The American public has grown wary of foreign involvement and uncertain about the United States' place in the world today. This uncertainty has arisen from disillusionment with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the financial crisis, dysfunction in Washington and other real or perceived threats to the US's global dominance. How should the US adapt to the rapidly changing world? How involved should the US be in foreign conflicts and what can be done to address problems at home? How does America’s leadership ultimately impact these decisions? Rothkopf argues that, while the US has shown remarkable resilience, progress is often impeded by the human flaws of our leaders, the mismanagement of our system and an unwillingness to learn from the past. He will discuss how the country arrived in its current situation and what can be done to restore American leadership in the future.

Speaker David Rothkopf is the CEO and Editor of FP Group.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1376

In this age of globalization, it is clear that America's prosperity and security depends on that of our political and economic partners. Yet, today we see mounting evidence that our partners' stability is threatened by global environmental change. Increasing pressure on limited resources is disrupting global supply chains, causing social instability, destabilizing regional relations and expanding illegal trade. Join this group of top policy leaders, security experts and change makers who will discuss why environmental sustainability must become a central tenet of US foreign policy in order to protect our national security and promote global prosperity.

Speakers Richard L. Engel, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program, Strategic Futures Group, National Intelligence Council, David Reed, Senior Vice President of Policy, World Wildlife Fund, and Amy Luers, Director of Climate Change, Skoll Global Threats Fund, are in conversation with Jane Wales, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1360

To mark a century of The New Republic, editor Franklin Foer will join us for a discussion on the pivotal issues of modern America. Highlighting seminal contributions to the magazine, Foer’s Insurrections of the Mind is an exploration of such topics as America’s role in the world, the rise and fall of communism, the economy, terrorism, and technology, not to mention race, civil rights and the women’s movement. As political discussions increase in the lead up to the midterm elections, these issues remain just as important today as they were throughout the past century. Insurrections of the Mind, an anthology of the magazine's most seminal articles, celebrates a cultural, political and intellectual institution that has stood the test of time. Select contributors include Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Philip Roth, Michael Lewis, Zadie Smith, William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, John Updike and Margaret Talbot.

Speaker Franklin Foer is the Editor of The New Republic.

The discussion will be moderated by William Drummond, Professor, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1363

The World Affairs Council and its Global Philanthropy Forum recognizes eBay and PayPal CEO John Donahoe and the company he leads for its commitment to creating economic opportunity and fostering an inclusive global economy, including its pioneering role in creating the peer-to-peer economy. The evening celebrates and gathers entrepreneurs and innovators who are further advancing this movement worldwide.

eBay and Paypal are global commerce platforms whose success is tied to their purpose – connecting more people with more opportunity while making a positive social impact. A Bay Area innovation with global reach, eBay and PayPal helped spark a movement. Today the continuously evolving peer-to-peer economy enables individuals to participate in local and global economies, without the requirements of start-up capital or proximity to physical markets. A new entrepreneurial class is being built. Where there was a will, there is now a way.

Speaker John Donahoe is the President and CEO of eBay, Inc.

The conversation is moderated by Jane Wales, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1365

US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson will discuss the US-Pakistan relationship as it is, and what it could become. Weathering setbacks over the years, the relationship has proven itself resilient. Ambassador Olson will explain why it is in our national interest to continue to engage with Pakistan and why this will require more than a transactional or single-issue relationship with Pakistan.

Speaker Richard Olson is the US Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Embassy of the United States of America.

The conversation will be moderated by Anja Lucia Manuel, Partner, RiceHadleyGates LLC.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1358

Even now, in the twenty-first century, intractable problems remain: poor early-childhood education, sex trafficking, inner-city violence, poverty and malnutrition, homelessness and many others. What can be done in the face of such enormous challenges? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof suggests that new, innovative approaches to philanthropy could offer answers, allowing individuals and organizations to make a difference in the world. At the end of the day what matters most is the impact on the ground.

Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six and traveled to 150 countries, reporting on global health, poverty, education, gender inequality and much more. He will share stories from his experiences on the ground and discuss the art and science of giving.

Speaker Nicholas Kristof is a columnist at The New York Times.

The discussion will be moderated by Jane Wales, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1351

Access to online education has the potential to democratize education and skill advancement around the world. In what ways and for whom has online education been most successful so far? What are the platform's limitations and where are the gaps? Please join us for a discussion of online education’s potential role in preparing a global labor force for the knowledge economy of the 21st century.

The discussion features Nicholas B. Dirks, Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and Sebastian Thrun, Co-Founder and CEO of Udacity.

Quentin Hardy, Deputy Technology Editor of The New York Times, moderates the conversation.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1328

A nuclear blast -- are we at risk? Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and author of Fast Food Nation, has now taken an in-depth look at America’s nuclear arsenal and the multitude of mistakes associated with the management and protection of this powerful and important asset. With the Cold War declared over for nearly 25 years, talk of nuclear weapons is generally relegated to the halls of policy think tanks and academic institutions. Schlosser would like to see this change, arguing that the nuclear threat is still very real – exacerbated by mismanagement and aging infrastructure of the US arsenal – and most Americans are either unaware or dismiss the possibility of any potential danger. Over six years Schlosser investigated the state of the nuclear arsenal and he reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave threat to mankind.

Speaker Eric Schlosser is Author of Fast Food Nation and Command and Control.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1343

Geopolitical, economic and technological changes are transforming our world. In 15 years, the global landscape will likely look very different than it does today. While we cannot with certainty predict the future, hypotheses abound. The National Intelligence Council lays out several such hypotheses in their new report, “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds.” The report suggests four major trends that will shape the world over the coming decades: individual empowerment, diffusion of power among nations, demographic shifts and natural resource challenges. The question that remains is: where will these trends lead?

Mathew Burrows, the principal author of “Global Trends 2030,” will discuss the factors that are transforming the world, predictions of potential outcomes and how we can influence the course of events.

Speaker Mathew J. Burrows is the Director of Strategic Foresight Initiative at the Atlantic Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1330

Next-generation genomics can be described as the combination of sequencing technologies and big data analytics. The potential impact of this disruptive technology in health care will be primarily realized through extending and enhancing lives through faster disease detection, more precise diagnoses, new drugs, and more tailored disease treatments. The technical challenges inherent in genetic engineering technology are great but may be less formidable than the social, ethical, and regulatory concerns it may generate. Please join us for a discussion of the possibilities and the challenges of next-generation genomics and implications for health care worldwide.

The panel of speakers include Timothy Behrens, Senior Director, Human Genetics, Genentech, Francis deSouza, President, Illumina Corporation, Robert L. Nussbaum, Chief, Department of Medicine & UCSF Institute for Human Genetics, UCSF.

The discussion is moderated by Michael Chui, Partner, McKinsey Global Institute.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1298