Podcasts about middle east public policy

This episode with my friend and HBS classmate Todd Wilcox was recorded before Todd was nominated for his current role as Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. We speak about his background and views on business and the world. Todd Wilcox was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security (DS) on October 14, 2025. In this role, he leads the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State, ensuring a safe environment for U.S. foreign policy operations. He oversees a global team of Special Agents, Diplomatic Couriers, Security Engineering Officers, Security Technical Specialists, contractors, and administrative personnel.Mr. Wilcox brings decades of leadership experience as a decorated combat veteran, former CIA case officer, and successful entrepreneur. Before joining the State Department, he founded Patriot Defense in 2005, a company dedicated to supporting those who defend America. He served as its Chief Executive Officer for 10 years before transitioning to Executive Chairman, where he guided the company's vision and acquisition strategy.Prior to his business career, Mr. Wilcox served as an Arabic-speaking CIA Field Operations Officer focused on Middle East and counterterrorism issues. His final assignment was as the CIA Liaison Officer to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Orlando. He joined the CIA in 1997 after serving in the U.S. Army, where he earned the Green Beret as a Special Forces A-Team commander and completed a combat tour during Operation Desert Storm.Mr. Wilcox's achievements have been recognized by the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the Orlando Business Journal's Veterans of Influence Award. He has served on the boards of the National Defense University Foundation, RAND Corporation's Center for Middle East Public Policy, and the Orlando Economic Partnership.An active member of the Young Professionals Organization (YPO), Mr. Wilcox also serves as Treasurer of Business Force, a nonprofit political action committee.

Bruce Hoffman is a tenured professor in Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where from 2010 to 2017 he was the Director of both the Center for Security Studies and of the Security Studies Program and from 2020-2023 the director of the Center for Jewish Civilization. In addition, Professor Hoffman is Professor Emeritus of Terrorism Studies at St Andrews University, Scotland. He previously held the Corporate Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation and was also Director of RAND's Washington, D.C. Office. Professor Hoffman also served as RAND's Vice President for External Affairs and as Acting Director of RAND's Center for Middle East Public Policy.Appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve as a commissioner on the Independent Commission to Review the FBI's Post-9/11 Response to Terrorism and Radicalization, Professor Hoffman was a lead author of the commission's final report. 

In our American quest for a more perfect union, we often mistake unity for sameness. We mistake unity for conformity. But the functional unity of a system—seems to actually require diversity, distinction, and difference.In this episode, Christy Vines (Founder/ CEO, Ideos Institute) reflects on the problem of division today; how we increasingly invest our identity in politics instead of faith or spirituality; humility and privilege; the definition of unity and the assumption of diversity in it; the centrality of empathy; and how to cultivate an empathic wisdom grounded in the life and witness of Christ.The Ideos Institute is currently sponsoring 31 days of Unity leading up to the 2024 election. Visit thereunionproject.us or ideosinstitute.org/31-days-of-unity to learn how to participate.About Christy VinesChristy Vines is the founder, President and CEO of Ideos Institute where she leads the organization's research on the burgeoning field of Empathic Intelligence and its application to the fields of conflict transformation, social cohesion, and social renewal.Prior to founding Ideos Institute, she was the Senior Vice President for Global Initiatives and Strategy at the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) where she served as the managing and coordinating lead for the development of strategic institutional partnerships and global initiatives in support of the IGE mission to encourage flourishing societies and stable states, and promote sustainable religious freedom, human rights and the rule of law globally. During her tenure at IGE she helped expand the organization's Center for Women, Faith & Leadership which supports, equips and convenes religious women peacemakers around the globe.Christy has held senior roles with the RAND Corporation, where she worked with the RAND Centers for Middle East Public Policy, Asia Pacific Public Policy, Global Risk and Security, and the Center for Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment, finally transitioning to interim project manager for the RAND African First Ladies Initiative (now located at the Bush Presidential Center). Christy also held the role of senior fellow at The American Security Project and served as an advisor to the Carter's Center's inaugural Forum on Women, Religion, Violence and Power.Christy is a published writer, speaker, and the executive producer of the 2022 documentary film, "Dialogue Lab: America," a moving take on the current state of division and polarization in the U.S. She has appeared on podcasts like Comment Magazine's “**Whole Person Revolution Podcast”, “**How Do We Fix It” and Bob Goff's “Dream Big Podcast”. She has published numerous articles and op-eds with news outlets and publications, including the **Washington Post, Christianity Today,** and Capital Commentary.Christy received her Master's Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She attended both Stanford University and the University of CA, Riverside where she received her B.A. in Sociology and Qualitative Analysis. She currently resides in Pasadena, CA.Show NotesHoward Thurman on Unity, Meditations of the Heart (Beacon Press: 1981), 120–121“Plotinus [205–270 CE] wrote, “If we are in unity with the Spirit, we are in unity with each other, and so we are all one.” (Plotinus, Enneads, VI.5.7.)Sign up for 31 Days of Unity https://www.ideosinstitute.org/31-days-of-unity(Re)Union Project and Ideos InstituteChristy Vines's experience with diversity and unity in her family: differences in faith, race, gender, sexuality, and religionHow Christy Vines came to faithThe problem of divisionHow neuroscience illuminates scripture and offers insight into empathic wisdom“There are so many ways to love God.” (David Dark)How we invest our identity in politics instead of religionMoral absolutism vs moral relativismAbdicating our faith identity for a political identityTechnology and relationships“Loving God differently”“In the cosmic Christ, you have all of the space you need for the kind of diversity in unity that you're talking about.”“It's the expectation that in order to work together, we really do have to look exactly the same, that we have to think the same things. That's the only way to collaborate. So until we can get past those of disagreements, there's just no way to work across the aisle. And that is disastrous to the concept of a democracy and the concept of the church.““There's so many ways to be an American. There's so many ways to be human.”Humility and privilege“There is something about desperation and need that brings, that illuminates God's beauty, majesty, and importance in such a powerful way that I think so many of us that are born into plenty will never experience until the other side of heaven.”The definition of unity: grounded in empathy“Unity is about finding ways to be the body of Christ with all of our diversity and difference and saying that with humility, Here is my perspective. Here's how I understand God. Here's how I live out my faith. Here's what that might mean culturally or politically and all of the other ways we express our faith. And to be unified means maybe we can all be moving in the same direction on different paths, coming at it from different directions, but recognizing we're all trying to reach the same goal. And that maybe in that shared experience, And that rubbing against one another is, our pastor used to say, heavenly sandpaper, refining one another. We may never be on the exact same path, But over time, you find that we get closer and closer together as we share our lives with one another and we influence each other from a position of trust and care. And that can only be done when we actually show up recognizing with humility that we can learn and benefit from others.”Empathy and how to build itEmpathic Intelligence Dr. Rosalind Arnold (University of Tasmania)Empathic intelligence (empathic wisdom) is the lived experience of JesusJesus's empathy“Most of the time we take our own understanding of Jesus and try to impose that on somebody without ever knowing their story.”“What is it like to be you?”“Why is this so hard to do?”Jesus and the woman at the wellAsking questions and listeningEmpathy is contagiousVulnerability, openness, and a space of relational trust(Re)Union Project for Churches—Building unity in the church across lines of differencethereunionproject.usideosinstitute.orgProduction NotesThis podcast featured Christy VinesEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, Kacie Barrett, and Zoë HalabanA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

Todd Wilcox has a fascinating career journey, truly living the American rags-to-riches story. Born in a low-income neighborhood in South Tampa with a single mother Todd grew up helping raise his siblings when a mentor changed his life. Convinced that education was his path out he earned an Army ROTC scholarship to the University of Tampa. Upon graduating, he went on to serve as a rifle platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm. Upon promotion to Captain, Todd volunteered to transfer to the US Army Special Forces branch, and after earning his Green Beret, he commanded a Special Forces A-team in counter-terrorism in East Asia. After 8 years of military service, he resigned to accept a position with the CIA to join the global war on terrorism. Todd left the CIA in 2006 to create Patriot Defense Group (PDG), a defense contracting company dedicated to serving those who defend America. Since then, Todd has started multiple other related businesses and has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal and through awards such as the Orlando Business Journal “Veterans of Influence” and the Ernst and Young "Entrepreneur of the Year."  Todd serves on the board of the National Defense University Foundation, the Rand Corporation Center for Middle East Public Policy and the Orlando Economic Partnership. He has a degree in Finance from the University of Tampa and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Presidents Program. Todd is also an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Show Notes:3:00 – Todd shares how to prepare as an entrepreneur for future threats and the importance of instilling resilience in yourself.  5:00 – Todd gives insight into the events that are happening in the Middle East and Ukraine. 9:00 – Bob asks Todd to share what he has learned throughout his career as he has accomplished a myriad of different disciplines. Todd shares his upbringing, beginning in Tampa. He opens up about the key learnings that he believes contributed to his future success.  15:00 – Todd touches on the culture shock that came with joining the army. He then talks about the biggest inflection point that he noticed moving from a young army officer to special forces and the challenges that accompanied these transitions. 23:00 – Hollywood vs. Reality– Todd touches on the differences he sees in his career in the agency as opposed to the way it is depicted in media that we consume. “It would be a really boring show if they showed you everything that actually went on.” 28:00—Todd discusses how much of Patriot Defense is working with the US government versus commercial services. Todd defines “open source intelligence” and “big data analytics.” “The amount of data that is publicly available is kind of scary.” 35:00 – Todd gives his advice as an intelligence officer to traveling business executives and young people looking to limit digital exhaust, those wanting to be more mindful of their data.  41:00 – The popular topic of TikTok is brought up as Todd discusses his thoughts on whether or not the app is tracking and collecting your data as you use the app. He shares that he doesn't know what the firewall is and doesn't trust it.  48:00 – Bob asks Todd to delve into his unique experiences. He shares how he took the leap to pursue hybrid training with multiple organizations.  53:00 – Entrepreneurship is growing rapidly. Todd shares his advice on where he believes young people who are wanting to pursure entrepreneurship should focus their time and energy on this journey. He believes that you should pursue a business in what you know best and are passionate about. “Do what you know best. Build your business around what you know.” 58:00 – Todd talks about what originally motivated him to pursue making a difference in politics in Washington DC. 1:03:00 – From his pursuit in politics, Todd shares the skills and insights he adopted from his experiences. He learned his limits and how to manage his time, energy, and focus.  1:07:00 – Bob asks Todd what words of encouragement or advice that he would give if he were in the position to give a State of the Union Address.

"The problem today that we didn't have during the Cold War or twenty years ago is that there's profound disagreement over what are the biggest threats to our national security." On the day the United States is scheduled to end its military presence in Afghanistan, two experts on counterterrorism — Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware— join Daniel for a special discussion. On the docket is a deep dive into many issues surrounding the exit. What could the US have done better, or differently? What could happen if ISIS-K and Al Qaeda vie for power in a Taliban-led society? Hoffman makes clear that in his opinion, the US should not be leaving. But what is the alternative? Support Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk. Professor Bruce Hoffman has been studying terrorism and insurgency for over four decades. He is a tenured professor in Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where from 2010 to 2017 he was the Director of both the Center for Security Studies and of the Security Studies Program. In addition, Professor Hoffman is visiting Professor of Terrorism Studies at St Andrews University, Scotland. He previously held the Corporate Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation and was also Director of RAND's Washington, D.C. Office. Professor Hoffman also served as RAND's Vice President for External Affairs and as Acting Director of RAND's Center for Middle East Public Policy. Appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve as a commissioner on the Independent Commission to Review the FBI's Post-9/11 Response to Terrorism and Radicalization, Professor Hoffman was a lead author of the commission's final report. He was Scholar-in-Residence for Counterterrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency between 2004 and 2006; an adviser on counterterrorism to the Office of National Security Affairs, Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad, Iraq in 2004, and from 2004-2005 an adviser on counterinsurgency to the Strategy, Plans, and Analysis Office at Multi-National Forces-Iraq Headquarters, Baghdad. Professor Hoffman was also an adviser to the Iraq Study Group. He has been a Distinguished Scholar, a Public Policy Scholar, a Senior Scholar, and a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.; a Senior Fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.; a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel; and, a Visiting Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a contributing editor to The National Interest and a member of the Jamestown Foundation's Board of Directors; a member of the board of advisers to the FBI Intelligence Analysts Association; and, serves on the advisory boards to the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists and of Our Voices Together: September 11 Friends and Families to Help Build a Safer, More Compassionate World. Professor Hoffman holds degrees in government, history, and international relations and received his doctorate from Oxford University. In November 1994, the Director of Central Intelligence awarded Professor Hoffman the United States Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, the highest level of commendation given to a non-government employee, which recognizes sustained superior performance of high value that distinctly benefits the interests and national security of the United States. Jacob Ware is a Research Associate in the Counterterrorism and Studies Program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This time our guest is Dr. Theodore Karasik and we will be speaking about geostrategic power rivalries in the Middle East and Africa. In this series of interviews with Dr. Stephen Blank, our guest is Dr. Theodore Karasik. Our discussion will turn to Africa, where we will discuss geostrategic power rivalries in the Middle East and Africa, for influence and access to energy, military bases, trade and strategic positioning. Dr. Theodore KARASIK is currently a Fellow, Russia and Middle East Affairs at the Jamestown Foundation and a Senior Advisor to Gulf State Analytics. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Lexington Institute, all located in Washington, D.C. He is the co-author of “Russia in the Middle East” published in 2018. For the past 35 years, Karasik worked for a number of US agencies involved in researching and analyzing defense acquisition, the use of military power, and religio-political issues across MENA and Eurasia including the evolution of violent extremism and financing networks. Dr. Karasik lived in Dubai, UAE from 2006 until 2016 where he worked on Arabian Peninsula foreign policy and security issues surrounding cultural awareness, cybersecurity, maritime security, counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, and infrastructure and national resilience. Dr. Karasik worked for a number of UAE ministries and think-tanks covering regional and homeland security issues. Dr. Karasik was an Adjunct Lecturer at the Dubai School of Government where he taught graduate level international relations and also an Adjunct Lecturer at University Wollongong Dubai where he taught labor and migration. Karasik was a Senior Political Scientist in the International Policy and Security Group at RAND Corporation. From 2002-2003, he served as Director of Research for the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy. He is a specialist in geopolitics and geo-economics for the MENA and Eurasia regions and frequently conducts studies and assessments of future security trajectories and military requirements in addition to cultural awareness issues surrounding traditionalism and tribalism in policymaking. Dr. Karasik received his Ph.D in History from the University of California, Los Angeles in four fields: Russia, Middle East, Caucasus and an outside field in cultural anthropology focusing on tribes and clans from Central Asia to East Africa. He wrote his dissertation on military and humanitarian operations in the northern port city of Arkhangel'sk and their impact on political institutions during the Russian civil war. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mediterranean-sustainable/message

Dalia Dassa Kaye, RAND senior political scientist and Wilson Center Fellow; Linda Robinson, Director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy; and Jeffrey Martini, RAND Senior Middle East researcher, discuss their recent RAND report, ‘Reimaging US strategy in the Middle East, including a new approach to assess US partnerships in the region; how Iran can be ‘right sized’ in US strategy; the increasing importance of Iraq as a regional partner for the United States; why the US should still win the battle for influence relative to Russia and China in the Middle East; and how US policy tools can be recast to reach out to the region’s next generation.

It’s been a tense few weeks in US-Iran relations with hostilities for a time seeming to spiral beyond control following the US strike against Iranian general Qassim Suleimani. So, many heaved a sigh of relief when Iran’s retaliation, which came in the form of a missile strike on two military bases in Iraq, resulted in no casualties. They then heaved a second sigh following the strike as leaders in both the US and Iran seemed to signal a desire to deescalate the crisis. But after all that, is this really where the story ends? In this edition of KCBS In Depth, after this series of attacks and counter attacks, we check in with two Iran watchers to find out what happens next in this simmering feud between the US and Iran. Then, so long as we have our attention on international affairs, we check in with KCBS Radio's resident crisis watcher, Jason Brooks, to hear from him what other global hot spots may boil over in the year ahead. Guests:  Abbas Milani, the director of Iranian studies at Stanford University and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution Dalia Dassa Kaye, the director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation Jason Brooks, KCBS Radio business reporter and the host of The Crisis Next Door podcast Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi   

Dr Dalia Dassa Kaye director for the Center for Middle East Public Policy and Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. Iran vows 'Forceful Revenge' after U.S. Kills Gernal. Steve Gregory talks about what to expect at CES 2020. Dean Solomon talks about the U.S. Recession in 2020. Kris Ankarlo talks about SoCal Firefighters heading to Australia to help out.

Daniel Byman is a Professor and Senior Associate Dean at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Byman has served as a Professional Staff Member with both the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States (“The 9-11 Commission”) and the Joint 9/11 Inquiry Staff of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. He has also worked as the Research Director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation and as an analyst of the Middle East for the U.S. intelligence community. Dr. Byman has written widely on a range of topics related to terrorism, international security, and the Middle East. His publications have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, International Security, and numerous other scholarly, policy, and popular journalsHis books include Deadly Connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism (Cambridge 2005) and A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2011). His latest book is Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Global Jihadist Movement: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford, 2015). Dr. Byman received his BA in religion from Amherst College and his Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research that influenced Daniel's career Fouad Ajami (1986) The Vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon Bruce Hoffman (1998) Inside Terrorism Alan Cullinson (2004) Inside Al Qaeda's Hard Drive Some of Daniel's key research A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism (2013) Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Global Jiahdist Movement (2015) Deadly Connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism (2005)

Dr. Shira Efron, special adviser on Israel at the RAND Corporation's Center for Middle East Public Policy, joins hosts Eli Kowaz and Evan Gottesman to discuss the festering humanitarian crisis in Gaza, touching on major issues in the Strip's public health, governance, and relations with Israel.Support the show (http://support.israelpolicyforum.org/donate)

There seem to be fewer and fewer opportunities to build relationships between adversarial governments in the Middle East region. Even the faint promise that briefly flared during the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program has faded. Today, the Middle East has fewer communications channels and institutional forums than any other region in the world. Dalia Dassa Kaye and David Griffiths debate some of the incremental possibilities to begin constructing (or reconstructing) the region’s security architecture. If expectations are kept low and governments are willing to improvise, these researchers suggest there are prospects to establish rudimentary security architecture. Griffiths argues that sailors can find common ground on technical matters like incidents at sea and search and rescue, which can provide the basis of some security cooperation. Dassa Kaye suggests that new initiatives can come out of difficult period like the present. Can technical agreements over sea lanes, nuclear waste, or disputed boundaries ever translate into the type of political process necessary to effectively manage conflict, or resolve it? Read Dalia Dassa Kaye’s “Can It Happen Here? Prospects for Regional Security Cooperation in the Middle East,” David N. Griffiths’ “Oceans of Opportunity: Maritime Dimensions of Security in the Arab World,” and Thanassis Cambanis’ “The Israel-Hezbollah Channel: UNIFIL’s Effective but Limited Conflict-Management Mechanism.” These reports are part of the TCF project “Order from Ashes: New Foundations for Security in the Middle East.” Participants include: Dalia Dassa Kaye, director, Center for Middle East Public Policy, the RAND Corporation David N. Griffiths, independent researcher and former Canadian naval officer Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation

In this Congressional Briefing held on June 8, 2009, Ambassador David Aaron, director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, moderates a discussion on Iran, one of the United States’ most critical and high-profile foreign policy concerns.