How the Iran-Israel Conflict Is Reshaping the Middle East
Conflict broke out between Israel and Iran on Friday, with Israel launching an attack on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities and Iran responding in turn. Vali Nasr, a Middle East expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University, sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Nasr is the author, most recently, of Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History.
FP Staff: Israel Strikes Iran
Iselin Brady and Daniel Byman: How the Israel-Iran War Might End
Steven A. Cook: Israel Is Going for the Death Blow on Iran
Jeffrey Lewis: Nuclear Claims Are a Smoke Screen for Hopes of Toppling Iran
John Haltiwanger: Iran’s Military Just Lost Its ‘Brain Trust’
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42:26
Can China Catch Up on AI?
Chinese exports of rare earths, a critical component in manufacturing high-end tech products, emerged as a key sticking point in this week’s trade talks between Beijing and Washington. Underpinning all of this is the race for artificial intelligence supremacy. Who is winning this competition? Who is best placed to control the supply chains of all the components that go into the top chips and AI models? Jared Cohen and George Lee, the co-heads of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, join FP Live.
Note: This discussion is part of a series of episodes brought to you by the Goldman Sachs Global Institute.
Jared Cohen: The AI Economy’s Massive Vulnerability
Rishi Iyengar & Lili Pike: Is It Too Late to Slow China’s AI Development?
Vivek Chilukuri: How the United States Can Win the Global Tech Race
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38:30
The Future of War
Drones are playing an increasingly decisive role in conflicts around the world. Coupled with artificial intelligence and other technological advances, the very nature of warfare is transforming in front of our eyes. Are countries and their policymakers prepared?
Mara Karlin, former assistant secretary of defense under U.S. President Joe Biden, joins FP Live to share her insights. Karlin is also the author of The Inheritance: America’s Military After Two Decades of War.
John Haltiwanger: Drones are Transforming South Asian Warfare
Stephen M. Walt: Ukraine’s Drone Attack Doesn’t Matter
Christian Caryl: The Ukrainians’ New Way of War
Mara Karlin: The Inheritance: America’s Military After Two Decades of War
Stanley McChrystal and Anshu Roy: AI Has Entered the Situation Room
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37:36
How Gen Z Views the World
Gen Z has come of age amid a pandemic, growing polarization, and deep distrust of bureaucratic institutions. How does this shape their political and economic views? Do they still believe in the American Dream? Economic analyst and author Kyla Scanlon joins FP Live to discuss.
Suggested reading:
Institute of Politics: Spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll
Kyla Scanlon: Gen Z and the End of Predictable Progress
Kyla Scanlon: FAFOnomics: How Chaos Became America’s Economic Strategy
Kyla Scanlon: Dollar Devaluation and the Antisystem Youth
Kyla Scanlon: In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work?
Kathleen J. McInnis: How to Sell NATO to Gen Z
Joseph E. Stiglitz: Big Tech Is Trying to Prevent Debate About Its Social Harms
Jeongmin Kim: Why Young Koreans Love to Splurge
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39:21
How to Think About Solutions in Gaza and Sudan
Earlier this week, thousands of Palestinians stormed an aid distribution site in Gaza, underlining the ongoing humanitarian crisis there and prompting the question: Why isn’t the world doing more?
Martin Griffiths served as the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations from 2021 until 2024. He is currently with the Mediation Group International and joins Ravi Agrawal to push for solutions to the multiple crises spanning our globe.
Suggested reading:
Neha Wadekar: The World’s Refugee Relief Is Utterly Broken
David E. Rosenberg: The Old War Is Over in Gaza, and a New One Is Underway
Michael Hirsh: A New Authoritarian Era in the Mideast?
Robbie Gramer: How the U.S. Fumbled Sudan’s Hopes for Democracy
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Each week, Foreign Policy Live will feature a substantive conversation on world affairs. Host and FP editor in chief Ravi Agrawal will be joined by leading foreign-policy thinkers and practitioners to analyze a key issue in global politics, from the U.S.-China relationship to conflict and diplomacy. FP Live is your weekly fix for smart thinking about the world.
Foreign Policy magazine subscribers can watch these interviews live and submit questions and suggestions by going to https://foreignpolicy.com/live/.