The President’s Inbox

Latest Episodes:

Are We Ready? | The U.S.-China Chip War, With Chris McGuire Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

Chris McGuire, senior fellow for China and emerging technologies at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss whether U.S. efforts to deny China advanced semiconductor chips will sustain the U.S. lead in artificial intelligence or unintentionally accelerate Chinese innovation.

This is the fifth episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to assess whether the United States is ready for a new, more dangerous world.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Bethany Allen and Jenny Wong Leung, "Trump's Crackdown on Chinese Students Ignores a Startling New Reality," New York Times

Raffaele Huang, "Chinese Officials Urge Firms to Shun Nvidia AI Chip," Wall Street Journal

Arjun Kharpal, "China’s Key Weapons in Its AI Battle With the U.S.—Massive Huawei Chip Clusters and Cheap Energy," CNBC

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/are-we-ready-us-china-chip-war-chris-mcguire

Are We Ready? | AI, Espionage, and Influence, With Jessica Brandt Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Jessica Brandt, senior fellow for technology and national security at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping cyber operations, influence campaigns, and intelligence gathering, and what those changes mean for U.S. national security.

This is the fourth episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to assess whether the United States is ready for a new, more dangerous world.

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/are-we-ready-ai-espionage-and-influence-jessica-brandt

Are We Ready? | The New Weapons of War, With Michael Horowitz Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

Michael Horowitz, Richard Perry professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and senior fellow for technology and innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how emerging military technologies are revolutionizing the modern battlefield and how the Pentagon is adapting and incorporating these new technologies.

This is the third episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to assess whether the United States is ready for a new, more dangerous world.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Michael C. Horowitz and Lauren Kahn, “The Cost of the AGI Delusion,” Foreign Affairs

Radha Iyengar Plumb and Michael C. Horowitz, “What America Gets Wrong About the AI Race,” Foreign Affairs

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/are-we-ready-new-weapons-war-michael-horowitz

Are We Ready? | America's Next Battlefield, With Thomas Shugart Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

Thomas Shugart, founder of Archer Strategic Consulting and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the tools and tactics of warfare have changed in the past decade and whether the U.S. military is adapting fast enough to deter a great power war.

This is the second episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to assess whether the United States is ready for a new, more dangerous world.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Thomas Shugart, "Blue Planet, Red Planet: A New World of Contested Maritime Power," The Shugart Update

Thomas Shugart, "Concrete Dome: It's Past Time for an Emergency Anti-Drone Hardening Program," The Shugart Update

Thomas Shugart, "Forging Ahead: The PLA Shows Us What It Wants Us to See," The Shugart Update

Thomas Shugart, "Has China Been Practicing Preemptive Missile Strikes Against U.S. Bases?" War on the Rocks

Thomas Shugart, "Mind the Gap, Part 2: The Cross-Strait Potential of China’s Civilian Shipping Has Grown," War on the Rocks

Thomas Shugart, "There Are No Magic Beans: Easy Options to Deter China Militarily Do Not Exist," War on the Rocks

Thomas Shugart, "The United States Can’t Afford to Not Harden Its Air Bases," War on the Rocks

Thomas Shugart, "Trends, Timelines, and Uncertainty: An Assessment of the Military Balance in the Indo-Pacific," Center for a New American Security

Timothy A. Walton and Thomas Shugart, "Concrete Sky: Air Base Hardening in the Western Pacific," Hudson Institute

We Are China, "Forging Ahead - Episode 1: Orders Are Sacred 第一集《军令如山》," Youtube.com

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/are-we-ready-americas-next-battlefield-thomas-shugart

Are We Ready? | The China Reckoning, With Rush Doshi Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

Rush Doshi, the C.V. Starr senior fellow for Asia Studies and director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the United States is reckoning with the rise of China and a world of renewed geopolitical competition.

This is the first episode in a special series from The President’s Inbox, bringing you conversations with Washington insiders to assess whether the United States is ready for a new, more dangerous world.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Rush Doshi, The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order, Oxford University Press

David J. Lynch, The World’s Worst Bet: How the Globalization Gamble Went Wrong (And What Would Make It Right), PublicAffairs

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/are-we-ready-china-reckoning-rush-doshi

Civil-Military Relations Under Trump, With Kori Schake Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

Kori Schake, Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the state of civil-military relations as President Donald Trump remakes the senior leadership of the U.S. military and deploys the National Guard to U.S. cities.

Mentioned on the Episode:

William Manchester, American Ceasar: Douglas McArthur, 1880-1964, Back Bay Books

Kori Schake, The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States, Polity

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at:

https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/civil-military-relations-under-trump-kori-schake

Two Years Since October 7, With Elliott Abrams and Ed Husain Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle East studies and the Council, and Ed Husain, senior fellow at the Council, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks and whether President Donald Trump's twenty-point peace plan will produce a lasting ceasefire.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Elliott Abrams, "The Teaching of Hate in Jordan," CFR.org

Naftali Bendavid, Scott Clement, and Emily Guskin, "Many American Jews Sharply Critical of Israel on Gaza, Post Poll Finds," Washington Post

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/two-years-since-october-7-elliott-abrams-ed-husain

The Legality of Trump's Drug-Boat Strikes, With Matthew Waxman Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Matt Waxman, adjunct senior fellow for law and foreign policy and Liviu Librescu Professor of Law at Columbia University sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the legality of the Trump administration's military strikes against drug traffickers and the implications for U.S. foreign policy.

Mentioned on the Episode:

James Madison, “Federalist No. 51,” The Federalist Papers

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/legality-trumps-drug-boat-strikes-matthew-waxman

Russia Violates NATO Airspace, With Liana Fix Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Liana Fix, senior fellow for Europe at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss Russia’s recent drone incursions into Polish airspace, and whether the move signals an expansion of the war in Ukraine.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Liana Fix and Erin D. Dumbacher, “Russia Tests NATO With Poland Drone Breach,” CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/russia-violates-nato-airspace-liana-fix

The Golden Dome Missile Defense System, With Todd Harrison Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the feasibility of a multi-layer missile defense system for the United States.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Phillip L. Swagel, “Effects of Lower Launch Costs on Previous Estimates for Space-Based, Boost-Phase Missile Defense,” Congressional Budget Office

Todd Harrison, “How Much Would a Space-Based Missile Interceptor System Cost and Does It Make Sense?” American Enterprise Institute

Todd Harrison, “Is Trump’s Golden Dome a Brilliant Idea or a Gilded Boondoggle?” American Enterprise Institute

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/golden-dome-missile-defense-system-todd-harrison