What CFR.org Editors are reading the�week of March 9�13, 2015.

CIA Director John O. Brennan joins CBS News' Charlie Rose to discuss the agency's global mission and approach to emerging and persistent threats.

Israel holds elections; Iran's nuclear talks near an important deadline; and Syria marks four years of civil war.

Benn Steil�s new Forbes op-ed examines Paul Krugman's data analysis purporting to document definitively that "austerity," defined by declines in real government purchases, damaged growth between 2010 and 2013. He shows that this finding collapses entirely when he excludes countries without independent monetary policies, such as those in the Eurozone. For countries with independent monetary policies, changes in real government purchases had no effect on growth.

If knowledge is power, we should all be feeling more powerful. The defining trend of our time is the ever-increasing connectedness made possible by technologies such as the Internet, satellite communication, and cell phones.With this connectedness comes instant access to a large portion of the world�s knowledge.

Experts discuss the complex global challenges facing the United Nations, U.S. policies regarding the UN, and the arguments for investment in international organizations.

The OECD�s approach to bringing in emerging powers as �key partners� is a smart way to remain relevant in a quickly shifting global landscape, argue Stewart Patrick and Naomi Egel. Other multilateral organizations should pay attention.

For many foreign policymakers, economic sanctions have become the tool of choice to respond to major geopolitical challenges, from counterterrorism to conflict resolution, explains this Backgrounder.

Julia Gillard, the former prime minister of Australia, joins CFR Senior Fellow Gayle Tzemach Lemmon to examine global education.

Farah Pandith, CFR�s adjunct senior fellow, discusses global efforts to counter violent extremism and offers policy recommendations for the United States, as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

Research links about international trade and investment, including news, policy, agreements, and markets.

Giovanni Buttarelli, European data protection supervisor,�discusses the strategy for his five year mandate and�other�data protection issues�in Europe and around the world.

Giovanni Buttarelli, European Data Protection Supervisor,�discusses the strategy for his five year mandate and�other�data protection issues�in Europe and around the world.

Giovanni Buttarelli, European Data Protection Supervisor,�discusses the strategy for his five year mandate and�other�data protection issues�in Europe and around the world.

Giovanni Buttarelli, European Data Protection Supervisor,�discusses the strategy for his five year mandate and�other�data protection issues�in Europe and around the world.

In his new book, Market Madness: A Century of Oil Panics, Crises, and Crashes, Council on Foreign Relations Fellow and Citigroup Analyst Blake Clayton shows that over the last 100 years, many fell prey to fears that the world�s oil is dwindling and prices are doomed to rise.

In Market Madness: A Century of Oil Panics, Crises, and Crashes,�stock analyst Blake C. Clayton tempers the craze surrounding�oil exhaustion through a combination of�historical investigation and sober, persuasive analysis. His book is a lucid, credible riposte to apocalyptic ravings about �peak oil.� Clayton examines how�such panics have persisted through the decades, all unfounded,�yet�devastating to the market.�Market Madness�enjoins consumers, policymakers, and brokers�to abstain from hysteria and remain informed about what the future of energy truly holds.

What CFR.org Editors are reading the�week of March 2�6, 2015.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Sri Lanka; the UN reviews its mission in Libya; and the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of U.S. combat troops is marked in Vietnam.

Farah Pandith, CFR�s adjunct senior fellow, discusses policy formulations resulting from the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism,�as part of�CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.