Podcasts

The following are selected podcasts. 

August 28, 2023

Can Ukraine Prevail?

Talking Feds

EPISODE SUMMARY

We pause our coverage of Trump’s burgeoning legal minefield and the related political landscape for a periodic close look at the current status & future prospects of the Russia-Ukraine War. A phenomenal set of experts–former Ambassador Mike McFaul, columnist and CFR senior fellow Max Boot, & CFR fellow for Europe Liana Fix–join Harry for a clear-eyed look at whether full victory for Ukraine remains possible, the state of support in the West, the contours of an end game, and many related issues.

 

July 31, 2023

Getting Inside The Mind Of Vladimir Putin

The Secrets of Statecraft

EPISODE SUMMARY

Michael McFaul, President Obama’s ambassador to Moscow, drew on history to discover what makes Putin tick.

July 2, 2023

Shadow Politics

Shadow Politics

EPISODE SUMMARY

March to Moscow… Our guest, US Ambassador to Russia - Michael McFaul !

A Russian oligarch and mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin was a former chief and close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin. "Prigo" launched an alleged coup d'état June 24-25, 2023. Former Ambassador to Russia, Dr. Michael McFaul, will shine some light on what this means now for superpower Russia and its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

June 26, 2023

Is Vladimir Putin’s grasp on power as ironclad as it seemed?

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

EPISODE SUMMARY

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who leads the paramilitary force called the Wagner Group, led an open rebellion against President Putin’s military leadership over the weekend. 

June 24, 2023

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia says aborted Moscow march signals Putin's weakness

NPR

EPISODE SUMMARY

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, to get his reading on Saturday's events in Moscow.

March 9, 2023

Michael McFaul, The Axe Files with David Axelrod

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

EPISODE SUMMARY

In high school, Michael McFaul developed an interest in the Soviet Union that would eventually lead to him serving as US Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, McFaul emerged as a vocal supporter of Ukraine. McFaul joined David to talk about his work advising on sanctions against Russia, why he believes that the US should go all-in on military aid to Ukraine, how Russian President Vladimir Putin could claim victory, how much time Ukraine has to turn the tide of the war, and his skepticism that Putin will resort to using a nuclear weapon.

March 6, 2023

Ambassador McFaul: How the Ukrainians Can Breakthrough

World Affairs

EPISODE SUMMARY

The war over Ukraine continues, and former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul says Putin is not backing down. He tells Ray Suarez why the global response to the current crisis will determine who wins or loses.

This episode was produced in partnership with Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies podcast WorldClass.

February 28, 2023

Putin's endgame: How he could define his own victory over Ukraine

The Chuck ToddCast: Meet the Press

EPISODE SUMMARY

A full year into its launch, the war in Ukraine is a far cry from the rapid invasion Russian President Vladimir Putin had planned. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul joins Chuck to outline Putin's possible paths forward — including the justifications the Russian president may make to save face.

February 28, 2023

What a Year of Putin's War Looks Like in Kyiv

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: World Class Podcast

EPISODE SUMMARY

It's been a year since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Few people have had a closer view of the realities of that war than Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff and an alumnus of the Draper Hills Summer Fellows program at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He joins Michael McFaul on World Class to report on what a year of brutal fighting looks like from inside Ukraine, and shares what progress he hopes to see in the coming months as Ukraine continues it's fight to remain a sovereign, democratic state.

February 28, 2023

Women, Life, and Freedom in Iran

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: World Class Podcast

EPISODE SUMMARY

"Women, Life, and Freedom:" this phrase has become the rallying cry of tens of thousands of Iranians around the world. What began as protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman detained by Iran's strict morality police, has become a groundswell in Iran's society unlike anything since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

"Those three words [are] even more progressive than 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,' because women are central to it. It has life. It has joy," says Dr. Abbas Milani, the director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University. He joins Michael McFaul on World Class to discuss what Dr. Milani calls the "seething volcano" of anger, disappointment, and frustration many in Iran feel towards the corruption, cronyism, and economic mismanagement the regime of Iran has perpetrated against its citizens.

Could Mahsa Amini be the spark that sets off a democratic explosion? Milani and McFaul discuss what the latest calls for change might mean for the country, and how a democratic Iran could rewrite the calculus of the global geopolitical stage.