Michael McFaul on Russia, China, and American Power

Natasha Lance Rogoff is a journalist, educator, filmmaker, author, and media producer. She has been fascinated by two countries in her life, America and Russia. As a teenager, she changed her name to Natasha in 1982. At 22, she went to Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, as a student and learned the culture and language. She was fascinated by the Russian people, especially artists, and she traveled widely to explore in her documentary films the conflict between art and politics, freedom and power and the end of the Soviet regime. She also worked with Tom Brokaw, NBC and Hedrick Smith of PBS in producing programs on the end of the Soviet Union. She directed and produced Russia for sale, the rough road to capitalism. Then the children's television workshop took notice and asked her to bring Sesame Street, can you believe it, to post Soviet Russia at the end of the Cold War. She became executive producer of Yulitza Cezam, the Russian version of Sesame Street from 1993 to 1997, and faced all the questions of taking a popular American program for children and translated to a Russian program for Russian children. In 2022, she wrote about the experiences in Russia in her book, Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected, Crazy, True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia. She tells the stories of the nationality clashes, cultural differences, political violence, and the assassination of her Russian broadcast partners as they created Ulitza Ceizam.Today, Natasha is an associate in Harvard's Department of Art, Film and Visual Studies and is married to the distinguished Harvard economist, Ken Rogoff. They have two children and live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She works at the cross section of technology, media, and education using her experience to explore change. This is an important moment in global politics as the United States, China, Russia, Iran, and much of Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia debate their ambitions and their differences. We will talk about her experiences in Russia, understanding differences in culture and nationality, and how misunderstandings can lead to violence and sometimes war. We will ask about Reagan and Gorbachev, Putin and Trump and the future of free speech on campuses like Harvard and how she answers classic questions on freedom and order, the limits of hate speech in Russia today and after Putin. I am pleased to have her on this program as we initiate a new studio for more in-person conversations.

David Ignatius is theinternationally admired foreign affairs columnist and associate editor for TheWashington Post. He joined the paper in 1986, later served as foreign editor,and has written his twice-weekly column since 1998. He is also a popular novelist,writing 11 successful books about the world he covers as a reporter andcolumnist. He is hard at work on his 12th. Ignatius’s strength as acolumnist and novelist is his extraordinary knowledge and access to primaryplayers in espionage and diplomacy around the world who are on the front linesof the global struggle among nations to survive and dominate in peace and war. David Ignatius graduated fromHarvard College magna cum laude and studied at King’s College, Cambridge. Hehas, in a varied and distinguished career, worked as an editor and reporter atThe Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post and was executive editor of theInternational Herald Tribune in Paris. Ignatius not only writes novelsand a twice-weekly column but also is a commentator for MSNBC, appearing oftenon Morning Joe. He has written frequently about the Iranian War. This is an important moment inthe world of politics and foreign policy as elections are being held in theUnited States, Israel, and Brazil, wars continue in the Middle East andUkraine, and everyone is trying to assess the future of AI. We will talk of many things,including President Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Benjamin Netanyahu, warsin Iran and Ukraine, AI, tech leaders, the Trump cabinet, climate, elections,socialism, China, Europe, Greenland, NATO, global intrigue, spying, spies, andspy novels.

Bret Stephens is an opinion columnist for The New York Times. He has held the position since 2017He also writes a column for The New York Times with Frank Bruni in which they engage points of view about political and cultural issues.Stephens was previously a foreign affairs columnist and deputy editorial page editor at The Wall Street Journal. In 2013, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. From 2002–2004, he was editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post in Israel.Bret Stephens holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics.This conversation comes at a critical moment when the midterm elections in the United States are in a few weeks, war continues in Iran and the Ukraine, and the debate over AI gets focused.We will talk of many things including the elections, President Trump, Democrats, AI, China, the Iran war, the Ukrainian war, polarization in politics, Israel after 911, and the art of conversation..

Robert D. Kaplan is one of our most interesting experts studying the behavior of nations. He combines the normal analysis of leadership, politics, and culture by looking not just at history and journalism, but also at other factors that influence the plight of countries, including the development of a middle class, mineral access, and geography.He has traveled widely as a foreign correspondent for The Atlantic and written twenty-four books, including Waste Land, The Loom of Time, The Tragic Mind, The Revenge of Geography, Asia’s Cauldron, The Coming Anarchy, and Balkan Ghosts. His latest book, to be published in November, is China Whisperers: The Voices That Have Shaped America’s Views of Its Chief Geopolitical Rival.It is the moment to understand the relationship between the United States and China, the forces shaping how the leadership of both countries views the other, and the possibilities of an agreement between them on trade, AI, and territory.We will talk to Robert D. Kaplan about many things, including the possibility of war between the United States and China and the implications for the human race if there is no cooperation on artificial intelligence as the technology speeds forward.We will also discuss Donald Trump and his view of the world; Xi Jinping and his view of China’s place in the world; tariffs and trade between the two countries; Taiwan, Iran, and Ukraine; alliances with China and alliances with the United States; regions of influence; and what happens to the relationship when there is a change in leadership, whether Xi Jinping or Donald Trump is no longer the leader of his country.

Warren Buffett, one of the greatest investors of all time and a much-admired businessman and philanthropist, announced last week that he was stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Hathaway to become Chairman of the Board Emeritus. His son, Howard Buffett, will succeed him as Chairman of the Board. Buffett announced earlier in the year that Greg Abel would become CEO. In his farewell letter, Buffett said, with his gift of common sense, “Father Time always wins.” But he noted, at 96 years old and with his usual insight, “He has been very good to me.” It is very true.Buffett’s financial achievements at Berkshire Hathaway have made him one of the richest people in the world, but he is perhaps even more admired for his courage, philosophy, wisdom, and humor—especially humor. He has done it all while living rather simply in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. His fame has been global, and each year tens of thousands come from around the world to hear the man who has become known as the Oracle of Omaha at the Capitalist Woodstock.They come for the celebration, but also for the chance that they will hear something that will make them, yes, better investors, but perhaps also wiser at life. Who doesn’t want to be a richer and better person? It is not about recommending a stock, but about suggesting a way of doing things.Warren Buffett is too honest with himself and his audience not to acknowledge some failures of omission and choice, but there is one fact that stands out: He is one of a kind, and there is no one on the horizon who is considered the next Warren Buffett. There may be a few with better investment records, but none who combine all his qualities in one person.As we look at a world full of conflict and risk from technology, biology, nuclear threats, and climate, it is a moment to ask: What are the essential qualities we need for the future?We will talk about all the attributes necessary for the challenges ahead and how we convince ourselves to demand the best of them.I have had the good fortune to know Warren Buffett well and to talk to him often on camera and many, many times simply on the phone. Here is one of those conversations on camera from 4/15/2022.