Carnegie Connects

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has emerged as one of America’s most gifted and prolific storytellers. From baseball to country music and his upcoming film on Benjamin Franklin, Burns explores America’s greatest achievements and most extraordinary heroes. But he also documents the darkest moments of the American republic, such as the Civil War and the national stain of racial injustice. Through it all, Burns weaves iconic narratives, linking the past to the present in ways that make America’s democratic experiment accessible to millions. Aaron sits down with Ken Burns to discuss his craft, his view of the American story, and the challenges of filmmaking during one of the most fraught and consequential periods in America’s history.

The U.S. Intelligence Community has played a critical role in predicting Putin’s invasion and countering Moscow’s disinformation campaign as the Biden administration purposefully released intelligence on the Kremlin’s plans and troop movements leading up to the invasion. But what are the challenges of intelligence gathering and analysis in response to a fast-moving crisis? What makes for an effective intelligence assessment for policymakers? How do presidents make decisions based on intelligence in crises such as Afghanistan and Ukraine? And how do intelligence officials ensure policymakers receive accurate and unbiased information? Aaron sits down with Beth Sanner, the deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration, to discuss these and other issues. 

After willfully provoking the crisis in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin seems strangely uncertain about what to do with it. Despite preparing both conventional and hybrid military options, he also seems open to the possibility of using diplomacy to achieve his goals. But what exactly are those objectives? Is there a negotiated outcome that Putin is prepared to accept that would end the crisis? And how does he read the Biden administration’s response? Join Aaron David Miller as he sits down with Dmitri Trenin to analyze these and other issues.

In a recent interview, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on President Biden’s foreign policy one year into the administration and yet made no mention of the Middle East. What is Biden's foreign policy in the Middle East, a region studded with humanitarian crises and seemingly intractable conflicts that impinge on U.S. interests, from Iran, Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. How does the administration define U.S. interests in the region? And where does the Middle East fit in the list of its priorities?Join Aaron David Miller as he sits down with Brett McGurk, the president’s point person on the Middle East, to discuss these and other issues.

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2022 may well be the most crucial year in America's history, Boston College American historian Heather Cox Richardson argues. A surging pandemic; runaway inflation; the tribalization of American politics, a battle over voting rights, and upcoming midterms presage a tumultuous year ahead. How will the Biden administration deal with these challenges?Aaron David Miller sits down with Professor Richardson to discuss the state and fate of the American republic.Want to listen to Carnegie Connects live? Visit our website to sign up for invitations. 

Perhaps no question figures more centrally in the Biden administration’s foreign policy than what to do about China. Indeed, no other nation impacts America’s security, economy, and politics as vitally. How should the United States deal with a rising China. And what does China want from the United States? Is there an approach that can create a sustainable balance of interest? Or is the future going to be driven by a zero-sum game of competition and even conflict?   Aaron David Miller sits down with Kurt Campbell for what promises to be an illuminating discussion of the future of U.S.-China relations.  

This week the Biden Administration will host the Summit for Democracy at a pivotal time for democracies around the world. Democracy has been in global decline for over a decade and is on track to sustain the worrying trend this year—given coups and power grabs Tunisia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Sudan. Can Biden’s summit be a fruitful convening given democracy’s downturn? Is dividing dictatorships and democracies even a useful paradigm? And can the United States still lead on this issue given its own perilous troubles at home?Tune in as Aaron sits down with leading experts Rachel Kleinfeld and Frances Z. Brown to discuss the state of democracy and the path forward in advance of the summit.Want to listen to Carnegie Connects live? Visit our website to sign up for invitations.

Today, the United States faces a seemingly impossible set of global challenges: a dwindling clock on climate change; persistent nuclear proliferation; and democracies under threat from populism and authoritarianism. At home, the situation is no less challenging as inflation, white nationalist extremism, political polarization, and an unending pandemic cloud the future. Rarely has the Republic seemed so fraught and in jeopardy. Now is the time for clear headed analysis and prescription. 

The recent Taliban military and political takeover of Afghanistan brought an end to two decades of U.S. efforts to transform the country into a democratic, pro-Western polity and to prevent it from again becoming a sanctuary for terror attacks. Why did those efforts fail? What was it about the country and its neighbors that U.S. policymakers failed to understand? And how does Washington hope to protect its counterterrorism and human rights interests going forward? Join us as former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad sits down with Aaron David Miller to discuss these and other issues.