TWNW Special: What to Read and Listen to This Summer

In this special episode of The World Next Week, Heather A. Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon to discuss the books they recommend reading, the books they’re looking forward to reading, and the podcasts they’re listening to for fun this summer.

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

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor
  • Heather Conley

Show Notes

In this special episode of The World Next Week, Heather A. Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon to discuss the books they recommend reading, the books they’re looking forward to reading, and the podcasts they’re listening to for fun this summer.

 

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

 

Jims Picks

Michael Mandelbaum, The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy (2022)

Richard Cohen, Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past (2021)

Laszlo Montgomery, The China History Podcast, Teacup Media

 

Bobs Picks

Catherine Belton, Putin’s People (2020)

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois (2021)

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley, Gastropod, Vox Media Podcast Network

 

Heathers Picks

Greg Behrman, The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and How America Helped Rebuild Europe (2007)

Patrick Radden Keefe, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (2018)

Todd Schulkin, Inside Julia’s Kitchen, Heritage Radio Network

 

Additional Books, Podcasts, and Shows Mentioned on the Podcast

Karen Dawisha, Putin’s Kleptocracy (2014)

Aaron L. Friedberg, Getting China Wrong (2022)

Joseph Marion Jones, The Fifteen Weeks (1965)

Michael Kimmage, The Abandonment of the West (2020)

Sebastian Mallaby, The Power Law (2022)

George Mitchell, Making Peace (1999)

Yascha Mounk, The Great Experiment (2022)

Benn Steil, The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War (2019)

Ali Wyne, America’s Great-Power Opportunity (2022)

Heather A. Conley, “How Will Biden Handle Russia?” The President's Inbox, December 1, 2020

David Crowther, The History of England

Mike Duncan, The History of Rome

Jamie Jeffers, The British History Podcast

Michael Mandelbaum, “Americas Rise to Power,” The President's Inbox, May 7, 2022

Robin Pierson, The History of Byzantium

Julia, HBO Max (2022)

France

France’s governance is at stake as it holds snap elections for its National Assembly, with the far-right National Rally looking to build on its success in the European Parliament elections; the United Kingdom (UK) has its own snap general elections with Keir Starmer and his Labour Party looking to end the fourteen-year rule of the Conservatives; Iran’s snap presidential elections could signal unity of regime hard-liners or glimmers of change; the European Union (EU) plans to impose provisional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles; and Ukraine strikes more than thirty Russian oil refineries.  

Russia

A Russian court moves judicial proceedings for detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich to Yekaterinburg for a closed-door espionage trial; the success of far-right parties in the European Parliament elections challenges the power of several incumbent European Union (EU) leaders; the Boeing Starliner "Calypso" spacecraft prepares to return from the International Space Station after delays; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves his war cabinet. 

Ukraine

Ukraine pushes for wider international support and endorsement of its proposed peace process at Switzerland’s Ukraine peace summit; the UN Security Council deliberates how to assist Sudanese civilians and de-escalate the civil war; diplomatic pressure builds for a U.S.-backed cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip; and Russian ships arrive in Cuban waters for exercises. 

Top Stories on CFR

 

Sudan

More than a year into the civil war in Sudan, over nine million people have been displaced, exacerbating an already devastating humanitarian crisis.

Iran

The contest to replace Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, is dominated by conservatives who have provided few signals of any major course change in the country’s regional and security policies.