The President’s Inbox

This episode unpacks U.S. and Chinese AI strategies, regulation approaches, and the future implications for society and security.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Alvin Wang Graylin , Senior Fellow for Technology, Asia Society; Digital Fellow, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Professor of...

This episode unpacks the history of 250 years of U.S. foreign policy and examines patterns of the United States’ engagement with the world.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Robert Kagan , Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Author, Dangerous Nation: America’s Place in the World From Its Earliest Days to the Dawn of t...

This episode unpacks the unique challenges faced by women leaders, their contributions to democracy, and the critical lessons they offer in the fight against authoritarianism.   Enter the CFR book giveaway by July 8, 2026, for the chance to win one of ten free copies of Women in Power by Linda Robinson. You can read the terms and conditions of the offer here .   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and D...

This episode unpacks whether Ukraine has turned the tide against Russia on the battlefield and assesses the new security relationship between Ukraine and Europe.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Liana Fix , Senior Fellow for Europe, CFR   We Discuss: The state of the battlefield in Ukraine after four and a half years o...

This episode unpacks how a major Ebola outbreak in Central Africa exposed critical gaps in global health surveillance and assesses U.S. preparedness for future biological threats.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Thomas J. Bollyky , Bloomberg Chair in Global Health; Senior Fellow for International Economics, Law, and D...

This episode unpacks how the Marshall Plan transformed postwar Western Europe and why security, allied cooperation, and forward thinking were the real keys to its enduring success.   To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR is dedicating a yearlong series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that will reflect on two and a half centuries of U...

This episode unpacks how Africa's demographic surge, critical mineral wealth, and expanding security threats are reshaping its relevance to U.S. foreign policy in the twenty-first century.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Michelle Gavin , Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, CFR   We Discuss: Why U.S....

This episode unpacks the key discussion points from the U.S.-China summit, including Taiwan, the Iran war, AI regulation, and the future of U.S.-China relations.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Nicholas Burns , Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard U...

This episode unpacks President Donald Trump’s upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the first by a sitting U.S. President in nearly a decade, as the United States and China work through a tense period of détente.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Rush Doshi , C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Stu...

Prediction markets have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. This episode asks whether they are powerful forecasting tools or gambling platforms in disguise—and what their rise means for how risk and information are priced.    Hosts:    Rebecca Patterson , Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)   Sebastian Mallaby , Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, Counci...

This episode unpacks three enduring pillars that have defined U.S. foreign policy from the nation’s founding to today: ideology, economic statecraft, and democratic accountability.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Michael Mandelbaum , Professor Emeritus of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced...

This episode unpacks the causes, key events, and consequences of the Spanish-American War, highlighting how it shaped U.S. foreign policy into the modern era.    To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR is dedicating a year-long series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that will reflect on two and a half centuries of U.S. foreign policy....

This episode unpacks the U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Islamabad and the prospect of a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Elliott Abrams , Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, CFR   We Discuss: What transpired during the U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad. Whether both sides abandoned...

This episode unpacks the opportunities and risks Moscow is facing amid the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Thomas Graham , Distinguished Fellow, CFR   We Discuss: Whether Russia and Iran are true allies, or simply friends of convenience. How decades of rivalry and recent convergence sha...

This episode unpacks how the war with Iran will affect the future of the Gulf countries’ security and economic prosperity.   Host: James M. Lindsay , Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Mina Al-Oraibi , Editor-in-Chief, The National   We Discuss: Whether Gulf states supported or opposed the war with Iran and their role in the intensive diplomatic e...

We discuss:   Why U.S. allies are refusing to join the Iran war, and what that signals about weakening alliance cohesion and growing strategic independence. How the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil flows, is already reshaping the global economy and raising the stakes for every U.S. partner.  Europe’s balancing act, publicly rejecting the war while quietly en...

Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to analyze what tactical and strategic lessons can be drawn from the U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, Alex Leary, and Vera Bergengruen, " Trump Knew the Risk of Iran Blocking the Strait of Hormuz. H...

Lynne Olson, acclaimed historian and author of Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939–1941, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the history of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941 and the domestic political struggles that shaped the United States’ entry into the Second World War.   To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR...

Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles Burkle Center for International Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss President Donald Trump's decision to launch a war against Iran, the prospects for regime change, and the consequences for the region.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Michael Birnbaum, John Hudson, Karen DeYoung, Natalie Allison, and Souad...

Michael Bustamante, Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Cuba.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Marc Caputo, “ Exclusive: Rubio's Secret Squeeze on Raul Castro's Cuba ,” Axios   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cf...

Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs and Professor of Public Affairs and History at the University of Texas at Austin, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China, which ushered in a new era of U.S.-Sino relations and altered the course of world politics.   To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declar...

F. Gregory Gause III, a leading scholar on Saudi Arabia and an associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the evolution of U.S.-Saudi relations as Saudi Arabia navigates its role in a Middle East with a more assertive Israel, a weaker Iran, and a less predictable United States.   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at...

Jonathan Berkshire Miller, senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss Canada's effort to diminish its vulnerability to U.S. economic threats and just how much middle powers like Canada can successfully hedge in a world of great power competition.   Mentioned on the Episode:   “ Live From Davos: Exclusive Interview With Secretary of the Treasury Sco...

Heather Conley, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Rebecca Pincus, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how President Trump's desire to acquire Greenland has thrown the transatlantic relationship into its latest crisis.    For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://w...

Mary Dudziak, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University, and Christopher Nichols, Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies and Professor of History at the Ohio State University, sit down with James M. Lindsay to unpack a new CFR survey of historians on the best and worst foreign policy decisions in U.S. history.   To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of...