Power Play

POLITICO

Taking listeners inside the minds of those who wield power.

  • 23 minutes 17 seconds
    Why DeepSeek has deepened the US-China AI rivalry

    Donald Trump has made a blitz of announcements designed to boost the United States' tech industry. But then a new Chinese artificial intelligence model came along and caused a stir on Wall Street. Is this a new dawn or a fresh threat? 

    Host Anne McElvoy talks to one of Silicon Valley’s leading entrepreneurs, Reid Hoffman. Co-founder of LinkedIn, he’s invested in companies like Airbnb and Facebook and is now investing in AI startups. His new book is called "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future."

    How does his optimistic vision for the future square with the disruptive force of a world powered by AI — and one in which American and Chinese rivalry could have unforeseen consequences?

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    30 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 19 minutes 56 seconds
    Sponsored content: Davos marks a new era of collaboration on AI

    The world has entered a new era of intelligence, as artificial intelligence technologies are being rapidly developed and adopted across industries and around the globe. So, it’s apropos that the theme of the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was “Collaboration in the Intelligent Age.” With the first provisions of the European Union’s AI Act set to roll out shortly after the forum wraps, conversations in Davos were buzzing around AI.

    In an ever-changing global marketplace, collaborative development and effective governance are essential to building AI ecosystems that are transparent, ethically compliant and safe. On a special branded episode of Power Play, presented by IBM, POLITICO Focus contributor David Himmel explores what true collaboration looks like, the ways open AI systems are changing the game for businesses of all sizes and how industry leaders can work with governments to ensure a return on investment that benefits everyone.

    Himmel speaks with Christina Montgomery, IBM’s chief privacy and trust officer and interim leader of government affairs. She talks about the need for access to open AI development, the importance of privacy and how diverse, global collaboration will help solve the questions and challenges we face in this new age of intelligence.

    Power Play is a POLITICO original podcast series. This special branded episode from IBM was produced by POLITICO Focus.

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    27 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 27 minutes 1 second
    Davos 2025: What is Trump's plan for Ukraine?

    This year’s annual jamboree in the Alps is drawing to a close. And the man who’s dominated the week — Donald Trump —spoke to the World Economic Forum. He’s hardly the centrist “Davos Man” but he had a message from Washington for the gathering.

    In Power Play's final edition from the World Economic Forum in Davos, host Anne McElvoy talks to William Browder, financier and activist, who has been a leading campaigner against Vladimir Putin’s regime since his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was arrested and died in custody in Russia 15 years ago. Does he think Trump can strike a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine?

    Later, she talks to Suzanne Lynch, author of POLITICO’s Global Playbook, who steps away from her whirlwind of conversations to sum up the week’s events — and gossip — here in Davos.

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    24 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 23 minutes 23 seconds
    Davos 2025: Will Trump's 'golden age' pay off?

    Is America headed for a new "golden age"? Or will Donald Trump’s promise falter? And where does that leave the quest for prosperity across the Atlantic? They're the questions on the lips of many economists, business leaders and politicians gathering at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

    Host Anne McElvoy talks to two authorities on the United States and global economy: Ken Rogoff, professor at Harvard, chess grand master and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, and Huw van Steenis, who was a senior adviser to the former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and is now vice chair at the consultancy Oliver Wyman.

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    23 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 27 minutes 14 seconds
    Davos 2025: Changing their minds on Trump — Anthony Scaramucci and Niall Ferguson

    President Trump’s first 24 hours in the White House have certainly been the talking point here in Davos, as business leaders and politicians digest what the new era means for them and the rest of the world.

    Continuing Power Play's daily coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos, host Anne McElvoy talks to two figures who know how the President operates and who have changed their minds about him. Anthony Scaramucci was briefly the White House’s communications director in Donald Trump’s first administration before going on to campaign against him. Later, she talks to historian Niall Ferguson, senior fellow at Stanford and Harvard Universities and an authority on American and European political history. Previously a critic, he argues that Trump's second term ambitions should be taken seriously.

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    22 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 26 minutes 57 seconds
    Davos 2025: How different will the new Trump era be?

    New United States President Donald Trump declared a "new golden age" for America in an inauguration speech that defiantly set out his vision for his next four years at the White House. Will he fulfill his promises and how different will this presidency be to his last?

    Continuing Power Play's daily coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos, host Anne McElvoy surveys the impact of the speech on U.S. politics and beyond. She talks to POLITICO's global editor-in-chief John Harris, who arrived in Switzerland from Washington just before the new president took his oath of office. She's also joined by Ryan Lizza, POLITICO's chief Washington correspondent and writer of the magazine, to chew over the speech and its reverberations around Washington.

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    21 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 26 minutes 23 seconds
    Davos 2025: Global elites prepare for Trump's new America

    It’s that time of year! Thousands of business leaders, politicians, tech maestros and an array of hangers are about to descend on the Swiss Alps. As the 55th meeting of the annual World Economic Forum gets underway in Davos, many eyes will be on Washington D.C. when Donald Trump takes the presidential oath — and a new global era begins.

    To open Power Play's daily coverage of Davos, host Anne McElvoy is joined by POLITICO's Jack Blanchard in Washington, where he starts today as the new managing editor of Playbook, and a doyen of Davos, Adrian Monck, who was Head of Communications for the World Economic Forum between 2009 and 2023. They discuss what to expect from Trump's inauguration and the diplomacy that goes on behind the scenes at the forum.

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    20 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 24 minutes 11 seconds
    The UN funding crisis: Tough choices on Ukraine and Gaza

    The war in Ukraine is about to enter its fourth year. Will the incoming administration in Washington bring it to an end — and what will that mean for the millions of refugees inside the war-torn country and the territories Russia occupies?

    Host Anne McElvoy talks to Tom Fletcher, United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, who has been in Ukraine to survey the toll the conflict has taken on the Ukrainian people and its infrastructure.

    They also discuss the huge task facing the U.N. following a cease-fire in Gaza. As a former senior foreign policy adviser to three British prime ministers — Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron — Fletcher has advice for Peter Mandelson, who is about to become Britain's next ambassador to the United States, on how to handle Donald Trump.

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    16 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 22 minutes 13 seconds
    Elon Musk should steer clear of politics, says top British businessman

    Elon Musk's controversial postings on British politics have ignited the row over the United Kingdom's long-running child grooming scandal. Musk's interventions and his proximity to Donald Trump are becoming a prominent feature in political debate on both sides of the Atlantic.

    This week, host Anne McElvoy talks to Rupert Soames, chair of the Confederation of British Industry, the U.K.’s biggest business lobby group — and grandson of Winston Churchill — about what the new administration in Washington and Musk's influence mean for the transatlantic business relationship.

    The U.K.'s economy has been in the doldrums and a tax-raising budget from the new Labour government has put business leaders’ noses out of joint. Will the return of Trump to the White House galvanize or harm economic ties across the pond?

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    9 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 38 minutes 54 seconds
    How big business is making its relationship with Republicans great again

    To ring in the New Year, here’s a recent episode from one of our sister podcasts in the U.S., Playbook Deep Dive, hosted by Rachel Bade and produced by Alex Keeney. Power Play with Anne McElvoy will return next week.

    Donald Trump’s Washington will be packed with big business heavyweights such as Elon Musk, Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents traditional business interests in D.C., has recently found itself estranged from its longtime allies in the Republican Party.

    On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, the Chamber’s top lobbyist, former Rep. Rodney Davis, joins Rachael Bade to discuss how the Chamber is getting its swagger back with the GOP, and how they plan to interface with President-elect Trump.

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    2 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 23 minutes 56 seconds
    How the world's political power brokers are gearing up for 2025

    Out with the old and in with the new or in the case of 2025, it’s back to the future with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. As America and her allies prepares for Trump 2.0, what can we be certain of in an increasingly unpredictable and fractious world?

    In the final episode of Power Play this year, host Anne McElvoy is joined by POLITICO's Global Editor-in-chief John Harris and Nicholas Vinocur, editor-at-large in POLITICO's Europe newsroom and author of Brussels Playbook. They chew over an eventful election year in 2024 and look ahead to what 2025 might bring.

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    19 December 2024, 5:00 am
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