume enriching uranium at higher levels, and more US warships were sent to the Middle East. Michael Singh of the Washington Institute and Ariane Tabatabai of the RAND Corporation join  Deep Dish to explain what's going on.

The spread of internet-connected smartphones in India is upending everything from jobs and marriage to politics and education. In 2000, only 20 million Indians had internet access. By 2020, more than 700 million will. Ravi Agrawal, author of India Connected , joins Deep Dish to explain how the smartphone is transforming the world's largest democracy.

Washington Post  contributing editor and Council expert Daniel Drezner joins  Deep Dish  to discuss how trade disputes could spark World War III and why US grand strategy is more or less dead. His views on both could pretty accurately be described as "apocalyptic."

Artificial Intelligence is changing what it means to be human. From jobs and the economy to security and geopolitics, AI is rewriting human society in big ways that we are only just beginning to understand. Data scientist JT Kostman joins this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain.

Warming ties between Baghdad and Iran and souring ties between Washington and both raise the question: Did Iran come out as the real winner of the Iraq war? Ryan Crocker, who served as the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon, joins Deep Dish to discuss. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's long-dominant political party lost elections in Ankara and Istanbul last week. At the same time, a dispute between Washington and Ankara over Turkey buying a Russian missile system has hurt ties between the NATO allies. Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations and Mustafa Akyol of the Cato Institute join Deep Dish to explain.

President Trump has signed an executive order to formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Ambassador Dennis Ross, who led the Israeli-Palestinian peace process for 12 years and served in senior political positions under Presidents Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama, joined this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain what this means.

The world is in for a shock. Global population is expected to peak and then decline this century, reshaping everything from economic growth and immigration to government spending. Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson, authors of the provocative new book Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline , join the Council's Brian Hanson and Dina Smeltz to discuss why it's happening and how nations...

Comic actor Volodymyr Zelensky, who has no political experience but has played the Ukrainian president on TV, is leading in the polls ahead of Ukraine's presidential election on March 31. Last weekend marked five years since Russia annexed Crimea, and fighting in eastern Ukraine, which has killed thousands, continues. Steven Pifer, former US ambassador to Ukraine, joins Deep Dish to explain what's...

In recent months, Somalia has seen a surge of airstrikes by the US military as part of an intensifying campaign against al Shabaab, an extremist group affiliated with al Qaeda. Bronwyn Bruton of the Atlantic Council and Paul D. Williams of George Washington University join  Deep Dish  this week to explain what the United States is doing in Somalia and why al Shabaab is a target.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces corruption charges ahead of Israel's election and the subsequent rollout of President Trump's Mideast peace plan. Douglas J. Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the George W. Bush administration, and Aaron David Miller, a twenty-year analyst, negotiator, and adviser on Middle Eastern issues at the Department of State, join Deep Dish this w...

Bad blood between India and Pakistan goes back decades, but tensions have escalated in recent days after a suicide bomber from a Pakistan-based militant group killed Indian paramilitary troops in Kashmir. Former US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution explain what you need to know about the ongoing crisis between two nuclear powers on this week's Deep...

The 91st Academy Awards take place on Sunday in Los Angeles, but international markets, led by China, have eclipsed the domestic market in importance for the US movie industry, rewriting the rules about what kinds of films get made. On this week's Deep Dish podcast, Lynda Obst, producer of  Sleepless in Seattle, Contact, Interstellar,  and  How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , and Orville Schell of the...

For thirteen straight weeks, demonstrators in high-visibility vests have taken to the streets in Paris and in cities around France. Government buildings have been attacked, shops looted, and cars set ablaze. On this week's Deep Dish podcast, Sophie Pedder of  The Economist and Benjamin Haddad of the Atlantic Council explain what the political demonstrations mean for French President Emmanuel Macro...

The chief of naval operations recently visited the Council and spoke with Deep Dish host Brain Hanson about China's growing global ambitions and Russia's troublesome actions in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. Richardson also explained what the US Navy needs now to retain its supremacy in the years ahead.

Venezuela has two claimants to power: Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro. Western countries back Guaidó, Putin and China favor Maduro, and the people of Venezuela are looking for a way out of their country's rolling economic disaster. Latin America expert Peter Schechter and veteran diplomate Cécile Shea join this week's Deep Dish to discuss.

China announced its economic growth had slowed to its lowest annual rate since 1990. At the same time, Beijing and Washington remain locked in a trade war that shows no sign of resolution. Global economics expert Phil Levy joins this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain what's going on, and how lessons from the US shutdown might help explain what will happen next.

As the Trump administration prepares to withdraw from Syria, former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and Tamara Cofman Wittes, former deputy assistant secretary of state for near East Affairs, join this week's Deep Dish  podcast to dissect the withdrawal's implications for US-Syria policy.