Carnegie Council Podcasts

As the debates about the Southern border continue, the Brennan Center's Andrew Boyle details the 1976 law behind Trump's February 15 emergency declaration. As he tells it, the National Emergencies Act was put in place, in the wake of Watergate, to constrain presidential power. What are the current and coming legal challenges to Trump's declaration? And how can this law be reformed to avoid future stalemates?

After working in China for six years on many stories unfavorable to the Chinese government, in 2018 journalist Megha Rajagopalan's visa was not renewed, forcing her to leave China abruptly. Why? She's still not sure and says that the government uses ambiguity very deliberately, causing Chinese and foreigners alike to self-censor, as they don't know where the lines are. How does this affect the flow of information and Chinese society as a whole?

Wendell Wallach, consultant, ethicist, and scholar at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, discusses some of the current issues in artificial intelligence (AI), including his push for international governance of the technology. He and host Alex Woodson also speak about Trump's recent executive order, universal basic income, and some of the ethical issues in China concerning AI, including the Social Credit System.

"We're all really proud of our system. It's the world's oldest democracy, and we've always had to fight to make it real," says Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice. "But in the last 10-20 years and especially recently we've seen challenges to the right to vote and challenges to the role of big money in politics. That means we have to fight for democracy all over again." What can young people do to help get our democracy back?

Are we headed for a U.S.-China tech Cold War and what should we do about it? "There's no way we're ever going to beat China on scale," says Adam Segal, author of "The Hacked World Order." "They're just always going to spend more than we are, so that means you have to cooperate with the Europeans and others on scientific discovery and invention." Segal discusses who is currently winning the information war, Huawei, China's future, and more.

Adelphi University's Jonathan Cristol discusses the Trump administration's decision to step away from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and its possible effects on international arms control. Why is this a positive development for Putin and Russia? Are other treaties and alliances in danger?

Does preventive war really work? "In the vast majority of cases historically, what we see is the country that thought it was saving itself from a greater danger in the future actually creates this greater danger because you generate a level of hostility, a deepening rivalry, and a desire for revenge that comes back to haunt them," says Scott Silverstone. His advice: Hesitate. Before taking action, think through this "preventive war paradox."

Why has there been a sudden interest in Thucydides, especially in the U.S.? Johanna Hanink discusses her new book of translations and introductions to key speeches from his "History of the Peloponnesian War," and the importance of the classics in general. "The book is of special interest to us here at Carnegie for its focus on ethics, democracy, and world affairs, all of which seem to be under stress these days," says Joel Rosenthal.

Jazz historian David Sager describes the beginnings of jazz and its enthusiastic reception in France during World War I. He tells the amazing and tragic story of African American musician James Reese Europe, a leader in the creation and acceptance of jazz, who didn't live long enough to see what a difference he made to music and to race relations.

Jonathan Cristol, author of "The United States and Taliban before and after 9/11," discusses the status of the latest talks between the U.S. government and the Taliban, in an effort to end the decades-long war in Afghanistan. Are women's rights being addressed? Are neighboring countries' interests being taken into account? And can we trust the Trump administration in this tense geopolitical environment?