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Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
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Podcast from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University, featuring Director Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Mike and our scholars dive into critical international issues, offering insights into the history and context of the biggest stories in the news.

  1. Hope and Despair: The Emotional Response to the War in Ukraine

    12/15/2025

    Hope and Despair: The Emotional Response to the War in Ukraine

    Gabrielius Landsbergis is the former minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. Previously, he was the chairman of the Homeland Union Party while concurrently a member of the Lithuanian Parliament. Before assuming these roles, Landsbergis was also a member of the European Parliament and began his career as a diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. He is currently based at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, where he is the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow. His recent opinion piece in the New York Times can be viewed here. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    24 min
  2. How to Tackle Global Challenges

    11/24/2025

    How to Tackle Global Challenges

    Marshall Burke is a senior fellow at the Center on Food Security and the Environment and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. His research focuses on social and economic impacts of environmental change, and on the economics of rural development in Africa. Colin Kahl is the Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), an interdisciplinary research hub in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. From 2021-2023, Kahl served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense. In that role, he was the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense for all matters related to national security and defense policy. Or Rabinowitz is a visiting scholar in the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. Her research interests include nuclear proliferation, intelligence studies, and Israeli American relations. Larry Diamond is the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. His research focuses on global trends affecting freedom and democracy and on U.S. and international policies to defend and advance democracy. Steven Pifer is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and an affiliate at the Center on International Security and Cooperation and The Europe Center. Pifer’s research focuses on nuclear arms control, Ukraine, Russia and European security. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    28 min
  3. The Global Showdown Between Autocrats vs. Democrats

    10/28/2025

    The Global Showdown Between Autocrats vs. Democrats

    Michael McFaul the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2016, and has spent much of his academic career researching political change, great power competition, and American policy toward Russia. His new book is Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America and the New Global Disorder, which is available for purchase from major booksellers. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    22 min
  4. How Democracy Is Doing Around the World

    07/15/2025

    How Democracy Is Doing Around the World

    Larry Diamond is the the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. Diamond’s research focuses on global trends affecting freedom and democracy and on U.S. and international policies to defend and advance democracy. His book, Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency, analyzes the challenges confronting liberal democracy in the United States and around the world at this potential “hinge in history,” and offers an agenda for strengthening and defending democracy at home and abroad.  His "Diamond on Democracy" series is available on the Persuasion website.  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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    19 min
  5. Sanctions and Security in a Changing Global Order

    07/07/2025

    Sanctions and Security in a Changing Global Order

    Ruth Gibson is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University’s Department of Health Policy and an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Her research focuses on volatile regions affected by war and sanctions. She also works with the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights on the use of unilateral sanctions. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    16 min
  6. Lessons from the Latest India-Pakistan Clash

    06/16/2025

    Lessons from the Latest India-Pakistan Clash

    Arzan Tarapore is a research scholar at the Center in International Security and Cooperation at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. His work focuses on Indian military strategy and regional security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Prior to his scholarly career, he served for 13 years in the Australian Defence Department in various analytic, management, and liaison positions, including operational deployments and a diplomatic posting to the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    24 min
  7. Is There a Future for U.S.-Europe Security Partnerships?

    04/28/2025

    Is There a Future for U.S.-Europe Security Partnerships?

    Jim Goldgeier is a research affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He is also a professor at the School of International Service at American University. He writes extensively on European security, NATO, Russia, and Ukraine. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    22 min
  8. The Great Retreat of Political Parties

    03/14/2025

    The Great Retreat of Political Parties

    Didi Kuo is a Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University. She is a scholar of comparative politics with a focus on democratization, corruption and clientelism, political parties and institutions, and political reform. Her latest book, The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don’t, is available from Oxford University Press and most major book sellers. 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, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

    22 min
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4.8
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About

Podcast from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University, featuring Director Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Mike and our scholars dive into critical international issues, offering insights into the history and context of the biggest stories in the news.

Information

  • Creator
    Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2025
  • Episodes
    166
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    World Class

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