The Csis Podcast

CSIS’s Nikos Tsafos and Ben Cahill join the podcast to talk about energy prices and the future of the energy and climate landscape in wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Tsafos, we are “seeing the end of Russia as an energy superpower.”

CSIS's Andrew Lohsen, who lived in Ukraine until recently, joins the podcast to discuss Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and how it might backfire on him.

CSIS’s Dr. Seth Jones joins the podcast to talk about the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and what options the Biden administration has in addressing the situation.

In this crossover episode with the Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast, Andrew and Steve are joined by John Barry, historian and author of the award-winning The Great Influenza; the Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, a study of the 1918 pandemic. He is currently working on a volume on Covid-19: “Writing books makes me happiest and craziest.” He has penned many editorials over the course of the pandemic, drawing lessons from 1918. What has he discovered? “What we learn from history is we learn nothing.” Where are we today? “Until vaccines are widely distributed and there is easy access to antivirals, the virus will rule. … I am optimistic the virus will continue trending to mildness” but there may be intermediate steps. “Mutations are random.” “We are at a potentially dangerous time” if we throw away our defenses and become indifferent or complacent. His high school football coach taught him a lesson for today: late in the game, you are tired and the other guy is tired. “The guy who focuses at the end w

In this crossover episode with Coronavirus Crisis Update, we are joined by Dr. Michael Osterholm, head of CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota, one of the most popular, respected, and trusted communicators on the pandemic. What is the recipe?  Simplicity rules. He learned from his rural Iowa background, “if something doesn’t play at the 10:00 o’clock coffee club at the S&T Café on the main street of my little town, then it’s not going to play.” Be frank and honest: “Always tell the truth.” If dark things such as variants lie in the future, do not shy away from spotlighting them. But be careful of forecasting too far into the future, which can at times be based on “pixie dust.” Appeal to both “hearts and minds.” “Kindness is one of the most important virtues.” In his lauded and highly successful podcast, ‘The Osterholm Report: Covid-19,’ he is able to “combine science, policy, and life all in one venue.” The anti-vaccine movement has gained substantial strength; witness the ‘Defeat the Mandates’ rally on Janu

CSIS’ Emily Harding discusses her new report Move Over JARVIS, Meet OSCAR, which calls for the Intelligence Community to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) capabilities with respect to unclassified cloud capability. In her report, Harding draws from her personal experience as an analyst to identify problems with the Intelligence Community’s existing systems for collecting information, and makes actionable recommendations that will break the logjam and allow the intelligence community to revolutionize open-source intelligence. 

Former U.S. Senate candidate and retired Marine Lt. Colonel Amy McGrath joins the podcast to discuss the state of democracy in America.

The American University’s Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss joins the podcast to discuss the terrorist threat from within the United States, the January 6 attack on the Capitol and why she believes that preventing violent extremism needs a public health approach.

CSIS’ Dr. Seth Jones joins the podcast to discuss Russia’s potential pathways to invading Ukraine and what the U.S. and NATO can do to discourage it.

International Rescue Committee (IRC) president and CEO David Miliband joins the podcast to discuss the IRC’s Annual Emergency Watchlist report. According to the new report, the IRC finds global “system failure” driving record levels of humanitarian need and that Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Yemen top the list of countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2022.

In this crossover episode with the CSIS Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast, Brown University’s Dr. Ashish Jha provides his keen insights into the latest on Omicron as well as a reflection on 2021. 

CNN politics reporter and editor-at-large Chris Cillizza joins the podcast to talk about Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) exchange with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and how the politics of today have drifted further towards “performance.” Also discussed, President Biden’s approval ratings, midterm elections, Trump 2024, and more.

Dr. Richard Lessells is among the exceptional South African experts on the front lines of discovering and investigating Omicron in South Africa. Alarm bells went off within the scientific community, as it became clear after just a few days that “an extraordinary number of mutations” are clustered in the key regions in the genome for immune protection and transmissibility. It was a “gut feeling. ” Omicron is highly transmissible, spreading very efficiently in a population with high levels of immunity gained from previous infection and in some cases from vaccination. How long to know just how dangerous Omicron is? It’s “too early to tell.” Lab work is underway to understand whether the virus affects T cells which are central to immune protection against severe disease. Why do we see such an unusual variant in South Africa? One theory, which Omicron may shed light on, is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus finds hosts who are very immune-compromised, persons living with HIV but not on anti-viral therapy. These individuals

In this crossover episode with the CSIS Coronavirus Crisis Update Podcast, we asked Cary Funk, Pew Research Center, to make sense of how the pandemic has impacted our society and American opinion as we approach the pandemic’s two years. “It can be confusing.” Polarization now increasingly aligns between the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated, versus simple partisan identity. At the fundamental level, Americans are split over whether Covid-19 is a common problem. Does the “Big Lie” bleed over into the field of public health? “It’s all complicated.” “The political lens” increasingly encompasses so much of public health, accelerating the erosion of public trust and confidence in science, a trend that had already been underway for years. False statements can travel the globe in 48 hours, but knowing the impact is much more difficult. Are we at a turning point, a softening of polarization? “We need to wait and see.” Heightened US international engagement enjoys majority support and has not become politicized. What

Johns Hopkins University professor Dr. Lillianna Mason joins the podcast for a discussion of political polarization in the U.S. and how politics have become central to the identities of many Americans across racial, religious and cultural lines.

CSIS’s Project on Fragility and Mobility Director Erol Yayboke and Human Rights Initiative Director Marti Flacks join the podcast to discuss the Haitian migrant crisis as a microcosm of how climate change, human rights, and national security are increasingly intertwined.  

In this crossover episode with the CSIS Coronavirus Crisis Update Podcast, Dr. Leana Wen, Washington Post columnist and CNN analyst joined CSIS’s J. Stephen Morrison and Andrew Schwartz to discuss the current state of Covid in the United States plus her new book, “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.”

CSIS’s Europe and Eurasia Program director Heather Conley joins the podcast to discuss the German elections and what they mean for Germany and greater Europe’s future as well as its relationship with the United States.  

Professor Paul Barrett, deputy director of the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights joins the podcast to discuss his new report, “Fueling the Fire: How Social Media Intensifies U.S. Political Polarization—And What Can Be Done About It.”

CSIS’s Dr. Mike Green joins the podcast to discuss the geopolitical implications of the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal and the fallout with France.