Wilson Center Now's Podcast

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist and former Wilson Center Fellow.  He discusses the book he co-authored, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century.” The book served as the inspiration for the recent blockbuster film “Oppenheimer.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW,  Christopher Sands of the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute, and Michael Kugelman of itsSouth Asia Institute, discuss tensions between Canada and India over the recent killing of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Where does the relationship stand after the Trudeau government accused India of having a role in the murder? What is the historical context behind Sikh diaspora support of the Khalistan movement in Canada and the West? They answer these questions, and more.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Keays, Senior Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State and Senior Diplomatic Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. He discusses his project at the Center which focuses on how to re-engage with Russia after the fighting in Ukraine has ended and what history can teach us about what paths this US-Russia re-engagement may take in the future.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Kellee Wicker, Director of the Science and Technology Innovation Program at the Wilson Center. She recently returned from DEF CON 2023 in Las Vegas, the nation’s premier “ethical” hacking conference, supported by the White House and AI companies.  She discusses her participation in the first red-teaming event, hosted by AI Village, to hack generative AI language models such as ChatGPT in an effort to promote “responsible innovation” in artificial intelligence.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Vice President, Director, and Scholar at the Wilson Center.  He discusses the latest from Israel after the government moved ahead with its judicial overhaul legislation in July.  How have months long mass demonstrations against the overhaul affected the Netanyahu government’s plans moving forward and what has been the larger affect on Israeli society and identity?

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Collins, Executive Director, The Americas, Institute for Economics & Peace. He discusses the newly released 17th edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP).  The index is the world’s leading measure of peacefulness, and “reveals the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth consecutive year with post-COVID civil unrest and political instability remaining high while regional and global conflicts accelerate.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center.  He discusses his latest publication, “Tripolar Instability: Nuclear Competition Among the United States, Russia, and China.”  The study explains how “China’s emergence as a peer nuclear power to the United States and Russia has brought the world to the cusp of a tripolar nuclear order.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Barry Rabe, the Arthur Thurnau Professor of Environmental Policy and the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He discusses his latest article, “Carbon Pricing Enters Middle Age.” The article “reviews the last half-decade of global climate policy and carbon pricing experience and examines the significant political challenges to pricing adoption in nations including the United States.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Akbar Ahmed, Wilson Center Global Fellow and the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, and Michael Kugelman, Director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.  They discuss the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan in the wake of the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States.  He discusses deteriorating relations between Canada and China in the wake of Ottawa’s expulsion of a Chinese diplomat and retaliation by China’s government. 

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert J. Lieber, Professor Emeritus of Government and International Affairs at Georgetown University. He discusses his new book, “Indispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in a Turbulent World,” which argues, “in a world full of revisionist powers, America’s role is more important than ever.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we take a look at the Spring 2023 issue of the Wilson Quarterly, “When Goods Cross Borders,” with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen.  Also joining us is contributor Zoe Robbin who highlights her article, “Trading Water for Sun.” The piece discusses the dire water scarcity problem in the Jordan River Basin and explains how, “the Abraham Accords have opened the door for a green energy exchange between Israel and Jordan.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Mark Kennedy, Director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition. He highlights that program’s mission which includes, “shaping conversations and inspiring meaningful action to strengthen the technological, economic and infrastructure underpinnings required for America and its allies to deter aggression and secure the rules-based order.” Kennedy discusses how WISC also seeks to, “serve as a hub on both topical and regional research, from infrastructure, trade, and energy to longstanding alliances such as the G-7 and the Quad—as well as newer U.S. partners.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Merissa Khurma, Director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, and Lynn Mounzer, Gender in Business Specialist and Global Fellow with the Middle East Program. They discuss a new MEP report, Women Entrepreneurship in MENA: The Cases of Bahrain, Lebanon, and Tunisia.  The report, “aggregates datasets from various national, regional, and global sources to better explain why women entrepreneurship in the MENA region continues to lag behind, despite striking progress in education, particularly tertiary education.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Andrew Rudman, Director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute.  Also joining us is Lorenzo Córdova, Councilor President of Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE). Córdova discusses the threat from the passage of a bill by Mexico’s legislature designed to curb the power of the INE, the non-partisan and independent agency that oversees elections.  They also discuss recent mass protests across Mexico in support of the INE’s mission and the success that organization has had in helping protect political stability in Mexico.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, our guests are Sarah Barnes, Project Director for the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative, and Samantha Karlin, Founder and CEO of Empower Global, a gender consulting firm that works with organizations to help them better recruit, retain, and advance women. Karlin discusses more about her organization, as well as how the definition of women’s empowerment and leadership are changing with younger generations. Both guests also share thoughts on how much progress has been made and how much work still remains.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, and Joseph Dresen, Senior Program Associate with the Kennan Institute. They discuss the increasingly close economic and military ties between China and Russia and how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further strained already tense relations between China and the West.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center. He discusses Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the New START Treaty, its last nuclear arms treaty with the United States. He also discusses increased nuclear sabre rattling by Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine and highlights how China’s rapid nuclear arsenal expansion has only increased tensions with the West.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Sharon Burke, Global Fellow with the Environmental Change and Security Program and Founder and President of Ecospherics.  Also joining us is Claire Doyle, Program Assistant for the Environmental Change and Security Program.  They discuss ECSP’s new policy brief, U.S. Governance on Critical Minerals, which “offers an overview of key policy considerations in securing a reliable, sustainable, and affordable supply of some of the most important commodities of the 21st century: critical minerals.”

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Rebecca Pincus, director of the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute.  Also joining us is Mathieu Boulegue, a research fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, and Michael B. Petersen, director of the Russia Maritime Studies Institute and an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College. They discuss challenges posed by Russia in the Arctic and High North, how the war in Ukraine has affected Russian operations and objectives in the region, and the prospects for cooperation in the Arctic with the United States and western nations moving forward.