Asia Abridged

When President Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke to manage the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan, the assignment seemed like a perfect challenge for the veteran diplomat. Instead, the two men could not see eye to eye before Holbrooke's untimely death in 2010. George Packer, author of a new biography of Holbrooke, explains the fundamental differences between the president and diplomat.

In a lively appearance at Asia Society, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran would continue to sell its oil to foreign buyers in spite of American pressure, offered to negotiate a prisoner exchange with the U.S, and said that Iran, the U.S., and Saudi Arabia had agreed to a ceasefire in Yemen in 2015 — but Saudi Arabia pulled out at the last minute.

Economist Jesper Koll explains his counterintuitive take on the country's growing prospects — particularly for its youth.

Whether it's on the silver screen, a television screen or your computer screen, Asian and Asian American talent has achieved mainstream status in Hollywood.

Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute discusses the limits of President Trump's "mano a mano" approach to solving the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Financier Weijian Shan recounts his experience as a teenager during China's Cultural Revolution and his subsequent arrival in the United States.

A changing global film industry is giving India's filmmakers and actors a chance to be seen by audiences well beyond its borders. People speaking in this podcast: Visheh Bhatt, filmmaker: https://twitter.com/VishehB7 Kabir Khan, filmmaker: https://twitter.com/kabirkhankk Zulfiqar Khan, managing director of video streaming platform Hooq: https://www.hooq.tv/ Anil Kapoor, actor and producer: https://twitter.com/AnilKapoor Michelle FlorCruz, Asia Society: https://twitter.com/mflorcruz

Two Asian immigrants share their stories of coming to the United States, and coming to terms with their undocumented status. As the United States struggles with the question of immigration, hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants — many of whom are Asian — live with an uncertain future.

In this episode of Asia Abridged, Wendy Cutler and Orville Schell tell us why, contrary to President Trump's assertions, Beijing is well-positioned to compete in a trade conflict with the United States.

Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President for International Diplomacy and Security Daniel Russel and former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman explain why the Singapore summit was such a disappointment for the United States and how Kim Jong Un has gained a formidable position in respect to the countries trying to contain North Korea's nuclear program.

Defense and security experts discuss how Artificial Intelligence is changing the landscape of warfare and weapons. With China making a big push on A.I. research, how are competitors like the U.S. and India keeping up?

Trita Parsi, founder of the National Iranian American Council and a leading expert on Iran, discusses the changes occurring inside Iran and assesses the economic consequences of President Trump’s threats to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal.

As chief secretary of Hong Kong during the 1990s, Anson Chan had a front-row seat for the territory’s handover from British to Chinese rule. In a recent conversation held at Asia Society, Chan explains why she’s pessimistic that Hong Kong’s autonomy — guaranteed by the terms of the handover — will be able to withstand mainland China’s growing power.

Film industry insiders discuss Hollywood’s slow shift toward diversity and what Asian American communities can do to convince studios that their stories are not only worth telling, but also have huge box office potential.

Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl describes her 1974 trip to Cultural Revolution-era China and explains how the recent experiences of real estate developer Zhang Xin epitomize the changes that are occurring in the country.

Asia Society Policy Institute Diplomat in Residence Daniel Russel previews the year ahead for U.S-China relations and explains why ties between the two may suffer in 2018. He also explains why the North Korean nuclear problem is so intractable.

Morgan Stanley economist Ruchir Sharma talks about what might happen if China’s government experiences a recession, and explains why India has so many good companies.

Asia Society Policy Institute Diplomat in Residence Daniel Russel looks back on President Trump’s Asia policy during his first nine months in office and tells us what to look for in the months ahead.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani discusses his country's ongoing conflict, the Taliban insurgency, and why he's one of the few world leaders who has been happy with Donald Trump.

Movie legend Jackie Chan has appeared in more than 150 films dating back to 1962, and he’s performed his own stunts in almost all of them. In this episode, Chan talks candidly about his most famous scene — and other stunts he says he honestly thought might kill him.