On Shifting Ground

Since becoming the supreme leader of North Korea in 2011, Kim Jong Un has solidified his power base at home, clearing out his father’s top advisors and expanding the nation’s nuclear program. While he’s often characterized by his odd behavior, he has successfully maintained domestic dictatorial rule while also exerting international pressure to establish state legitimacy. Anna Fifield, Beijing bureauchief for The Washington Post and author of “The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Jong Un”, talks with Markos Kounalakis, WorldAffairs co-host and visiting fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, about how a better understanding of North Korea’s leader might lead to improved relations with the closed-off nation.

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Direct download: 06_24_19_Anna_Fifield.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

Protesters flooded downtown Hong Kong over the weekend, winning concessions and even adding to their demands. Experts say protests like these have proliferated around the world in recent years. But can they lead to lasting change? On this week’s episode of WorldAffairs, Richard Youngs, senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and and the author of “Civic Activism Unleashed: New Hope or False Dawn for Democracy?,” discusses what the explosion of civic activism says about the state of citizen discontent with Co-Host Ray Suarez. 

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Direct download: 06_17_19_Richard_Youngs.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

While the Islamic State no longer has any territory in the Middle East, its ability to recruit soldiers and engage in violence remains. In fact, its newly decentralized nature may make it even more effective in carrying out terrorist attacks. On this week's episode, Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent and author of “The Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of Bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State,” and Robin Wright, contributing writer to The New Yorker and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, discuss the future of ISIS and the fate of tens of thousands of captured fighters and their families with WorldAffairs Co-Host Ray Suarez.

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Direct download: 06_10_19_ISIS.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

Rapid, sweeping changes in modern life are imposing new challenges upon society — but are also creating new opportunities. According to New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, these developments put a premium on “learning faster, and governing and operating smarter,” across the globe. He discusses the implications of this rapid transformational change for society with James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global Institute.

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Direct download: 06_03_19_Tom_Friedman.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00am PDT

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