A Charlie Rose Global Conversation

Remembering Alan Greenspan | A Charlie Rose Global Conversation 22.06.2026 55Min.

Alan Greenspan, a powerful voice in shaping the American economy as Chairman of the Federal Reserve for 20 years, died today. He was 100.Greenspan was a champion of capitalism, markets, and managing interest rates to fight inflation. His critics argued he did not do enough in regulating the new financial instruments that were responsible for the financial crisis.Greenspan, along with his wife, the respected NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, was a well-known mover and shaker in the Washington social establishment. In his earlier life, Greenspan was an intellectual companion of the writer Ayn Rand and, throughout his life, reflected a fierce curiosity about economic theories and political policy.It is an interesting moment to consider the career of Alan Greenspan as a new Fed Chairman, Kevin Warsh, takes office and President Trump often expresses his combative position in favor of lower interest rates.Here is a conversation from 2007 about his then newly published autobiography, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World.

David Petraeus on Ukraine, Iran, China - and the Next Global Conflict 06.06.2026 56Min.

General David Petraeus is a soldier-scholar of extraordinary talent: a 4-star Army general, battlefield commander, West Point graduate, PhD from Princeton, author of books on warfare, creator of counterinsurgency strategies, and architect of the surge in Iraq. He was famous for building relationships with local populations in war zones.After service in Iraq and Afghanistan, Petraeus became Director of the CIA. He has held academic appointments at six universities.He is now an executive with the financial firm KKR.In 2023, Petraeus co-authored with historian Andrew Roberts Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza.It is a moment to consider a changing world as wars in Iran and Ukraine continue, the two most powerful leaders in the world met in May in Beijing, and ongoing tension in different nations remains over cost-of-living issues.We will talk of many things, including the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the competition between China and the United States, the threat of Russia to Europe, the ambition of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu, changes in how wars are engaged, the impact of technology including artificial intelligence, and always the global economy and the cost of living. We will ask about qualities of leadership and the lessons of our time.

The Rise of China and America's Response With Evan Osnos 05.06.2026 1Std. 5Min.

Evan Osnos won the prestigious National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2014 for his book Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China. The rise of China has been a focus of his reporting career, along with American politics and the impact of our wealthiest individuals.Osnos graduated from Harvard and, since 2008, has been a staff writer for The New Yorker. Previously, he was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering the Middle East.He worked in China for both The New Yorker and the Chicago Tribune and witnessed the country’s economic growth within the tight political control of the Communist Party. His subject was often the people impacted by the transformation.Evan Osnos has written several books that reflect his reporting. They are:• The Haves and the Have-Yachts • Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury • Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now • Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China Evan Osnos was in Shanghai and Beijing for the summit meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.

David Ignatius on Trump, Iran, China, Russia, and the Thing That Worries Him Most 03.06.2026 1Std. 19Min.

A Charlie Rose Global Conversation.David Ignatius is the internationally admired foreign affairs columnist and associate editor at The Washington Post.He joined the paper in 1986, later served as foreign editor, and has written his twice-weekly column since 1998.From 2000 to 2003, he was executive editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris.Earlier in his career, he was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, covering the State Department, the Justice Department, the CIA, and the Middle East.He is the author of twelve spy novels, including Body of Lies, which was adapted into a feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.Born into a family shaped by public service, educated at Harvard and King's College, Cambridge, and based in Washington for much of his professional life, he has had a front-row seat to America's actions around the world.He is frequently on a plane, traveling to observe events firsthand, meet personally with newsmakers, and gather insights from his extraordinary sources in the national security arena. He talks to the people who don't talk to the press.

Nicholas Thompson (CEO of The Atlantic) on AI, Ambition, and Running As a Metaphor 03.06.2026 1Std. 17Min.

Nicholas Thompson has been one of the definers of thedigital revolution in all of its impact on our life. After graduating fromStanford and engaging in freelance writing, he became editor of NewYorker.com.Later, he became Editor-in-Chief of Wired as the power of social media becamemore pervasive. Now he is the CEO of The Atlantic as artificial intelligencebecomes more involved in our daily life.Thompson has written two books. The first was The Hawk andthe Dove about Paul Nitze, the hawk, and George Kennan, the dove. Nitze wasThompson’s maternal grandfather.The second, published in 2025, is The Running Ground aboutThompson’s life as a serious and successful marathon runner. It is much morethan a book about running. It is about his cancer struggle and the emotionalstory of his relationship to his father. Thompson makes running central to hisidentity and attitudes about competition, fear, ambition, and endurance.Nicholas Thompson has achieved great success, but in The Running Ground useshis success in running to explore not only the joy of victory but also itscost.As we learn more about the progress in artificialintelligence, it is a moment to consider its value and its risk.We will talk about many things with Nicholas Thompson,including running as a metaphor for life, his relationship with his father, thedigital revolution, social media, and the impact of artificial intelligence onall of us.

Barney Frank on Human Rights and Financial Regulation | An Appreciation 22.05.2026 1Std. 1Min.

Barney Frank was described as legendary and the funniest person in Congress by liberals and conservatives for his actions in Congress from 1981 to 2013, as a smart, quotable, liberal, iconic representative from Massachusetts.He became a pioneer in human rights in 1987 as the first sitting member of the U.S. Congress to voluntarily disclose his sexual orientation, and for his legislative achievements as the co-author of the Dodd-Frank Bill, which overhauled financial regulations after the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Barney Frank died May 19, 2026. He was 86.After graduation from Harvard undergraduate and law school, Barney Frank entered politics as an assistant to the Mayor of Boston, became a state legislator, and then was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served for 32 years from January 1981 to January 2013, becoming Chairman of the Financial Services Committee and an ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. While serving in Congress, Frank, in several instances, came under intense criticism for a couple of his social relationships.Barney Frank wrote about his life in his 2019 memoir:“Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage.”Before entering hospice care in April 2026, where he died, Barney Frank wrote his final book, “The Hard Path to Unity.” It sent a message to all political combatants, but especially his colleagues on the left, to find common ground on intractable issues. His message adds to his legacy of finding a solution to difficult issues that all sides can accept.

Richard Haass on the Meeting Between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump and What It Means for the World 15.05.2026 34Min.

Richard Haass is one of the best and best-known interpreters and explainers of foreign policy, the relationship between nations, and the management of their ambitions.He has bridged the two poles of diplomacy and public intellectual at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he served as President and is now President Emeritus. A graduate of Oberlin College and a Rhodes Scholar, he served in government under Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, and then spent 20 years as President of the Council on Foreign Relations.This is a crucial moment to examine the forces at work in foreign policy with the meeting between the President of China and the President of the United States.We will talk about the issues under discussion in Beijing and around the world as two of the most powerful people in the world meet in China and war continues in Iran and Ukraine.

Ted Turner: Bold, Brilliant, and Unforgettable | He Changed Things 07.05.2026 52Min.

A Charlie Rose Global Conversation from 7/23/2004.Ted Turner died May 6, 2026. He imagined himself a great man. He was, in multiple ways. He created a huge institution: CNN. He changed things. After CNN, global news was not the same.He won things. The America’s Cup in sailing is the fiercest challenge, not only against other sailors, but against fast boats and the weather. He fulfilled other men’s dreams: owning a major league baseball team and marrying a beautiful, smart actress.He was a rich man, owning companies and land worth billions of dollars. He was a good man, giving huge amounts of money to philanthropy. He was an admired man and a tragic man, climbing the tallest mountains and falling.He was there for all to see: brash, cocky, driven, opinionated, sometimes unpleasant, and full of himself.And yes, Ted Turner died knowing he had touched lives and made a difference. In the end, that is what makes a great life.

Bret Stephens On His Jewish Faith, A Palestinian State, Iran and the Important Question 02.05.2026 32Min.

A Charlie Rose Global Conversation:Bret Stephens is a popular opinion columnist for The New York Times. He has held the position since 2017.He was previously a foreign affairs columnist and deputy editorial page editor at The Wall Street Journal. In 2013, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. From 2002–2004, he was editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post in Israel.Stephens holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics.This conversation comes at a critical moment when Iran and America may resume negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, continue the ceasefire, and seek to find an end to the war, which began on February 28, 2026.We will talk of many things, including who is winning the war, the negotiations to end the war, opening the Strait of Hormuz, the price of oil and gasoline, Iran’s nuclear program, and the status of buried enriched uranium.Also President Trump’s war leadership and his conflict with Pope Leo, the war response of the regime in Iran, and the consequences of war.We will conclude with America at its 250th birthday and its relationship with Israel, NATO, European and Gulf allies, and adversaries including Russia and China, whose president—President Xi Jinping—is scheduled to meet with President Trump on May 14–15 in Beijing, China.

Bret Stephens on Iran, the U.S., and Global Stability 28.04.2026 46Min.

A Charlie Rose Global Conversation:Bret Stephens is a popular opinion columnist for The New York Times. He has held the position since 2017.He was previously a foreign affairs columnist and deputy editorial page editor at The Wall Street Journal. In 2013, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. From 2002–2004, he was editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post in Israel.Stephens holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics.This conversation comes at a critical moment when Iran and America may resume negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, continue the ceasefire, and seek to find an end to the war, which began on February 28, 2026.We will talk of many things, including who is winning the war, the negotiations to end the war, opening the Strait of Hormuz, the price of oil and gasoline, Iran’s nuclear program, and the status of buried enriched uranium.Also President Trump’s war leadership and his conflict with Pope Leo, the war response of the regime in Iran, and the consequences of war.We will conclude with America at its 250th birthday and its relationship with Israel, NATO, European and Gulf allies, and adversaries including Russia and China, whose president—President Xi Jinping—is scheduled to meet with President Trump on May 14–15 in Beijing, China.

Jon Meacham on America at 250: How Is the Nation Really Doing in 2026? 13.01.2026 1Std. 18Min.

We live in historic times and stand at three significant milestones. Year two of President Trump’s second term begins on January 20, 2026. One quarter of the 21st century began on January 1, 2026. And on July 4, 2026, America will celebrate its 250th birthday.I am asking, on camera, a series of extraordinary people to help take the temperature of America in 2026. They come from around the world and from every walk of life spanning policy and poetry and many without fame or fortune. The central question is simple: How are we doing?Jon Meacham is a historian, biographer, speechwriter, commentator, teacher, and Pulitzer Prize recipient. He is an advisor and friend to presidents and the biographer of four American presidents Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George H. W. Bush and is currently writing about Dwight Eisenhower. He has also written about the friendship between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, as well as several acclaimed books, including The Soul of America, The Battle for Our Better Angels, and His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope.Jon Meacham teaches at Vanderbilt University and appears frequently on Morning Joe on MSNOW.

David Ignatius on Donald Trump, Venezuela, Greenland and Iran 11.01.2026 50Min.

A Charlie Rose Global Conversation:David Ignatius join me for a continuation of a conversation that was posted this week but recorded before the U.S. military’s mission to Venezuela to arrest the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and his wife.It also occurred before a fascinating interview between President Trump and 5 New York Times reporters on Wednesday evening, January 7, 2026

Tom Friedman On The Morning After The Morning After - In Venezuela 09.01.2026 26Min.

We begin tonight a series of conversations about the United States military’s mission to arrest the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and bring him to the United States for trial on drug charges. Is it part of the controversial new initiative in American foreign policy?We start with Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times. He is one of the world’s most influential foreign affairs columnists and a speaker at conferences around the world. His ideas are read and sought out by influential leaders in capitals everywhere. His subject is global affairs in all its reality—from war and peace to politics, technology, climate, and biology—as well as the strategy and motivation of the leaders whose actions drive the forces that determine the future. He is the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes and the author of seven books.This is an important moment to consider the consequences of the United States’ action.Throughout the multiple conversations, we will ask many questions about the mission, including why it was undertaken, the role of oil, what happens now, and the impact on China, Russia, Iran, Europe, and other nations in Latin America. Is it the first of other missions regarding the Western Hemisphere, part of a renewal of the Monroe Doctrine?

David Ignatius on Donald Trump After 1 Year and America at 250 Years 06.01.2026 1Std. 11Min.

* This conversation was recorded on Dec 22nd 2025, before the events in Venezuela. We hope to follow up with David Ignatius soon on Venezuela and more.America is at an interesting moment.We are approaching one year into the second Trump administration and are one quarter of the way through the 21st century. On July 4, 2026, we will celebrate our 250th birthday. I am asking a series of extraordinary Americans - many without fame or fortune, and coming from prose and poetry - to help take the temperature of America in 2026.What is the American idea?What do we stand for?What values do we need to remind ourselves of?How is this country doing politically, economically, culturally, and as a force for good around the world?David Ignatius is the internationally admired foreign affairs columnist and associate editor at The Washington Post.He joined the paper in 1986, later served as foreign editor, and has written his twice-weekly column since 1998 - more than 25 years.From 2000 to 2003, he was executive editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris, while continuing to write his column.Earlier in his career, he was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, covering the State Department, the Justice Department, the CIA, and the Middle East.He is the author of twelve spy novels, including Agents of Innocence, his first - considered by many who know the agency to be the best description ever written of spycraft and the CIA.Born into a family shaped by public service, educated at Harvard and King’s College, Cambridge, and based in Washington for much of his professional life, he has had a front-row seat to America’s actions in the world.

Marty Baron - Former Editor of the Washington Post - on Venezuela, Trump, and the Role of the Press 06.01.2026 1Std. 8Min.

Freedom was at the heart of America 250 years ago on July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Freedom of speech was recognized as an American right. It was essential to the responsibility of journalism in America to hold power accountable. How was journalism doing as America celebrates its 250th birthday, enters the second quarter of the 21st century and the second year of the second Donald Trump presidency. Martin "Marty" Barron is America's most celebrated newspaper editor lionized in the Academy Award film spotlight as the executive editor of the Boston Globe, which received a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for its coverage of the Boston Catholic sexual abuse scandal. In January 2013, he became executive editor of the Washington Post, which was purchased by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from the legendary Graham family after the death of Katherine Graham. During his editorship, the Washington Post received a number of Pulitzer prizes.Baron retired in early 2021 and wrote his memoir, Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post. He was also executive editor of the Miami Herald and has worked at the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. He has received many journalism honors in addition to the Pulitzer Prizes.

Remembering the Charlie Rose Guests Who Died in 2025 – In Their Own Voices 06.01.2026 45Min.

Rob ReinerFrank GehryTom StoppardBill MoyersDiane KeatonJane GoodallRobert RedfordDavid LynchVal KilmerGene HackmanRoberta FlackRichard Chamberlain Terence StampJim LovellGeorge Foreman Charles Rangel Sam MooreJules FeifferBrian WilsonAthol FugardDick CheneyFrederick SmithJames WatsonEdmund White

Fareed Zakaria on How America is Doing at 250 Years Old 06.01.2026 1Std. 6Min.

Fareed Zakaria has spent decades explaining the forces shaping the modern world, and America’s place within it.He is the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN, a weekly international affairs program he has anchored since 2008. He writes a weekly foreign affairs column for The Washington Post. He previously served as Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs and as Editor of Newsweek International.Zakaria is the author of four books: The Future of Freedom (2003), The Post-American World (2008), Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World (2020), and Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present (2024).Born in India, educated at Yale and Harvard, and shaped by the experience of becoming American, he has spent his career thinking about how democracies function, how power is used, and how ideas shape the course of history.

Elon Musk’s Biographer, Walter Isaacson on the “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” 06.01.2026 1Std.

America is at an extraordinary moment in its history.We are one quarter of the way through the 21st century, and in 2026 we will celebrate our 250th birthday.I am asking a series of extraordinary Americans - many without fame or fortune, speaking from lived experience as well as poetry - to take the temperature of America in 2026.What is the American idea?What do we stand for?Which values do we need to remind ourselves of?How is this country doing politically, economically, culturally, and as a force for good in the world?Walter Isaacson has long served as one of America’s great interpreters of ideas, leadership, creativity, and power.He has held senior leadership roles at some of the most influential institutions in American media and civic life, including Editor of TIME, Chairman and CEO of CNN, and President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He is currently a Professor of History at Tulane University.Isaacson is the author of nine books, including acclaimed biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci, and Elon Musk.His newest book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, steps back from biography to focus on a single line from the Declaration of Independence:“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”It is a sentence that has echoed throughout American history—invoked by Lincoln at Gettysburg, challenged by generations who saw its promise unfulfilled, and returned to again and again during moments of national crisis.As America approaches its 250th birthday, Isaacson asks what that sentence still means - and whether it can continue to bind a deeply divided nation.Born in New Orleans, educated at Harvard, and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, Isaacson has spent a lifetime examining how societies innovate, how democracies endure, and how human creativity advances both science and freedom.Walter Isaacson has been - and is - many things:father, husband, teacher, Rhodes Scholar, Harvard graduate, TV commentator, journalist, editor, writer, son of New Orleans, CEO, and yes, biographer - often chosen by the famous when they want their story told.He has been described as a bridge between power and ideas, science and the humanities, the past and the future, and creators and consumers.

Bret Stephens on Violence, Trump, Epstein, AI, and America at 250 06.01.2026 1Std. 11Min.

America is at an interesting moment. We are one quarter of the way through the 21st century, and in 2026 we will celebrate our 250th birthday. I am asking a series of extraordinary Americans—many without fame or fortune, but rich in experience and poetry—to take the temperature of America in 2026.What is the American idea?What do we stand for?What values do we need to remind ourselves of?How is this country doing politically, economically, culturally, and as a force for good in the world?Bret Stephens has emerged as a translator between the American establishment of both parties and the conservative rank and file, making him a sharp guide to the nation’s path forward. In 2017, he joined The New York Times as an opinion columnist, after a distinguished career at The Wall Street Journal, where he served as deputy editorial page editor from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, he was a foreign affairs columnist at the Journal and received the Pulitzer Prize in 2013.At just 28 years old, Stephens became editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post, a role he held from 2002 to 2005. Born in New York and raised in Mexico City, he is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics. He has long championed the classical liberal order—free enterprise, free trade, free speech, and the preservation of democratic institutions.In his 2014 book America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, Stephens warned of the consequences of diminished American leadership. As the nation approaches its 250th birthday, his recent books, columns, and articles reflect a notable evolution in his thinking. He has increasingly analyzed the presidency of Donald Trump not as a historical accident, but as the product of deeper political, economic, and cultural forces.Stephens has argued that part of the Democratic Party’s defeat stemmed from a growing divide between the “economy of words”—lawyers, journalists, and academics—and the “economy of things,” including manufacturers and service workers. He has also become a fierce critic of what he sees as intellectual rot within elite universities, particularly around antisemitism and the erosion of free speech.And perhaps most concerning to many, he now suggests that the United States may be in retreat not only politically, as he argued a decade ago, but more broadly across multiple dimensions of global leadership.

Rob Reiner on Politics, Parenting, and the Power of Early Childhood 06.01.2026 16Min.

Rob Reiner, who became famous for his acting in All in the Family and was much admired as a director of classic films, was brutally murdered on December 14, 2025, in his Brentwood, Los Angeles, home alongside his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner. He was 78. She was 70.Their deaths are the subject of a homicide investigation. Their son, Nick Reiner, is being held.Rob Reiner, the son of legendary writer-director Carl Reiner, first made it as an actor portraying “Meathead,” the liberal son-in-law, on Norman Lear’s groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family. It earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards and made him a familiar face on American television. The series became a cultural touchstone, sparking discussion around the generational clash of the 1970s.Reiner reinvented himself as a director with an extraordinary streak of films in the late 20th century that have become classics across several genres. He debuted with the rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, followed by the coming-of-age drama Stand by Me, the adventure film The Princess Bride, the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, and the legal thriller A Few Good Men.Reiner’s range made him one of Hollywood’s most versatile and celebrated filmmakers. At the same time, Reiner continued to act in films and on television shows.Reiner’s company, Castle Rock Entertainment, produced a number of popular properties, including Seinfeld and The Shawshank Redemption.In the 21st century, Rob Reiner emerged as a prominent liberal voice and activist, particularly in Democratic politics, gay rights, women’s rights, and children’s issues.