Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. Senator Jeff Flake joins Atlantic contributor Evan Smith to talk about America’s position on the global stage. Recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 13, 2026, this conversation comes as the United States enters the second year of an increasingly isolationist administration, raising timely questions about alliances, diplomacy, and influence abroad.
This conversation was part of The Atlantic Across America event series. In 1857, The Atlantic’s founders wrote that their magazine would make a sincere and honest effort to represent and champion what they called “the American idea.” The Atlantic will visit all 50 states in a series of events where we will surface and engage with the most urgent, complex, and distinctly American questions of the moment in the places where they are unfolding.
Find out more about The Atlantic Across America: https://www.theatlantic.com/atlantic-across-america
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