With Donald Trump back in the White House, how might his second presidency shape America’s domestic and foreign policy? What’s next for the US? David Aaronovitch moderates a dynamic panel.

Trump’s first term brought sweeping changes: the Abraham Accords, recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal, and a confrontational stance toward Iran. Domestically, Trump’s policies polarised Americans on immigration, the judiciary, and voting rights, while his “America First” doctrine redefined the country’s global role.

What’s next for the US? Journalist David Aaronovitch moderates a dynamic panel featuring City Lit principal and American history expert Mark Malcomson, historian Ian Morris, journalist and author Zoe Strimpel, and renowned Israeli historian Tom Segev, who will offer insights into how Trump’s presidency may impact Israel and the wider Middle East. Together, they tackle the political, strategic, and global implications of a second Trump term.

This event will last approximately 1 hour, without an interval.

About the speakers:

Mark Malcomson has been Principal and Chief Executive of City Lit, Europe’s biggest adult education college, since 2011. He has facilitated, interviewed, taught and lectured on five continents. In the last 10 years, he has conducted a great variety of interviews, both online and in-person. Mark was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List for services to adult education.

Ian Morris teaches at Stanford University, where he has won the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is also a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Society for the Arts, and at the London School of Economics, and has directed archaeological digs in Britain, Greece, and Sicily. He studies long-term global history, asking what the patterns of the past tell us about the future. His fifteen books include the prize-winning Why the West Rules—For Now, and, most recently, Geography is Destiny: Britain and the World, a 10,000-Year History. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, delivered the Tanner Lectures in Human Values at Princeton, and has advised the World Bank, the US National Intelligence Council, the Australian Army, and other institutions. He is currently writing a book called What Happened in History.

Zoe Strimpel is a historian, author, newspaper columnist and broadcaster. She is a regular contributor to the Spectator and Unherd, and has written for the Sunday Times, The Times, the FT, The Economist, Elle, Cosmo, Red, and the Times Literary Supplement.

Tom Segev is a leading historian and one of Israel’s most distinguished journalists. He was born in Jerusalem in 1945 to parents who fled Nazi Germany. Segev holds a BA in History and Political Science from the Hebrew University and a PhD in History from Boston University. In 2000 and 2010, Segev’s books were included in the New York Times’ Best Books of the Year lists. In 2001, Segev’s One Palestine, Complete was the first title ever to win the National Jewish Book Award in two categories and in 2024 it was included in the NYT list of the best books 2000-2024. Formerly a reporter and columnist for Haaretz, Segev has published nine works, which have appeared in 16 languages, among them The Seventh Million – Israel and the Holocaust and A State At Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion. Most recently published in Germany is an autobiography. Segev has been guest professor at universities in several countries and frequently comments on current developments.

David Aaronovitch is a journalist, author and broadcaster. He has presented Radio 4’s weekly current affairs programme The Briefing Room since 2016, writes for the Financial Times and is the author of three books, including Voodoo Histories about conspiracy theories and Party Animals about his family and British Communism.