Foreign Policy Live

What’s the most effective way to give to people in dire need?

Rory Stewart, a former U.K. cabinet official and the head of the charity GiveDirectly, discusses the power of unconditional cash transfers and how that could revolutionize attempts to combat poverty.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the United States for the first time in six years this week, announcing with U.S. President Joe Biden a range of new collaborations between the world’s two biggest economies. Host Ravi Agrawal convenes a panel to analyze takeaways from this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco and is joined by FP’s James Palmer, the Spectator’s Cindy Yu, and former Obama administration advisor Evan Medeiros.

Suggested reading:

Robbie Gramer: Biden and Xi Try the Personal Touch

James Palmer: Can Xi and Biden Repair U.S.-China Ties?

Agathe Demarais: Don’t Expect Much From Biden and Xi

Christina Lu: Beijing Tightens Its Grip on the Critical Minerals Sector

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The State Department has a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and it’s run by Nathaniel Fick, a former cybersecurity executive and marine. Ambassador Fick joined the Biden administration to make sure that every department’s digital policy is connected up together. And his job is to make sure the White House can combat threats emerging from cyberspace and AI in the best possible way. Fick joins Ravi Agrawal to share his vision for this new department.

Suggested reading:

Ravi Agrawal: Why America Has a New Tech Ambassador

Rishi Iyengar: Biden Turns a Few More Screws on China’s Chip Industry

Rishi Iyengar: Inside the White House-Backed Effort to Hack AI

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What does the Israel-Hamas war mean for the region and the world? That’s what’s on the minds of policymakers as the conflict enters a new phase with the start of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza. Experts Kim Ghattas and Steven A. Cook share their analysis with host Ravi Agrawal.

Ghattas is a journalist based in Beirut and the author of Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East. Cook is a regular FP columnist and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Suggested reading:

Kim Ghattas: Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

Steven A. Cook: Saudi Arabia is Mysteriously Absent in the Israel-Hamas War

Steven A. Cook: Why the U.S. Tolerates Qatar’s Hamas Ties

Oliver Stuenkel: Why the Global South is Accusing America of Hypocrisy

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Over the weekend, Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza, compounding the humanitarian crisis there and causing record civilian losses. This comes amid growing concerns from experts of a larger regional conflict. How should the United States and the global community respond to prevent further escalation in the region and minimize harm to the Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians?

Former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak joins host Ravi Agrawal on this week’s episode of Foreign Policy Live.

Suggested reading:

Daniel Byman: The Israel-Hamas War Has Entered a ‘New Phase.’ Here’s What to Expect.

Tal Alroy: ‘We Will Never Forgive Netanyahu for What He Did to Us’

Stephen M. Walt: Universities Shouldn’t Ever Take Sides in a War

Franz-Stefan Gady: Israel’s Military Tech Fetish Is a Failed Strategy

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How is Russian President Vladimir Putin assessing the unfolding conflict in the Middle East? And how will that impact Western support for Ukraine? 

Fiona Hill is just the person to ask. She’s advised both Democratic and Republican administrations on Russia policy and is currently a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Suggested reading:

Fiona Hill: There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century

Amy Mackinnon: What Putin Stands to Gain From Israel-Hamas War

Ian S. Lustick: Vengeance Is Not a Policy

Kenneth M. Pollack: The 1973 War Analogy Is Deeper Than You Think

Howard W. French: Biden’s Unquestioning Support for Israel Could Be a Costly Error

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Renewed conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine have left policymakers scrambling. Retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus joins FP Live to discuss America’s role and what he expects to happen next. 

In a 37-year career in the military, Petraeus led missions in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming CIA director from 2011 to 2012. He is also a co-author of Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare From 1945 to Ukraine.

Suggested reading:

David Petraeus: Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare From 1945 to Ukraine

David Petraeus and Frederick W. Kagan: Ukraine’s counteroffensive might yet surprise critics

Robbie Gramer: How Congressional Chaos Hampers U.S. Aid to Israel, Ukraine

Ian S. Lustick: Vengeance Is Not a Policy

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Israel has demanded that 1.1 million Gazans relocate from the north into the south, as a siege of the strip intensifies. What is Washington’s role? Democratic Rep. Andy Kim joined Ravi Agrawal amid a continued failure to elect a new speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Part of this conversation, focused on China, will also be featured in Foreign Policy’s podcast Global Reboot, in partnership with the Doha Forum.

Suggested reading:

Daniel Byman: Hamas’s Strategy of Failure

Howard W. French: The Peril in Declaring ‘I Stand with Israel’

Alexandra Sharp: Blinken Visits Israel to Pledge U.S. Military Aid

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An extra episode this week: Aaron David Miller joins Ravi Agrawal to share his insights as Israel orders a complete siege of Gaza and declares war on Hamas. The declaration comes after a deadly Hamas attack last weekend that killed hundreds of Israelis. 

Miller has advised six Republican and Democratic secretaries of state on Middle East policy. He is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Suggested reading:

FP Contributors: Israel-Hamas War

Steven A. Cook: The Hamas Attack Has Changed Everything

Daniel Byman: Will Hezbollah Join the War Against Israel?

Michael Hirsh: Netanyahu’s Road to War

Elisabeth Braw: How the Israel-Hamas War Could Spike Oil Prices

Yousef Munayyer: Laying Siege to Gaza Is No Solution

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The world’s second-largest economy is slowing down. But are concerns overblown? What’s at risk for the global economy? How should policymakers react?

The Wall Street Journal’s chief China correspondent, Lingling Wei; economist Adam Posen; and FP’s James Palmer join Ravi Agrawal to decipher the economic data and news from China. 

Suggested reading:

James Palmer: As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?

Zongyuan Zoe Liu: Xi’s Policies Have Shortened the Fuse on China’s Economic Time Bomb

Hal Brands: The Dangers of China’s Decline

Tony Chan, Ben Harburg, and Kishore Mahbubani: America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

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