Most Americans are far more focused on “pocketbook issues” – like stretching an ever-inflating dollar – than what the country does overseas in their name. But this election cycle, calls for additional aid for overseas wars has put foreign policy on the ballot for voters.

In the second episode of our special election series, South Carolina voter Maryann Wright shares her thoughts on the role of American democracy at home… and its responsibility abroad. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State, and Nicholas Kristof, columnist at The New York Times, to see why international affairs will matter come November.

Guests:  

Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State

Nicholas Kristof, NY Times columnist

Maryann Wright, retired teacher and South Carolina voter

Phil Hemingway, former owner of Phil’s Repair, LLC and Iowa voter

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Saturday marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And while foreign support may be dwindling, Ukrainian determination to win the war is not. But what’s at stake when war no longer feels like an emergency… but a way of life?

Ray Suarez sits down with Masha Gessen, staff writer for The New Yorker, to unpack the toll of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine’s freedoms… and democracy.

Guest:

Masha Gessen, Russian-American award-winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker 

Host(s):  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin set the world on edge when Russia invaded Ukraine. Two years later, international support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is becoming more precarious, and war weariness amongst the resistance — and their allies— has begun to set in. 

Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw joins Ray Suarez to explain how a besieged Ukraine may be Europe’s last line of defense against Putin.

Guest:  

Michael Bociurkiw, global affairs analyst and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

On February 16, 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Alexei Navalny had died, and offered no further explanation. 

The cause of death hasn’t yet been reported, but since the news broke, world leaders have started speaking out against Vladimir Putin… and it brings a new round of scrutiny to the Russian dictator.

In May 2022, Ray sat down with documentarian Daniel Roher to chat 'Navalny,' his new film following the famed Russian opposition leader’s recovery from a Kremlin-sponsored assassination attempt and his ongoing search for justice. The film took home the Academy Award for best documentary last year.

To remember the life and political career of Alexei Navalny, we’re revisiting Ray’s conversation with Daniel Roher.

Guest:

Daniel Roher, documentary filmmaker and director of 'Navalny'

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel continues its massive retaliation against Hamas. And as violence spreads to Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, America’s global standing is taking a hit.

Ray Suarez sits down with Trita Parsi, Iran expert and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, to unpack how Biden’s unwavering support of Israel could cost him in the Middle East… and at home.

Guest:

Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Host: 

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established to aid Palestinian refugees, but it has become yet another flashpoint in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel has accused 12 out of the 13,000 UNRWA employees of taking part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli settlements. And as major donors like the United States, Germany and Britain have paused their funding, the aid agency may have to cease its life-saving operations for millions of Palestinians in Gaza by the end of February 2024. 

Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins Ray Suarez to address Israel’s allegations against UNRWA, and offers a critique of the Biden administration's unequivocal support of Israel, despite evidence that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians in Gaza.

Guest:

Kenneth Roth, Former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and author of “Righting Wrongs” 

Host: 

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Immigration has emerged as a major voter concern in the 2024 elections, and the challenge of securing America’s Southern border is once again a political flashpoint. But while the US debates immigration reform, tens of thousands of migrants have become pawns in a game that endangers their lives… 

Ray Suarez sits down with immigration attorney Mahsa Khanbabai to dive into what the broken visa process for Afghan refugees can teach us about immigration reform.

Guest:

Mahsa Khanbabai, immigration attorney at Khanbabi Immigration Law

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Immigrants in California are generally protected from federal deportation under sanctuary and safe haven laws, unless they've been incarcerated. And in 2022, after serving 25 years for murder, San Quentin State Prison parolee Phoeun You was turned over to ICE, and deported without warning. 

In this episode, Phoeun You tells “On Shifting Ground” senior producer Mateo Schimpf about coming to terms with surviving the Cambodian genocide, how he got caught up in the prison-to-deportation pipeline, and the hard choice he made to find freedom.

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.