Counterpoint

Artificial intelligence continues to advance at a remarkable pace, raising big questions about the future of humanity. Leading figures warn that increasingly powerful AI systems could one day escape our control, but peers argue that line of thinking is just speculative fearmongering. Welcome to Counterpoint, where we look at one big question facing world leaders from opposing points of view. In this episode, we’re asking: Could AI destroy the world? Arguing in favor is Stuart Russell, who has been referred to as the “godfather of AI” and whose foundational textbook, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, is used in universities around the world. He’s currently a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. And arguing against is Jürgen Schmidhuber, who has been referred to as the “father of modern AI” for his breakthroughs in the technology. He is currently a co-chair of the Center of Excellence for Generative AI at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. The show is hosted by FP deputy editor Nick Danforth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week at the United Nations, U.S. President Donald Trump made clear that another round of war with Iran was on the table. But after more than 200 days of conflict, what else can the United States do to force the Iranian leadership to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon nuclear enrichment? Welcome to Counterpoint, where we take one big question facing world leaders and look at it from opposing points of view. In this episode, we’re asking: Is a confrontational approach to Iran necessary? Arguing in favor is Matt Kroenig, a professor at Georgetown University and former U.S. Defense Department strategist. And to argue against this is Trita Parsi, a co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and former president of the National Iranian American Council. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. The show is hosted by FP deputy editor Nick Danforth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NATO was created after World War II to deter the Soviet Union and protect Western Europe. But the trans-Atlantic organization did not disband after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In fact, in the years since, its membership has doubled to include countries in Eastern Europe and eventually Finland and Sweden. Supporters say the expansion helps protect countries from Russian aggression and makes Europe safer. But critics argue that NATO’s growth has provoked a confrontation with Vladimir Putin. Welcome to Season 3 of Counterpoint, where we take one big question facing world leaders and look at it from opposing points of view. Our host this season is Nick Danforth, a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. To launch the season, we’re asking: Has NATO expansion made Europe safer? Arguing in favor is Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and a political science professor and senior fellow at Stanford University. Arguing against is Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and an assistant professor at Georgetown University. Ashford is also a columnist at Foreign Policy. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a special bonus episode of Counterpoint, FP editor in chief Ravi Agrawal sits down with former U.S. secretary of state Hilary Clinton on the main stage of this year’s Doha Forum to discuss the Trump administration’s newly released National Security Strategy, what Congress needs to do better, the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and more. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bosnian War in the early 1990s was at the time the bloodiest conflict on European soil since World War II. Some 100,000 people were killed and more than 2 million displaced amid widespread ethnic cleansing and massacres. In 1995, the warring parties struck a power-sharing deal in negotiations just outside Dayton, Ohio, in what came to be known as the Dayton Accords. But the deal didn’t really resolve the underlying problems. Bosnia continues to be plagued by ethnic division, and the country’s political structure is widely seen as ineffective and unstable. Welcome to Counterpoint. On each episode, we look at one pressing question facing world leaders—from two opposing points of view. In our season finale, we’re tackling the question: Did the Dayton Accords set Bosnia up for failure? Arguing that the agreement put Bosnia on a path to perpetual crisis is Jasmin Mujanović, a senior nonresident fellow at New Lines Institute. He is the author of two books, Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans and The Bosniaks: Nationhood After Genocide. And making the case that the Dayton Accords were essential to bringing peace and maintaining stability is Chris Hill. A career diplomat, Hill was part of the U.S. delegation that brokered the agreement. Most recently, he served as the⁠ U.S. ambassador to Serbia⁠ under President Joe Biden. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. The show is hosted by Sasha Polakow-Suransky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has moved quickly to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which oversees U.S. aid around the world, with major repercussions for food supplies, child poverty, pandemic prevention, and much more. The decision has hit Africa particularly hard. African countries were getting about ⁠⁠about 30 percent⁠⁠ of U.S. foreign aid annually. While many people in Africa are deeply worried about the cuts, some are wondering if the end of USAID might present an opportunity for the continent. Welcome to Counterpoint. Each week, we look at one pressing question facing world leaders—from two opposing points of view. On this episode, we’re tackling the question: Is Western aid helping or harming Africa? With us to argue for the importance of continuing Western aid to Africa is Ndidi Nwuneli, the president and CEO of the ONE Campaign, a global advocacy organization focused on ensuring economic opportunity and healthier lives in Africa. And making the case that aid has caused more problems than it has solved is Ken Opalo, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service specializing in African politics and development. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. The show is hosted by Sasha Polakow-Suransky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Late last year, Syrian opposition forces captured Damascus and put an end to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian dictator, whose family had ruled the country for more than 50 years, fled to Moscow. Across the country, Syrians celebrated. Assad’s fall exposed the brutality of his regime, including gruesome discoveries in government prisons, tens of thousands of disappeared people, and mass displacement. But the group that replaced it also has a record of violence—and a former affiliation with al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Welcome to Counterpoint. Each week, we look at one pressing question facing world leaders—from two opposing points of view. Today, we’re tackling the question: Is Syria on a path to realizing the hopes of the revolution? With us to make the case for viewing Syria’s new government with skepticism is David Adesnik, the vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Arguing that Syrians are capable of securing a democratic future for themselves is Alia Malek, a journalist, former civil rights lawyer, and the author of The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria. Counterpoint is hosted by Sasha Polakow-Suransky, a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. The show is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared a cease-fire last month in its war with Turkey, opening the door to a possible peace agreement between the two sides. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has gone on for decades. A deal would be a major win for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—but it’s not at all clear he can pull it off. In fact, he seems to have undermined his own chances by imprisoning the leader of Turkey’s political opposition, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, triggering widespread protests. On this episode of Counterpoint, we’re posing the question: Can the Turkish-Kurdish peace process succeed? Making the case that it can succeed is Galip Dalay, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House and researcher at the University of Oxford’s St. Antony’s College. Taking a more pessimistic view is Arzu Yilmaz, an associate professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kurdistan Hewler in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. It is hosted by FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world has changed dramatically since we released the first season of Counterpoint just a few months ago. Old alliances are collapsing and core assumptions are being questioned. On this second season of the show, FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is back with eight new debates that help capture the complexities of the moment. Listen in as an international cast of diplomats, journalists, academics, and activists from around the globe argue over the world's most contentious issues. Counterpoint is a production of Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Doha Forum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump made immigration a cornerstone of his campaign. The question now is what will he actually do? Will he seek to round up and kick 10 million people out of the country on Jan. 21? Will he reconfigure U.S. policy to focus on admitting skilled workers and reducing the number of unskilled migrants? Foreign Policy deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Leah Boustan, a professor of economics at Princeton University and co-author of Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success, and Reihan Salam, the president of the Manhattan Institute and author of Melting Pot or Civil War? A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2016, under a Conservative-led government, Britain shocked the world by voting narrowly to leave the European Union. Fast-forward to today, and the political sands have shifted dramatically. In July, for the first time in 14 years, British voters elected a Labour government. Two weeks later, the new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, signaled his desire for the country to once again grow closer to Europe. And polls now show that if given the choice again, more people would vote to rejoin the EU than stay out. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by businesswoman, activist, and campaigner Gina Miller and former British Chancellor and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the past few months, the war in Ukraine has taken some dramatic turns. Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russian territory, seizing chunks of Kursk province and embarrassing President Vladimir Putin. Russia retaliated with a number of devastating attacks on Ukrainian cities and military facilities and continued to seize more territory in Donetsk. Rather than moving toward a negotiated settlement, the war seems to be escalating. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and an assistant professor at Georgetown University, and Rajan Menon, the director of the grand strategy program at Defense Priorities and a senior research scholar at Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the start of a war in Gaza that has killed upwards of 40,000 people, many of them civilians. Throughout this conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pursued his own political and military agenda at odds with Washington’s calls for negotiations and de-escalation. Yet the flow of U.S. arms has continued. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of DAWN, an organization working to reform U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and Dennis Ross, who was Washington’s point person in Middle East peace negotiations under two U.S. presidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices