After the United States ousted Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in January and then took out Iran’s senior leadership in the following months, U.S. President Donald Trump set his sights on Cuba, claiming that he would have the “honor of taking” the island. Michael Bustamante, a leading historian of Cuban-American relations, joins FP Live to assess the White House’s strategy and Havana’s options. Plus, Ravi shares his read on the diverse United States seen by World Cup tourists. Oliver Stuenkel: Washin...
Jul 01, 2026•40 min
SpaceX’s initial public offering broke records as the largest ever and one that (briefly) made Elon Musk the first trillionaire. But just how much power should one person or one company have in space? Quinn Slobodian, a co-author of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed , joins FP Live to argue that Musk’s network of integrated companies—from X to Starlink—amplifies not only his economic power but his worldview. Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff: Elon Musk’s Self-Contradictory Military Policy C. Raja...
Jun 26, 2026•44 min
The United States and Iran have struck a memorandum of understanding to end the war that began in February. Will the deal last? And what does it mean for the United States, the Middle East, and the world? Ali Vaez has long been involved in unofficial dialogues with Iran and the United States, and he joins FP Live to analyze the deal. Plus, Ravi shares his read on why the cease-fire deal, despite its flaws, will hold. FP Staff: U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding: Full Text Duncan B. Hollis: Is...
Jun 24, 2026•40 min
U.S. public opinion is undergoing a dramatic shift, with more and more Americans calling for less military support to Israel. So, is the “special relationship” between the two countries over? According to an essayist in Foreign Policy ’s latest print issue, the partnership has peaked—and the only way to go is down. Why is that, and how did we get here? Joshua Leifer, a columnist for Haaretz and author of that essay, joins FP Live to explore trends in the U.S.-Israeli partnership. Plus, Ravi shar...
Jun 17, 2026•40 min
This week, the largest-ever World Cup will commence. Across the three host countries—Canada, Mexico, and the United States—48 teams will play 104 matches in 16 cities. But it also comes amid a particularly fraught geopolitical backdrop. Not only have the three hosts spent the last year sparring over immigration, trade, and even national sovereignty, but one of them, the United States, is at war with fellow participant Iran. Top soccer expert and Times economics editor Mehreen Khan joins FP Live ...
Jun 10, 2026•39 min
What would it take to end the Iran war? What exit strategies are still available to the United States? Robert Malley, a former lead negotiator of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the Biden administration’s special envoy for Iran, joins FP’s Ravi Agrawal to discuss the current talks to open the Strait of Hormuz. Plus, Ravi offers his read on why U.S. President Donald Trump is wavering between two extremes on a cease-fire deal. New York Times : Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim: Of Course Trump Bom...
Jun 05, 2026•42 min
If the rules-based order is broken, what comes next? And who will lead it? Mark Leonard argues in his new book, Surviving Chaos: Geopolitics When the Rules Fail , that the coming system will be “un-order,” governed not by China or the United States but by no one at all. Are states responding quickly enough? Leonard, who is the director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, joins FP Live’s Ravi Agrawal to explore how policymakers should adjust. Hal Brands: Three Scenarios for a Post-Trump...
May 27, 2026•41 min
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to great fanfare but left with little to show for it. What does the Trump-Xi summit reveal about the balance of power between the world’s two biggest economies? Rana Mitter, a top historian of China, joins FP Live to discuss where the world’s most important relationship is headed. Plus, Ravi shares his read on why the Iran war may be Trump’s greatest failure. Ravi Agrawal: Iran Could Be Trump’s Great...
May 19, 2026•48 min
There’s little doubt that the conflict in Iran has hurt much of the world economy. But not Russia. Data suggests that the Kremlin has already made billions of dollars in additional oil revenue since the United States and Israel attacked Iran. But beyond just cash, how much will this change President Vladimir Putin’s broader strategy? And what does this mean for the fate of the war in Ukraine? Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, joins FP Live to explain how Russi...
May 12, 2026•38 min
While the conflict in Iran has dominated headlines in the last two months, accounts of ordinary life in the Islamic Republic are scarce. According to journalist Ali Hashem, who spent six weeks in Tehran and has visited several times in the last decade, life in the capital looks more normal than one might imagine. Shops and restaurants are largely open, and regular people seem to be rallying around the flag in the face of an external threat. And while the internet as we know it is shut down, an i...
May 08, 2026•32 min
It’s time for another ask-me-anything edition of FP Live. This one takes on the war in Iran from many angles: the economic impact, regional balance of power, the longer-term global impact, and much else. Producer Dana Sherne puts audience questions to FP’s editor in chief Ravi Agrawal. Ravi Agrawal: The World Is Paying the Price for America’s War Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Losing the War in Iran Stephen M. Walt: The End of America’s Soft Power Amir Handjani: The Real Meaning of the UAE’s OPEC Exit A...
May 05, 2026•41 min
The extension of a fragile cease-fire in the Middle East has left the region with no clear path forward. The Strait of Hormuz is still blocked, which means the global energy crisis will get worse. But Tehran’s new leaders are suffering too. What is their plan? Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins FP Live to discuss the shifting state of the war. Plus, Ravi shares his read on how the war’s economic fallout is worst in Asia. Ravi Agrawal: The World Is Paying the Price for America’s War David Ignatiu...
May 02, 2026•51 min
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is like a ticking time bomb for the global economy, disrupting the flow of energy and rippling through industries from agriculture to semiconductors. How bad could it get? The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for global growth this year from 3.4 percent to 3.1 percent in the best-case scenario and 2 percent in the worst case. What countries will be the most affected, and what can they do to protect themselves? Gita Gopinath, an economics profes...
Apr 29, 2026•32 min
The Iran war has become the most serious foreign-policy challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump in his second term. But does it reveal a larger point about U.S. power? Stephen M. Walt, a professor at Harvard University and Foreign Policy columnist, argues that it does and that the United States is increasingly acting like a rogue state. What damage will this cause, and what can countries do about it? Plus, Ravi offers his read on Hungary’s election and why it matters for the world. Thomas Caro...
Apr 15, 2026•44 min
The Trump administration’s plans in the Middle East are often criticized by those who say he shouldn’t have attacked Iran. But the White House is also facing flak from those who say that it didn’t go far enough. John Bolton is a longtime proponent of regime change in Iran. He served as national security advisor in the first Trump administration before falling out with the president. Bolton joined FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a debate. Plus, Ravi gives his read on the tenuous Middle East cease-fire. Rav...
Apr 09, 2026•34 min
After news of a 14-day cease-fire in the middle east conflict, Ravi shares his initial thoughts and analysis. Plus, the rationale for attacking Iran revolved around security. How did the global narrative become about energy? Iran’s strongest weapon has turned out to be its ability to strangle the Strait of Hormuz, an important trade choke point. What does the return of energy as a weapon mean for the global economy? Meghan O’Sullivan, author of Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Globa...
Apr 08, 2026•41 min
As the U.S.-Israel war against Iran enters a second month of conflict, how is Tehran’s surviving leadership thinking about an endgame? And how will the conflict reshape geopolitics in the region? Ali Vaez has extensive contacts with Iranian lawmakers and sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss the regime’s options. Vaez is a project director at the International Crisis Group. Plus, Ravi’s Read on how the White House seems to be winning the battle but losing the war. Ravi Agrawal: Trump Is Losing ...
Mar 31, 2026•43 min
Crude and gas prices are soaring after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on regional energy infrastructure amid war in the Middle East. How bad could the energy shock get and for how long? FP columnist Jason Bordoff sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss. Bordoff previously served in the Obama administration as a senior director for energy and climate change in the National Security Council. He is also the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia Universi...
Mar 26, 2026•42 min
It’s widely accepted that the post-WWII order has changed, but the question remains—what comes next? Political scientist Hal Brands maps out three possible scenarios in a cover essay for Foreign Policy ’s latest print issue and joins FP Live to discuss. Brands is a professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World . Hal Brands: Three Scenarios for a Post-Trump W...
Mar 24, 2026•41 min
It’s no secret that democracy is in trouble. Studies show that a growing number of countries are less free, and polls suggest ordinary citizens are losing faith in their governments. What can be done to fix this? Hélène Landemore has a radical solution: to get rid of politicians and electoral politics and instead create assemblies of ordinary citizens. She explores this concept in her new book, Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule , and joins FP Live to interrogate the idea. H...
Mar 18, 2026•46 min
As the war in Iran soon enters its third week, two experts join FP Live for a debate. Were the United States and Israel justified in attacking Iran? And will the war advance U.S. interests in the region, or set them back? Trita Parsi and Matthew Kroenig sit down with executive editor Dan Ephron to discuss. Parsi is the executive vice president at the Quincy Institute, and Kroenig is an FP columnist and a senior director at the Atlantic Council. Trita Parsi: Iran’s Despair Is U.S. Policy Matthew ...
Mar 12, 2026•41 min
As the United States and Israel attack military facilities across Iran, Tehran has been retaliating. But it has attacked Gulf countries more than it has targeted Israel. Why? And how will the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates respond? Will it shift their geopolitical alignment away from the United States? Regional experts Mina al-Oraibi, the editor in chief of the National , and Firas Maksad, a managing director at the Eurasia Group, join FP Live to share their perspecti...
Mar 05, 2026•43 min
On Saturday, Israel and the United States struck Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran has been responding with volleys of missiles aimed at Israel—and also at several other countries in the region. How will the conflict end? How long can Tehran sustain this fight? Iran expert Vali Nasr joined Ravi Agrawal for an emergency episode that ran live on the afternoon of Monday, March 3. Daniel Byman: 6 Questions About Operation Epic Fury Barbara Slavin: Death Comes to the Dictato...
Mar 03, 2026•39 min
As U.S. President Donald Trump considers a military strike on Iran, what are the options on his table? What will his military advisors recommend he should and shouldn’t do? David Petraeus has often been in the position of providing such advice to the White House, and he joins FP Live to explain what could happen in the coming days. Petraeus ran U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command (CENTCOM) and later ran the CIA. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the fourth anniver...
Feb 25, 2026•46 min
U.S. President Donald Trump’s China policy often seems deliberately ambiguous. Is that a virtue or a flaw? Kurt Campbell is a longtime China watcher who rose up to run Asia policy under the Biden administration. He was the original architect of the so-called “pivot to Asia” during the Obama administration. He joins FP Live to discuss Trump, former U.S. President Joe Biden, and the world’s most important bilateral relationship. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on Trump’s Board of Peace. Aaron David Mil...
Feb 20, 2026•48 min
Is the age of nuclear nonproliferation over? There are certainly worrying signs. New START, the main nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia, recently expired. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal. Talks to bring Iran back to the negotiating table seem to be at an impasse. And one increasingly hears about the possibility of South Korea or Japan going nuclear. What can the world do in response? Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, si...
Feb 18, 2026•35 min
The Pentagon’s policy chief Elbridge Colby recently called for a “NATO 3.0” , stating that the United States would “continue to provide the U.S. extended nuclear deterrent” to Europe, but when it came to most defense matters, Europe would need to “assume primary responsibility.” Colby is the undersecretary of war for policy and joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal at the annual Munich Security Conference. And in part two of this podcast, Colby and Agrawal were joined by four other guests: Richard Mar...
Feb 18, 2026•50 min
U.S. tariffs have upended decades of trade policy, but new U.N. data shows that the economies suffering most are those that can least afford a setback. At the Munich Security Conference (MSC), FP’s Ravi Agrawal hosted a panel on the trade wars, with policymakers on the front lines of these economic changes: Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization; Finnish President Alexander Stubb; German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil; and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Follow FP’s MSC...
Feb 13, 2026•34 min
With the White House continuing to threaten military action against Tehran even as diplomatic talks continue, Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal to discuss what might come next. Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on a sobering new report about a world “Under Destruction.” A transcript of J.D. Vance’s 2025 Munich Security Conference speech Under Destruction: Munich Security Report 2026 Amitav Acharya...
Feb 09, 2026•41 min
FP’s Ravi Agrawal sits down with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to discuss NATO, a shifting European defense strategy, and more. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the rising nuclear threat. Ravi Agrawal: Greek PM: ‘I haven’t given up on the trans-Atlantic relationship.’ Stavros Papastavrou: The Trans-Atlantic Energy Relationship Is Stronger Than Ever Kristi Raik: Europe’s 4 Different Ways of Handling Trump Luke McGee: Europe Is Prepared to Create Its Own Army Stephen M. Walt: NATO’s Leader ...
Feb 05, 2026•41 min
