The President’s Inbox

Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how President Trump has approached foreign policy since returning to the Oval Office last January.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Matthew Kroenig, “ To Get to Peace in Ukraine, Trump Should Play the Nuclear Card ,” Foreign Policy  ...

Will Freeman, fellow for Latin America studies at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the consequences of the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Antonio Maria Delgado, ” The U.S. Gamble on Chavismo: How a Once-Unthinkable Pact Could Stabilize Venezuela ,” Miami Herald   Will Freeman, “ The Shock Waves of Venezuela: How Maduro’s Ca...

Carla Anne Robbins, senior fellow at the Council, and Matthias Matthijs, senior fellow for Europe at the Council, sit down with James M. Lindsay to answer listener questions about the major developments, initiatives, and changes in U.S. foreign policy over the course of 2025.    Mentioned on the Episode:   " 2025 National Security Strategy of the United States of America ," The White House   Ivo H...

Kathleen Hicks, former Deputy Secretary of Defense and a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, the Johns Hopkins University’s Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the U.S. defense industrial base has struggled to keep pace with the demands of renewed great power competition.   This is t...

Rebecca Lissner, senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the Trump administration's new National Security Strategy and its consequences for U.S. foreign and defense policy.   This is the eighth episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to assess whether the United States is re...

Jonathan Hillman, senior fellow for geoeconomics at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the steps the U.S. government should take to protect and support American firms developing critical new technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology from predatory foreign challenges without stifling its own growth and innovation.   This is the seventh e...

Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Mike Kuiken, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission's latest annual report to Congress and how China is working t...

Chris McGuire, senior fellow for China and emerging technologies at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss whether U.S. efforts to deny China advanced semiconductor chips will sustain the U.S. lead in artificial intelligence or unintentionally accelerate Chinese innovation.   This is the fifth episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with...

Jessica Brandt, senior fellow for technology and national security at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping cyber operations, influence campaigns, and intelligence gathering, and what those changes mean for U.S. national security.   This is the fourth episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with W...

Michael Horowitz, Richard Perry professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and senior fellow for technology and innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how emerging military technologies are revolutionizing the modern battlefield and how the Pentagon is adapting and incorporating these new technologies.   This is the third ep...

Thomas Shugart, founder of Archer Strategic Consulting and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the tools and tactics of warfare have changed in the past decade and whether the U.S. military is adapting fast enough to deter a great power war.   This is the second episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bring...

Rush Doshi, the C.V. Starr senior fellow for Asia Studies and director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the United States is reckoning with the rise of China and a world of renewed geopolitical competition.   This is the first episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to...

Kori Schake, Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the state of civil-military relations as President Donald Trump remakes the senior leadership of the U.S. military and deploys the National Guard to U.S. cities.    Mentioned on the Episode:   William Manchester, American Ceasar: Douglas McA...

Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle East studies and the Council, and Ed Husain, senior fellow at the Council, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks and whether President Donald Trump's twenty-point peace plan will produce a lasting ceasefire.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Elliott Abrams, " Th...

Matt Waxman, adjunct senior fellow for law and foreign policy and Liviu Librescu Professor of Law at Columbia University sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the legality of the Trump administration's military strikes against drug traffickers and the implications for U.S. foreign policy.   Mentioned on the Episode:   James Madison, “ Federalist No. 51 ,” The Federalist Papers   For an episod...

Liana Fix, senior fellow for Europe at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss Russia’s recent drone incursions into Polish airspace, and whether the move signals an expansion of the war in Ukraine.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Liana Fix and Erin D. Dumbacher, “ Russia Tests NATO With Poland Drone Breach ,” CFR.org   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s...

Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the feasibility of a multi-layer missile defense system for the United States.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Phillip L. Swagel, “ Effects of Lower Launch Costs on Previous Estimates for Space-Based, Boost-Phase Missile Defense ,” Congressional Budget Office   Todd Harrison, “ How Much Woul...

Michelle Gavin, Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what urbanization, a youth-heavy population, and social media mean for politics across the African continent.   Enter the CFR book giveaway by September 23, 2025, for the chance to win one of ten free copies of Age of Change by Michelle Gavin. You can read the terms and c...

Roxanna Vigil, International Affairs Fellow in National Security at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss rising political violence in Colombia and its consequences for the Andean region and beyond.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Paul J. Angelo, From Peril to Partnership: U.S. Security Assistance and the Bid to Stabilize Colombia and Mexico , Oxford University Press   For an episo...

Stephen Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what a realist U.S. foreign policy would look like.   Mentioned on the Episode:   John Ikenberry, “ A New U.S. Grand Strategy: The Case for Liberal Internationalism, With G. John Ikenberry ," The President's Inbox   John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Wa...

Michael Kimmage, professor of history at the Catholic University of America, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the results of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on the war in Ukraine.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Michael Kimmage, Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability   Michael Kimmage and M...

Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger distinguished professor of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how and why control of Eurasia affects U.S. national security. This episode is the fifth in a continuing TPI series on U.S. grand str...

Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the ongoing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia and if the current ceasefire will hold up.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Joshua Kurlantzick, Beijing’s Global Media Offensive     Joshua Kurlantzick, “ Thailand and Cambodia’s Ceasefire: Will It...

Liana Fix, Fellow for Europe at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the current status of the fighting in Ukraine and the significance of President Trump’s recent ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Liana Fix,  “ Can NATO Keep It Together? ” Foreign Policy   Liana Fix, “ How the Berlin Bubble Failed in the Ukraine War ,” Internationale P...

Oliver Stuenkel, associate professor at the School of International Relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the recent BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro and what Brazil sees as the group’s purpose.   Mentioned on the Episode:   Oliver Stuenkel,   BRICS and the Future of Global Order   Oliver Stuenkel, IBSA: Rise of the Global South   Olive...