TWNW Presents: Summer Reading Special Episode

In this special episode of The World Next Week, CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Carla Anne Robbins joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon to discuss the books they recommend reading, the books they’re looking forward to reading, and the books they’re reading for fun.

Read more about Jim, Bob, and Carla’s picks on Jim’s blog, The Water’s Edge.

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy and Director of Fellowship Affairs
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor
  • Carla Anne Robbins
    Senior Fellow

Show Notes

In this special episode of The World Next Week, CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Carla Anne Robbins joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon to discuss the books they recommend reading, the books they’re looking forward to reading, and the books they’re reading for fun.

 

Read more about Jim, Bob, and Carla’s picks on Jim’s blog, The Water’s Edge.

 

Jims Picks:

This is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arm Race, by Nicole Perlroth

Objects of Desire, by Clare Sestanovich

Nine Nasty Words: English in the GutterThen, Now, and Forever, by John McWhorter 

 

Bobs Picks:

Missionaries, by Phil Klay

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague, Geraldine Brooks

“Power of the Powerless” in Living in Truth, by Vaclav Havel

 

Carlas Picks:

The Price of Peace: Money , Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes, by Zachary D. Carter

The Transparency of Time, by Leonardo Padura

George Smiley Novels, by John le Carré

Diplomacy and International Institutions

The UN General Assembly begins its seventy-ninth high-level debate amid questions about its limited role in resolving major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; fears of a wider regional war grow as Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel after thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon; U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the leaders of the Quad in Wilmington, Delaware, to strengthen coordination in the Indo-Pacific region; and Russia seeks to add 180,000 troops to its army.

Defense and Security

The U.S. Congress returns from its summer recess to try to pass a budget for federal discretionary programs before the fiscal year ends and avoid a government shutdown; the United States and other Western allies accuse Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia, raising concerns over intensified strikes on Ukraine; Hungary faces a second deadline to pay a $221 million fine for breaking European Union asylum law, which President Viktor Orbán remains unwilling to follow; and China gifts Cambodia two newly built Type 056 corvette warships, raising questions about Beijing’s naval ambitions.

Israel

The United States, Egypt, and Qatar prepare another cease-fire proposal after Hamas killed six Israeli hostages and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu demanded control of the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border; Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hold their first presidential debate; the Toronto International Film Festival showcases independent films spanning from Hungary to Georgia and more; and the United States seizes Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s plane.    

Top Stories on CFR

 

Russia

Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at CFR, and Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the future of U.S. policy toward Russia and the risks posed by heightened tensions between two nuclear powers. This episode is the first in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Violence around U.S. elections in 2024 could not only destabilize American democracy but also embolden autocrats across the world. Jacob Ware recommends that political leaders take steps to shore up civic trust and remove the opportunity for violence ahead of the 2024 election season.