Carnegie Connects: “U.S. Leadership in a Challenging World: A Conversation with Former CIA Director Williams J. Burns”
This year, Carnegie Connects completed our 100th episode and marked five great years of the program. If I had to pick one interview that combined all the elements that have accounted for Carnegie Connects’ success, it would have to be my conversation with former CIA Director Bill Burns. It was our first actual sit-down in front of an audience, and no Zoom even of the highest quality can replace the energy and chemistry of a live conversation.
But more than that, the Burns interview combined in compelling ways the personal and the professional. I’ve known Bill for nearly fifty years, and our careers have intertwined from our early days, filled with all of the tumultuous ups and downs of Middle East diplomacy. The conversation revealed Bill’s personal qualities—his integrity, honesty, humility, and selflessness at a time when public service—especially in the United States—is under enormous stress. And it revealed an acute analytical grasp of foreign policy and national security issues honed over decades. Bill gave a master class of analysis of the most serious challenges America faces, both at home and abroad. And I was honored and privileged to host it.
—Aaron David Miller, Carnegie Connects host
Carnegie Politika Podcast: “Victory Day in Russia, with Arkady Ostrovsky”
Most Carnegie Politika episodes cover topics that the larger Politika team is working on right now. If it’s not a crisis of the day, then it’s an attempt to look around the corner to help listeners frame the major issues that animate our research, be it the trajectory of war in Ukraine or the state of the Russian economy. It’s very rare that we are able to zoom out of policy debates and take a 10,000-foot view on long-term trends, particularly if we deal with history.
In this episode with The Economist Russia editor Arkady Ostrovsky, we discuss the cult of World War II in Putin’s Russia and dig deep into the hive mind of the Russians, which helps to uncover some origins of the Ukraine invasion.
—Alexander Gabuev, Carnegie Politika Podcast host
China in the World: “Calibrating China Ties—Japan”
This season looked at key relationships with the People’s Republic of China. Perhaps this is recency bias, but the episode that stands out is the one on Japan with Akira Igata and Ayumi Teraoka. We discussed economic security, diversification, supply chains, and maritime access in the face of punishment and coercion from Beijing, given Japan’s experience with the PRC since 2010. Insights from that episode seem particularly salient as Beijing and Tokyo engage in yet another round of escalating tensions.
—Ian Chong, China in the World host
Europe Inside Out: “Europe’s Place on the Global Chessboard”
Europe Inside Out is all about bringing Brussels to the world and the world back to Brussels. Our episode “Europe’s Place on the Global Chessboard” embodies this mission: It brings together diverse voices to outline how Europe responds (or fails to respond) to shifting geopolitical realities.
From Donald Trump undermining the transatlantic alliance to Russia continuing its aggression, from intensifying competition with China to the spiral of conflicts in the Middle East, events are moving faster than the EU’s ability to keep pace. In this episode, Rym Momtaz, Rosa Balfour, and Erik Jones unpack why European leaders must move past the fear of confrontation, the rigidity of their rules, and the constraints of domestic politics to articulate a truly shared and strategic vision.
—Mattia Bagherini, Europe Inside Out producer
Grand Tamasha: “Why Washington Is Wooing Pakistan”
In a year full of whiplash-inducing shifts in U.S. foreign policy, few have been as striking as Washington’s renewed courtship of Pakistan. After the Osama bin Laden raid and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan had largely fallen out of America’s Indo-Pacific calculus. But the second Trump administration has taken a decidedly different tack.
In this episode, Uzair Younus—veteran Pakistan watcher and chief product officer at TAG AI, the artificial-intelligence platform developed by The Asia Group—breaks down the structural forces and key personalities driving this unexpected turn. The conversation explores the administration’s interest in Pakistan’s critical minerals, its hopes for India-Pakistan thaw, and Islamabad’s ambitions to position itself as a bridge to the Middle East.
Agree or disagree with Younus’s analysis, his arguments illuminate one of the year’s most surprising foreign-policy reversals—and demand serious attention.
—Milan Vaishnav, Grand Tamasha host
Hasan Minaj Doesn’t Know: “Inside the Destruction of USAID with Dr. Atul Gawande”
I loved this episode because it makes USAID’s work tangible: saving lives and rebuilding communities—impact without military force. Even the former head of USAID’s Global Health Program admits he barely knew its scope, calling it one of the best jobs in medicine. Eye-opening and inspiring.
—Benazair Baig, The World Unpacked producer
Interpreting India: “Interpreting China: The Economy and Its Impact on Foreign Policy”
This episode stood out to me for the clarity it brings to how China’s internal economic stresses shape its external behavior. As part of Interpreting India’s Interpreting China series, the conversation with Amit Kumar examines three structural dilemmas facing China’s economy: weak domestic consumption, limits on fiscal stimulus, and the slowdown in the property sector. I found the discussion on China’s economic outreach to India especially compelling, as it challenges the assumption that engagement is driven primarily by market logic rather than geopolitical calculation.
—Sumbul Jahangeer, Interpreting India producer
Interesting Times with Ross Douthat: “Peter Thiel and the Antichrist”
This conversation was truly stunning at points—and for me, revelatory about the ways that some leaders in the tech world view the relationship between humans and machines.
—Christopher S. Chivvis, Pivotal States host
Pivotal States: “Peril and Promise in the U.S.-China AI Race”
This was a fun and super helpful conversation for anyone trying to get their head around the intersection between AI and strategic competition with China. Colin is a brilliant mind, super articulate, and has uniquely deep expertise with both topics.
—Christopher S. Chivvis, Pivotal States host
Rachman Review: “The Cold War Guru Whose Warnings on Russia Still Stand”
There are few history books that are so timely as the biography of Zbigniew Brzeziński, authored by the Financial Times’ Ed Luce. This episode of Rachman Review, hosted by the inimitable Gideon Rachman, tells you why Zbig’s story is so contemporary and should be a must-read for everyone interested in Russia, Europe, and the world order.
—Alexander Gabuev, Carnegie Politika Podcast host
The Eurofile
One foreign policy podcast I keep returning to is the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ The Eurofile, which examines Europe through a Washington lens. What I appreciate most is the way the hosts break down complex European debates for an American audience, with sharp, accessible conversations on developments in Brussels and why they matter for the United States. They keep the pace lively while engaging leading voices from across the transatlantic community, making each episode both informative and highly digestible.
The catalogue is wide-ranging, covering everything from EU politics and defense to trade, technology, and transatlantic diplomacy. Rather than single out one episode, I’d emphasize the overall value of the series. For anyone looking to understand how European dynamics intersect with U.S. interests, The Eurofile provides consistently insightful, comprehensive coverage.
—Mattia Bagherini, Europe Inside Out producer
The New Yorker Radio Hour: “Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s ‘Surgery with a Chainsaw’”
Atul Gawande is a surgeon, a leading public-health expert, and a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker. He also served four years as the Joe Biden administration’s top global health official at USAID. After Elon Musk and DOGE effectively dismantled the agency, Gawande has emerged as its most compelling defender—championing both its ideals and its life-saving work around the world.
In this conversation with The New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick, Gawande speaks with bracing clarity about USAID’s demise, the blow it represents for U.S. foreign policy, and the human costs that will follow. At a moment when many experts choose to temper their warnings, Gawande refuses to pull his punches.
—Milan Vaishnav, Grand Tamasha host
The Taiwan Take: “Zero Day Attack: A TV Show on Chinese Invasion of Taiwan”
This episode from The Taiwan Take is a conversation between Hsin-Mei Cheng, director of a miniseries exploring Taiwanese reactions to an imminent attack from the People’s Republic of China, and host Emily Wu. I tuned in to hear more about regular Taiwanese perspectives on PRC coercion. The discussion touched on censorship and self-censorship experienced by Taiwanese creatives if they wanted to be in the PRC market. The episode effectively covered how foreign policy and security interact with arts and entertainment—a fascinating but often less discussed intersection.
A bonus podcast recommendation for Mandarin speakers: “The Real Story” from Taiwan’s The Reporter.
—Ian Chong, China in the World host
The World Unpacked: “A House of Dynamite Writer on How Nuclear War Works”
This season of The World Unpacked has experimented with bolder production design, themes, and voices from outside the think tank world to unpack complex issues. One episode that stood out features Hollywood screenwriter and journalist Noah Oppenheim, writer of the film A House of Dynamite, in conversation with host Jon Bateman. They go beyond filmmaking to explore the high-stakes realities of nuclear crisis decisionmaking. Oppenheim emphasizes his hope that greater public awareness can pressure policymakers to reduce nuclear weapons, showing how storytelling and public engagement can shine a light on some of the world’s most urgent issues.
—Benazair Baig, The World Unpacked producer
