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Alternate Shots with Richard Haass and John Ellis

Alternate Shots with Richard Haass and John Ellis

By: Richard Haass and John Ellis
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About this listen

The idea of the podcast is this: We talk about “three things” that are interesting, important or both. The third thing will be about something from the world of sports.


Richard is a veteran diplomat (he served in the Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush administrations). He was president of the Council on Foreign Relations for two decades (he’s now president emeritus). He’s a Senior Counselor at Center|View Partners, a prominent New York City-based investment banking firm. He also distributes a weekly newsletter — Home and Away — on Friday mornings. Home and Away addresses matters domestic and foreign.


John is the founder and editor of News Items, a daily newsletter that covers global politics, financial news, advanced technologies and science. He has been in and around the news business for virtually all of his adult life, working for NBC News (as a political analyst), The Boston Globe (as a columnist), CNBC, Fox News, and Newscorp. In 2016, he launched News Items as a morning brief for executives and editors at Fox and Newscorp. In 2018, News Items became The Wall Street Journal CEO Council's morning newsletter. He restarted News Items as an independent newsletter in August of 2019.


© 2025 Alternate Shots with Richard Haass and John Ellis Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Episode Four

    Episode Four
    Sep 25 2025

    There was a famous rap song (at the time) entitled “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm”. That’s the general sentiment of this episode of “Alternate Shots”.

    Richard and John discussed (1) President Trump’s “unusual” speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations, (2) the shift in the president’s thinking about the Ukraine war, one of more than one since his election, (3) H-IB visas vs. China’s K-Visa, (4) a gloomy American electorate, (5) Mr. Trump’s continued hold over the GOP and his declining support amongst Independents, and (6) Daniel “Indiana” Jones, the former NY Giants QB, now flourishing as the QB for the Indiana Colts.

    Hosted by John Ellis and Richard Haass

    News Items on Substack

    Home and Away on Substack

    Produced by Dale Eisinger

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    36 mins
  • Episode Three

    Episode Three
    Sep 16 2025

    In Episode #3 of "Alternate Shots", John and Richard discuss five "stories" much in the news of late: (1) the active/passive Trump presidency, (2) the local election results from Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's largest state, (3) The murder of Charlie Kirk and the globalization of MAGA politics, (4) Charlie Kirk and the "youth vote" in the 2024 election, and (5) RFK Jr. vs. Big Pharma. John thinks and Richard suspects that Big Pharma will emerge victorious. Finally, Richard finds a silver lining (or two) in Sunday's crushing defeat of the New York Giants by the Dallas Cowboys.
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    32 mins
  • Episode Two

    Episode Two
    Sep 4 2025

    In the latest episode of Alternate Shots, hosts Richard Haass and John Ellis begin with a discussion of Richard’s new essay in Foreign Affairs, “A Palestinian State Would Be Good for Israel". It could also be a win for President Trump. Next up: Xi's anti-American gathering of world leaders in Beijing and the evident breach in U.S.-India relations. In the realm of geopolitics, the breach may be more important than the gathering. Part three: Judge Mehta's ruling on the DOJ's antitrust case against Google; good for Google, good for Apple and arguably what's best for the United States. Part four, the sports section, addresses three subjects: (1) The New York Giants, (2) Bethpage Black, the venue for the Ryder Cup, and (3) Bill Belichick's debut as coach of the UNC football team. All in 30 minutes. Well worth your time.

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    26 mins
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