2023

At least once a week, FP Live hosts discussions that delve deep into the most pressing topics in world affairs. This year, guests have included military generals on Kyiv’s wartime strategy and Russia’s military advancement, former Israeli officials and Palestinian voices on the Hamas attack and ensuing conflict that have rattled the world, and some of the top policymakers in the White House.

Also featured were historian and author Heather Cox Richardson on reasons to remain hopeful about American democracy; chief economist and advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden Heather Boushey, who crafted the U.S. approach to inequality, growth, and job creation; and Larry Summers, who talked about the challenges facing the global economy. Other topics included how governments can manage the rise of artificial intelligence, U.S.-India relations, the climate challenge, and much else.

Here are five discussions worth rewatching or—if you’re an FP insider—reading.

1. Ehud Barak on the Israel-Hamas War

There is perhaps no other person alive who has Ehud Barak’s range of experience for what war in Gaza looks like—and how Israel’s wartime decisions are received worldwide. Barak led the army when Israel first pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 1994 after the Oslo Accord negotiations. In 2000, during the Second Intifada, a major Palestinian uprising, Barak held the dual roles of defense minister and prime minister. Then, in a later stint as defense minister at the end of 2008, Barak led what was called Operation Cast Lead—a three-week conflict with Palestinian paramilitary groups that has been Israel’s largest ground operation in Gaza to date.

Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel, Barak spoke with FP’s editor in chief on FP Live. He explained how the army is thinking about dismantling Hamas’s operations and acknowledged that Israel would likely lose the support of public opinion and governments around the world within several weeks of its military operation commencing.

2. Joseph Wu on Taiwan’s Foreign Policy

Taiwan has governed itself independently since 1949, but Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory—and has vowed to one day take control. FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke exclusively with Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu about his country’s efforts to deter a Chinese invasion and the lessons Taipei is learning from observing Russia’s war in Ukraine. The two also discussed the country’s relationship with the United States, tensions in the Taiwan Strait, semiconductors, and much else.

3. Katherine Tai on the White House’s Trade Policy

In the last couple of years, the world seems to have embarked on an era of industrial policy. From the United States to China, India, Europe, and beyond, major economies are turning inward, favoring domestic expansion over free trade and the global flow of goods.

To understand Washington’s part in fostering a new era of industrial policy, FP Live spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the Biden administration’s top official tasked with mapping out and implementing the White House’s trade policy. She countered international critics who said the United States is fostering unfair competition and talked about de-risking the U.S. relationship with China.

4. Colin Kahl on America’s Defense Strategy

As undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin Kahl was one of the Biden administration’s senior-most policymakers, tasked with formulating and coordinating the White House’s national security strategy.

Just before leaving his position at the Pentagon during one of the lowest points in the U.S.-China relationship, Kahl sat down with Agrawal. He talked about how the White House thinks about deterrence and the long-term challenge of China. He also pushed back against criticisms that the Biden administration has slow-rolled aid to Ukraine. “We are all in,” he said, adding that “Russia has already lost, by every measure.”

5. Samantha Power on Development Diplomacy

From supporting the Ukrainian military to providing food security in parts of Africa, the Biden administration relies on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help devise its development strategy and prioritize where its aid money goes. USAID Administrator Samantha Power is tasked with figuring out how to distribute America’s global aid and development budget. Power is also a member of Biden’s National Security Council and a former ambassador to the U.N., so she wields considerable influence in the White House.

Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, Samantha Power joined Foreign Policy to discuss USAID’s priorities for UNGA, Russia’s sidelining of the U.N. Security Council, and how the Biden administration relies on both smaller groups and multilateral organizations like the United Nations to craft and implement its foreign policy.