Public Affairs

Overview

Public Affairs hosted speakers who are prominent people in the world of international affairs, from acclaimed authors, to Nobel laureates, to high-ranking UN officials.

MAR 25, 2010 Podcast

Freedom for Sale: Why the World Is Trading Democracy for Security

From Russia and China to the U.S. and the U.K., many seemingly dissimilar countries have an "unwritten pact," under which, consciously or not, ...

Book cover image of Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray--and How to Return to Reality

MAR 11, 2010 Podcast

Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray--and How to Return to Reality

Jack Matlock, American ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, corrects a number of pervasive myths about the Cold War, including the belief that it ...

The Science of Liberty:  Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature

MAR 1, 2010 Podcast

The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature

Timothy Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, the Enlightenment values it inspired have swelled the numbers living in free ...

Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century

FEB 19, 2010 Podcast

Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century

Now that U.S. news outlets can instantaneously disseminate information across the world and foreign media have immediate access to the American market, what does ...

The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050

FEB 19, 2010 Podcast

The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050

How will the enormous projected growth of the U.S. population in the next four decades change the face of America? Will it make the ...

Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security--From World War II to the War on Terrorism

FEB 18, 2010 Podcast

Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security--From World War II to the War on Terrorism

According to historian Julian Zelizer, partisan fighting has always shaped American foreign policy, and the issue of national security has always been part of our ...

Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State

FEB 17, 2010 Podcast

Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State

Garry Wills traces how the atomic bomb transformed our nation down to its deepest constitutional roots, defined the presidency, and redefined the government as a ...

Book cover - The Future of Islam

FEB 3, 2010 Podcast

The Future of Islam

Is Islam compatible with democracy and human rights? Will religious fundamentalism block the development of modern societies in the Islamic world? Georgetown's John L. Esposito ...

Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World

FEB 2, 2010 Podcast

Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World's Prosperity Depends on It

In a witty and astute talk, Karabell describes and explains what he calls 'superfusion'--how the economies and capital flows of China and the U.S. ...

JAN 29, 2010 Podcast

Obama's Foreign Policy: What Matters and What Doesn't for America's Future

Elections and campaigns are about options. Governing is about constraints. For Obama--and every president--what happens when foreign policy options meet foreign policy constraints?