Alternate Shots with Richard Haass and John Ellis
The idea of the podcast is this: We talk about “three things” that are interesting, important or both. The third thing will be about something from the world of sports.
Richard is a veteran diplomat (he served in the Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush administrations). He was president of the Council on Foreign Relations for two decades (he’s now president emeritus). He’s a Senior Counselor at Center|View Partners, a prominent New York City-based investment banking firm. He also distributes a weekly newsletter — Home and Away — on Friday mornings. Home and Away addresses matters domestic and foreign.
John is the founder and editor of News Items, a daily newsletter that covers global politics, financial news, advanced technologies and science. He has been in and around the news business for virtually all of his adult life, working for NBC News (as a political analyst), The Boston Globe (as a columnist), CNBC, Fox News, and Newscorp. In 2016, he launched News Items as a morning brief for executives and editors at Fox and Newscorp. In 2018, News Items became The Wall Street Journal CEO Council's morning newsletter. He restarted News Items as an independent newsletter in August of 2019.
Alternate Shots with Richard Haass and John Ellis
From Munich to Machine Learning: Episode 17
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In this episode of Alternate Shots, John Ellis and Richard Haass begin with the recent Munich Security Conference. A focus is Marco Rubio's speech, which was praised by some but did little to reassure on Ukraine or on US support for a democratic Europe.
The conversation shifts to Asia, where Japan is undergoing a historic transformation in its national security posture, strengthening its defense and moving closer to Taiwan, much to China's dismay. Meanwhile, in North Korea, internal dynamics are drawing attention, particularly the emerging public profile of Kim Jong Un's daughter, which may signal new uncertainties over succession.
Ellis and Haass also explore the impact of AI on the economy. AI is reshaping -- sooner than anticipated -- how companies operate, threatening traditional software models while opening new possibilities for efficiency and innovation, leading among other things to short-selling of software companies.
As always, the episode concludes with the sports world: the remarkable comeback of golfer Anthony Kim, Collin Morikawa's victory at the AT&T, and the big news from the Olympics: the condom shortage in the host village.
Hosted by John Ellis and Richard Haass