Twenty-five years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S.-Russian relationship is in crisis. A new series of Diffusion podcasts, produced by Carnegie Corporation of New York, offers nuanced debate about Russia, its current and future relations with the United States and the impact of this critical relationship on international peace and security. The series is hosted by Michael Moran, visiting media fellow, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and principal, Control Risks. The first six episodes are below.

1. Location, Location, Location: Why Russia Matters: Moran speaks about the drivers behind the U.S.-Russia relationship with Robert Legvold, author of "Return to Cold War," and Thomas Graham of Yale University and Kissinger Associates. Why do these two nations seem fated to be rivals, if not downright adversaries?
2. Fear and Opportunity: Russia and the World Order: Moran speaks with the Wilson Center's Matthew Rojansky and Georgetown University's Angela Stent about Russia's foreign policy and the world order.
3. Trip Wire: NATO's Russia Dilemma: How will the buildup of NATO forces, and closer military cooperation among NATO allies in the Baltics, impact Russian behaviors and U.S.-Russia relations? Moran speaks with Michael Kofman of the Wilson Center.
4. Tempered Expectations: What does the future of U.S.-Russia relations hold in 2017? Moran speaks with two geopolitical analysts who have forecast on this critical question often in recent years, Michael Mandelbaum, director of the American Foreign Policy program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Mathew Burrows, director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative at the Atlantic Council.
5. Petrol Politics: Russia's Quest for Economic Equilibrium: Moran speaks about Russia's economic challenges and its dependence on oil with Sergey Aleksashenko, former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia and former chairman of Merrill Lynch Russia, and Clifford Gaddy, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin."
6. Lines of Attack: The Static of Cyber Conflict: Is a cyber ceasefire between the U.S. and Russia possible, or will recent events and allegations of cyber hacking lead to greater conflict? Moran speaks with Austin Long, associate professor and technology expert at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and Amy Zegart, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

All episodes in the Diffusion series can be accessed here.