Fareed Zakaria GPS

Today on the show, Trump cut short military drills between the US and South Korea this week, saying that they sent the wrong signal to the "unthreatening and respectful" North Korea. Fareed asks former NSA official and scholar Victor Cha if Trump is throwing over one longtime US ally to court a rogue state...again?

Then, China spends a fraction of what the US does on data centers and lacks the most advanced AI chips. Why, then, does its AI industry appear to be catching up, and rivaling Silicon Valley? Fareed discusses with Evan Osnos, staff writer at the New Yorker.

Later, Fareed speaks to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe about this summer of record heat and raging wildfires in many parts of the world, and climate change’s role in all of it.

Finally, the V-Dem Institute’s latest Democracy Report has downgraded the US from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy. Why is American democracy in decline? Fareed asks Nobel Prize winning economist Daron Acemoglu.

GUESTS: Victor Cha (@VictorDCha); Evan Osnos (@eosnos); Katharine Hayhoe (@KHayhoe); Daron Acemoglu (@DAcemogluMIT)
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Today on the show, President Trump's plane switch after last month's NATO summit was said to be in response to an assassination threat from Iran. It begs the question: How credible are Iran's threats against the president and, more broadly, against the United States? Fareed asks David Sanger of the New York Times.

Then, it’s been five years since the US’ tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Fareed talks to Jason Kander, a veteran of America’s war there, about what has happened to the thousands of Afghan allies who aided American forces during the war but are now trapped in the country under Taliban rule.

Later, Fareed speaks with Asutosh Padhi, a senior partner at McKinsey about why despite the hype, AI has yet to dramatically reshape the way many businesses operate, or deliver meaningful returns.

Finally, worries of mass layoffs thanks to AI haven’t materialized yet, but what happens if those fears become reality? Fareed asks former US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

GUESTS: David Sanger (@SangerNYT), Jason Kander (@JasonKander), Asutosh Padhi, Gina Raimondo (@GinaRaimondo)

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When a Russian-born American citizen named Ilya Beloozerov is gunned down by the FBI in 2024, the authorities refuse to say why they’d killed him. CNN’s Isabelle Chapman embarks on a sprawling investigation that takes her from the Mississippi parking lot where he died to Washington, D.C. to unravel the mystery: Why did Ilya abruptly leave his family and his job and head for the border with laptops and cash? Why is there still no official explanation of his death? And maybe most importantly: Was Ilya a spy?
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Today on the show, after the destabilizing Iran war and a new NATO-style defense alliance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, is the Gulf moving toward a new, post-American order? Fareed speaks with Tarek Masoud, director of the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Danny Citrinowicz, former head of the Iran branch of Israel’s military intelligence.

Then, Russia's war in Ukraine is increasingly being fought in the skies. Russia bombarded Kyiv this week with ballistic missiles and Ukraine has recently successfully struck targets deep in Russian territory. Fareed discusses with Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of US Army Europe.

Finally, last week, more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco arrived on the shores of Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa. It appeared to be a coordinated event. So who was behind it? Fareed talks to Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic.

GUESTS: Tarek Masoud, Danny Citrinowicz (@citrinowicz), Ben Hodges (@general_ben), Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum)
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Today on the show, the Iran war seems to be caught between sudden outbursts of fighting and fragile pauses for diplomacy. How are Iranians responding? Fareed asks Abdi Latif Dahir of The New York Times, who just spent 10 days in Iran after he was granted rare access to report on last month’s funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Then, despite a June memorandum on hostilities, the US and Iran remain locked in a tit-for-tat conflict. Does Iran want a deal? Fareed speaks with Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House.

Later, Black fourth-graders in Mississippi now score higher in reading, on average, than those in Massachusetts. For a state with historically weak educational rankings, how did they make such remarkable progress? Fareed talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof.

Finally, when Theo Baker enrolled at Stanford University he was passionate about coding and excited to be in Silicon Valley. But over time, he grew troubled by what he saw as the influence of big tech over the university. He has written a new book about this and more, called “How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University.”

GUESTS: Abdi Latif Dahir (@Lattif); Sanam Vakil (@SanamVakil); Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof); Theo Baker (@tab_delete)

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