On Shifting Ground

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day.

Direct download: 3_30_12_Luce_Rothkopf.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 3:00pm PDT

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day.

Direct download: 3_31_12_After_bin_Laden_Nacht_Sude.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 11:00am PDT

In this Keynote Conversation from the WorldAffairs 2012 conference, we
examine how innovation will help us find solutions to the energy
challenges we face today and expect to face going forward to 2050.  Our
energy needs are still rising in the US and are rising much faster in
many parts of the world. Many forecasters predict that global energy
demands will rise by 40% between now and 2050. Looking forward, it seems
clear that we will continue to rely heavily on conventional resources
such as oil, coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy. But, will innovation
and breakthroughs in technology allow us to capture significant amounts
of affordable energy from other sources with important environmental
benefits, and allow us to become much more efficient in our use of
energy globally?

Direct download: 3_31_12_Vaitheeswaran_Zygocki.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 11:00am PDT

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day. In recognition of Earth Day, April 22. Some predict it is likely that our need for water will overcome our resources and parts of the world may soon be unfit to sustain people and food production. Imagining the world in 2050, we ask: how will we meet our rising food and water needs? Will our cities and farms look like those of today? How will we innovate and adapt to maintain the resources to sustain life on an ever more crowded planet? Two distinguished speakers will discuss these topics: Gawain Kripke, Director of Policy and Research at Oxfam America; and Peter Lochery, the Director of the Water Team at CARE.

Direct download: 3_31_12_Food_and_Water_Kripke_Lochery.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:30am PDT

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day.

Direct download: 3_31_12_From_Longitudes_to_Latitudes_Dadush_Devarajan.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:00am PDT

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day.

Speakers:

Karl Eikenberry, Distinguished Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University; Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan & Retired US Army Lt. General

Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy, The Brookings Institution

Direct download: 3_30_12_Eikenberry_OHanlon.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 3:30pm PDT

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day. Some of the questions addressed in this session include: What has been the effect of the current austerity measures in stabilizing the European economies? What impact will the debt crisis have on European cohesion? What are the implications of a large-scale recession in Europe for the global economic landscape? Two distinguished speakers will address these issues: Megan Greene, Head of European Economics at Roubini Global Economics; and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, Senior Research Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Direct download: 3_30_12_From_Bailouts_to_Brussels_Greene_Kirkegaard.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:30am PDT

Recorded at WorldAffairs 2012, the World Affairs Council’s annual conference designed for global citizens seeking deeper insight, understanding and context surrounding critical issues of our day. In 2011, three dictators were overthrown as massive popular protests gripped the Middle East. A year after these movements began, what has changed inside Tunisia, Egypt and Libya? Have these unique opportunities for reform been successful? What have these changes done to affect the greater balance of power in the Middle East? And what challenges and opportunities will President Obama or his challenger face when formulating US policy toward the region? Ellen Laipson, President and CEO of the Stimson Center and Robin Wright, Senior Fellow at the US Institute of Peace, and a Distinguished Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, will discuss these topics.

Direct download: 3_30_12_After_the_Arab_SpringLaipson_Wright.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:00am PDT

The World Affairs Council is pleased to welcome Ambassador Irina Bokova—Director-General of UNESCO since 2009—for a discussion spanning UNESCO’s efforts around the world today, and in particular UNESCO’s programs to sustain the democratic spirit of the Arab Spring, promote peace and nation-building in South Sudan, and support democratic reforms in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Direct download: 3_21_12_Irina_Bokova.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

From regime change in North Korea to Iran’s announcement of a new uranium enrichment plant, 2012 began with unsettling news of nuclear proliferation. While these two nations pose what many consider the most serious threat to US national security, efforts to stop their nuclear programs have yielded little progress. Between 2003 and 2009, US officials saw both diplomatic and military threats ignored as North Korea increased its stockpiles of nuclear material from one or two bombs worth to as much as eleven. Similarly, negotiations with Iran have stalled as the US and European nations call for further sanctions. What, if any, of these tactics will finally yield progress? Philip Yun and Joe Cirincione will discuss the US and the international community’s successes and failures in pacifying these threats, and compare the track records of the two groups. They will also explore the broader lessons that can be applied to future nuclear threats.

Direct download: 3_1_12_Cirincione_Yun.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00pm PDT

By the late 1990’s many African nations held multiparty elections, and civic and media freedoms steadily grew. In 2012, Africa is, in many ways, not recognizable from that of the latter twentieth century. Join Ted Miguel as he examines Africa today and tackles some tough questions such as: How are the economies in Africa doing in 2012 and which countries are in the rising tide of south-south trade? What geo-political effects will the rise of south-south cooperation have on the global economic landscape?

Direct download: 2_29_12_Edward_Miguel.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00pm PDT

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