What’s Your Favorite Foreign Policy Podcast

What constitutes a great foreign policy podcast? Must it exclusively address diplomacy or security? What about the key role that international development plays in the foreign policy of many nations? And, surely, no one would dispute the importance of climate change as a policy issue that must be dealt with both nationally and globally. For those with eager ears for deep, eyes-wide-open dives into thorny, complex issues, we created this list of some of our favorite foreign policy podcasts.

Background Briefing with Ian Masters is less a podcast and more a traditional radio program formatted for mobile. Striving to do no less than "inform citizens and restore civic engagement," host Ian Masters engages with scholars, think-tankers, and fellow journalists to discuss three or four news topics on each daily, one-hour show. Segments are split into smaller pods, too.

Big World, the School of International Service entry to this list, is a broad-based, long-running look at "something in the world that truly matters." Each month, scholars discuss everything from labor unions to climate activism and from disinformation to Rohingya refugees. Popular past episodes look at the January 6 Capitol Riot, civilian control of the military, and the overturning of Roe v Wade.

Brussel Sprouts emerges from CNAS, the Center for a New American Security, and offers "small bites on Transatlantic security, NATO, the EU, Russia, and all things Europe." Go deep with hosts Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on perspectives less understood on this side of the Atlantic, including the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and Germany's posture toward China. It also wins for best name.

Extra Innings is, as its name suggests, an add-on to another podcast, The Ballpark. From the Phelan US Centre at the London School of Economics, Extra Innings is a deeper dive into a single topic with a scholar or think-tanker. From US-China competition to Rust Belt unions, Extra Innings is a look at foreign policy from the perspective of those for whom the US is a foreign power, i.e., most of the world.

The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, or HERO, focuses on women and global economic development. Produced by Foreign Policy and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University, HERO focuses on stories of women creating positive change across the Global South. Far from the typical, Western #girlboss stories, these women are, for example, innovating in the Nigerian shea butter business to allow women to earn more rather than languishing under the thumb of middlemen at the bottom of the power structure. Host Reena Ninan is your guide to it all.

Ones and Tooze is built on a deceptively simple conceit: take one data point from the news and then let Foreign Policy economics columnist Adam Tooze add another data point from anywhere. See where the conversation goes. Wash, rinse, repeat. It works for interesting episodes on everything from the US deficit to Ozempic.

The President's Inbox, a podcast from the Center on Foreign Relations, is a veritable grab-bag of globally important topics ranging from the challenges facing adolescent girls to up-to-the-minute analysis of US military strikes in the Middle East. Along the way, you also get deep dives into subjects like the history of the Cold War. Host James M. Lindsay is your unflappable guide to it all.

War on the Rocks is a long-running pod from the eponymous security blog. Produced by the Texas National Security Review, it's the most military-focused selection on this list. Starting with the Ride of the Valkyries as its intro music, the vibe is decidedly martial. Expect to go deep on military strategy. Host Ryan Evans gets great guests who are prepared to speak fairly openly about weaponry, logistics, and troops.