The Weekly Leaf
This week, Nvidia President and CEO Jensen Huang resigned amid controversy, President Trump pulled Vice President Vance from potential negotiations with Iran, U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi ended with a prisoner exchange but no major breakthroughs, and hoax bomb threats targeted thousands of schools across Europe.
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice and moderator Dambisa Moyo at the Economic Club of New York’s Signature Luncheon
Nicholas Burns interviewed by Andrew Ross Sorkin for CNBC’s Squawk Box: “Congress Will Push for Complete Ban on Advanced Chip Sales to China”
Anja Manuel, John Fortier, Brandice Canes-Wrone, and moderators Fritz Mayer and Naazneen Barma for the Scrivner Institute of Public Policy’s Denver Dialogues: “Making Sense of the Midterm Elections”
Stephen Biegun and Emma Chanlett-Avery for Foreign Affairs: “Trump Is Facing a Very Different North Korea”
Antony Blinken, Mike Pompeo, and moderator Juju Chang at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly: “Former Secretaries of State on U.S.-Israel Relations and American-Jewish Communities”
William Burns was appointed to the Board of Directors of HawkEye 360
Kurt Campbell quoted by AFP: “Nvidia CEO Affair Revives Push for Tougher U.S. Line on China”
Chris Coons interviewed by Geoff Bennett for PBS NewsHour: “Sen. Coons on Huang Affair, Iran War, and Why Trump Should Fire Hegseth”
Michael Froman interviewed by Nayeema Raza for the Smart Girl Dumb Questions podcast: “Is the American Empire Over?”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “The Nvidia Spy Scandal Was Hiding in Plain Sight”
David Petraeus interviewed by Dagen McDowell for Fox Business’ Big Money in the Morning: “Russia, Ukraine Resume U.S.-Mediated Peace Talks”
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Peter Feaver, Bruce Jentleson, David Welch, and moderator Fredrik Logevall at the Harvard Belfer Center’s Soft Power: A Convening Influence in the 21st Century event honoring the legacy of Joseph S. Nye, Jr.: “Does America Still Have Soft Power?”
Philip Zelikow for the Hoover Institution: “German Unification”
Registration Open | Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition
Please join us for an afternoon of conversations on the most pressing national security and foreign policy challenges of our time. The Forum will feature an array of decision-makers and thought leaders from Washington, DC and around the world. A light lunch will be included in programming, followed by an evening cocktail reception.
If you are interested in attending, apply at the link below.
If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Deb Cunningham at deb.cunningham@aspeninstitute.org.
Post of the Week
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Fellows
María Fernanda Bozmoski (‘26), Gabriela García, Matthew Schwab, Alex Culiuc, Claudia Cáceres, and Ruby Asturias at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center: “Guatemala’s Economic Outlook and the Path to Stronger Growth”
Liana Fix (‘23) for The New York Times: “What if Europe Rearms at Exactly the Wrong Time?”
Eva Pound (‘26) quoted by Gabrielle Lazor for Poynter: “What Journalist-Creators Know About Trust That Newsrooms Don’t”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Michael Birnbaum and Rachel Chason for The Washington Post: “Trump Says No Deal Needed With Iran, Closes Down Vance Negotiations”
Ismi Damayanti and Rezha Hadyan for Nikkei Asia: “Indonesian President Prabowo Says VP Resignation ‘For Greater Good’”
Chantal Da Silva for NBC News: “Israeli Strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital Kills at Least Six People, Officials Say”
The Economist: “How Paraguay’s Digital Bank Became a Massive Bomb”
Anbarasan Ethirajan for BBC: “Violence Erupts in Bangladesh as Ousted PM’s Supporters Stage Protest”
Pat Leahy and Jack Power for The Irish Times: “Ukraine Dominates Agenda as Europe’s Leaders Attend EPC Summit in Dublin”
Perrine Mouterde for Le Monde: “COP31 Conference in Turkey Aims to Move Climate up the Agenda in a Crisis-Rocked World”
Wesley Rahn and Darko Janjevic for DW: “South Africa’s ANC Hit by Worst-Ever Performance in Local Elections”
James Shotter for the Financial Times: “Israel’s President Gives Gadi Eisenkot First Chance at Forming Government”
Tiago Ventura for TIME: “Trump Envoys Witkoff and Kushner Meet With Putin in Moscow for Ukraine Talks”
Robbie Whelan, Josh Dawsey, and Amrith Ramkumar for The Wall Street Journal: “Jensen Huang Has Been Ousted as Nvidia CEO”
Jonathan Wolfe, Leo Sands, Lynsey Chutel, Ali Watkins, and Elisabetta Povoledo for The New York Times: “What to Know About the Bomb Threats Rattling Europe”
Mari Yamaguchi for the AP: “Japan to Provide Coastal Radar and Drones to the Philippines Under $27M Deal”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on digital resilience, cybercrime and fraud, the role of AI in national security, and more from the 2024 Aspen Security Forum.
Securing Trust in the Global Digital Economy: Cyber, Fraud, and Emerging Threats
Sir Jeremy Ian Fleming, Former Director, GCHQ
Jon M. Huntsman Jr., Vice-Chair, Mastercard; Former U.S. Ambassador to China and Russia
Anne Neuberger, Then Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology
Kent Walker, President, Global Affairs, Google
Moderator: Steve Clemons, National Interest
Around the Institute
We are delighted to welcome Ángel Cabrera as the Aspen Institute’s new president and CEO!
Ángel Cabrera is an internationally respected educator and institutional leader who has devoted his career to advancing values-based leadership, expanding opportunity for rising generations through education, and ensuring that innovation serves the broader public good. He is a longtime member of the Aspen Institute community, including as a 2008 Henry Crown Fellow.
Read his first message to the Aspen community here.
Book of the Week
The Bitter Struggle: Superintelligence, Superpowers, and the Fate of the World
By Ben Buchanan and Tantum Collins
“Humanity may soon create AI systems that outperform humans at virtually every cognitive task. Whoever wields that technology will gain a power unlike any in history. In The Bitter Struggle, Ben Buchanan, the first White House Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence and currently an advisor to Anthropic, and Tantum Collins, who served on the National Security Council after five years at Google DeepMind, argue that the United States and its democratic allies must not lose this contest. But how democracies win matters most of all…. The deepest challenge is not the contest with autocracy but the conflict AI will force within democracies themselves. Every choice pits security against liberty, speed against caution, power against principle. This is the bitter struggle. Democracies have every advantage they need to prevail—except, perhaps, the conviction to act.”
Podcast of the Week
Talal Al Rahbi joined Brian Katulis for the Middle East Institute’s Taking the Edge Off the Middle East podcast: “Ambassador Talal Al Rahbi on Oman’s Diplomacy”
2027 Rising Leaders Program | Now Accepting Applications
We are pleased to share that applications for the Rising Leaders Class of 2027 are now open! Throughout the year-long program, Rising Leaders learn from key decision-makers—and most importantly, each other—under the aegis of the Aspen Strategy Group. Apply now or share this opportunity with your networks.
