Foreign Policy Live

How can history help make sense of U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Greg Grandin shares how Trump’s imperialist impulses may be inspired by the country’s Founding Fathers, and that he “rummages around the trash bag of history to find what’s useful at any given moment.” Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the recent U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies. Keith Johnson: Will Trump’s Russia Oil Sanctions Finally Sway Putin? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/23/trump-russia-new-energy-sanctions-ukraine-war-putin/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtcnVzc2lhLW5ldy1lbmVyZ3ktc2FuY3Rpb25zLXVrcmFpbmUtd2FyLXB1dGlu&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Greg Grandin: America, América: A New History of the New World [https://www.amazon.com/America-Am%C3%A9rica-New-History-World/dp/059383125X] Ravi Agrawal: Why Trump Is a ‘Scarcity President’ [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/22/america-trump-scarcity-president-greg-grandin-interview/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=YW1lcmljYS10cnVtcC1zY2FyY2l0eS1wcmVzaWRlbnQtZ3JlZy1ncmFuZGluLWludGVydmlldw==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Syrus Solo Jin: With Territory Comes Torment [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/08/trump-united-states-territory-history-colony-greenland-panama-philippines/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtdW5pdGVkLXN0YXRlcy10ZXJyaXRvcnktaGlzdG9yeS1jb2xvbnktZ3JlZW5sYW5kLXBhbmFtYS1waGlsaXBwaW5lcw==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Stephen M. Walt: Donald Trump Will Never Be a Restrainer [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/30/donald-trump-foreign-policy-restrainer-realist-war-defense-diplomacy/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=ZG9uYWxkLXRydW1wLWZvcmVpZ24tcG9saWN5LXJlc3RyYWluZXItcmVhbGlzdC13YXItZGVmZW5zZS1kaXBsb21hY3k=&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

With the cease-fire more than a week old, Palestinians now turn to what comes next: rebuilding and governing. Former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization Diana Buttu sits down with Ravi Agrawal to share her perspective. Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the Trump administration’s moves on Venezuela.  Diana Buttu: A ‘magic pill’ made Israeli violence invisible. We need to stop swallowing it. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/oct/05/gaza-palestine-israel-trump-peace-plan] Omar H. Rahman: Can Palestinians Trust Donald Trump? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/gaza-cease-fire-deal-palestinians-trust-donald-trump/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=Z2F6YS1jZWFzZS1maXJlLWRlYWwtcGFsZXN0aW5pYW5zLXRydXN0LWRvbmFsZC10cnVtcA==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Daniel Byman: One Question Looming Over the Gaza Deal: Why Now? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/09/israel-hamas-trump-ceasefire-ceasefire-hostages-prisoners/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXNyYWVsLWhhbWFzLXRydW1wLWNlYXNlZmlyZS1jZWFzZWZpcmUtaG9zdGFnZXMtcHJpc29uZXJz&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Michael J. Koplow: Three Reckonings the Gaza Deal Will Force [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/13/israel-gaza-trump-hamas-peace-democracy-ceasefire/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXNyYWVsLWdhemEtdHJ1bXAtaGFtYXMtcGVhY2UtZGVtb2NyYWN5LWNlYXNlZmlyZQ==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Christopher Sabatini: Will Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize Winner Stick With Trump? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/15/venezuela-machado-nobel-peace-prize-trump/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dmVuZXp1ZWxhLW1hY2hhZG8tbm9iZWwtcGVhY2UtcHJpemUtdHJ1bXA=&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Geoff Ramsey: What’s the U.S. Endgame in Venezuela? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/16/venezuela-us-boat-strikes-trump-maduro-machado-nobel/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dmVuZXp1ZWxhLXVzLWJvYXQtc3RyaWtlcy10cnVtcC1tYWR1cm8tbWFjaGFkby1ub2JlbA==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

43 percent of voters under 30 supported U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, a 7 percent jump in support from both the 2016 and 2020 elections. What’s underpinning this rightward shift among young voters? Conservative commentator and journalist Emily Jashinsky shares her take. Plus, Ravi’s One Thing on the Israel-Hamas deal over hostages and an end to hostilities. Megan DuBois: The Shape-Shifting MAGA Hat [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/25/trump-maga-hat-musk-republican-party/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtbWFnYS1oYXQtbXVzay1yZXB1YmxpY2FuLXBhcnR5&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Adrian Karatnycky: An Emerging Trump Doctrine? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/03/trump-doctrine-iran-israel-russia-ukraine-war/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtZG9jdHJpbmUtaXJhbi1pc3JhZWwtcnVzc2lhLXVrcmFpbmUtd2Fy&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Emma Ashford: Four Explanatory Models for Trump’s Chaos [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/24/trump-100-days-chaos-explanatory-models-foreign-policy/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtMTAwLWRheXMtY2hhb3MtZXhwbGFuYXRvcnktbW9kZWxzLWZvcmVpZ24tcG9saWN5&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Emma Ashford: If Trump Is Neither Hawk nor Dove, What Is He? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/14/trump-andrew-jackson-jacksonianism-hawk-dove/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtYW5kcmV3LWphY2tzb24tamFja3NvbmlhbmlzbS1oYXdrLWRvdmU=&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Howard W. French: Trump Is Ushering in the Era of the Strongman [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/18/trump-strongman-latin-america-venezuela/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtc3Ryb25nbWFuLWxhdGluLWFtZXJpY2EtdmVuZXp1ZWxh&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Stephen M. Walt: How Assassinations Became Normal Again [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/18/assassination-political-violence-charlie-kirk-normal/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=YXNzYXNzaW5hdGlvbi1wb2xpdGljYWwtdmlvbGVuY2UtY2hhcmxpZS1raXJrLW5vcm1hbA==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Julian E. Zelizer: Why Don’t Younger Americans Vote? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/16/younger-americans-vote-26th-amendment/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=eW91bmdlci1hbWVyaWNhbnMtdm90ZS0yNnRoLWFtZW5kbWVudA==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Tuesday marks two years since Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, Israel has decimated Gaza in what many independent organizations are calling a genocide and attacked several countries in the region. How have all of these events impacted the world? FP columnist Stephen M. Walt sits down with Ravi Agrawal to share his take. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy [https://www.amazon.com/Israel-Lobby-U-S-Foreign-Policy/dp/0374531501] Stephen M. Walt: Meet the New Middle East, Same as the Old Middle East [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/07/new-middle-east-israel-palestine-saudi-iran-lebanon/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=bmV3LW1pZGRsZS1lYXN0LWlzcmFlbC1wYWxlc3RpbmUtc2F1ZGktaXJhbi1sZWJhbm9u&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Steven A. Cook: The Delusions Driving U.S. Policy in the Middle East [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/15/delusions-driving-american-policy-middle-east/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=ZGVsdXNpb25zLWRyaXZpbmctYW1lcmljYW4tcG9saWN5LW1pZGRsZS1lYXN0&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Pankaj Mishra: How Gaza Shattered the West’s Mythology [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/07/pankaj-mishra-world-after-gaza-book-israel-war-global-order-history/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=cGFua2FqLW1pc2hyYS13b3JsZC1hZnRlci1nYXphLWJvb2staXNyYWVsLXdhci1nbG9iYWwtb3JkZXItaGlzdG9yeQ==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Emma Ashford: What Was the Tipping Point on Gaza? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/11/gaza-tipping-point-israel-trump/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=Z2F6YS10aXBwaW5nLXBvaW50LWlzcmFlbC10cnVtcA==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] John Haltiwanger: Why Israel’s War in Gaza Has Been So Deadly for Journalists [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/29/israel-gaza-war-deadly-journalists/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXNyYWVsLWdhemEtd2FyLWRlYWRseS1qb3VybmFsaXN0cw==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

With increased polarization and ongoing budgetary disputes, the U.S. government does not seem to be acting in the way that the American forefathers intended. Host Ravi Agrawal brings on historian Jill Lepore to share more. Lepore is a professor at Harvard University and the author of We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution [https://www.amazon.com/We-People-History-U-S-Constitution/dp/1631496085/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PCB6D1M2FIJ4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wSon4PPT8l3cHFh0YKGst-vnWIjoSaIEsb0s66IN6NJvAKi48NsVCi1_E6q1tGyivsu2ysuCu0EpmaIdV6-nkmOeqPQDrcy9KrmbtshpurO79mCvhARKx7GA1JoF4EsXtUe8b_-oJp2yCaT-XXSUgkoI4hpSECIt2oHdtfuamUKhpIBTqOap_fSAbbPA_Wmtgmt1305JSTSmKl8WCMSQU2x3QLqmSnvErEmIUnwheyw.LCh8OVCmbOPDMwI6emsC7Q-Sq5xPyuuz_e32QsMvD24&dib_tag=se&keywords=Jill+Lepore+we+the+people&qid=1759428403&s=books&sprefix=jill+lepore+we+the+people%2Cstripbooks%2C49&sr=1-1]. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on the U.S. government shutdown. Rishi Iyengar: How a U.S. Government Shutdown Could Impact Washington’s Foreign Policy [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/01/government-shutdown-pentagon-defense-state-impact-implications/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=Z292ZXJubWVudC1zaHV0ZG93bi1wZW50YWdvbi1kZWZlbnNlLXN0YXRlLWltcGFjdC1pbXBsaWNhdGlvbnM=&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] John Haltiwanger: Why America’s ‘Unusual’ Democracy Leads to Shutdown [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/01/why-america-government-shutdowns-other-countries-trump/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=d2h5LWFtZXJpY2EtZ292ZXJubWVudC1zaHV0ZG93bnMtb3RoZXItY291bnRyaWVzLXRydW1w&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Andrew O’Donohue: The U.S. Judicial Crisis Is Uniquely Dangerous [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/26/trump-judiciary-courts-constitutional-crisis-executive/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtanVkaWNpYXJ5LWNvdXJ0cy1jb25zdGl0dXRpb25hbC1jcmlzaXMtZXhlY3V0aXZl&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Stan Veuger: Americans Need to Acknowledge Their Unwritten Constitution [https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/05/06/us-constitution-supreme-court-nobility-clause-politics/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dXMtY29uc3RpdHV0aW9uLXN1cHJlbWUtY291cnQtbm9iaWxpdHktY2xhdXNlLXBvbGl0aWNz&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]