The Truth of the Matter

Feb 06 2025 321 ep. 25 mins 11.2k
The Truth of the Matter Podcast artwork

A weekly analysis of the complex policy issues driving the news.

  Government  Business
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What's Happening to USAID?

Feb 06 2025 24 mins  
Noam Unger, director of the CSIS Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative, joins the podcast to discuss the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and potential geopolitical or national security impacts that could follow.

Tariff Leverage

Feb 05 2025 23 mins  
CSIS’s economics program director Philip Luck joins the podcast to talk about the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, and how those nations may respond.

Don’t Brush Off Bird Flu

Jan 30 2025 18 mins  
Michaela Simoneau, associate fellow for global health security at CSIS, joins the podcast to discuss the recent outbreak of bird flu in the United States, the red flags that researchers watch for to determine whether a disease could become a pandemic, and the tools available to stop the spread of the virus.

DeepSeek Deep Dive

Jan 29 2025 29 mins  
In this crossover episode with AI Policy Podcast, Andrew and Greg discuss the origins of Chinese AI Company DeepSeek (0:55), the release of its DeepSeek R1 model and what it means for the future of U.S.- China AI competition (3:05), why it prompted such a massive reaction by U.S. policymakers and the U.S. stock market (14:04), and the Trump administration's response (24:03).

Africa Policy in the Second Trump Administration

Jan 27 2025 20 mins  
Catherine Nzuki, associate fellow in the CSIS Africa Program, joins the podcast to discuss the impact of new policies—like U.S. withdrawals from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement—on Africa, how African nations can use great power competition between the United States and China to their advantage, and her new CSIS podcast, The Afropolitan. Please list

A Rising Barometer for 2025

Jan 22 2025 19 mins  
Paul B. Stares, General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins the podcast to discuss the results of CFR’s 2025 Preventive Priorities Survey, which predicts more serious and more likely conflict contingencies than any other survey in its 17-year history.

Executive Order on AI and Energy Infrastructure - Emergency Podcast 2.0

Jan 14 2025 22 mins  
In this special crossover episode with the AI Policy Podcast, Andrew, Greg, and CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program Director Joseph Majkut discuss the Biden administration's Executive Order on Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure. They consider the motivation for this measure and its primary goals (1:07), its reception among AI an

AI Diffusion Framework - Emergency Podcast

Jan 13 2025 28 mins  
In this crossover episode with the AI Policy Podcast, we break down the release of the Biden administration's Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion. We discuss the rationale for this latest control (0:52), and its reception among major AI and semiconductor firms (8:14), U.S. allies (17:15), and the incoming administration (19:48).

Trudeau’s Dramatic Resignation

Jan 10 2025 23 mins  
Vincent Rigby, former national security and intelligence adviser to Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and non-resident senior adviser in the CSIS Americas Program, joins the podcast to discuss Trudeau’s announcement of his resignation, why it happened, and what comes next for Canada.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi on bipartisan efforts to counter China

Dec 20 2024 16 mins  
This podcast episode of The Truth of the Matter features Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The discussion covers bipartisan efforts to address U.S.-China competition in technology, economics, and national security, including TikTok's legal challen