On Shifting Ground

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

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