Event Details

WHAT: Rana Foroohar discusses her new book "Sea Change: America's New Great Game in the Arctic Circle" with moderator Thorir Ibsen (online)



WHEN: Sept 2, 2026 Wednesday, 8:00 to 9:00 PM Beijing Time



MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: Look at the world from the North Pole, and you see America's relative position anew. Russia dominates the area. Greenland suddenly seems important, too, as does Canada. China, a "near-Arctic" nation, is closer than you'd think. The US, by comparison, is small. Why does this matter? As the Arctic melts, it is becoming one of the most important economic and political zones in the world. New sea lanes opening across the North Pole will decrease transit time between Asia and Atlantic ports by half, reshaping trade, security and geopolitics. Russia, China, and the US are in a battle to claim these new Arctic territories. They'll need ships that can break through six feet of ice in frigid waters. While Russia and China have dozens, America currently has just one in the Arctic โ€“ the Coast Guard cutter Healy. Foroohar was the first journalist to be given unfettered access to Healy and its crew on a three-week trip to the North Pole. She discovered why ships are the new chips, a crucial source of geopolitical power. America can no longer make its own ships; it's collaborating and competing with countries such as Finland, Canada, Korea, Japan, Russia and of course China. In the 19th century, the British and Russian empires battled for primacy in Central Asia, a struggle that became known as "The Great Game." Today, a new Great Game is being played, with its epicenter in the frigid waters of the top of the world.



MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Rana Foroohar is Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor at the Financial Times, based in New York. She is also CNN's Global Economic Analyst. From 2022 to 2023, Foroohar ran the MA program in economics at the Columbia Journalism School. Prior to joining the FT and CNN, Foroohar worked at TIME and Newsweek for 6 years and 13 years respectively. She has received numerous awards, including the German Marshall Fund's Peter Weitz Prize for transatlantic reporting. She is the author of three highly acclaimed books; her fourth book, "Sea Change: America's New Great Game in the Arctic Circle," will be published October 6 , 2026.



MORE ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Thorir Ibsen, is a former Ambassador of Iceland to China, with more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy and international negotiations. His previous positions and responsibilities included Chief negotiator for Climate Change, Senior Arctic Official, Fisheries and Environment negotiator, Chief Brexit negotiator for Iceland, Director General for Defence, and Ambassador to, among others, the European Union, France and India.



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Speakers

  • Rana Foroohar (Speaker)

    Rana Foroohar

    Speaker

    Rana Foroohar is Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor at the Financial Times, based in New York. She is also CNN’s Global Economic Analyst. Her first book, “Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business,” was shortlisted for the Financial Times McKinsey Book of the Year award in 2016. Her second book, “Don’t Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles – And All of Us,” released in 2019, was named Porchlight Business Book of the year. Her third book, “Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World,” was published by Crown in October 2022, and was one of Kirkus’ best non-fiction books of 2022. Her fourth book, “Sea Change: America’s New Great Game in the Arctic,” will be published on October 6th, 2026 by Crown.

    From 2022 to 2023, Foroohar ran the MA program in economics at the Columbia Journalism School, where she developed a curriculum on post-neoliberal economics and media. Prior to joining the FT and CNN, Foroohar spent 6 years at TIME, as assistant managing editor and economic columnist. She also spent 13 years at Newsweek, as an economic and foreign affairs editor and a foreign correspondent covering Europe and the Middle East. She is the recipient of the German Marshall Fund’s Peter Weitz Prize for transatlantic reporting, and has received awards and fellowships from
    institutions such as the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW), the Newswoman’s Club of New York, the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs and the East West Center. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the board of the Open Markets Institute.

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  • Thorir Ibsen (Moderator)

    Thorir Ibsen

    Moderator

    Thorir Ibsen is a former Ambassador of Iceland to China, with more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy and international negotiations. His responsibilities and positions have included Chief negotiator for Climate Change, Senior Arctic Official, Fisheries and Environment negotiator, Chief Brexit negotiator for Iceland, Director General for Defence, and Ambassador to, among others, the European Union, France and India.

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