Donald Trump's foreign policy team is taking shape. So for today's episiode, I wanted to give listeners a deeper understanding of some of the key players that will shape US foreign policy in the years to come.

My guest is Josh Keating, a senior reporter at Vox and a veteran of DC foreign policy reporting. We go through a list of key foreign policy figures in the incomming administration, discuss the distinct foreign policy traditions and personal experiences that have informed their worldviews, and explain what baggage or, perhaps more charitably, perspectives they will bring to their new roles. We then discuss how key decisions on Ukraine may determine what faction of Republican foreign policy ideology may have the upper hand in Trump's second administration.

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A new year. A new United Nations. In this 2025 debut episode of To Save Us From Hell, Fordham University professor Anjali Dayal and I discuss what to expect in the year ahead at the United Nations. We cover a lot of ground—from the new composition of the UN Security Council to China’s new status as a major funder of the UN system, the chaos Trump is likely to bring, and much, much more.

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The CWC is a clear example of a treaty that works. Since its adoption, all declared chemical weapon stockpiles have been destroyed, including those of the United States last year. Its broad acceptance has also reinforced international norms against chemical weapons use. When such weapons were deployed in Syria in 2013, the atrocity prompted Russia and the United States to pressure the Assad regime to join the CWC and allow investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to oversee the destruction of Syria’s remaining stockpile. This effort earned the OPCW the Nobel Peace Prize that same year.

The CWC is fulfilling its purpose. Joining me to discuss how the treaty was created, its success in shaping state behavior, and what lies ahead now that all declared stockpiles have been eliminated is Paul Walker. He is the chair of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition, vice chair of the Arms Control Association, and a former weapons inspector. We begin with the history of efforts to ban chemical weapons before exploring how the CWC has transformed the global approach to these weapons of mass destruction.

This episode is produced in partnership with Lex International, a philanthropic fund dedicated to strengthening international law to address global challenges. It is part of a series showcasing how treaties make the world a safer place. To access the transcript of this episode and others in the series, visit GlobalDispatches.org