Face-Off

The nuclear age began in secrecy and scientific ambition. The story is familiar, but its implications have never left us. Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy is an 8-part series tracing the arc of nuclear danger. A bomb created in a moment of wartime urgency became the foundation of a global order defined by terror and deterrence. But what happens when that global order breaks down?

This season, we take you back inside the Manhattan Project and a decimated Hiroshima in the hours after the blast. We retrace the Cuban Missile Crisis and the abandonment of the New START treaty with a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and the State Department decision-makers in the room. We follow China’s rapid expansion, Russia’s threats, Ukraine’s lost deterrent, and the outliers challenging the world’s nuclear order.

In each episode, Pulitzer-winning journalist Jane Perlez interviews leading participants in the nuclear conversation: David Sanger, Tong Zhao, Rose Gottemoeller, Alex Wellerstein and more. Plus, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Matthew Bunn joins for a wrap-up segment to put everything in context. Episodes out every Tuesday in October & November 2026. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social).

Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions.
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While we're busy working on a new season of Face-Off, we thought our audience might be interested in learning about a new series called Asian Innovation for Social Good, produced by our friends at Foreign Policy.

Across Asia, philanthropy is expanding from traditional grant-making into a more active role as catalytic capital, taking on risk that commercial investment avoids and public funding cannot yet reach.

Climate, global health, and inclusive development now draw partnerships that cross borders and sectors, financing early-stage innovation where the returns are uncertain and the time horizons are long.

The Philanthropy Asia Summit is where those alliances take shape, and this four-part series, recorded at the sixth edition in Singapore, follows host Rob Sachs into the rooms where funders, operators, and policy leaders are testing what collaborative giving can achieve.

Each episode examines the role philanthropy plays when the maps drawn for an earlier era no longer fit the terrain, and what becomes possible when ambition meets disciplined execution.

Find the show wherever you listen to podcasts.
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We’re hard at work on Season 4 of Face-Off. And we have some great episodes in the works, but while we’re in production I wanted to share an episode from a different podcast that I thought you might enjoy….

When people discuss environmental solutions, they often mention its impact on our lives. This can include ensuring parts of the planet remain inhabitable in the face of extreme temperatures, maintaining biodiversity, and preventing the oxidation of our oceans. But there’s another case to be made: Investing in our planet makes sense economically. 

Conservation can deliver high returns on investment. According to the ⁠International Monetary Fund⁠, every dollar spent on conservation and other green projects may yield up to seven dollars within five years. This is because of jobs created, food systems improved, and a reduction in greenhouse gases, among other outcomes. 

On this episode of The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, we speak with Jody Allen, a philanthropist, businesswoman, and conservationist. She cares deeply about protecting wildlife and our planet. Allen is also the owner of the Seattle Seahawks. Host Zainab Salbi, who co-founded Daughters for Earth with Allen, talks with Allen about the interplay between philanthropy and conservation. 

We also speak with two African wildlife conservations: Dr. Shivani Bhalla, founder of ⁠Ewaso Lions⁠ in Kenya, and Dr. Moreangels Mbizah, founder of ⁠Wildlife Conservation Action⁠ in Zimbabwe. They share what community-led conservation strategies look like and what they have seen work best to decrease human-wildlife conflict. 

The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is a podcast from Foreign Policy, supported this season by Daughters for Earth.

Guests Interviewed:


Jody Allen, Founder of Daughters for Earth


Dr. Shivani Bhalla, Founder of ⁠Ewaso Lions⁠


Dr. Moreangels Mbizah, Founder of ⁠Wildlife Conservation Action

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As this episode is published - on April 21, 2026 -  it’s far from clear which direction the war between the US and Iran is headed. Even so, America’s reputation around the world is in decline, to say the least.

Trump is unrestrained.  He’s invaded Venezuela. Started a war like no other with Iran. Soured relations with traditional US allies in Europe. And not to mention the heavy tariffs he’s imposed across the globe. 

Trump and Xi Jinping are supposed to meet in a delayed summit in Beijing this spring. What is Beijing thinking? How might China capitalize on this very rocky moment?

With so much at stake, we turn to someone who has often been at the forefront of diplomacy: Nicholas Burns, the former US Ambassador to China under President Biden.

Our conversation was recorded on April 10th, which is important to note as the news is moving fast, very fast. 

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Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠.
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In this episode, we take you inside the Chinese internet. 

China is currently home to the world's most sophisticated, far-reaching internet censorship regime. Chinese censors are trained to comb the web for off-limits words and phrases. Offending posts often disappear into thin air. And entire US-based platforms like Google, Youtube, Instagram, and Amazon, not to mention the New York Times are all banned.

But it’s one thing to talk about the regime and another to live under it. That’s the subject of a great new book, The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet by Yi-Ling Liu.  Yi-Ling is an American reporter based in Hong Kong. 

So today on Face-Off, we hand over the mic to our Associate Producer Frank Zhou for a fascinating conversation with Yi-Ling Liu. 

Guest: Yi-Ling Liu, Writer & Editor covering AI and Chinese society

Further Reading:

The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet  https://www.yi-lingliu.com/the-wall-dancers

***PLEASE TAKE OUR AUDIENCE SURVEY*** It only takes a minute and will help guide the future of Face-Off: https://bit.ly/faceoffsurvey

Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠.
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