In this edition, UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler talks with Ambassador Jack Matlock who served as the last U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union. Ambassador Matlock offers his reflections on the fall of the Soviet Union, the policies of the Reagan administration, and how students should prepare for the future. (50 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler speaks with William A. Rusher, former publisher of the "National Review" about the conservative movement. (54 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Die Zeit Publisher/Editor Josef Joffe for a discussion of America’s role in the 21st century. Starting with an analysis of the differences between a bi-polar and a uni-polar world, Joffe analyzes the roots of anti-Americanism, defines a global strategy for U.S. foreign policy, and offers a unique perspective on the different worlds the U.S. confronts, the Berlin/Berkeley axis—a post modern world of information technology and no possibility of war--and the Beijing/Baghdad axis—a world of nationalism where war is still possible. (58 minutes)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Israeli political scientist and peace activist Galia Golan for a discussion of the peace movement in Israel. She reflects on the Israeli domestic situation, compares Israeli occupation policies to South Africa's apartheid, and analyzes Israel"s geopolitical constraints. She also compares the stability of superpower conflict in the Middle East during the Cold War with today's regional geopolitical situation, especially Israel's conflict with Iran. (58 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Chalmers Johnson for a discussion of his new book, Nemesis. In the interview, Johnson, an Emeritus Professor of the University of California, analyzes the impact of the American empire on democracy at home. Comparing the United States to Rome and Great Britain, he argues that a combination of military Keynesianism, the Bush administration's attempt to implement a unitary presidency, and the failed checks on executive ambition point to political and economic bankruptcy. (59 minutes)

Geographer Michael Watts, the Director of the UC Berkeley's Institute of International Studies, talks about his personal and political evolution as a researcher and scholar of internationalism and modernity. (62 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations for a discussion of the impact of the military on democratization in Turkey, Algeria, and Egypt. He analyzes the structure of power in these countries, the role of Islamic parties in furthering democratization, and raises important questions about U.S. policy in the region through comparison with the policies of the European Union. (51 minutes)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes General John Abizaid for a discussion of the role of the military in the 21st century. Drawing on his experience as commander of the U.S. Central Command, he discusses the problems confronting the next President in the Middle East. He analyzes the lessons of the Iraq War and reflects on issues such as intelligence, the Geneva Conventions, and the role of military contractors. (53 minutes)

In this 1986 interview, Ambassador Alfred L. Atherton, a leading figure in the search for peace in the Middle East, joins U.C. Berkeley's Harry Kreisler for a discussion of the role of diplomacy in securing a stable Middle East. (30 min)

Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng joins Conversations host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of the factors that shaped his life as one of China's leading dissidents. (21 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Kishore Mahbubani for a discussion of the changing relationship between the West and Asia. In the interview, he describes the major transformations occurring because of the "march of modernity" made possible by the ideas and global institutions created by the West. He goes on to criticize the West for failing to adapt to the changing balance of power which follows from Asia's rise. (57 minutes)

Conversations Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Steve Coll, Pulitzer prize winning author of Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden for a discussion of how the superpower conflict in the last stages of the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy before and after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the political dynamics of South Asia created the setting in which Islamic terrorism took root and flourished. (57 min)

Josef Joffe, editor and publisher of Die Zeit, joins UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler for a discussion of U.S.- European relations one year after the start of the Iraq War. (59 min)

In this 1982 interview, one the U.S. preeminent diplomats Philip Habib talks about his life and times as a foreign service officer and special envoy of the President of the United States. He reflects on great statesmen he has worked with, the difficulties of crisis management, and his involvement in the resolution of the Lebanon crisis, which won him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (90 min)

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of the Kennedy School at Harvard for a discussion of his distinguished career in the university and in public service. (57 min)

Conversations Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Leon Fuerth, former National Security Advisor to Vice President Gore, for a discussion of how to think about the future in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. (55 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Harold P. Smith, Jr, former Pentagon official and Professor of Public Policy at Berkeley, for a discussion of the nuclear terrorism threat in the post 911 world. (58 min)

On this episode of Conversations with History, author and University of Chicago professor John J. Mearsheimer joins UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler to discuss the Realist theory of international relations and its implications for understanding the U.S. role in the world, future relations with China, and our response to the terrorist threat. (58 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Harold Hongju Koh, the new Dean of the Yale Law School and Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law there. They discuss the role of international law, the meaning of the Iran Contra Affair, the impact of 911, and the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula. (55 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes University of Pennsylvania political scientist Ian Lustick for a discussion of the War on Terror including its erroneous assumptions, its consequences for domestic politics, and its implications for Al Queda's long term strategy. He compares the Bush administration response to 911 to America's response to the Soviet threat during the Cold War. (57 min)