Samantha Power, a top humanitarian aid official and former U.S. ambassador to the UN, shares her reflections on her time at USAID. She discusses the ethical dilemmas of aiding in crises like Gaza while stressing the importance of influence over policy. The conversation highlights the substantial role of American aid in Ukraine’s recovery amidst Russian aggression. Power also critiques the shift from aid to trade under the Biden administration, addressing debt challenges posed by China’s loan conditions and advocating for stronger international relationships.

Harvard professor Samantha Power, the former US ambassador the United Nations, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her 2019 memoir The Education of an Idealist, what idealism looks like now in America, and the Trump administration's deadly mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic — and what she would do differently were she in charge. Power also discusses how the Obama administration responded to the ebola epidemic in 2014, the growing power of tech leaders like Bill Gates, and what Mark Zuckerberg can learn about disinformation from Taiwan. Plus: What the Obama administration got wrong about Big Tech and election security, and the other key international issues the US should focus on now.Featuring:Samantha Power (@samanthajpower), former US ambassador to the United NationsHost:Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-largeMore to explore:On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!About Recode by Vox:Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.Follow Us:Newsletter: Recode DailyTwitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Murphy, a U.S. Senator focused on foreign policy, joins Samantha Power, USAID Administrator and human rights expert, Sarah Margon from Open Society Foundations, and Zack Beauchamp, a Vox reporter on far-right movements. They delve into how the upcoming election impacts global democracy, especially considering a potential Trump return. The conversation highlights the rise of authoritarianism, the challenges facing marginalized communities, and how U.S. foreign policy might shift under different leadership. They emphasize the need for a robust democratic agenda during this critical time.

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 Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter  Follow Samantha on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox. 

Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, discusses USAID priorities, market distortion in African development, challenges to democracy, and the delicate balance between quantity and quality of aid.