President Donald Trump's multi-front attempt to remake America and the world is meeting with mixed success. His administration has ended the crisis at the border and is aggressively moving against illegal migrants. But elsewhere the picture is murky. The war in Ukraine rages on, the Middle East continues unsettled and above all, his restless back-and-forth on tariffs and international economics is causing profound damage to faith in U.S. economic stability. And some of his actions suggest an authoritarian style inimical to American values.  

On this episode of Free Expression, Gerry Baker sits down with Admiral William McRaven, former head of US special operations, to discuss Trump's leadership. McRaven draws on the themes of his new book, "Conquering Crisis: 10 Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them," to assess the first 100 days of Trump's second term, but also the wider challenges of leadership in crisis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the breach between the U.S. and its allies widens following President Trump's Oval Office bust-up with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, what can history tell us about today's tumult? 

On this episode of Free Expression, deputy national security advisor to Trump in his first term Nadia Schadlow shares with Gerry Baker the parallels she sees between Donald Trump and Richard Nixon as both faced a tense and rapidly changing international climate. They discuss how Trump and Nixon both believed in peace through strength, in the importance of a global balance of power and in the opportunity provided by negotiation - sometimes with unexpected partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the week that marked the three-year anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Donald Trump met with a flurry of world leaders to discuss ending the war, as well as announcing a potential commercial deal with Ukraine over mineral resources. Meanwhile, the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution condemning Moscow’s actions even as Ukrainian forces fought on to expel Russians from their territory. So what does all the activity mean for the future of the conflict and is there any end in sight? 

On this episode of Free Expression, military historian and analyst Fred Kagan tells Gerry Baker why Vladimir Putin is the only world leader who doesn’t want the war to end, reviews the latest conditions on the battlefield, and argues the Trump administration should not be willing to give concessions to Russia in the name of peace nor give up on NATO.  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has the U.S. flipped sides in the great strategic contest of the last century? With his secretary of state calling for a new "partnership" with Russia, his vice president decrying Western Europe's political condition and the president himself seemingly blaming Ukraine for the war that started on its territory three years ago, Donald Trump seems to be executing one of the most dramatic shifts in American foreign policy. Is this the end of the transatlantic alliance and what might it mean for America's larger strategic goals?

On this episode of Free Expression, international relations scholar Hal Brands and author of a new book. "The Eurasian Century", tells Gerry Baker how a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine was always going to be a goal for the United States no matter who won the 2024 election, how Trump may be trying to prise Russia away from China and why the U.S. still needs NATO and European allies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has been working at a breakneck speed during his first three weeks in office, prompting alarms from his critics that he is plunging the nation into a constitutional crisis. Many of the administration’s executive actions, including abolishing birthright citizenship, and the initiatives launched by Elon Musk and DOGE, have already faced judicial challenges. So is Donald Trump just testing the limits of his power, or is the criticism of his approach warranted?

On this episode of Free Expression, constitutional law professor John Yoo tells Gerry Baker why a more active Congress would prevent Donald Trump from taking such drastic action to get things done, how the Supreme Court will factor into many of these executive orders, and which of those orders might ultimately fail. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Donald Trump making the elimination of diversity, equality, and inclusion programs in the federal government a high priority, there is no doubt the effort will extend to other aspects of society as well. And there are no institutions that are in need of an overhaul from these policies more than American universities. Will years of cancel culture and the obstruction of alternate views on campuses be coming to an end?

On this episode of Free Expression, University of Chicago president Paul Alivisatos tells Gerry Baker about the shift he is seeing towards the Chicago principles of free speech, and the incredible advances being developed in the field of artificial intelligence. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With strong enforcement on immigration, executive orders ending DEI initiatives in the federal government, and confirmations of many members of his cabinet, Donald Trump spent most of his first two weeks in office showing the world he’s everything Joe Biden wasn’t. But what about the politics of what the administration is doing?

On this episode of Free Expression, veteran pollster Mark Penn and Gerry Baker discuss the fallout after the pardons issued to the Jan. 6 defendants, what could happen if Donald Trump drifts too far to the right, the role tech CEOs will have over the next four years, and how the world at large will work alongside Donald Trump on foreign policy and tariffs. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the second Trump administration began with a flurry of executive orders and comments from the President about how he plans to approach Vladimir Putin and the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, threatening possible sanctions on Russia if a deal can’t be reached. So what are the prospects for peace, and what is the future for military aid for Ukraine with a Republican majority in both the House and Senate?

On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, investor Bill Browder tells Gerry Baker the desperate lengths Vladimir Putin will go to stay in power and conquer Ukraine, what the mood in Europe is like now that Donald Trump has taken office and has tariffs on his agenda, and how the destruction of NATO's credibility could be Putin’s “ultimate prize” to shake up the world order. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has big plans for the economy. His Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent has set an ambitious triple goal of 3-3-3 - three percent growth; a three percent fiscal deficit and a three million a day increase in US oil production. But as Trump prepares to take office clouds are forming over the economic outlook with market interest rates up sharply on growing fears about lingering inflation and the federal deficit. 

On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, economist and former dean of Columbia Business School Glenn Hubbard and Gerry Baker discuss whether Trump can achieve his goals, whether the Fed will be cutting or raising rates this year, and how Trump’s police’s may help or hinder growth and price stability.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free Expression's final episode of 2024 features some of Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker's best interviews of the year, including conversations with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Trump National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, Republican Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise and Richard Fontaine and Robert Blackwill, foreign policy commentators and co-authors of “Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power.” 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices