World Class

This is a special crossover episode of World Class and the World Affairs podcast, hosted by Ray Suarez. Michael McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, joins Ray as a guest to discuss what motivated Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and how is his war changing the balance of power between Russia, the US, Europe and China. This episode was first published on March 7, 2022 by World Affairs. To learn more, please visit: https://www.worldaffairs.org/media/blog/951

Data clearly shows that extreme weather patterns like those seen across the globe in 2021 are driven by climate change. But is that fact driving policymakers to make meaningful inroads to address the climate crisis? Marshall Burke, the deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment, joins Michael McFaul on World Class podcast to review the latest data on what's happening with climate change in the field and in Congress.

There are plenty of glamorous Hollywood spies, but how does the world of real espionage and intelligence work? In her book Spies, Lies and Algorithms, national security and intelligence expert Amy Zegart separates facts from fictions about the U.S. intelligence community. She joins FSI Director Michael McFaul on World Class to trace the history of intelligence in America and unpacks the challenges intelligence organizations need to address in an increasingly digital world.

Today I crash a discord server and begin battling vicious anti-vaxxers, groypers, and white nationalists. Chaos quickly ensues!

We review Nick Fuentes SEETHING about my wife, my life, and my minivan.

Today I debate the infamous Extreme Dad about my supposed grifting, censorship, LGBT issues, Shoe0nHead, and MORE!

Today I go over some recent twitter drama with Ian Miles Cheong and Gothix.

The situation on the Ukraine-Russia border continues to change, but the ideological fight between democracy and autocracy is as hot as ever. Former prime minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk joins Michael McFaul to give an inside view on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and discuss the bigger strategy Putin is using to undermine democracy in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Today I debate a religious zealot who's convinced God says being trans is a sin. The only problem? God is an asshole.

Thanks to the amazing discourse started by yours truly, the CIA was a topic of debate on the recent Hippy Dippy Rumble. The debate quickly got heated as multiple panelists revealed their lack of knowledge. 

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman joins Michael McFaul on World Class to discuss why values and integrity are crucial to upholding democratic norms here in the United States, and why democracies everywhere should support and encourage those norms in places like Ukraine. His testimony before Congress was key part of President Trump's first impeachment trial in 2019 over his phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He shares his story of becoming an unexpected public figure, and the life experiences that guided his decisions in his book, Here, Right Matters.

Today I go over the recent twitter drama that occurred after I dared to suggest the CIA isn't entirely bad. Next I chat with Super Power Broadcasting to further understand the CIA.

Today we review Nick Fuentes telling Sydney Watson that women shouldn't be allowed to vote.

After Karlyn made a super hot take on twitter, we had a conversation that didn't end well.

Today I get called out by a furry. Then I debate the furry. Yes. It's fun.

Today we CRINGE at Ben Shapiro's new product, conservative's reactions to the new covid variant, Steven Crowder lying about slavery and MORE!

SPOTIFY EXCLUSIVE: I get interviewed and questioned on the blue politics server.

Taiwan. Hypersonic missiles. The South China Sea. In the last few months, China's activities have grabbed headlines and imaginations. But how much of this action is posturing, and how much should U.S. policymakers and strategists take seriously? Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on China's military and strategic planning and active member of the United States Air Force Reserve, rejoins Michael McFaul on World Class to debunk some of the myths that persist about China's capabilities and reframe how the U.S. needs to think about strategic competition with Beijing.

We discuss Kyle's verdict, the misinfo around this case, and the lefty cope.

Today I debate UK leftist Kevin Logan about whether or not Kyle was acting in self defense.

Today I debate Niko House about the comments he made regarding the CIA funding during the better discourse panel.

Today we go over the facts and misinformation about Kyle Rittenhouse.

Listen now to the classic debate between me and Miyo about immigration and "little timmy".

Today we review Destiny take on 3 during a heated live debate during the 2021 better discourse event.

In the last 30 years, authoritarian regimes have gained significant ground in countries around the world, and democracy norms are in decline. Why? Former Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications and Speech Writing and veteran podcaster Ben Rhodes joins Michael McFaul to discuss his new book, "After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made," which tries to understand why democracy is faltering through the stories of individuals on the front lines trying to defend it.

Today we review the most common insult used against me before deconstructing one of the worst attempts at slandering me I've ever seen.

Today we listen to Jimmy Dore spiel off anti-vax talking points before Richard Wolf joins to rage against vaccine mandates. All this concludes with a heated debate between Hunter and a viewer.

Today I try to debate an extremely insufferable, bad faith, interrupting NPC. It's exhausting.

In this exclusive episode, I debate a black conservative before inevitably getting angry.

We (hopefully) end the Gothix saga before talking about the annoying cope from people who lose debates.

After calling her out, I had an impromptu debate with Gothix and her annoying little side kick.

Today we deconstruct a video by a right wing YouTuber, Gothix, before confronting her face to face on a debate panel.

Today I take a victory lap as I'm proven right before debating an "edgy" viewer about censorship and TOS.

I talk about the recent controversy involving Dr. Fauci, my twitter "cancellation", all before I debate an insufferable viewer about veganism.

In this episode I debate a woman who's VERY anti-vax, anti-mask, and arguably anti-ending COVID. Stay tuned for a good one.

From Dennis Prager to insane anti-vax rallies, Hunter Avallone brings you closer to the abyss by showing you just how down bad conservatives are.

In his inaugural address, President Biden declared, “Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause — the cause of democracy.” But is the United States still a beacon for aspiring democratic societies around the globe? In a crossover episode with the World Affairs Podcast, World Class host Michael McFaul and Dr. Francis Fukuyama — Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law — look at the current state of democracy.

Last week, riot police used force to remove Nika Melia, the leader of Georgia’s main opposition party, from his political headquarters. Meila’s arrest has deepened political rifts within Georgia and is plunging the nation into crisis, with opposition parties vowing to boycott Parliament until Melia is released by the government. Nino Evgenidze, a Georgian activist and executive director of the Economic Policy Research Center in Tbilisi, tells Mike what Melia’s arrest means for Georgia, the region and the rest of the world.

In a special crossover episode, World Class host Michael McFaul discusses how the U.S. can mend relationships with the rest of the world after four years of unpredictability on the World Affairs Podcast. Mike and Jorge Castañeda, former Foreign Minister of Mexico, join World Affairs co-host Ray Suarez to talk about how to best address foreign policy moving forward.

Iran’s economy is at its worst point in decades, its Supreme Leader is ill, and the country is “desperate” for a nuclear deal with the United States, says Abbas Milani, an expert on U.S.-Iran relations. On this episode, he and Mike discuss the Iranian economy, the future of Iran’s leadership, and what a potential new nuclear deal might look like.

While we should expect some big changes over the next four years when it comes to U.S. foreign policy toward Russia, President Joe Biden should be willing to cooperate with Russia on select issues, says Steven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. In this episode, Pifer discusses the Biden administration’s approach to Russia and its priorities in working with the Kremlin.

In this episode I break down the newest impeachment updates, laugh at PragerU and Glenn Beck for being snowflakes, and look into the possibility of the Capitol riots having inside help.

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On this episode we go over Parler getting banned, the impeachment of Trump moving forward, and more personal responsibly coming for the capitol rioters.

In this episode I break down the disturbing power big tech wields while also explaining why Trump's ban was justified.

In the first episode of The Avallone Angle, Hunter Avallone talks about the horrific capitol riots, brings you breaking news, and is joined by co-host Carissa Avallone!

We bring expertise on international affairs from Stanford's campus, straight to you. Hosted by former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, experts from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies offer insights into the history and context of the biggest stories in the news.

840 million people — or about one-ninth of the world’s population — live in China’s rural areas. They tend to settle in the regions in which they are born, and they’re generally not depicted in mainstream media outlets, but they are going to play an instrumental role in the country’s economic future. In this episode, Scott Rozelle discusses how the wealth gap between the richer urban parts of China and the poorer rural areas could contribute to a slowdown in China’s economic growth, which he calls “the biggest problem China faces that no one knows about.”

During the 2016 presidential election cycle, Russian operatives used Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms to spread disinformation in order to divide the American public. Four years later, misleading and false information about the 2020 presidential election is still rampant online. And this time around, more of that misleading information is coming from domestic actors within the U.S. As research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, Renée DiResta investigates the spread of malign narratives across social networks, and assists policymakers in devising responses to the problems that those narratives create. On today’s episode, she discusses what it’s like to navigate this online world of propaganda and conspiracy theories.