On Shifting Ground

International development actors are taking cues from Silicon Valley’s boom to improve their ability to better serve the world’s most disadvantaged, transforming development in the 21st century. Technology, science and innovation are key to discovering new solutions to long-standing problems. Cutting-edge data techniques can help us measure the impact of interventions, continually improving services and scaling proven solutions to reach hundreds of millions of people.

Leading technology firms are also major philanthropists, providing both financial resources and technical expertise to support development innovations. By partnering together, alongside other non-traditional stakeholders, we can achieve what human progress has only now made possible — the end of extreme poverty by 2030.

How can development interventions become more adaptive and transparent? In what ways could shifting the culture of the way development organizations do business make them more responsive to beneficiary needs? How can we include local innovators and their contextual knowledge?

Join us on for a discussion with Ann Mei Chang, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the Global Development Lab, a new entity within USAID at the forefront of these breakthrough solutions, and Jacquelline Fuller, the Director of Google.org, which provides over $100 million yearly to support innovators using technology for humanity.

Speakers Ann Mei Chang is the Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the US Global Development Lab at USAID and Jacquelline Fuller is the Director of Google.org.

The conversation is moderated by Scott Wu, Partner and Head of Investments, Omidyar Network.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1649

Direct download: 10_06_16_21st_Century_Development.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:24am PDT

Globalization has been one of the most influential economic forces of the last century. The Internet has connected the world in ways that would have been unfathomable just a few years ago, China and other emerging nations’ economic fluctuations have impacted international markets, and terrorism has caused the biggest refugee flows in decades.

It is no secret that many issues related to globalization such as trade, immigration, and climate change were at the forefront of the recent US elections. What policy decisions related to globalization will our new president face when he enters office next year? What immediate actions should the next administration take?

Jeffrey Garten, who served in the Nixon, Ford, Carter and Clinton administrations and is also dean emeritus at the Yale School of Management, will share his views. Through the riveting stories of ten extraordinary visionaries, Jeffrey Garten's new book, "From Silk to Silicon: The Story of Globalization Through Ten Extraordinary Lives" explores how globalization has changed world history and continues to shape our lives.

Speaker Jeffrey E. Garten is Dean Emeritus of Yale School of Management, and Author of "From Silk to Silicon: The Story of Globalization Through Ten Extraordinary Lives".

The conversation is moderated by Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1659

Direct download: 11_17_16_Jeffrey_Garten.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:59am PDT

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the Iran deal — is perhaps the most important negotiated arrangement thus far in the 21st century. Iran’s capacity to construct a nuclear weapon has been stopped for 15 years and perhaps longer. It has not yet led to greater cooperation with Iran in the region, domestically on human rights and more democratic governance, and it has created problems for the governments of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Why? What are the prospects for the future for the next US president.

Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director, Foreign Policy Program, The Brookings Institution

Thomas Pickering, Vice Chairman of Hills & Company, former Under Secretary of State for Policy and Career Ambassador

Moderator: Greg Dobbs, former Foreign Correspondent, ABC News

Direct download: 10_28_16_US_Iran.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:15pm PDT

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most complex and polarizing conflicts in modern history. Nearly seventy years after the foundation of Israel and fifty years since the beginning of the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank territories, the struggle between the two sides seems to be almost as far from a resolution as when it first began.

How can Israeli and Palestinian leaders move toward a sustainable peace? Is a two-state solution the answer? Can the US and the international community help to bridge gaps and bring the two sides together? Join us for a conversation about the prospects for achieving peace and why it matters so much to the US and the world.

Maen Rashid Areikat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, The General Delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization to the United States, and Jeremy Ben-Ami
Founder & President, J Street, are in discussion.

The conversation is moderated by Janine Zacharia, Former Jerusalem Bureau Chief and Middle East Correspondent, The Washington Post.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1601

Direct download: 10_20_16_Israeli-Palestinian_Conflict.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:43am PDT

Russia and President Putin are a renewed source of concern in US foreign policy. From the perspective of the NATO alliance and potential challenges along Russia’s western and southern borders, to the clashes and compromises in addressing the ongoing crisis in Syria, to growing evidence of Russian cyberattacks within the United States, the next president faces a Russian leader with an agenda and expectations on the world stage.  What are the strategic key strategic challenges and is there an endgame for US-Russia relations?

Masha Gessen, Russian American Journalist and Author

Kathryn Stoner, Senior Fellow, Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University

Moderator: Robert English, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Southern California

Direct download: 10_28_16_Putin_Russia.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:22am PDT

In this special episode we feature two conversations from WorldAffairs 2016, Day One: The World that Awaits.

 

US Leadership: Where Do We Go from Here?

Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America Foundation

In conversation with Jane Wales, President and CEO, World Affairs

 

Global Economy Today: Can the US and China Work Together?

Henry M. Paulson Jr., Chairman, Paulson Institute, and 74th US Secretary of the Treasury

In conversation with Anja Manuel, Cofounder and Managing Partner, RiceHadleyGates LLC

Direct download: 10_28_16_Slaughter_Paulson.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:22am PDT

In a 2009 speech in Prague, President Obama set out an ambitious agenda: committing to reducing the role of nuclear weapons, strengthening nuclear nonproliferation efforts and preventing nuclear terrorism. Seven years later, the world is fundamentally different than it was when President Obama embarked on what became known as the "Prague Agenda." As the Obama presidency enters its final months, we ask: What has been accomplished in preventing the threat of nuclear terrorism? What challenges remain? Join World Affairs for a conversation with Lt. General Frank G. Klotz, the Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration, about the state of global nuclear security in a rapidly changing world.

Speaker Frank G. Klotz is the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Zachary Davis, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1625

Direct download: 06_30_16_Frank_Klotz.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 3:44pm PDT

In this special episode, we feature three conversations from speakers at our 2016 Global Philanthropy Forum conference. 

Antony Blinken, United States Deputy Secretary of State, Elias Bou Saab, Minister of Education and Higher Education of Lebanon, and Alexander Betts, Leopold W. Muller Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs and Director of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, discuss the Syrian refugee crisis and how government, enterprise, and civil society can bring solutions to the issue.

For more information about these programs please visit: https://www.philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2016/

Direct download: 10_24_16_GPF_Meeting_Displaced_Needs.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 9:55am PDT

South Sudan is the world’s youngest nation. Tragically, the euphoria of liberation following its independence in 2011 was soon undermined by deep-seated political, ethnic and geographical tensions. For the past 3 years, this power struggle has played out as a full-scale civil war in the country. Over 2 million South Sudanese are internally displaced, and over half of its 11 million population is facing famine.

This discussion reflects on important questions facing South Sudan 5 years after gaining its independence. Is there hope for peace and stability in South Sudan? What role will the international community play in bridging ethnic tensions in the country? What is the future for the UN South Sudanese peacekeeping mission that is opposed by the very government it aims to support? Can the UN impose peace on a reluctant nation? What is the role of youth and the diaspora in paving the way to sustainable peace?

Valentino Achak Deng, prominent South Sudanese advocate, will be joined by acclaimed author Dave Eggers in a conversation on these important issues.

As a boy, Valentino fled Sudan during its civil war and spent nine years as a refugee in Ethiopia and Kenya before eventually resettling in Atlanta. In collaboration with author Dave Eggers, his experience was memorialized in the acclaimed novel, "What Is the What."

Valentino Achak Deng, Co-founder, Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, speaks with author Dave Eggers.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1642

Direct download: 09_28_16_South_Sudan.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 3:01pm PDT

ISIS surged to international prominence following its audacious prison camp raids in 2013 in Iraq, freeing more than 500 Iraqi insurgents. ISIS has since carried out increasingly bold attacks in Syria and beyond, cementing its reputation as a group more violent and ruthless than any that came before it. No longer an insurgency, ISIS’ focus is to establish its own rule on conquered territory, and declare a worldwide caliphate. Of course the roots of ISIS trace deeper, and are much more intertwined with the interventions of the West than they first appear.

Today’s ISIS jihadists are the "children of Zarqawi," General Michael Flynn would later warn Congress, referring to Abu Musab Zarqawi, the once-obscure jihadist who led Al Qaeda in Iraq and laid ISIS’ philosophical foundations. How did Abu Musab Zarqawi, a “small-time thug,” rise to such world-changing prominence? How did ISIS emerge so forcefully from the chaos, and power struggles, of competing jihadist groups? Did the efforts of the West to crack down on Al Qaeda, inadvertently fuel the growth of ISIS ten years later?

Pulitzer Prize winner Joby Warrick, a reporter with The Washington Post since 1996, will address these issues in a conversation at World Affairs about the birth of ISIS. His latest book, “Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS,” pursues a thoughtful reflection on the origins the most notorious terror group in the world today.

As part of our "Engage" series, this event features a post-discussion Q&A, when you will have the chance to participate directly with the speaker and gain incredible insights that you won't get anywhere else.

Speaker Joby Warrick is Author and Reporter at The Washington Post.

The conversation is moderated by Kori Schake, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1636

Direct download: 09_15_16_Joby_Warrick.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:24am PDT

The frequency of epidemics is increasing, driven by surging populations, environmental change and globalized trade and travel. The SARS, pandemic influenza, MERS, Ebola and Zika virus outbreaks illustrate that the world is ill-prepared to deal with a large-scale viral pandemic. Experts have so far identified only a tiny proportion of viral threats, and few of these viruses have had vaccines or other counter-measures developed. Over the coming century we will witness spillover from a pool of over one million "unknown" viruses into human populations. The Global Virome Project is a global initiative to identify and characterize every significant viral threat circulating in the world. Only by identifying these potential threats can the world begin to prepare for the next great outbreak. In conversation with Jonna Mazet, Dennis Carroll and Nathan Wolfe, three experts from the Global Virome Project, this program will explore the extent of the viral threat to human populations and what can be done to stop it.

The panel features:

Dennis Carroll, Director, Global Health Security and Development Unit, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Jonna Mazet, Executive Director, One Health Institute, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and Nathan Wolfe, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Metabiota.

The conversation is moderated by Larry Brilliant, Chair, Skoll Global Threats Fund.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1629

Direct download: 07_20_16_Global_Virome.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:40am PDT

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2014 there were nearly 60 million refugees and IDPs worldwide — the highest number since World War II. What is the social sector’s role in meeting the immediate needs of the most vulnerable while at the same time, creating long-term strategies for ensuring the security and well-being of those forced to flee their homes?

JEANNE BOURGAULT CEO, Internews @InternewsJeanne

DEOGRATIAS NIYIZONKIZA Founder and CEO, Village Health Works @VHW

AMY RAO Founder and CEO, Integrated Archive Systems @11thhourproject

MODERATOR: SASHA CHANOFF Founder and Executive Director, RefugePoint @sashachanoff

For more information about this conference please visit: https://philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2016/

Direct download: 04_05_16_Meeting_Immediate_Needs.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:16am PDT

When President George W. Bush declared the war on terror after September 11, 2001, the United States was plunged into a global conflict with no clear objectives. Today, nearly fifteen years later, there is still no end in sight. In addition to the war’s original enemy, Al Qaeda, the US is in conflict with other jihadist and terrorist organizations, including ISIS. What has the investment of resources by the United States and its allies achieved in this ever widening conflict? Why has the United States, the most formidable military force in the world, so far failed to defeat its enemies? What freedoms have Americans sacrificed in the name of this endless war? Join World Affairs and Mark Danner, author of “Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War,” for a conversation about how the United States found itself on a “permanent war footing” and what that means for our role in the world.

Speaker Mark Danner is a Former Staff Writer at The New Yorker, and Professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley.

Nancy A. Jarvis, Attorney, Farrand Cooper, P.C., moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1628

Direct download: 07_28_16_Mark_Danner.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 5:36am PDT

Over the past fifteen years, the demand for humanitarian aid has increased dramatically. The world currently spends $25 billion to provide assistance to 125 million people, and according to a UN High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, another $15 billion is required to adequately meet the needs of those affected by violent conflict, natural disaster, demographic shifts and rapid urbanization, among other circumstances. As a result, the humanitarian sector is undergoing a period of self-reflection with the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit to be held in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2016. What has been learned and where is the sector heading? What is the role of public, private and social sector actors in filling the gaps in aid? And what is the unique role of philanthropy in both addressing the root causes of humanitarian crises and increasing the pool of available resources?

GUY CAVE Managing Director, Geneva Global @GuyCave2

HADEEL IBRAHIM Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation @Mo_IbrahimFdn

LONA STOLL Acting Deputy Director for the Global Development Lab at USAID @lonastoll

MODERATOR: PETER LAUGHARN President and CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation @peter_laugharn

For more information about this conference please visit: https://philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2016/

Direct download: 04_04_16_GPF_Filling_the_Gaps.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

People in fast growing economies are experiencing social and economic mobility for the first time, joining the middle class. Producers and makers are finding new markets for their commodities or wares, entrepreneurs are better able to access capital and customers, and job seekers are better able to connect with potential employers. Networks and knowledge are not only enabling economic growth and opportunity, but they are changing the very nature of work. Yet the “jobs challenge” remains so long as there is a short supply of the skills required for the jobs that await. What models exist for closing the skills gap? Moreover, how might employers better signal the skills they seek, and job seekers convey the skills they’ve attained, sometimes in non-traditional ways? How might each leverage networks to connect to one another?

KARAN CHOPRA Co-founder and Partner, Opportunity@Work @karchopra

JOSHUA OIGARA CEO, KCB Group @JoshuaOigara

SHAI RESHEF President and Founder, University of the People @ShaiReshef

MODERATOR: AN-ME CHUNG, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Mozilla Foundation @anmechung

For more information about this conference please visit: https://philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2016/

Direct download: 04_08_16_GPF_The_Jobs_Challenge.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:57am PDT

The adoption of the Paris climate agreement in December 2015 sent a powerful signal about the global consensus over the urgent need to address climate change. Although the agreement was more ambitious than expected, it is still not enough. Now the world must continue to embrace the spirit of Paris and race towards not only implementation of the agreement, but also increasingly bold ideas for the future. One country whose very existence depends on this is the low-lying Marshall Islands, a tiny atoll nation located in the middle of the Pacific. The Marshall Islands spearheaded the 'High Ambition Coalition' of countries that has been credited with securing the most ambitious elements of the Paris agreement.

Former British diplomat Carne Ross is the Founder and Executive Director of Independent Diplomat - the world's first non-profit diplomatic advisory group - which has worked closely with the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the years leading up to Paris and now on its role with the High Ambition Coalition. Independent Diplomat helps to level the diplomatic playing field between the world's richest countries, which are often the most egregious polluters, and states like the Marshall Islands, which are both the world's most vulnerable states to the devastating effects of climate change and among the least likely to be heard at international negotiations.

How did a country of only 60,000 people become one of the most influential states at the UN climate talks? What's next for climate diplomacy and the High Ambition Coalition? What lessons can the success of the Paris Agreement teach us about global diplomacy more broadly? How can private and non-profit organizations like Independent Diplomat influence international relations, peace and world security? Join World Affairs and Carne Ross for a conversation that will answer these and other pressing questions about the global solutions to climate change.

Speaker Carne Ross is Executive Director of Independent Diplomat.

Aimee Barnes, Partner, Allotrope Partners, moderates the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1617

Direct download: 06_29_16_Carne_Ross.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

How are international war criminals brought to justice? Since the Nuremberg trials following World War II, international bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC) have fought to prosecute war criminals for egregious abuses of human rights. From South America to Russia and from Rwanda to Kosovo, scores of war criminals have been prosecuted for their misdeeds. But how can war criminals be held accountable if they can't be found? What happens when alleged war criminals or terrorists are being shielded from prosecution by states? How has human rights prosecution evolved since the early days of the ICC? Join us for a discussion with human rights experts Eric Stover, Alexa Koenig and Victor Peskin about the evolution of war crimes prosecution and what still needs to be done to protect victims of human rights abuses.

Speakers include: Alexa Koenig, Executive Director, Human Rights Center, Berkeley Law, University of California, Victor Peskin, Associate Professor, School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University, and Eric Stover, Faculty Director, Human Rights Center, University of California Berkeley.

Rebecca Westerfield, Founding Member and Former Director, Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS), moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1598

Direct download: 05_26_16_Justice_Unjust_World.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

China and India have proven themselves indispensable in the first decade of the twenty-first century, which has been a remarkable period of economic growth and increased connectivity for both countries. Policy initiatives like the US Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that promote trade in these emerging markets provide exciting new opportunities for entrepreneurs around the globe to expand and develop their businesses and connect with potential consumers. However, in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, can the US continue to lead in both the political and economic spheres? How should the US engage with India and China in the future? Join World Affairs for a conversation with Anja Manuel, co-founder and principal of RiceHadleyGates, LLC, who will offer insights into how the US should work with China and India to face the twenty-first century's global challenges.

Speaker Anja Manuel is Co-Founder and Principal at RiceHadleyGates LLC.

Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum and Vice President, The Aspen Institute, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1615

Direct download: 06_15_16_Anja_Manuel.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

With no end in sight to the conflict in Syria, CARE USA is one of the leading international nonprofit organizations spearheading relief efforts in overflowing refugee camps across the Middle East. As an organization that recognizes the importance of empowering women and girls as a way to end poverty and gender inequality around the world, CARE USA focuses on ensuring women and girls live with dignity and security. As violence continues in war-torn Syria, and millions more girls and women are disenfranchised and displaced, how can organizations such as CARE USA provide these refugees the resources to build a brighter future?

Join World Affairs and Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA, for a discussion about the organization's involvement in relief efforts across the Middle East and the fight for women's empowerment taking place even in such dire circumstances as overcrowded, under-resourced refugee camps.

Speaker Michelle Nunn is President and CEO of CARE USA.

Linda J. Calhoun, Executive Producer, Career Girls, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1618

Direct download: 06_21_16_Michelle_Nunn.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 9:57am PDT

Five years after the Arab Spring, the Middle East is faced with a civil war in Syria, the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, violent insurgencies and a refugee crisis. Egypt, hailed in the West as an ally in the fight against terrorism, is far from where many hoped it would be when Egyptians took to the streets on January 25, 2011. Since the Arab Spring, international policymakers have prioritized security and stability over personal freedom and democracy which has led to a regression in rights and freedoms, growing public disengagement and increased radicalization in the region.

Join us for a discussion with Dr. Nancy Okail, Executive Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, who will offer insights into Egypt’s tenuous approach to stability, the renewed crackdown on rights and freedoms and the role US and EU policymakers can play in restoring democracy and the rule of law in Egypt.

Speaker Nancy Okail is the Executive Director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy

David D. Arnold, President of The Asia Foundation, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1596

Direct download: 05_05_16_Nancy_Okail.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Eight years on from the biggest market meltdown since the Great Depression, the key lessons of the crisis of 2008 still remain unlearned—and our financial system is just as vulnerable as ever. Many of us know that our government failed to fix the banking system after the subprime mortgage crisis. But what few of us realize is how the misguided financial practices and philosophies that nearly toppled the global financial system have come to infiltrate ALL American businesses, putting us on a collision course for another cataclysmic meltdown. Join us for lunch and conversation with Rana Foroohar, "Time" assistant managing editor and economic columnist, and Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media Inc.

Speaker Rana Foroohar is Assistant Managing Editor of TIME.

Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO, O'Reilly Media, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1611

Direct download: 06_28_16_Rana_Foroohar.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

How much has really changed in the US's relationship with Cuba? Following President Obama's historic restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014, many hoped the agreement would offer opportunities for economic growth and cultural exchange, while others hoped it would lead to political change within Cuba. Has the reality of the renewed relationship lived up to expectations on either side? How do Cubans see the future of US-Cuba relations? Join us for a conversation with former Cuban representative to the European Union Carlos Alzugaray. He will share insights into this historic moment and what the US can expect from restored ties with Cuba.

Speaker Carlos Alzugaray Treto is the Former Ambassador of Cuba to the European Union for the Independent Political Analyst.

Cynthia Gorney, Professor Emeritus, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1599

Direct download: 05_25_16_Carlos_Alzugaray_Treto.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

In the Information Age, modern society has gone digital. Computer technology has revolutionized nearly every aspect of our world, including international warfare. Where geopolitical power once depended solely on military might and regional diplomacy, cyberwarfare provides new tools for political influence and conflict. As cyberspace expands across borders, new state and non-state actors engage in acts of virtual aggression and use social media to control mainstream narratives. What does this new source of power mean for international foreign relations and how can the US negotiate its superpower status to gain control over this virtual battleground? Are US defenses prepared for global cyber terrorism threats? How can civilian populations be protected from cyber threats, given our reliance on the Internet and computer technology? How will Internet governance and surveillance affect user privacy?

Join us for a conversation on these questions and more with Adam Segal, the Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. His book "The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age" describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace.

Speaker Adam Segal is the Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program for the Council on Foreign Relations.

Raj Shah, Managing Partner of Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1612

Direct download: 06_02_16_Adam_Segal.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Five years after the Arab Spring, how much has really changed in the power and governance structures of many Middle Eastern states? From Egypt to Yemen, countries once home to democratic grassroots revolutions now struggle to control political conflict and civil war. The general optimism that stemmed from Tahrir Square in 2011 has given way in many cases to sectarianism and conflict. Why did so many states fail to bring about peaceful democratic change? What are the consequences for the citizens of these states? How have the aftereffects of the Arab Spring contributed to the rise of terrorist organizations like ISIS? Journalist Robert Worth will examine the outcomes of the Arab Spring throughout the region and consider their implications for the future of the Middle East.

Speaker Robert F. Worth is a Contributor to The New York Times Magazine.

The discussion is moderated by Carla Thorson, Senior Vice President of Programs, the World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1583

Direct download: 04_27_16_Robert_Worth.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Conventional wisdom says that the world is getting smaller. Thanks to advances in transportation, energy and communications, people all over the world are connected to each other like never before. Previously isolated nations are now accessible to the outside world and nations' economies are now dependent on those of other nations. What does this connectivity mean for the future? Will wars be fought more over supply chains than territory? Will increased connectivity make trade routes and power grids more important than borders? Join us for a discussion with global strategist Parag Khanna, who will offer insights into the new challenges and opportunities of our connected world.

Speaker Parag Khanna is the Senior Research Fellow, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Sean Randolph, Senior Director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1593

Direct download: 05_04_16_Parag_Khanna.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Afghanistan has seen much development in recent years, influenced in no small part by the presence of the US military since 2001. With the election of President Ghani and the formation of the National Unity Government in 2015, Afghanistan entered a new era of reform termed 'the transformation decade.' While great strides have been made in education, civil rights, economic development and many other areas, there is still more work to be done in achieving self-reliance for the country. Against the backdrop of military, political and economic transitions, what steps are being taken to achieve a sustainable peace for Afghanistan and the region?

Join us for a discussion with His Excellency Hamdullah Mohib, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States, and the Honorable Karl Eikenberry, former US ambassador to Afghanistan and Trustee of The Asia Foundation, on the state of Afghanistan's security, politics, the reform agenda and future challenges to peace and development.

His Excellency Hamdullah Mohib, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, speaks.

The conversation is moderated by Karl W. Eikenberry, Oksenberg-Rohlen Distinguished Fellow, Director of the US-Asia Security Initiative, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1608

Direct download: 06_01_16_Hamdullah_Mohib.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 1:15pm PDT

Can Syria ever achieve peace? Over the past five years, the Syrian conflict has grown to become the center of a global humanitarian crisis, overwhelming many of its neighbors in the Middle East, as well as several countries in Europe. There are nearly five million refugees who have been directly affected by violence within Syria, three quarters of whom are women and children. Although many in the international community are working to find a peaceful solution, other states are actively prolonging the violence. In the face of such conflicting agendas, is a diplomatic resolution possible? Who will lead this resolution? Can Syria survive as a viable state? And what have we learned from the Syrian peace talks thus far? Join us for a conversation about the challenges of reaching peace in Syria and what the global community can do to help.

Speaker Hrair Balian is Director of the Conflict Resolution Program for The Carter Center.

The discussion is moderated by Katie J. Zoglin, Senior Deputy City Attorney at the San Jose City Attorney's Office.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1594

Direct download: 04_25_16_Hrair_Balian.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 3:16pm PDT

Turkey has long served as the gateway between East and West. Many Western governments count on Turkey to serve as a democratic ally in an unstable region. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP have been praised for creating a liberal Islamic government in the Middle East. More recently, however, the so-called Turkish model looks to be failing. Why did such a promising government model fail to inspire democratic regimes among Turkey's neighbors? Is the Arab Spring to blame for the demise of the Turkish model? Is it possible for a government to effectively blend Islamic principles with democratic practices? Join us for a conversation about the prospects of creating a liberal democracy in the Middle East and why it matters for the region and the world.

Speaker Cihan Tuğal is Associate Professor for the of Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Jeffrey Scott Collins, Vice President of Communications at After School, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1597

Direct download: 05_18_16_Cihan_Tugal.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

No country in Europe has been hit harder by the 2008 global economic crisis and subsequent downturn than Greece. After years of polarizing austerity measures and fears of a Greek exit from the Eurozone, the country is slowly emerging from an extended period of economic instability. The Greek recovery, however, is far from over. Yanis Varoufakis served as Greek finance minister from January through July 2015 and opposed the EU’s third and final bailout agreement for Greece. He will discuss how the Greek economy is faring today and how the Eurozone crisis affected the rest of the global economy. What lessons have been learned about the risks and benefits of a shared economic system? How can we protect those most vulnerable to economic shocks from another economic crisis?

Speaker Yanis Varoufakis is Former Greek Finance Minister, and Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Athens.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1586

Direct download: 04_21_16_Yanis_Varoufakis.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 1:09pm PDT

Today, one out of every 120 people in the world is displaced from their homes. Once of the areas where the global refugee crisis is most acute is the Middle East, where the Syrian conflict has grown to become the center of a global humanitarian crisis, overwhelming many of its neighbors in the Middle East, as well as several countries in Europe. There are nearly five million refugees who have been directly affected by violence within Syria, three quarters of whom are women and children. How are individuals and organizations from the public, private and philanthropic sectors are working to provide both short- and long-term support for refugees?
 
 
Speakers:
 
Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State, United States Department of State
 
Nancy Lindborg, President, United States Institute of Peace
 
 
Moderator:
 
Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum
Direct download: 05_16_16_Blinken_Lindborg_Syria.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:14pm PDT

From remote sensing devices to telemedicine to wearables, information technologies and connected devices are transforming the way doctors and patients interact and communicate. Is increased connectivity translating into increased health care access, better patient outcomes and lower health care costs as envisioned? How will these innovations impact access to health care in the developing world? Are we at an inflection point for connectivity to really change health care delivery around the world?

 

SPEAKERS

Ram Fish, Founder and CEO, 19Labs

Adam Pellegrini, Divisional Vice President, Digital Health, Walgreens

Aenor Sawyer, Associate Director of Strategic Relations, Center for Digital Health Innovation, University of California San Francisco

 

MODERATOR:

Adam Satariano, Technology Reporter, Bloomberg News

 

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1548

Direct download: 10_16_15_WA15_Connected_Health_Care.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:59pm PDT

After 9/11, the Drug Enforcement Administration reframed itsmission, warning that terrorists had gotten into the illegal drugtrade to finance their attacks. From al Qaeda and the Taliban toHezbollah and the FARC, the agency has pursued drug traffickingcharges in association with many terrorist groups. While the twomay be related in some regions, such as Colombia and Afghanistan,questions have arisen around the scope of narco-terrorism.

How effective is the DEA’s work on narco-terrorism in thwartingterrorist activities? What other strategies could be used againstgroups like ISIS, whose funding comes from oil revenues and taxes,not drug trafficking? Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter GingerThompson recently investigated dozens of narco-terrorism cases,raising questions about whether the DEA is actually stoppingthreats or staging them.

Speaker Ginger Thompson is Senior Reporter at ProPublica.

Cynthia Gorney, Professor Emeritus, Berkeley Graduate School ofJournalism, University of California, Berkeley, moderates thediscussion.

For more information about this event please visit:http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1575

Direct download: 03_23_16_Ginger_Thompson.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

What comes to mind when you think of Islam? Current headlines often focus on ISIS and Islamic fundamentalism, or power struggles between Sunni and Shia. But perpetrators of violence make up only a tiny minority of the world’s over 1.5 billion Muslims. Why do some see Islam as a religion that promotes violence or oppression? How can we change this narrative and better understand the peaceful faith of the majority? If current trends continue, Islam will catch up to and then eclipse Christianity in the coming half century. As the world’s Muslim population continues to grow, will we move towards greater understanding and acceptance? Join us for a conversation about this widespread and multifaceted religion.

Speakers Karima Bennoune, Professor of International Law at the UC Davis School of Law, and Farhana Khera, President and Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, are in discussion.

Sara Abbasi, Founding Board Member of Developments in Literacy, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1576

Direct download: 03_15_16_Understanding_Islam.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:39pm PDT

From the water-barren fields of African farmers to rice paddies in Bangladesh, droughts and floods caused by climate change disrupt food production, distribution and consumption on a growing scale. What actions can be taken at the local, national and transnational level to ensure that growing populations are able feed themselves and generations to come while adapting to gradual or even rapid changes in the climate?

Speakers:

Josette Lewis
Associate Director, World Food Center, UC Davis

David Lobell
Deputy Director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment; Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

David Waskow
Director, International Climate Initiative, World Resources Institute

Moderator:

Maximilian Auffhammer
George Pardee Jr. Professor of International Sustainable Development, University of California, Berkeley

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1543

Direct download: 10_16_15_WA15_Food_Security.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:29pm PDT

Today’s battlefields are not clearly defined. On the ground, we see drawn out campaigns and militants living and fighting among civilians. Warfare has become more autonomous, with the use of unmanned drones. It has also moved into the digital realm. In recent years, concerns about cyberattacks have grown and hackers have joined terrorists on the list of global threats. But this situation is not new – we have been fighting cyberwars for decades. From the Gulf War to conflicts in Serbia and Iraq, warfare has entered a digital battlefield.

What does war look like in the digital age? How has the United States integrated cyberwar into its national security strategy? What do we know about other countries' cyber programs and the potential risks they pose? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Fred Kaplan will examine the history of cyberwar and consider its implications for future conflicts.

Kaplan is the author, most recently, of "Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War" (Simon & Schuster, March 2016).

Speaker Fred Kaplan is the National Security Columnist for Slate.

Herbert Lin is the Senior Research Scholar for Cyber Policy and Security, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1572

Direct download: 03_02_16_Fred_Kaplan.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:24am PDT

Our world is changing rapidly. New technologies and other innovations impact almost every aspect of our lives. And this trend is only accelerating. In the coming decade, advances in fields such as robotics, cybersecurity and genomics will reshape much of the global economic landscape. What opportunities will these changes present? How will they affect the jobs of tomorrow, and how will we adapt to the changing nature of work? Will the world’s rising nations keep pace with Silicon Valley in creating their own innovation hotspots?

Leading innovation expert Alec Ross will explain what’s next for the world – the advances and stumbling blocks that will emerge in the next ten years, and how we can navigate them.

Speaker Alec Ross is Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University.

Brad Stone, Senior Writer, Bloomberg Businessweek, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1569

Direct download: 02_11_16_Alec_Ross.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 1:09pm PDT

From border disputes to foreign wars to the Taliban, many forces are at play in destabilizing South Asia. And the simmering conflicts of today have not emerged out of thin air. Much can be traced back through the region's fraught history.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been marred by tension and conflict since they became sovereign states nearly 70 years ago. The two countries have been unable to sustain constructive engagement, and their disputes remain a major cause of regional instability - and even global concern.

What lessons can be learned from the past in order to foster increased security and cooperation in the region? How can India and Pakistan overcome the legacy of Partition and find ways to manage shared challenges, from disaster relief to counterterrorism? Nisid Hajari, author of the recently published "Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition," will share insights into this complex relationship and its implications for regional security.

Speaker Nisid Hajari is Asia Editor at Bloomberg View.

Jonathan Karp, Executive Director of the Asia Society Southern California, moderates the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1560

Direct download: 01_11_16_Nisid_Hajari.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 6:00am PDT

Why did we propel ourselves millions miles from the Earth to the Moon? What did the audacious achievement mean for society?

What is it about big ideas and bold visions that compel us to courageously face uncertainty and risk failure? How do daunting challenges provoke us to find novel, game-changing solutions to the world's largest problems and opportunities? These questions consume creative problem-solvers who are attempting to discover, develop, and deploy the next great "moon shots" for the 21st century.

In this episode of our World Affairs podcast, you'll hear from Andreas Raptopoulos, Co-founder and CEO of Matternet, and Anthony James, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at the University of California at Irvine, two men who are using moon shot thinking to innovate, improve, and inspire.

Direct download: 03_29_16_World-Affairs_Moon-Shots.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:51pm PDT

Refugee camps spring up around the world in response to the needs of displaced populations. Always intended to be temporary, these camps often become long term homes for their residents. From the outside, they're seen as a humanitarian crisis by aid workers and a security challenge by host governments. What does life look like for those who call a refugee camp home?

Journalist Ben Rawlence spent years documenting life in Dadaab, a group of refugee camps in northern Kenya. The camps make up a small city of almost half a million people, mostly Somalis who fled civil war and violence. How does this population address the challenges of education, employment, healthcare and meeting other basic needs? Why has this camp, and others like it, become a more permanent settlement for so many? Rawlence will share the stories of a few of Dadaab’s citizens, exploring both individual lives and the wider political forces that have kept them from returning home.

Speaker Ben Rawlence is an author and journalist.

Karen Ferguson, Executive Director, Northern California, International Rescue Committee, moderates the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1551

Direct download: 01_14_16_Ben_Rawlence.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

From WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden to Bitcoin and the Arab Spring, digital technologies have taken on a powerful role in global politics. These technologies are disrupting the power of traditional institutions – governments, businesses, international organizations – and giving new actors the ability to shape international affairs.

Who are these non-state actors and how do they influence politics and events around the world, for good and for ill? How does digital technology challenge our existing institutions and norms, and what can governments and businesses do to maintain security and rule of law? Dr. Owen will consider these questions and discuss the new frontier of international affairs in the digital age.

Speaker Taylor Owen is Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, and a Senior Fellow at the Columbia Journalism School.

Quentin Hardy, Deputy Technology Editor of The New York Times, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1500

Direct download: 10_27_15_Taylor_Owen.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:47pm PDT

Please join the World Affairs Council and the Marines' Memorial Association for a conversation between Jane Wales, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council and Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA.

Mr. Panetta, an Army Veteran, served in the Obama administration as Director of the CIA from 2009 to 2011 and as Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013. He was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993, served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1994 and as President Clinton’s Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997. He is the founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy and served as a professor of public policy at Santa Clara University.

This program is part of the George Shultz Lecture Series.

Speaker of Leon E. Panetta is the 23rd United States Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1571

Direct download: 02_22_16_Leon_Panetta.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

From the headlines, it seems like most developing countries are fighting an uphill battle against poverty, disease and violence. In reality, the picture is more positive. Over the last two decades, great progress has been made in the fight against global poverty. More than 700 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, six million fewer children die every year from disease, tens of millions more girls are in school, millions more people have access to clean water and democracy has become the norm in developing countries around the world.

Many factors paved the way for this transformation – globalization, the end of the Cold War, the development of new technologies. And in order to maintain this trend, we’ll need to address other global challenges, from climate change and resource demand to poor governance and demographic pressures. Steven Radelet will discuss how we’ve reduced poverty, increased incomes, improved health, curbed violence and spread democracy – and how to ensure the improvements continue.

Speaker Steven Radelet is Director of the Global Human Development Program for the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1559

Direct download: 01_20_16_Steven_Radelet.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Red teaming: it’s a practice as old as the Devil’s Advocate, the sixteenth-century Catholic official charged with discrediting candidates for sainthood. Today red teams—groups of fearless skeptics and friendly saboteurs—are used widely in both the public and private sectors. Red teaming helps pinpoint institutional weaknesses and anticipate potential threats ahead of the next Special Forces raid, malicious cyberattack, or corporate merger. But not all red teams are created equal; indeed, some cause more damage than they avert. Using them effectively just may be the greatest challenge for organizations in the twenty-first century.

In Red Team, security expert Micah Zenko draws on the little-known case studies and unprecedented access to elite red teamers to reveal the best practices, common pitfalls, and winning strategies of these modern-day Devil’s Advocates. Red Team shows how any competitive group can succeed by thinking like the enemy.

Speaker Micah Zenko is a Fellow for Conflict Prevention at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Jonathan Tepperman, Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1533

Direct download: 12_09_15_Micah_Zenko.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

The plight of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees has long drawn international concern. Aid organizations rally to support displaced populations and governments debate policies for dealing with those who arrive on their borders. In the last year, the global refugee crisis reached endemic proportions. The civil war in Syria continues to force people from their homes, as does instability elsewhere in the Middle East, and in Africa and Latin America. The number of forcibly displaced people has reached its highest levels since World War II, and as the root causes of this displacement continue we’ll likely see the numbers continue to rise.

At World Affairs, we have convened many voices on this topic in the past few years. Here, we share insights from seven individuals who have joined us to discuss the global crisis of refugees. In this episode, you’ll hear from Filippo Grandi, the newly appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee; Vali Nasr, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations; Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Elisa Massimino, president and CEO of Human Rights First; and Nancy Lindborg, president of the United States Institute of Peace.

Direct download: Five_Years_In-Syrian_Refugees.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:19pm PDT

Globalization has shrunk our world dramatically, allowing people, products and ideas to connect at speeds and on a scale previously unimaginable. These connections have provided new economic opportunities for many individuals and businesses, as international trade has increased and jobs have reached new markets. However, the opportunities have not reached all people equally. Some of the jobs that have emerged in the developing world are the result of outsourcing, tipping opportunity from one community to another instead of creating new opportunities for all. Globalization has also put certain vulnerable populations at greater risk, as we see with underpaid and under-protected employees and individuals trafficked into forced labor. What can be done to bring the benefits of globalization to these individuals? What hurdles do we face in the process, and how can the political, private and philanthropic sectors work together to overcome them?

 

SPEAKERS

Arvind Ganesan

Director, Business and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch

 

Paula Goldman

Senior Director, Global Lead for Impact Investing, Omidyar Network

 

Paul Rice

President and CEO, Fair Trade USA

 

MODERATOR:

Matthew Bishop

Globalisation Editor, The Economist

Direct download: 10_16_15_WA15_Globalization_Risks_Rewards.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:58pm PDT

Over a billion people live in India – roughly one in every five on earth inhabiting two percent of the world’s landmass. This massive population has taken a toll, pushing the country’s environment and its infrastructure to the brink. Rivers are polluted beyond use and groundwater reserves are fast diminishing. Farmers struggle to fill the plates of their families and countrymen. Millions live in poverty, with the gap between the rich and poor growing more and more acute. These challenges that India faces today may soon become the reality for other parts of the world as well, as the global population continues to rise and a changing climate places strains on global agriculture, infrastructure, governance and other systems.

How are individuals and communities working to combat these challenges? What can the rest of the world learn from India’s current predicament, and could these lessons help lead the planet to a more sustainable and prosperous future? Journalist Meera Subramanian travelled the country and spoke with individuals determined to revive India’s natural world. She will share these stories and offer insights into the present and future of India’s environment.

Speaker Meera Subramanian is a Journalist and Author.

Linda Calhoun, Executive Producer at Career Girls, moderates the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1527

Direct download: 11_05_15_Meera_Subramanian.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

In today’s digital world, more and more of our lives are moving online, raising concerns about the privacy of the vast quantities of information that now exist in cyberspace. In recent years, much debate has emerged about the tradeoff between individual privacy and national security, and the US and EU provide an interesting comparison of how governments have balanced these aims. In the European Union, privacy is protected as a fundamental right, contributing to much stricter regulations on data collection than seen in the US. Last spring, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU citizens have the ‘right to be forgotten’ online, a regulation that would quickly run up against first amendment arguments in the United States. The US lacks similar overarching laws for data protection, as has become very apparent as vast government surveillance has been brought to light. How do policies differ in America and Europe, and what can the two countries learn from each other? How can individuals better understand their rights and limit the amount of personal data being collected? And how much privacy are we willing to give up in exchange for national security?

Giovanni Buttarelli, European Data Protection Supervisor, and Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation, are in discussion.

The conversation is moderated by Paul Schwartz, Jefferson E. Peyser Professor, UC Berkeley School of Law; Senior Advisor, Paul Hastings LLP.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1506

Direct download: 09_17_15_US_EU_Online.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00pm PDT

As we trace the ongoing impact of 2015's emergent global issues in 2016, many stories jump out from speakers featured at World Affairs. In this episode of our podcast, you'll hear reflections from 22 world-class experts (including Ban Ki-moon, Thomas Friedman and Christine Fair). Join us in 2016 for more conversations that matter at worldaffairs.org.

The retrospective features:

General Lloyd J. Austin III, Commander, United States Central Command
Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Yves Daccord, Director-General, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Christine Fair, Assistant Professor, Security Studies Program, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Nazila Fathi, journalist, translator and commentator
Dr. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director and William R. and Gretchen B. Kimball Chair, California Academy of Sciences
Thomas Friedman, author and journalist, The New York Times
Jason Furman, Chairman, White House Council of Economic Advisers
Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder, LinkedIn; Partner, Greylock Partners
Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, The Aspen Institute
Annie Jacobsen, investigative journalist and author
Joseph Kim, North Korean Defector; author
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations
Nancy Lindborg, President, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Abbas Milani, Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies, Stanford University
Dr. Vali Nasr, Dean, The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Ilya Ponomarev, Member, Russian State Duma
Congressman Adam Schiff, California's 28th Congressional District
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Alphabet
Chris Woods, investigative journalist and author
Janine Zacharia, former Jerusalem bureau chief, The Washington Post; visiting lecturer, Stanford

Direct download: World_Affairs-Best_of_2015.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

The Islamic State is one of the most lethal and successful jihadist groups in modern history, surpassing even al-Qaeda. Thousands of its followers have marched across Syria and Iraq, subjugating millions, enslaving women, beheading captives and daring anyone to stop them. Thousands more have spread terror beyond the Middle East under the Islamic State's black flag.

How did the Islamic State attract so many followers and conquer so much land? By being more ruthless, more apocalyptic and more devoted to state-building than its competitors. The shrewd leaders of the Islamic State combined two of the most powerful yet contradictory ideas in Islam - the return of the Islamic Empire and the end of the world - into a mission and a message that shapes its strategy and inspires its army of zealous fighters. They have defied conventional thinking about how to wage wars and win recruits. Even if the Islamic State is defeated, jihadist terrorism will never be the same.

William McCants discusses how religious fervor, strategic calculation and doomsday prophecy shaped the Islamic State's past and foreshadow its future.

Speaker William McCants is Fellow for the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1555

Direct download: 12_10_15_William_McCants.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:07am PDT

The United States and China must play a central role in any meaningful global effort to address climate change. While both countries have recently revamped their commitments to jointly reduce carbon emissions and invest in a cleaner energy future, the challenge of catalyzing these commitments into concrete actions remains daunting. With this year’s landmark UN climate summit in Paris seeking to create an effective new climate regime, are the commitments made by the United States and China enough to strengthen the global push to confront the climate change challenge?

Join the Asia Society, in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Northern California, as we host The Honorable Kevin Rudd, President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, for a dialogue that looks critically at the current state of climate change collaboration between the United States and China. Days after returning from the UN climate summit, Mr. Rudd will reflect on his experience while attending the deliberations in Paris and share his insights into the future of the US-China partnership on climate change. Joining Rudd in the conversation will be Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of Asia Society’s Center on US-China Relations, who will likewise have just returned from Paris with new impressions about the trajectory of global climate change responses, and the role of the US and China within them.

Speakers Kevin Rudd, President, Asia Society Policy Institute; Former Prime Minister of Australia, and Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society, are in conversation with N. Bruce Pickering, Vice President, Global Programs and Executive Director, Northern California.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1556

Direct download: 12_18_15_US_China_Climate.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:47pm PDT

Affordability is one of the key barriers in expanding broadband and mobile around the world, with both the cost of connected devices and of digital services being prohibitively high for many of the unconnected. Nearly 4.2 billion people, many of whom represent the poor around the world, are being left behind in the technology revolution and cut off from the potential economic, social and civic benefits of the internet.

This program on mobile and wireless affordability will discuss how existing internet supply chain and infrastructure can be harnessed for greater affordability and what projects have proven successful in lowering broadband costs and how these can be scaled.

We'd like to thank our sponsoring partner: Vodafone Americas Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Sonia Jorge
Executive Director, Alliance for Affordable Internet

Mark Summer
Co-founder and CEO, EveryLayer

Amy Tucker
Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer, Sparrow

Ryan Wallace
Senior Manager, Connectivity Deployments Team, Facebook

MODERATOR:

Patrick Ryan
Strategy and Operations Principal, Google

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1531

Direct download: 11_18_15_Mobile_Affordability.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:42am PDT

As populations gravitate to large cities throughout the world and are absorbed into the middle class, there are corresponding significant shifts in lifestyle; one of these is diet. While access to new food sources can certainly lead to a healthier lifestyle, it just as easily can cause serious health issues. Many of these communities and nations are ill-equipped to handle the exponential rise of certain illnesses traceable in part to diet and nutrition. Take for example the rate of Type II diabetes worldwide; it has almost doubled in the past decade. Much of this increase occurred in the Middle East, where affluence is directly correlated with changes in diet. Similar epidemics of obesity and hypertension, previously unheard of in certain parts of the world, are also on the rise. This discussion will focus not only on the causes of these illnesses in unexpected places, but also on prevention.

Speakers:

Jason Beaubien, Global Health and Development Correspondent, NPR

Gitanjali SinghResearch Assistant Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

Christopher GardnerDirector of Nutrition Studies, Stanford Prevention Research Center; Professor of Medicine, Stanford University

Bruce Y. Lee, Director, Global Obesity Prevention Center, Johns Hopkins; Bloomberg School of Public Health

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1546

Direct download: 10_16_15_WA15_Changing_Diet.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 9:40am PDT

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