Gabrielle Sierra

CFR Staff

Gabrielle Sierra

Director, Podcasting

Gabrielle Sierra is the director of podcasting at the Council on Foreign Relations, overseeing the production of four shows. She is also the host of the Webby Award–winning Why It Matters podcast. Prior to her time at CFR, she spent several years as an editor at Facebook, and has written for a number of publications including InStyle, Billboard, and Gothamist. As a 2020 International Career Advancement Program fellow and current co-chair for CFR’s Employee Resource Group on Diversity of Underrepresented Groups in the Workplace, Sierra continues to make diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives a crucial focus of her work. She has her master's degree in journalism and is an alumna of Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Women in Media.

Select Work

Global

Trailer: Why It Matters

Podcast
Each episode breaks down an issue that is shaping our world’s future. Join host Gabrielle Sierra as she speaks with the leaders and thinkers who are facing these questions head on. Fueled by the minds at the Council on Foreign Relations, Why It Matters brings some of the world’s most compelling stories home to you.

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra October 2, 2019 Why It Matters

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The Year of AI and Elections

Podcast
Billions of people will take to the polls next year, marking the world’s largest-ever electoral field. But this historic scale is not the only thing that will make 2024 unique. As new threats like deep fakes become cheaper and more widespread, these upcoming elections could serve as a test run for democracy in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. What risks does AI pose to elections next year? And will a surge in AI-powered disinformation change the nature of democratic elections?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Kat Duffy and Yoel Roth December 20, 2023 Why It Matters

Trade

A Turning Point for Global Trade

Podcast
International trade has shaped the world for much of the past century. Countries benefited from the global flow of goods, and the world became richer and safer. At the same time, many Americans lost their jobs to cheaper overseas competitors. Now, a series of compounding challenges, including great power competition and climate change, have led U.S. officials to rethink trade policy. What's next for international trade? And can the United States retain the benefits of trade while protecting critical supply chains and fighting climate change?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Jennifer Hillman, Inu Manak and Edward Alden November 8, 2023 Why It Matters

Most Recent

Yemen

Iran’s Support of the Houthis: What to Know
Iranian support has boosted the military prowess of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, helping them project force into the Red Sea. Ramped up U.S.-led attacks on the group raise the prospect of military escalation with Iran.

In Brief by Kali Robinson March 24, 2025

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

Fentanyl and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic
Opioid addiction has become one of the United States’ biggest killers, endangering public health, the economy, and national security. But closing the floodgates on fentanyl poses a significant foreign policy challenge.

Backgrounder by Mariel Ferragamo and Claire Klobucista March 20, 2025

Taiwan

Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense
Differences over Taiwan’s status have fueled rising tensions between the island and mainland. Taiwan is the likeliest potential flash point in U.S.-China relations.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland and Clara Fong March 19, 2025

Top Stories on CFR

Trade

Here’s How Countries Are Retaliating Against Trump’s Tariffs
Trade retaliation looms from Canada, China, Mexico, and the European Union in response to U.S. tariffs. Four timelines lay out their responses, and the experience of American soybean farmers in 2018 shows how damaging this could be. 

Article by Christopher Shim and Will Merrow March 21, 2025 RealEcon

Yemen

The Siege of the Red Sea
The U.S. military continues to conduct large-scale strikes on Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen to counter their assault on global commerce and attempts to weaken Israel.

Article by Michael Froman March 21, 2025

Trade

We’ve Been Looking at Trade All Wrong

Podcast
There was once a broad consensus in Washington that trade was a force for good—a way to connect, grow, and prosper. But today, trade has evolved into something much bigger than just the exchange of goods. It’s become a powerful tool to rewrite the rules of foreign policy, reshape how the United States is viewed by the rest of the world, and steer us toward an increasingly uncertain future. When did this change begin, and where did we go off course?  

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra and Edward Alden March 19, 2025 Why It Matters