On the Record

On Iran's Protests

In this episode, panelists discuss the latest unrest in Iran, the economic pressures that have sparked nationwide protests, and the implications for U.S. policy amid ongoing regional tensions.
 
Background Reading:
This article discusses how the Iranian regime is facing one of its largest protest movements in years, leading Tehran to shut down internet and telephone communications.
 
Host: Missy Ryan, Staff Writer, The Atlantic
 
Guests: Vali R. Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
 
Ray Takeyh, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies, CFR
 
Sanam Vakil, Director, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: The Protests in Iran

On Immigration Policy and the U.S. Economy

Immigrants significantly benefit the U.S. economy by growing the labor force, filling essential jobs in sectors like services, construction, and tech. In this episode, panelists discuss the effects of recent refugee and immigration policy developments on the U.S. economy.
 
Background Reading:
This article outlines the critical role immigrants have long played in boosting the U.S. economy and GDP.
This article highlights how the second Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement, putting pressure on federal, state, and local agencies to meet the president’s deportation goals.
 
Host: Nelson W. Cunningham, Former President, McLarty Associates; Former Senior Advisor for Economic Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Former Special Advisor on Western Hemisphere Affairs; CFR Member
 
Guests: Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research, Center for Immigration Studies
 
Andrea R. Flores, Founder, America’s Promise
 
Pia Orrenius, Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Immigration Policy and the U.S. Economy

On Forecasting Humanitarian Risk for 2026

In this episode, David Miliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee, discusses the new IRC Emergency Watchlist report. The report highlights the countries at highest risk of humanitarian crisis in 2026, and evaluates the international community’s progress and shortcomings.
 
Background Reading:
This article discusses Venezuela’s dire humanitarian landscape, as the White House reviews potential military operations in the region.
This article examines Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, and a stubborn lack of international attention to its plight.
Host: Andrea Mitchell, Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
 
Guest: David Miliband, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Rescue Committee; Former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, United Kingdom
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Forecasting Humanitarian Risk in 2026: A Conversation with David Miliband. 
 

On Presidential Leadership and Moral Responsibility

In this episode, panelists discuss examples of U.S. presidents leveraging executive power to confront political violence, human rights abuses, and other global challenges, highlighting the ways in which presidential leadership has shaped the United States’ legacy of responsibility.
 
Host: Jacob M. Weisberg, Executive Chair, Pushkin Industries; Chair, Committee to Protect Journalists
 
Guests: Meena Bose, Executive Dean, Public Policy and Public Service Programs and Director, Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra University; CFR Member
 
David J. Scheffer, Senior Fellow, CFR
 
Ruti G. Teitel, Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law and Codirector, Center for International Law, New York Law School
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Reckoning with History: Presidential Leadership and Moral Responsibility.

President Bill Clinton on U.S. Foreign Policy

In this episode, former U.S. President Bill Clinton looks back on critical issues in U.S. foreign policy during his presidency, and shares lessons for sustaining American diplomatic engagement abroad.
 
His remarks were delivered as part of the inaugural Martin S. Indyk Memorial Lecture, held in collaboration with the Clinton Global Initiative.
 
Host: Richard Haass, President Emeritus, Council on Foreign Relations; Senior Counselor, Centerview Partners
 
Guest: Bill Clinton, Founder and Board Chair, Clinton Foundation; 42nd President of the United States
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: A Conversation With President Bill Clinton.

On Innovation at the National Institutes of Health

In this episode, Director of the National Institutes of Health Jay Bhattacharya discusses the latest developments in biomedical innovation and how they will shape the future of public health research.
 
Background Reading:
This CFR event discusses emerging threats to public health and how journalists are covering new outbreaks across the United States.
 
Host: Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Senior Professorial Lecturer and President Emerita, American University; Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
 
Guests: Jay Bhattacharya, Director, National Institutes of Health
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: A Conversation With Jay Bhattacharya of the National Institutes of Health.

On Governing the Rules of AI

In this episode, experts discuss the geopolitical implications of transformative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), including how decision-makers are navigating governance, balancing innovation with risk, and addressing questions of equity and accountability.
 
Background Reading:
This article assesses whether AI investments have contributed meaningfully to U.S. economic growth.
This article analyzes whether democracies can safeguard AI systems in a way that preserves both institutional and public trust.
 
Host: Maryam Mujica, Chief Public Policy Officer, General Catalyst
 
Guests: Laura DeNardis, Professor and Endowed Chair in Technology, Ethics, and Society; Director, Center for Digital Ethics, Georgetown University
 
Vinh Nguyen, Senior Fellow for AI, Council on Foreign Relations
 
Miriam Vogel, Author, Governing the Machine: How to Navigate the Risks of AI and Unlock Its True Potential; President and Chief Executive Officer, EqualAI
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit our YouTube channel: The Rules of AI: Governing Technology in a Geopolitical Age.
 

On a Ukraine–Russia Peace Deal

Since President Trump first introduced a proposal to end the war in Ukraine, revisions from both sides have led to disagreement, diminishing hopes for a lasting peace. Experts are now examining the recent meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Miami, where efforts were made to finalize a peace plan for presentation to Moscow, as well as the types of security guarantees Ukraine may seek going forward. 
 
Background Reading:
This article details Trump’s proposed peace plan and the pitfalls of Washington’s attempt to advance ceasefire discussions between Russia and Ukraine.
 
Host: Paul B. Stares, General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action, CFR
 
Guests: Liana Fix, Senior Fellow for Europe, CFR
 
Thomas Graham, Distinguished Fellow, CFR
 
Steven Sestanovich, George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies, CFR
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit our YouTube channel: The State of Play in Ukraine.
 

On Espionage and Intelligence Gathering

Intelligence experts discuss the new frontiers of intelligence gathering, examining how emerging technologies are transforming espionage and reshaping the future of U.S. national security.
 
Background Reading:
This article outlines how growing politicization within the intelligence community threatens the integrity of intelligence assessments and endangers U.S. national security.
 
Host: Barton Gellman, Senior Advisor to the President, Brennan Center for Justice, NYU Law School
 
Guests: Robert Cardillo, Former Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
 
Anthony Vinci, Author, The Fourth Intelligence Revolution: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save America; Former Chief Technology Officer, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
 
Rebecca U. Weiner, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence and Counterterrorism, New York City Police Department; CFR Member
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu62quTXCF0 
 

On U.S. Economic Security and Competition

Today, U.S. economic leadership is at a crossroads. An overconcentration of critical supply chains in China, underinvestment in important sectors at home, and strategic competition over the next generation of foundational technologies has exposed vulnerabilities in U.S. economic security. 
 
In its new report, U.S. Economic Security: Winning the Race for Tomorrow’s Technologies, the CFR Task Force on Economic Security addresses U.S. economic security risks and offers practical recommendations for mobilizing the resources needed to prevail.
 
This Task Force is part of RealEcon: Reimagining American Economic Leadership, a CFR initiative of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.
 
Background Reading:
This CFR Task Force Report finds that strategic competition over the world’s next generation of foundational technologies is underway, and U.S. advantages in artificial intelligence, quantum, and biotechnology are increasingly contested.
 
Host: Greg Ip, Chief Economics Commentator and Deputy Economics Editor, Wall Street Journal
 
Guests: Jonathan E. Hillman, Project Director, Economic Security Task Force; Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics, CFR
 
Justin G. Muzinich, Cochair, Economic Security Task Force, CFR; Chief Executive Officer, Muzinich & Co., Inc.; Former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (2018–21); Board of Directors, CFR
 
Gina M. Raimondo, Cochair, Economic Security Task Force, CFR; Former Secretary of Commerce (2021–25)
 
James D. Taiclet, Cochair, Economic Security Task Force, CFR; Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation
 
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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLs6B7KF4p0