Centennial Speaker Series

Nine Questions for the World

This series, which commemorates CFR's centennial, will feature some of today's biggest thinkers including Margaret MacMillan, Anne Applebaum, Nicholas Stern, Minouche Shafik, Nicholas Eberstadt, Michelle McMurry-Heath, Elizabeth Perry, and Fei-Fei Li.

CFR President Richard Haass will lead conversations on the future of democracy, globalization, climate change, and other issues that will define the century.The series also aired as a podcast called Nine Questions for the World.

 
Presider
Richard N. Haass
President, Council on Foreign Relations; Author, The World: A Brief Introduction

Past Events

Centennial Speaker Series Session 1: What Are the Lessons of History for Our Era?
Margaret MacMillan
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 2: Can Democracy Survive?
Anne E. Applebaum
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 3: Will Climate Change Us Before We Change It?
Nicholas Stern
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 4: Balancing the Role of Government and Markets
Minouche Shafik
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 5: Comparative Demographic Trends & Their Implications
Nicholas Eberstadt
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 6: What Are the Potential Benefits and Risks of Biotechnology?
Michelle T. McMurry-Heath
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 7: Will the 21st Century be China's?
Elizabeth J. Perry
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 8: Will Technology Save Us or Threaten Us?
Fei-Fei Li
Richard Haass
Play
Centennial Speaker Series Session 9: The Future of World Order
Richard Haass
Fareed Zakaria
Play

Americas

U.S. Detention of Child Migrants
Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border each year, sparking debate over how to respond. How is the Joe Biden administration handling it?

Backgrounder by Amelia Cheatham and Diana Roy March 27, 2023 Renewing America

United Nations

Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?
Many UN agencies, programs, and missions receive crucial funding from the United States. The Trump administration sharply reduced funding to some UN agencies, but President Biden has largely reversed those cuts.

Article by CFR.org Editors March 13, 2023

Refugees and Displaced Persons

How Does the U.S. Refugee System Work?
The United States has long been a safe haven for refugees from around the world. President Biden is working to expand the country’s resettlement program after the Trump administration made sharp cuts.

Backgrounder by Claire Klobucista, James McBride and Diana Roy February 15, 2023 Renewing America

Top Stories on CFR

Immigration and Migration

U.S. Immigration Policy, With Edward Alden

Podcast
Edward Alden, the Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at CFR and Ross Dist Visiting Professor at Western Washington University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the crisis at the U.S. southern border and the domestic debates over U.S. immigration policy.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay, Edward Alden, Ester Fang and Gabrielle Sierra March 21, 2023 The President’s Inbox

Peru

How Peru’s Crisis Could Send Shockwaves Through the Region
The mass protests that have rocked Peru since December threaten to upend regional supply chains, intensify migration flows, and strain Lima’s bilateral relations.  

In Brief by Will Freeman and Ariana Rios March 22, 2023

Iraq

Twenty Years After the War to Oust Saddam, Iraq Is a Shaky Democracy
On the two-decade anniversary of the U.S. invasion, Iraq is weakly governed, leaving it prone to instability and meddling by neighbors—especially Iran.

Article by Steven A. Cook March 17, 2023