The Truth of the Matter

CSIS's Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, joins the podcast to discuss Iran's missile strikes in Israel, Israel's entry into Lebanon, attacks on Hezbollah, and more as the conflict in the Middle East continues to expand.

Tim Shriver, head of Special Olympics and host of the new podcast “Need a Lift?,” joins the show to discuss the importance of lifting each other up even as the world becomes more and more polarized.

CSIS’s Norman Roule, who served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing significant programs relating to the Middle East, joins the podcast to discuss the war between Israel and Hezbollah and its wider implications for the region.

CSIS’s Eliot Cohen joins the podcast to discuss the latest in Ukraine’s war with Russia and Israel’s war with Hamas.

Navin Girishankar, president of CSIS’s new Economic Security and Technology Department, joins the podcast to discuss his experience working at the Department of Commerce, Bridgewater Associates, and the World Bank, as well as CSIS’s renewed focus on economic statecraft and technology to address 21st-century security threats.

Peter Bergen, Vice President at the New America Foundation, CNN national security analyst, and host of In the Room with Peter Bergen, joins the podcast to discuss the foreign policy of each presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 election.

CSIS Senior Vice President and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center J. Stephen Morrison joins the podcast to discuss the current surge of Covid-19, the newest variants of the virus, and the politicization of vaccines before the 2024 election.

CSIS’s Ryan Berg joins the podcast to discuss Nicolas Maduro’s claim that he won another term as Venezuela’s president, when the facts prove otherwise and the fallout is severe. 

J. Stephen Morrison, CSIS Senior Vice President and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, joins the podcast to discuss the recent outbreak of a new, deadlier variant of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

CSIS’s Seth Jones and Ambassador Eric Edelman, vice chair of the Commission on National Defense Strategy and former U.S. Ambassador to both Finland and Türkiye, join the podcast to discuss the Commission’s newest report to Congress and the President and how to bolster U.S. defense in the modern era.

CSIS’ Norm Rule, who served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing significant programs relating to the Middle East, joins the podcast to discuss Iran and what it may do in retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Frank McCourt, chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in the Digital Age, as well as Project Liberty’s mission and the evolution of the internet.

Livia Shmavonian, the Director of OMB’s Made in America Office, and Heather Boushey, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers and Chief Economist of the Investing in America Cabinet, join the podcast to discuss the Made in America Initiative. Also joining the conversation is Navin Girishankar, the president of CSIS’s new Economic Security and Technology Department.

CSIS’s Norman Roule, who served in the Central Intelligence Agency for over three decades, joins the podcast to discuss the recent election in Iran and what it means for the United States. In addition, Roule discusses Iran’s role in attempting to influence the Middle East and Africa, plus a conversation about the Houthi activities in the Red Sea.

CSIS's Max Bergmann joins the podcast to discuss the main goals of the upcoming NATO summit in Washington, Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, NATO's role in Ukraine, and more.

Stuart E. Eizenstat, who served as former White House adviser, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, and more, joins the podcast to discuss his new book, "The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements that Changed the World."

In a crossover episode with It's More Than Grit, a new podcast from CSIS, Linda Rottenberg, Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, joins Mariana Campero and Andrew for a discussion on Linda’s journey to Endeavor. She highlights the qualities of a good entrepreneur and the regions she is most optimistic about. As a leader of the global entrepreneurship movement, Linda also shares advice for aspiring entre...

CSIS’s Victor Cha joins the podcast to discuss Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang and why he believes the “Mutual Defense Treaty” agreed to by Russia and North Korea is the greatest threat to U.S. national security since the Korean War. Also discussed—what this means for the U.S. and its allies and how it impacts China.

New York Times global economic correspondent Peter S. Goodman joins the podcast to discuss his new book, “How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain,” and how economics are a matter of national security.

On the eve of the 50th G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, CSIS’ Victor Cha joins the podcast to discuss a new CSIS report “Bending the Architecture: Reimagining the G7.”

U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-Il), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee traveled to Israel and subsequently to Saudi Arabia to speak at the World Economic Forum. In Israel he joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress. He joins the podcast to discuss what he saw and his impressions of the war in Gaza and potential cease-fire deal.

CSIS’s Mariana Campero, host of Mexico Matters and co-host of It’s More than Grit with Andrew Schwartz, joins the podcast to discuss Mexico’s historic election of Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first woman and first Jewish president, and how Mexicans are reacting to the election results.

CSIS’s Heather Williams joins the podcast to discuss Russia’s nuclear provocations and to answer the question: Is arms control as we know it dead?

On the eve of Mexico’s historic presidential election, CSIS’s Ryan Berg joins the podcast to discuss the front-runner, Claudia Sheinbaum and her opponent Xóchitl Gálvez, a tech entrepreneur who is representing several opposition parties, and what it means for the U.S. relationship with Mexico and China.

Former New York Times Beijing bureau chief Jane Perlez joins the show to discuss her new Harvard podcast and the latest tensions in the U.S.-China relationship.