World Class

In this episode of World Class, we're bringing you a conversation from the 2022 Stanford Reunion. In this recording, you'll hear Michael McFaul and a panel of experts from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies discuss some of the biggest policy challenges of the moment — climate change, Russia and the war in Ukraine, China and Taiwan, and maintaining democracy at home and abroad. Each panelist will give their assessment of a challenge, then provide feedback on how policymakers are addressing it and what more can be done. Michael McFaul is the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Marshall Burke is the deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Didi Kuo is a senior research scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule Law. Oriana Skylar Mastro is a center fellow at FSI, working primarily with the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Center for International Security and Cooperation. Steven Pifer is a former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

As winter in Eastern Europe settles in, the Russian military continues to cede ground to advancing Ukrainian forces. The question many people are asking now is: “What happens next?” Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and political scientist Francis Fukuyama join Michael McFaul on World Class podcast to discuss Ukraine’s progress in the war so far and offer possible prognoses for the future. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

While the world still watches the conflict in Ukraine, on the opposite side of the globe, the potential for conflict between Taiwan, China, and the United States is increasing. Will China forcibly try to reunify Taiwan with the mainland? And if they do, how will the United States respond? Larry Diamond, an scholar of Taiwan and Chinese sharp power, and Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on the Chinese military and security, join Michael McFaul on the World Class to discuss possible timelines for China’s ambitions against Taiwan, and how the U.S. and its allies can deter Beijing. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

To launch our new season of World Class, we're bringing you a special extended interview with Michael McFaul and Ray Suarez of the World Affairs podcast about the changing conditions on the Ukrainian battlefield and the political situation inside Russia. Their conversation originally aired on World Affairs on September 23, 2022. Just before Putin's military order on September 21, 2022 mobilizing up to 300,000 additional troops from Russia to fight in Ukraine, former US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, spoke with Ray Suarez to give a sense of what we can expect from the war in Ukraine in the coming weeks and – perhaps – months, and how it's impacting Russia's international standing. For more from World Affairs, visit their website at — https://www.worldaffairs.org/index.php. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

This is a special crossover episode of World Class and the World Affairs podcast, hosted by Ray Suarez. Michael McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, joins Ray as a guest to discuss what motivated Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and how is his war changing the balance of power between Russia, the US, Europe and China. This episode was first published on March 7, 2022 by World Affairs. To learn more, please visit: https://www.worldaffairs.org/media/blog/951 If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

Data clearly shows that extreme weather patterns like those seen across the globe in 2021 are driven by climate change. But is that fact driving policymakers to make meaningful inroads to address the climate crisis? Marshall Burke, the deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment, joins Michael McFaul on World Class podcast to review the latest data on what’s happening with climate change in the field and in Congress. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

There are plenty of glamorous Hollywood spies, but how does the world of real espionage and intelligence work? In her book Spies, Lies and Algorithms, national security and intelligence expert Amy Zegart separates facts from fictions about the U.S. intelligence community. She joins FSI Director Michael McFaul on World Class to trace the history of intelligence in America and unpacks the challenges intelligence organizations need to address in an increasingly digital world. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

The situation on the Ukraine-Russia border continues to change, but the ideological fight between democracy and autocracy is as hot as ever. Former prime minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk joins Michael McFaul to give an inside view on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and discuss the bigger strategy Putin is using to undermine democracy in Eastern Europe and beyond. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman joins Michael McFaul on World Class to discuss why values and integrity are crucial to upholding democratic norms here in the United States, and why democracies everywhere should support and encourage those norms in places like Ukraine. His testimony before Congress was key part of President Trump's first impeachment trial in 2019 over his phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He shares his story of becoming an unexpected public figure, and the life experiences that guided his decisions in his book, Here, Right Matters. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

Taiwan. Hypersonic missiles. The South China Sea. In the last few months, China’s activities have grabbed headlines and imaginations. But how much of this action is posturing, and how much should U.S. policymakers and strategists take seriously? Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on China's military and strategic planning and active member of the United States Air Force Reserve, rejoins Michael McFaul on World Class to debunk some of the myths that persist about China’s capabilities and reframe how the U.S. needs to think about strategic competition with Beijing. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.