The President’s Inbox

Lynne Olson, acclaimed historian and author of Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939–1941, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the history of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941 and the domestic political struggles that shaped the United States’ entry into the Second World War.

 

To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR is dedicating a year-long series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that will reflect on two and a half centuries of U.S. foreign policy. Featuring bipartisan voices and expert contributors, the series explores the evolution of America’s role in the world and the strategic challenges that lie ahead.

 

Mentioned on the Episode:

 

Winston Churchill, "Letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt," December 8, 1940

 

Council on Foreign Relations, The 10 Best and 10 Worst Decisions in U.S. Foreign Policy

 

Charles Lindbergh Testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, January 23, 1941

 

Lynne Olson, Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941

 

Wendel Wilkie Testimony to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, February 10, 1941

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/america-250-the-lend-lease-act

 

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or our guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles Burkle Center for International Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss President Donald Trump's decision to launch a war against Iran, the prospects for regime change, and the consequences for the region.

 

Mentioned on the Episode:

 

Michael Birnbaum, John Hudson, Karen DeYoung, Natalie Allison, and Souad Mekhennet, “Push from Saudis, Israel, Helped Move Trump to Attack Iran,” Washington Post

 

Dalia Dassa Kaye, Enduring Hostility: The Making of America's Iran Policy

 

Zolan Kanno-Younge, David Sanger, and Tyler Pager, “Trump Says War Could Last Weeks and Offers Contradictory Visions of New Regime,” New York Times

 

Michael Scherer, “I Have Agreed to Talk,” The Atlantic

 

Donald Trump Truth Social Post, “HELP IS ON ITS WAY”

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/trump-chooses-war-with-iran

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or our guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

Michael Bustamante, Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Cuba.

 

Mentioned on the Episode:

 

Marc Caputo, “Exclusive: Rubio's Secret Squeeze on Raul Castro's Cuba,” Axios

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/cuba-on-the-brink

 

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or our guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs and Professor of Public Affairs and History at the University of Texas at Austin, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China, which ushered in a new era of U.S.-Sino relations and altered the course of world politics.

 

To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR is dedicating a year-long series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that will reflect on two and a half centuries of U.S. foreign policy. Featuring bipartisan voices and expert contributors, the series explores the evolution of America’s role in the world and the strategic challenges that lie ahead.

 

Mentioned on the Episode:

 

James M. Lindsay, The Ten Best and Ten Worst U.S. Foreign Policy Decisions, CFR.org

 

Richard Nixon, “Asia After Vietnam,” Foreign Affairs

 

Jeremi Suri, Henry Kissinger and the American Century

 

Jeremi Suri and Zachary Suri, Democracy of Hope

 

Jeremi Suri and Zachary Suri, This Is Democracy

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/america-250-nixon-goes-to-china

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or our guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

F. Gregory Gause III, a leading scholar on Saudi Arabia and an associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the evolution of U.S.-Saudi relations as Saudi Arabia navigates its role in a Middle East with a more assertive Israel, a weaker Iran, and a less predictable United States.

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/the-new-saudi-strategy

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or our guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.