David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for the New York Times, has been named a second spring 2025 Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist in the College of Arts and Sciences. Each semester, the program brings accomplished journalists to Cornell to meet with faculty, students and the broader community.
“We’re very fortunate that the Distinguished Visiting Journalist program enables us to bring a renowned journalist like David Sanger to campus at this critical moment in history,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences. “With so much going on that threatens U.S. political stability, here and abroad, having David on campus to give us his perspective will be incredibly valuable.”
During Sanger’s visit, April 21-22, he will meet with students and faculty interested in both journalism and national security topics.
On April 22 at 5 p.m. in Lewis Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall (G76), Sanger will participate in “New Cold Wars,” a public conversation with Loewen about Sanger’s recent book, “New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West,” as well as other current national security issues.
"I'm delighted to be returning to Cornell and for the chance to engage with its stellar students, faculty and alumni,” Sanger said. “In recent decades we've witnessed several sharp turning points in history: 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia as a threat to Europe. But at this moment, the surprise is that the United States is also seen as a source of political, economic and security instability – posing a set of challenges we could not have imagined even six months ago. We have a lot to discuss."
In addition to covering the president and his administration, Sanger also reports on foreign policy, intelligence and military advisers who shape the nation’s national security policy. He emphasizes analytical articles that explain the underlying factors that led to a major decision or place a major event in a historical frame that gives readers some context of how hard choices are made.
Sanger has worked for the New York Times for more than four decades, starting shortly after his graduation from Harvard University. As a business correspondent, he covered the early days of Silicon Valley and worked on the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the causes of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. He spent six years as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief in Japan. He has covered five presidents and served on teams that won two other Pulitzers, most recently for uncovering Russia’s role in the 2016 election.
He is the author of four books, most recently “The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power;” “Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power;” and “The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age,” which later became an HBO documentary by the same title.
Linda B. Glaser is news and media relations manager for the College of Arts and Sciences.
