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SUMMARY:WorldNow | Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages
DESCRIPTION:Brett McGurk, former White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa and author of Brink (available Oct. 6, 2026), takes us inside the high-stakes negotiations to free the October 7 hostages and secure a ceasefire in Gaza. McGurk led U.S. diplomacy on some of the region’s most consequential challenges, offering a rare firsthand look at the negotiations and decisions that continue to shape the Middle East today. \nMeet the Guest\nBrett McGurk served as a top national security advisor under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. He has been involved in U.S. military strategy, diplomacy, and foreign policy for nearly two decades, most recently as Obama and Trump’s envoy leading the campaign to defeat ISIS. He served as a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2001 to 2002, and was at the Court on the morning of 9/11, a day that changed history and his life. McGurk is currently the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute where he teaches and lectures on presidential decision-making in wartime. He is the author of the forthcoming book Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages, available October 6th, 2026.\nMeet the Host\nJim Falk is Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Santa Fe, a member organization of the World Affairs Councils of America. He is the host of WorldNow with Jim Falk and the producer and host of The Forum, the weekly public affairs program on KSFR-FM, Santa Fe Community Radio (KSFR.org).\nA member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Falk led the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth as President and CEO from 2001 to 2021, helping expand the organization’s role as one of the nation’s leading forums for international affairs and public policy. His guests have included diplomats, senior intelligence officials, policymakers, military leaders, scholars, journalists, and bestselling authors from around the world.\nThrough WorldNow and The Forum, he continues his commitment to fostering informed, civil dialogue on the international, political, social, and cultural issues shaping our world.\nAbout the Book\nBrink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages by Brett McGurk\nThe first major insider account of the high-stakes negotiations to free the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7—written in gripping detail by the American mediator who was in the room through it all.\nHaving served four American presidents on matters of war and peace, Brett McGurk was no stranger to high-stakes diplomacy, but this was different. With American citizens missing, the hostages’ release critical to ending the war in Gaza, and the desperate situation for civilians, McGurk and his team faced impossible tradeoffs at every turn. Caught between Hamas’s maximalist demands and Israel’s determination that Hamas could not maintain power in Gaza, McGurk and his colleagues worked relentlessly over fifteen months to get a deal that most increasingly thought impossible.\nTaking readers inside McGurk’s discussions and negotiations with President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and presidents, generals, spies, and diplomats in Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and more, Brink paints a portrait of a region one wrong choice away from tipping into total war, as Iran and its proxy militias seized upon the chaos to open fire on Israeli and American targets. With the 2024 election reshaping the political landscape and time running out on the hostages, McGurk found himself working hand in hand with an unlikely partner—Trump’s emissary from the New York real estate world, Steve Witkoff. They forged a bipartisan front when it mattered most—to secure a ceasefire and save lives.\nA gripping account of diplomacy under fire, Brink takes readers from the Oval Office to the seats of power in the Middle East and offers a remarkable look inside a crisis that reshaped the world, the consequences of which are still unfolding today.\n \nWorldNow with Jim Falk is hosted by the World Affairs Council of Connecticut and presented in partnership with Councils nationwide: World Affairs Councils of America, Alaska World Affairs Council, Colorado Springs World Affairs Council, Columbia World Affairs Council, Columbus Council on World Affairs, Foreign Policy Association, Global Sacramento, Global Santa Fe, Global Ties – Arizona, International Affairs Forum, Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Montana World Affairs Council, Off the Record, Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations, San Diego World Affairs Council, Savannah Council on World Affairs, St. Petersburg World Affairs Council, Tennessee World Affairs Council, Worcester World Affairs Council, World Affairs Council of Albuquerque, World Affairs Council of Austin, World Affairs Council of Atlanta, World Affairs Council of Charlotte, World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, World Affairs Council of Hampton Roads, World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, World Affairs Council of Kentucky & Southern Indiana, World Affairs Council of Las Vegas, World Affairs Council of Miami, World Affairs Council of New Orleans, World Affairs Council of Northwest Ohio, World Affairs Council of Orange County, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, World Affairs Council of San Antonio, World Affairs Council of Sonoma County, World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, and WorldOregon.\n
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brett McGurk, former White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa and author of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brink</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (available Oct. 6, 2026), takes us inside the high-stakes negotiations to free the October 7 hostages and secure a ceasefire in Gaza. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">McGurk led U.S. diplomacy on some of the region&#8217;s most consequential challenges, offering a rare firsthand look at the negotiations and decisions that continue to shape the Middle East today. </span></p>
<p><strong>Meet the Guest</strong><br />
Brett McGurk served as a top national security advisor under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. He has been involved in U.S. military strategy, diplomacy, and foreign policy for nearly two decades, most recently as Obama and Trump’s envoy leading the campaign to defeat ISIS. He served as a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2001 to 2002, and was at the Court on the morning of 9/11, a day that changed history and his life. McGurk is currently the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute where he teaches and lectures on presidential decision-making in wartime. He is the author of the forthcoming book Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages, available October 6th, 2026.</p>
<p><strong>Meet the Host</strong><br />
Jim Falk is Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Santa Fe, a member organization of the World Affairs Councils of America. He is the host of WorldNow with Jim Falk and the producer and host of The Forum, the weekly public affairs program on KSFR-FM, Santa Fe Community Radio (KSFR.org).</p>
<p>A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Falk led the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth as President and CEO from 2001 to 2021, helping expand the organization&#8217;s role as one of the nation&#8217;s leading forums for international affairs and public policy. His guests have included diplomats, senior intelligence officials, policymakers, military leaders, scholars, journalists, and bestselling authors from around the world.</p>
<p>Through WorldNow and The Forum, he continues his commitment to fostering informed, civil dialogue on the international, political, social, and cultural issues shaping our world.</p>
<p><strong>About the Book</strong><br />
Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages by Brett McGurk</p>
<p>The first major insider account of the high-stakes negotiations to free the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7—written in gripping detail by the American mediator who was in the room through it all.</p>
<p>Having served four American presidents on matters of war and peace, Brett McGurk was no stranger to high-stakes diplomacy, but this was different. With American citizens missing, the hostages’ release critical to ending the war in Gaza, and the desperate situation for civilians, McGurk and his team faced impossible tradeoffs at every turn. Caught between Hamas’s maximalist demands and Israel’s determination that Hamas could not maintain power in Gaza, McGurk and his colleagues worked relentlessly over fifteen months to get a deal that most increasingly thought impossible.</p>
<p>Taking readers inside McGurk’s discussions and negotiations with President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and presidents, generals, spies, and diplomats in Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and more, Brink paints a portrait of a region one wrong choice away from tipping into total war, as Iran and its proxy militias seized upon the chaos to open fire on Israeli and American targets. With the 2024 election reshaping the political landscape and time running out on the hostages, McGurk found himself working hand in hand with an unlikely partner—Trump’s emissary from the New York real estate world, Steve Witkoff. They forged a bipartisan front when it mattered most—to secure a ceasefire and save lives.</p>
<p>A gripping account of diplomacy under fire, Brink takes readers from the Oval Office to the seats of power in the Middle East and offers a remarkable look inside a crisis that reshaped the world, the consequences of which are still unfolding today.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b><i>WorldNow with Jim Falk </i></b><b>is hosted by the World Affairs Council of Connecticut </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">and presented in partnership with Councils nationwide: World Affairs Councils of America, Alaska World Affairs Council, Colorado Springs World Affairs Council, Columbia World Affairs Council, Columbus Council on World Affairs, Foreign Policy Association, Global Sacramento, Global Santa Fe, Global Ties – Arizona, International Affairs Forum, Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Montana World Affairs Council, Off the Record, Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations, San Diego World Affairs Council, Savannah Council on World Affairs, St. Petersburg World Affairs Council, Tennessee World Affairs Council, Worcester World Affairs Council, World Affairs Council of Albuquerque, World Affairs Council of Austin, World Affairs Council of Atlanta, World Affairs Council of Charlotte, World Affairs Council of Cincinnati &amp; Northern Kentucky, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, World Affairs Council of Hampton Roads, World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, World Affairs Council of Kentucky &amp; Southern Indiana, World Affairs Council of Las Vegas, World Affairs Council of Miami, World Affairs Council of New Orleans, World Affairs Council of Northwest Ohio, World Affairs Council of Orange County, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, World Affairs Council of San Antonio, World Affairs Council of Sonoma County, World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, and WorldOregon.</span></p>

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