Missing The World Next Week? Host Robert McMahon shares his favorite CFR resources for news and analysis on foreign policy and global affairs. The Interconnect, a new podcast series from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Stanford Emerging Technology Review, brings together leading minds in cutting-edge technology and foreign policy to explore recent ground-breaking developments, what’s coming over the horizon, and the implications for U.S. innovation leadership. 

In this featured episode, host Martin Giles sits down with CFR Technologist-in-Residence Sebastian Elbaum and Stanford Emerging Technology Review faculty council member Mark Horowitz to discuss where chip manufacturing is heading, how hardware advances are powering the new artificial intelligence (AI) era, and what the United States should prioritize in order to sustain its leadership in this crucial domain.

This episode was originally released by The Interconnect on February 13, 2025.

Featured Episode: Chips and the Future of Computing

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The Interconnect

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Missing The World Next Week? Host Robert McMahon shares his favorite CFR resources for news and analysis on foreign policy and global affairs. Foreign Affairs invites you to join its editor, Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, as he talks with influential thinkers and policymakers about the forces shaping the world. Whether the topic is the war in Ukraine, the United States’ competition with China, or the future of globalization, The Foreign Affairs Interview offers the kind of authoritative commentary and analysis that you can find in the magazine and on the website. In this featured episode, Dan Kurtz-Phelan speaks with Jason Furman about why the Biden administration’s economic policy fell short—and why both Democrats and Republicans should abandon what he calls their “post-neoliberal delusion.”

This episode was originally released by The Foreign Affairs Interview on February 13, 2025.

Featured Episode: Why Biden’s Economic Ambitions Fell Short

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Foreign Affairs Interview

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Emerging technologies are transforming international relations and our country’s economy. So how do we connect science and engineering labs with Washington and the world of business? 

The Interconnect, a new podcast series from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Stanford Emerging Technology Review, brings together leading minds in cutting-edge technology and foreign policy to explore recent ground-breaking developments, what's coming over the horizon, and the implications for U.S. innovation leadership.

In this featured episode, Stanford Emerging Technology Review Faculty Council Member Mark Horowitz and CFR’s technologist-in-residence Sebastian Elbaum discuss where chip manufacturing is heading, how hardware advances are powering the new artificial intelligence (AI) era, and what the United States should prioritize in order to sustain its leadership in this crucial domain.

Host

Martin Giles, Managing Editor of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review

Guests

Mark Horowitz, chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at Stanford University

Sebastian Elbaum, the Technologist in Residence at the Council on Foreign Relations

Missing The World Next Week? Host Robert McMahon shares his favorite CFR resources for news and analysis on foreign policy and global affairs. Why It Matters is explaining some of the least-understood issues that are shaping our world. Every two weeks, host Gabrielle Sierra speaks to a diverse lineup of guests with the goal of simplifying a complicated global topic. In this featured episode, Adam Segal, the Ira A. Lipman chair in emerging technologies and national security at CFR, explains how tech titans are acting as unilateral decision makers in international relations, upsetting the balance and structure of global power around the world.

This episode was originally released by Why It Matters on November 13, 2024.

Featured Episode: The New Tech World Order

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Missing The World Next Week? Host Robert McMahon shares his favorite CFR resources for news and analysis on foreign policy and global affairs. The President’s Inbox goes beyond the headlines as host James M. Lindsay speaks with leading experts about how the United States should respond to global challenges and opportunities that are shaping the future. In this featured episode, Steven A. Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for the Middle East and Africa studies at CFR, shares how the Israel-Hamas cease-fire over Gaza came together, what the agreement requires each side to do, and what could come next.

This episode was originally released by The President’s Inbox on January 28, 2025.

Featured Episode: The Gaza Cease-Fire, With Steven Cook

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Missing The World Next Week? Host Robert McMahon shares his favorite CFR resources for news and analysis on foreign policy and global affairs. CFR newsletters bring you a wide range of expert insights in an easy-to-read email straight to your inbox. 

The World This Week, delivered every Friday

The Daily News Brief, delivered every weekday morning

Think Global Health, delivered every Friday 

RealEcon, delivered every other Wednesday

Check out the full list of newsletters from CFR experts and writers here.

In this live series finale, Bob and Carla discuss the most pressing international news stories with special guest Deborah Amos. President Donald Trump virtually attends the annual Davos summit where he will address corporate and government leaders just three days after his inauguration; the next phase of hostage and prisoner swaps is due as part of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal; a tightly controlled presidential election in Belarus kicks off a new year of consequential elections around the globe; and TikTok is revived in the United States—for now— after President Trump forestalled the app’s initial ban.

This episode was originally produced live on January 21, 2025.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Megan Brenan, “Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Trend Low,” Gallup

Watch The World Next Week's final episode live podcast taping on YouTube.

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/twnw/series-finale-trump-addresses-davos-gaza-navigates-cease-fire-2025-elections-loom-and-more

Israel and Hamas reach a cease-fire deal aimed at exchanging hostages and prisoners while seeking a longer-term pause in fighting; the incoming Donald Trump administration weighs ambitious moves on immigration; Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign off on a twenty-year partnership agreement; and students in Serbia protest violations of civil rights.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Antony Blinken, “U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Biden Record in the Middle East—and What Comes Next,” Atlantic Council

Steven A. Cook, Elliott Abrams, and Elise Labott, “Virtual Media Briefing: The Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal,” CFR.org

“Serbia: ‘A Digital Prison’: Surveillance and the Suppression of Civil Society in Serbia,” Amnesty International

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/twnw/israel-hamas-cease-fire-trumps-first-immigration-moves-russia-iran-new-partnership

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Supreme Court hears arguments over the Joe Biden administration’s imminent banning of TikTok; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation prompts questions on the future of U.S.-Canada trade relations; and Europe’s eastern states confront energy issues after Ukraine stops the flow of Russian gas through its territory.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Amanda Coletta, “‘Hot Mess’: Trudeau’s Turmoil Draws Trump’s Taunts,” Washington Post

Robert Kagan, “Trump Is Facing a Catastrophic Defeat in Ukraine,” The Atlantic

Adam Segal and Zoë Moore, “What’s Next for TikTok: Ban, Sell, or Presidential Reprieve?” CFR.org

Varun Sivaram, “Five Climate Realism Insights on California’s Wildfires,” CFR.org

Trisha Thadani and Will Oremus, “Meta Embraces Fact-Checking Program That X Users Say Is Like ‘Whack-a-Mole’,” Washington Post

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/hegseth-faces-senate-hearing-scotus-hears-tiktok-case-canada-weighs-future-leadership-and-more

In this special year-end episode, hosts Bob McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins sit down with the New York Times’ chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe Steven Erlanger to review the biggest stories of the past year and discuss developments to watch in 2025. They analyze the conflicts and political developments in the Middle East and Europe, President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for his national security team, the state of democracy worldwide, and more.

Mentioned on the Podcast

James M. Lindsay, “Ten Elections to Watch in 2025,” CFR.org

National Centers for Environmental Information, “Monthly Global Climate Report for October 2024,” NCEI.NOAA.gov

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/world-next-year-wars-new-governments-stormy-weather-watch-2025

Syrians begin the early stages of government formation as global and regional powers scramble to devise a strategy for Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad; Georgians protest their government’s postponement of European Union (EU) membership talks as Romanians look for answers following the cancellation of their presidential election results; the United Kingdom (UK) accedes to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership; and China opens an anti-monopoly case against U.S. chipmaker Nvidia.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Luke Allnutt et al., “Romania's 'King Of TikTok' Tied To Alleged Scheme Boosting Far-Right Presidential Candidate,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Veronica Anghel, “Why Romania Just Canceled Its Presidential Election,” Journal of Democracy

Thomas Graham, “What Assad’s Fall Means for Russia in the Middle East,” CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at:

https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/syrians-plot-transition-turmoil-georgia-romania-uk-joins-trans-pacific-trade-deal-and-more