The National Conversation Turns to Cyber Attacks, China, and World Safety

NPR

Coming this October, NPR and The Wilson Center will again join forces to present the next three installments of The National Conversation. These lunchtime discussions are a forum for informed discussions led by top research and policy leaders.

As part of a year-long series of free public events The National Conversation is made possible by a partnership between NPR and The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. If you can't make it to the events in person, you can catch the live web stream of each installment here on the This is NPR blog and at WilsonCenter.org.

Here's a rundown of what's coming up in October:

Cyber Gridlock: Why the Public Should Care
Date: Monday, October 1, 2012
Time: 12:30 to 2 PM (ET)

On October 1, NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep will moderate a discussion on "Cyber Gridlock: Why the Public Should Care," considering the emerging threat of cyber-attacks to national security and how the United States can address these new challenges.

Panelists for the discussion include General Keith B. Alexander, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service; U.S. Senator Susan Collins; and Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

China's New Leadership - An Opportunity for the United States?
Date: Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Time: 12:30 to 2 PM (ET)

Former Secretary of State Dr. Henry A. Kissinger will keynote "China's New Leadership – Opportunity for the United States?" followed by a discussion on U.S.-China relations under China's new generation of leaders on October 3.

All Things Considered host Melissa Block will moderate the discussion. Panelists for this event are Ambassador Stapleton Roy; Cheng Li, Director of Research and a senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at The Brookings Institution; and David Lampton, Dean of Faculty, George and Sadie Hyman Professor of China Studies, and Director of China Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Is the World More Dangerous 50 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Date: Monday, October 15, 2012
Time: 1 to 2:30 PM (ET)

Looking ahead to October 15, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten will moderate the conversation, "Is the World More Dangerous 50 Years After the Cuban Missile Crisis?" with a keynote address by Robert Gallucci, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and author of Going Critical.