On Shifting Ground

In July 2014, Washington Post Tehran bureau Chief Jason Rezaian was arrested by Iranian police and accused of spying for America. What he initially thought was a political stunt became an eighteen-month prison stint with impossibly high diplomatic stakes. Jason Rezaian joins WorldAffairs Co-host Ray Suarez to share his story, as told in his compelling new book, Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison.

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Direct download: 01_28_19_Jason_Rezaian.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

Artificial intelligence (AI) brings boundless possibilities. It can now drive our cars, diagnose our diseases, and even help us tackle climate change. But AI can also divide societies and drive nations to conflict. As we cede more of our fundamental decisions to machines, how do we ensure AI is designed with our best interests in mind? Fei-Fei Li, Co-director of the Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute and co-founder of the non-profit AI4ALL, and Olaf Groth, founder of Cambrian AI and co-author of the new book, Solomon’s Code: Humanity in a World of Thinking Machines, discuss how our relationship with AI is central to the future of humanity with WorldAffairs Co-host Ray Suarez.

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Direct download: 01_21_19_Groth_Li_AI.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

This program is a re-air from 2018.

In today’s reality, democracy no longer ends with a revolution or military coup, but with a gradual erosion of political norms. As a growing number of countries are chipping away at liberally democratic values, are these institutions safe from elected, authoritarian leaders? Daniel Ziblatt, professor at Harvard University and co-author of How Democracies Die, discusses the future of liberal democracies with World Affairs CEO Jane Wales.

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Direct download: 01_14_19_Daniel_Ziblatt.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

In the last fifty years, a doubling of the world’s population has contributed to substantial habitat loss and large-scale species extinction. What can we do, as individuals and societies, to fight back against environmental degradation and animal endangerment? In this week’s episode, Jonathan Foley, Senior Scholar at the California Academy of Sciences, and Peter Knights, Executive Director at WildAid, discuss how to curb climate change and the illegal wildlife trade with World Affairs CEO Jane Wales.

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Direct download: 01_07_19_Wild_Aid.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

This program is a re-air from earlier in 2018.

On December 12, British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a vote of no confidence in Parliament. May survived the test, but the lack of a Brexit deal still plagues her administration. The critical issue: how to avoid creating a hard border between The Republic of Ireland, remaining in the EU, and North Ireland, part of the UK. In this week’s episode, Fintan O’Toole, journalist for the Irish Times, talks about the high-stakes issues involved and shares his thoughts on a possible way forward with World Affairs CEO Jane Wales.

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Direct download: 12_31_18_Fintan_OToole.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

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