Former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster with CBS Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lara Logan (Photo by Eric Sucar)
For those who have missed out on the Perry World House live events this fall but still want to hear from the center's prominent speakers, there’s no need to fret.
On Friday, Perry World House launched the first episode of its second season of the Global Cable, its podcast series aimed at expanding the center’s programs to students and alumni who can’t always make it to 3803 Locust Walk. This season will also feature figures including former Mexican President Felipe Calderón, former United States Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
President Trump's former National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster stars in the first episode of the podcast's new second season. In August 2018, Penn announced that McMaster would serve as a Perry World House visiting fellow for the 2018-19 academic year.
The 35-minute podcast conversation covers McMaster’s experience in the Trump administration, his advice for Penn students interested in foreign policy careers, and his views on the pressing threats facing the U.S.
Perry World House Director William Burke-White said he was excited to relaunch the podcast series for its second season this fall as a way to engage both students and alumni who can’t attend the program’s events.
“For the alum who lives in Los Angeles, they can listen to it while commuting to work. For the student who’s here in Philly, they can do it on the treadmill,” Burke-White said. “We are really trying to bring the magic that happens at some of the events we put on to people who can’t be here.”
Perry World House research fellow and 2018 College graduate Andro Mathewson, who helps produce the podcast, said the Global Cable was unique due to its close Penn ties.
“A lot of these podcasts that people listen to are so distant from students because they are made somewhere else,” Mathewson said. “But knowing that this podcast is made on Penn’s campus with visitors that Penn students have access to — that’s great.”
The season’s first episode is co-hosted by Burke-White, along with Associate Director of Perry World House Michael Horowitz, who took turns asking McMaster questions that ranged from his views on Russia to how students can bridge the civilian-military divide.
Here is a selection of McMaster’s best sound-bites from the first episode of the Global Cable’s second season:
On his next moves after leaving the Trump administration: “I was drawn immediately to coming back to an academic environment.”
On the most challenging aspect of serving as National Security Advisor: “The degree of concurrent activity needed.”
On Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin: “Putin has now reached the point of implausible deniability. Russia is taking brazen action against the civilized world.”
On North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un: “Kim Jong-un has never met a weapon he didn't try to sell to somebody.”
On how students can bridge the civilian-military divide: “Get beyond stereotypes, get beyond the pop culture view of the military. Pop culture cheapens and coarsens the military ethos.”
On the unique situation in the Middle East: “There are so many complex problem sets that are interacting and have converged in this region.”
On what advice he would give to Penn students interested in a career in foreign policy: “Be aggressive in pursuing opportunities to learn. Resist the temptation to form opinions early.”
On his favorite football team: “Go Eagles!”
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