CFR On the Record

Hosted by Council on Foreign Relations

News PoliticsInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

About the show

A chance to go inside Council on Foreign Relations events. Listen to world leaders and foreign policy experts discuss and debate the most pressing issues in international affairs.

Listen to episodes

54 recent

August 14, 202657 min

On Pope Leo XIV and Human Dignity in the Age of AI

In this episode, Kim Daniels, Michael Baggot, Erin D. Dumbacher, and Brian Green discuss Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence and human dignity. Host: Kim Daniels, Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University Guests: Michael Baggot, Associate Professor of Bioethics, Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum; Adjunct Professor of Theology, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas-Angelicum Erin D. Dumbacher, Stanton Nuclear Security Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations Brian Green, Director of Technology Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s The World This Week newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: CFR 7/30 Religion and Foreign Policy Webinar: Pope Leo XIV and Human Dignity in the Age of AI

August 7, 20261 hr 3 min

Yechiel Leiter on the U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon Agreement

In this episode, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter discusses the recent trilateral framework agreement among the United States, Israel, and Lebanon, as well as the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship amid the Iran war. Host: Steven A. Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies Guests: Yechiel Leiter, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Israel, Washington, DC Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s The World This Week newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: A Conversation With Ambassador Yechiel Leiter of Israel

July 31, 20261 hr 0 min

On the State of U.S.-Cuba Relations

In this episode, panelists discuss the impact of U.S. sanctions, the potential for U.S. military action, and the ongoing energy crisis in Cuba. Host: Kezia McKeague, Managing Director, McLarty Associates; CFR Member Guests: Ricardo Herrero, Executive Director, Cuba Study Group; CFR Member Maria Werlau, Cofounder and Executive Director, Free Society Project/Cuba Archive Jorge R. Piñón, Energy Institute Senior Research Collaborator, University of Texas at Austin Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s The World This Week newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Cuba on the Brink—The State of U.S.-Cuba Relations

July 24, 202659 min

On the Hormuz Crisis and the Global Energy Landscape

In this episode, Fatih Birol examines how the Hormuz crisis is reshaping the global energy landscape and explores how countries may increasingly favor domestic energy sources that reduce reliance on fuel imports. Host: Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program Guests: Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA) Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s The World This Week newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: DC In-Person: A Conversation With International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol

July 17, 202658 min

From the Archives: A Conversation With Lindsey Graham

This episode revisits a 2011 CFR event featuring U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away at age 71. Host: Jonathan Karl, Chief Washington Correspondent, ABC News Guests: Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator, South Carolina Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event.

July 10, 202652 min

On the Best and Worst Decisions in U.S. Foreign Policy

In this episode, panelists discuss the best and worst decisions in U.S. foreign policy as a part of the CFR Young Professionals Briefing Series. Host: Kelebogile Zvobgo, Mansfield Associate Professor of Government and Director, International Justice Lab, College of William and Mary; CFR Term Member Guests: Kathryn E. David, Historian, Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State; CFR Term Member James M. Lindsay, Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Young Professionals Briefing: The Best and Worst Decisions in U.S. Foreign Policy

July 3, 20261 hr 0 min

On the Gulf After the Iran War

In this episode, panelists discuss the growing economic and security threats facing Persian Gulf countries and the future of U.S. engagement in the region. Host: Karen E. Young, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University; CFR Member Guests: Joseph L. Votel, Distinguished Chair, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point; Former Commander, U.S. Central Command (2016–2019); CFR Member Robert Mogielnicki, Nonresident Fellow, Arab Gulf States Institute; Middle East Advisor, Teneo; CFR Term Member Elisa Catalano Ewers, Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies, Council on Foreign Relations Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: The Gulf After the Iran War

June 26, 202658 min

From the Archives: Alan Greenspan on the U.S. Economy in 2015

This episode revisits a 2015 CFR event featuring former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, who passed away at age 100. Host: Steve Liesman, Senior Economics Reporter, CNBC Guests: Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman, Federal Reserve Board Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: A Conversation with Alan Greenspan

June 19, 20261 hr 1 min

On AI, Quantum, and the Future of American Science

In this episode, Under Secretary Gil discusses the Genesis Mission, and what the federal government’s bet on AI and quantum computing for scientific discovery means for American competitiveness and global collaboration. Host: Nicholas F. Beim, Partner, Venrock; Member, Board of Directors, Council on Foreign Relations Guests: Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: AI, Quantum, and the Future of American Science: A Conversation With Darío Gil

June 12, 202656 min

On U.S. Democracy, Belonging, and Power

In this episode, panelists discuss what American democracy has and hasn't delivered on equality, access, and opportunity, and whether that internal reckoning is now inseparable from the country's standing and credibility as a world leader. Host: Meena Bose, Executive Dean, Public Policy and Public Service Programs and Director, Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra University; CFR Member Guests: Jamelle Bouie, Opinion Columnist, New York Times Jane Kamensky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello; Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History Emerita, Harvard University Elizabeth Rule, Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies, American University; Author, Indigenous DC: Native Peoples and the Nation's Capital Introductory Remarks: Michael Froman, President, Council on Foreign Relations; CFR Member Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter. To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: America at 250: Democracy, Belonging, and Power

Is this your show?

Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.

Claim this listing