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Introduction
Over the last several decades, governments have collectively pledged to slow global warming. But despite intensified diplomacy, the world is already facing the consequences of climate…
Show Notes
In this special edition, CFR.org Editor Robert McMahon, CFR's Director of Studies Jim Lindsay, and Foreign Affairs Editor Gideon Rose start off the summer with a list of books that they will be reading in the weeks ahead. Listen in for recommendations from their reading lists, and check out the links below for more information.
Robert McMahon's list:
- The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, by Masha Gessen
- Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America's Image Abroad, by Martha Bayles
- My Crazy Century, by Ivan Klima
- Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China, by Evan Osnos
- Official Guide New York World's Fair 1964 / 1965, Time-Life
James Lindsay's list:
- The Pity of War, by Niall Ferguson
- Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, by Robert Gates
- No End Save Victory: How FDR Led the Nation Into War, by David Kaiser
- The Education of an Anti-Imperialist, by Richard Drake
- One Summer: America, 1927, by Bill Bryson
Gideon Rose's list:
- The Leading Indicators: A Short History of the Numbers That Rule Our World, by Zachary Karabell
- The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig
- War Comes to Garmser: Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier, by Carter Malkasian
- How About Never - Is Never Good for You? My Life in Cartoons, by Bob Mankoff
- A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1), by George R.R. Martin
Censorship and Freedom of Expression
In this special episode to mark World Press Freedom Day, Jeffrey Gedmin, cofounder and editor-in-chief of American Purpose and former president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, joins Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins to discuss the global state of press freedom. They cover the challenges that a growing number of journalists face in exile or imprisonment, the U.S. role in upholding freedom of the press, and more.
Blinken Visits China, May Day Stirs Workers’ Rights Concerns, the U.S. Resumes Ukraine Aid, and More
Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps his second visit to China as tensions mount over Beijing’s military support of Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing threats in the South China Sea; International Workers’ Day on May 1 comes at a time of revived labor activism over wages and inequality; and U.S. President Joe Biden approves a $61 billion foreign aid package providing critical military assistance to Ukraine, potentially improving the situation on the ground in the war with Russia.
Concerns grow over the widening Middle East conflict after Iran launches three hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel; European Union (EU) leaders discuss how to bolster aid to Ukraine amid an uptick in Russian attacks and the situation unfolding in the Middle East; India kicks off the world’s largest democratic election—spanning more than forty-four days—where the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win again; and warming water temperatures cause a mass bleaching of coral reefs.