Congress Is Not Authorizing the Use of Force Effectively

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Congress seems to have surrendered so much of its authority over foreign policy, and indeed the war making authority. How do we fix that? Should we fix it? And does fixing it mean we won't get to undertake as many beneficial humanitarian interventions as otherwise? I just wish we return to the sort of nuner in era by partisanship where we could work on really hard problems together.

A former war correspondent and UN ambassador, Samantha Power has had her share of tough assignments. But writing a memoir about it all is also a daunting prospect. The format itself is a challenge: how do you convince the reader you’re worth spending time with? How do you paint a relatable portrait without oversharing and losing your dignity? For Samantha the answer was settling upon a purpose for her memoir and ruthlessly cutting out everything not in service of that.

Tyler and Samantha discuss that purpose and more, including what she learned as an Irish immigrant, the personality traits of good diplomats (and war correspondents), relations with China, why democracy is so rare in the Middle East, the truth about Richard Holbrooke, what factors mitigate against humanitarian intervention, her favorite memoir, how to get NATO members to spend more on defense, and whether baseball games are too long.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded July 30th, 2019 Other ways to connect

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