Over the past century, Americans have seen several iterations of the Republican Party, from the post-WWII Eisenhower days to Reaganomics to the rise of Trump’s MAGA movement. Amid so much change, how does one define the modern-day Republican Party, and what does it mean to be a conservative in 2022?

Political scholar Matthew Continetti seeks to answer these questions and more in his book, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism. In The Right, Continetti takes readers through the history of the party and how the ideology that drives it has evolved over the decades, in the face of changing social, political, and economic circumstances. From a “network of intellectuals” to a 21st century political organization, Continetti explains the intricacies behind what many see as the party’s “desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism.”

Matthew Continetti is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies American political thought and history, emphasizing on the Republican Party and conservative movements throughout the 20th century. Continetti has written two books, The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star and The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine. He is also the founding editor of The Washington Free Beacon, as well as a contributing editor at National Review. He holds a B.A. in history from Columbia University.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

When facing technical difficulties with your computer, the easiest solution is often just to reboot it. But can you hit control, alt, delete on a political party? In his book, American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done, former Republican congressman and CIA officer William Hurd argues you definitely can. Dubbed “the future of the GOP” by Politico and Texas Monthly, Hurd reveals his secrets to success in turning red a large district that has traditionally voted blue. He provides a clear-eyed path forward for America, grounded by what Hurd calls "pragmatic idealism"—a concept forged from enduring American values to achieve what is actually achievable.

From his critical analysis of the GOP’s foggy vision for the future to discussing the impact of rapid technological advancements, Hurd will tackle five seismic problems facing the U.S. as outlined in his book. Join us as Hurd shares his unique experience as a Black republican in the House, with a vibrant career in intelligence, articulating what domestic policy can look like by appealing to the middle and empowering people.

William Hurd served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 23rd congressional district from 2015-2021. He is currently a managing director at Allen & Company and most recently served as a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Additionally, he is growing the U.S. transatlantic partnership with Europe as a trustee of the German Marshall Fund and an OpenAI board member. Hurd worked for the CIA from 2000 to 2009, completing a tour of duty as an operations officer in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. He has a B.S. in Computer Science and a minor in international relations from Texas A&M University.

Moderated by Lee Cullum, journalist at Public Media of North Texas (KERA/PBS) and Senior Fellow at the John Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at SMU.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Honeybees seem to attract the spotlight but our pollinators in general are in a bind. We aren't helpless though. Everyone has the capacity to be a huge help to our bee populations, both native and introduced, but first we must discuss what’s threatening them and why we need to act. Join us in this special Earth Day conversation with Dr. Sammy Ramsey, founder and director of the Ramsey Research Foundation.

Alongside his research focused on predatory and parasitic insect behavior, Dr. Sammy dedicates much of his time to making his work and other entomological efforts more accessible to the community at large. He has generated a significant online following through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube in the process of making STEM more inclusive, equitable, and diverse.

About Dr. Sammy

Dr. Sammy, founder and director of the Ramsey Research Foundation, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Entomology from Cornell University in 2011, and focused his research on Predatory & Parasitic Insect Behavior. He cultivated an interest and expertise in the close relationships between insects and other creatures (symbioses), and dedicated his doctoral research to understanding a parasite killing honey bees globally (Varroa destructor). In Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp's Honey Bee lab at the University of Maryland, College Park; he completed his formal education.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Only three months into the new year, the world has already faced a multitude of new challenges. From humanitarian crises to threats to global democracy to the resurgence of Covid-19 and crippled supply chains, there are many obstacles to clear in the months ahead. Furthermore, with the escalating war between Russia and Ukraine and increasing access to lethal autonomous weapons, the stakes are greater than ever. As we enter a novel era of interstate conflict and potential new world order, it becomes crucial to evaluate how the United States might take on these challenges.

As part of the Council’s 2022 International Perspectives series, Richard Fontaine will walk us through what the future holds for U.S. foreign policy in an era of revolutionary global change. Drawing from his role as Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and a lifetime career on the frontlines of foreign policy, Fontaine is uniquely equipped to forecast how the United States’ will navigate this time of great conflict and uncertainty.

Richard Fontaine is the chief executive officer of CNAS, executive director of the Trilateral Commission, on the Defense Policy Board, and a Sine Institute Fellow at American University. He has previous experience as president and senior fellow at CNAS and as foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. At the State Department, Fontaine worked for the Deputy Secretary and in the department’s South Asia bureau. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from Tulane University and an M.A. in international Affairs from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

The Abraham Accords represent the first public normalization of relations between an Arab nation and Israel since 1994. The future looms on the precipice of change as this joint statement between the State of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States signals an opening between Israel and the Middle East. This is evidenced by the American Jewish Committee’s recent announcement of opening a branch in Dubai. As a principal architect of the Accords, Robert Greenway will delve into their growth and evolution to the state of Israel-U.A.E. relations today.

As part of the Council’s 2022 International Perspectives series, Greenway will advocate for the expansion of The Abraham Accords and the vitality of U.S. leadership in the matter. Drawing on his experience of developing strategies for the Middle East and with over 30 years in public service on the National Security Council (NSC), Greenway will attempt to map how the Accords could continue to alter the path to peace between Israel and the rest of the region.

Robert Greenway is the President and Executive Director of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute and an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute. He was previously Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the NSC’s Middle Eastern and North African Affairs Directorate. Before being assigned to the NSC, he served at the Defense Intelligence Agency and U.S. Army Special Forces. Greenway has a B.A. from the Virginia Military Institute and an M.A. from Webster University.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Reporter Kelly Weill has spent most of her journalism career covering misinformation and conspiracy theories. As a recent college graduate in 2016, Weill entered the media world at a time of immense change, when terms like “fake news” and “disinformation” became part of the mainstream American vocabulary. Coinciding with this time was the rise in “Flat Earthers,” a group of people who support the idea that “we all live on a flat plane, under a solid dome, ringed by an impossible wall of ice.” In Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything, Weill sets out to explain where the fringe theory of Flat Earth came from, how it relates to other conspiracy theories, and what it is about society that leads people to believe things that most consider inherently untrue.

Kelly Weill is a reporter at The Daily Beast, where she covers extremism, disinformation, and the internet. She is a frequent media contributor on the topics of her work and has been featured on Nightline, CNN, and Al Jazeera, among other outlets, to discuss conspiracy theories, such as the Flat Earth theory and similar ideas outside of mainstream acceptance. She holds a dual degree in journalism and English from New York University.

Moderated by Anna Merlan

Merlan is a New Mexico-born, Los Angeles-based journalist and author, specializing in subcultures, alternative communities, conspiracy theories, crime, belief, death, sexual violence and women’s lives. She is currently a reporter at Motherboard, a division of VICE. Her work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, BBC Travel, Topic, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. She is the author of the book Republic of Lies.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia could not feel "safe, develop, and exist" because of what he claimed was a constant threat from modern Ukraine. Immediately after, a full-scale military invasion on Ukraine was launched, resulting in number of casualties, both military and civilian. With President Joe Biden’s recent decisions to increase sanctions on Russia and keep all Russian airlines out of U.S. airspace as tensions escalate, it is pertinent to analyze and evaluate the role the United States will play in this crisis.

While current events are still current, the Council is dedicated to offering a RealTime Report, hosting speakers with firsthand knowledge of the issues at bay and the ability to best interpret the situation as it unfolds. For this Russo-Ukrainian crisis, we’ve invited the Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, the 22nd permanent representative of the United States to NATO, in conversation with moderator and Russia and Near East expert Anna Borshchevskaya. Ambassador Hutchison has worked tirelessly with members of the 72-year-old alliance to protect our freedoms at home and abroad. She will share her informed insights on the world’s response to the unfolding war in Ukraine while Borshchevskaya will offer perspective on Putin’s intentions and Russia’s foreign policy.

Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison

The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison served her term as U.S. permanent representative to NATO in Brussels, Belgium from 2017-2021. During her three-and-a-half years as permanent representative, she focused on the importance of U.S. leadership in the organization and strengthening the transatlantic bond that provides the security umbrella for Europe and North America. She represented Texas in the U.S. Senate from 1993-2013 and was Texas state treasurer from 1991-1993. Ambassador Hutchison is also the author of three books, including the bestseller American Heroines. She earned a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

Anna BorshchevskayaModerated by Anna Borshchevskaya

Anna Borshchevskaya is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on the Great Power Competition and the Middle East, focused on Russia’s policy toward the Middle East. She is also a contributor to Oxford Analytica and a fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy. Borshchevskaya has experience as a former analyst for a U.S. military contractor in Afghanistan and has served as communications director at the American Islamic Congress. Alongside her other publications, Borshchevskaya is the author of the 2021 book, Putin’s War in Syria: Russian Foreign Policy and the Price of America’s Absence. She holds a B.A. from State University of New York at Geneseo, an M.A. from John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a Ph.D. from George Mason University.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Not all heroes wear capes, but the best of them take brave stands for people most in need. With a life devoted to issues that affect people in the margins, that bravery is woven in the very fabric of who Shalonda Spencer is. She has spent her career affecting legislation regarding women’s rights, foreign affairs, immigration, healthcare, and education – notably issues pertaining to people of color. Her voice has been heard in some of the nation’s most important spaces, from serving as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives to working on presidential campaigns with bold platforms. She is a proven, decorated expert in women’s rights advocacy, serving in various advising roles for multiple organizations that elevate the causes of women. Today, Shalonda Spencer serves as the executive director of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS), a global organization that advances the voices of women of color in International Relations. Aligned with her own life mission, WCAPS places an emphasis on mentorship and allows for women of color – who are most affected by major global issues – to have strong voices in international policy discussions.

In this conversation, taking place during Black History Month and leading into Women’s History Month, Spencer will explore the benefits of diverse voices, why women of color are an asset to U.S. international relations and diplomacy, and how nongovernmental organizations can create pathways for people of color.

Shalonda Spencer is a proud Mississippi native and graduate of Jackson State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in public policy and administration.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Dan Hunt is no stranger to the professional sports industry. His father, Lamar Hunt, was key to the establishment of professional sports in the U.S. He founded professional leagues and owned many teams – notably the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) and FC Dallas (MLS). Dan inherited his father’s passion, working with him to make Toyota Stadium a reality and Frisco, TX a premier destination for both professional and youth soccer. In 2018, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened in connection with Toyota Stadium, honoring the history of soccer but unmistakably focused on the future.

If Hunt has his way, part of that future will include hosting 2026 World Cup tournament games in that stadium here in DFW. He’s part of a bid committee made up of elected officials, business leaders, and sports franchise executives lobbying FIFA for North Texas to host as many as six matches of the 2026 World Cup – including the final. Seventeen other cities are also contending for the ten or eleven North American locations to be chosen. Cementing hope that DFW might be a top contender, tournament delegates recently toured the city of Fort Worth, AT&T Stadium, Fair Park, and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco.

Why would this be so significant? The World Cup is the world’s most celebrated tournament; the final match would put North Texas on the world’s stage and mean hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Be a part of this conversation with Hunt, discussing the bid, why he believes North Texas is the best location, and what all to expect should DFW be selected.

Moderated by Gina Miller. Miller is an award-winning journalist who is currently the Vice President of Media and Communications for FC Dallas, North Texas SC, the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Toyota Stadium. She oversees the organizations’ broadcast, social and digital media operations as well as public relations efforts.

The Dallas native has served as a sportscaster in Dallas, Los Angeles, Knoxville and Guam. Gina has been nominated for multiple Lone Star Emmy awards and won a prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for a feature story she did on the Southlake Carroll football team. She also worked three seasons for the Dallas Cowboys and started her sports media career as an intern for the Houston Rockets where she won an NBA championship ring.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

There are countless examples of spies in modern popular culture. There are not, however, many examples of the reality behind modern espionage, a world that’s changing faster than most people realize. Rapid advances in technology, combined with ever-changing geopolitical dynamics, have created an intelligence world that Dr. Amy Zegart argues looks quite different from what is portrayed in spy novels, television shows, and movies. In Spies, Lies, and Algorithms, Dr. Zegart takes readers through the long history of American espionage, from George Washington’s Revolutionary War spies to the present day, providing context for the reality faced by American intelligence professionals today, and laying out what the modern landscape looks like today and where it may be heading. Considered “one of the ten most influential experts in intelligence reform” by the National Journal, Dr. Zegart has served in presidential administrations, co-authored a book with Condoleezza Rice, and published award-winning research on intelligence failures leading up to the September 11 attacks.

Dr. Amy Zegart is a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, where she is also the Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the university’s Hoover Institution. She is a professor of political science and chair of Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence and International Security Steering Committee. She is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and the author of five books on intelligence topics. Dr. Zegart holds an A.B. in East Asian studies from Harvard University, as well as an M.A. and a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University.

Moderated by Jess Koloini, Senior Program Manager, F-16 Programs, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

Jess Koloini is the Senior Program Manager for F-16 Block 72 Programs at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (LM Aero). In this role, she leads all activity related to platform development and delivery, working closely with multiple U.S. Government stakeholders across Program Management and Policy organizations. Prior to this role, Jess was the F-16 Program Manager for the Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Sultanate of Oman, supporting all Sustainment and Production activities for each country.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate