On Shifting Ground

After nearly twenty years of conflict, the United States is, once again, attempting to extricate itself from Afghanistan. This year, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement that was intended to be a first step towards an intra-Afghan peace deal and US forces began withdrawing troops. But for the time being, the peace process remains tenuous, and Afghanistan is still being used by Russia and the US as proxy war. Over the past few years, Russia has tried to present itself as an ascendant global power, expanding its influence in Syria, Ukraine, as well as Afghanistan. But Putin's government is also grappling with a raging pandemic and an economic crisis. Markos Kounalakis recently discussed Russia's delicate political moment with Steven Pifer.  He was ambassador to Ukraine, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and was a senior director for Russia and Eurasia at the National Security Council.

 

Guest:

Steven Pifer, William J Perry Fellow at Stanford, nonresident Brookings fellow and former US Ambassador to Ukraine

 

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Direct download: 07_30_20_Russia_Putin.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

United States forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for almost twenty years, making it the longest war in American history. But for many Americans, the conflict only became top of mind again after hearing reports that a Russian military intelligence unit offered bounty money to the Taliban for killing US soldiers. In this episode, we take a closer look at how the war in Afghanistan has served as a proxy conflict between the US and Russia and how it fits into Russia’s global agenda. Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry joins co-host Ray Suarez, followed by a conversation with Jennifer Glasse of Al Jazeera.

 

Guests: 

Jennifer Glasse, Senior Managing Editor at the Americas at Al Jazeera

Karl Eikenberry, former US Ambassador to Afghanistan, retired US Army Lieutenant General

 

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Direct download: 07_27_20_Afghanistan_Taliban.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

Protesters are back in the streets in Hong Kong to fight against a new security law that tightens the Chinese government’s  grip over the city. On this week’s episode, we look at how Hong Kong’s new security law will impact US-China relations, and what it means for the millions of people who live there. First, we’ll hear from Human Rights Watch’s China Director, Sophie Richardson, who argues that US-China relations are at their worst point since the Cold War. Will this new law make them worse? Next, an activist and artist from Hong Kong discusses the evolution of her city’s protest movement. Then, we revisit a conversation with journalist Mary Kay Magistad and professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a historian specializing in modern China. They unpack the history of Hong Kong and how the city got to where it is today. 

 

Guests: 

Mary Kay Magistad, former East Asia correspondent for NPR & Director of Audio Journalism at UC Berkeley

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Professor at UC Irvine and author of Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink

Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch and author of China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

Claire, artist and activist from Hong Kong


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Direct download: 07_20_20_Hong-Kong.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 6:07am PDT

The United States is in the midst of a national conversation about the role systemic racism plays in law enforcement, but police brutality is not just an American problem. In this episode, we look at how South Africa has grappled with its own legacy of white supremacy and police violence. Under Apartheid, South Africa’s white leaders used the police as an instrument of control, enforcing a web of laws that bound black lives. When liberation came with the end of Apartheid, the police were supposedly reformed. Now, a quarter-center later, has anything changed? Co-host Ray Suarez talks with Stan Henkeman, Executive Director of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa, and John Steinberg, Professor of African Studies at Oxford University, about South Africa’s cautionary tale of police reforms made after Apartheid.

 

Guests: 

Stan Henkeman, Executive director of the Institute and Reconciliation in South Africa

Jonny Steinberg, African Studies Professor, at Oxford University

Credits:

Philip Yun, President and CEO, WorldAffairs

Ray Suarez, co-host, WorldAffairs

Teresa Cotsirilos, producer, WorldAffairs

Jarrod Sport, senior producer, WorldAffairs

Joanne Elgart Jennings, executive producer, WorldAffairs

 

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

 

Direct download: 07_16_20_South_Africa.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

Black Lives Matter might be the largest social movement in American history. Last month, an estimated 15-25 million people took to the streets to protest police violence, launching a national conversation about the role systemic racism plays in law enforcement. In this episode, producer Teresa Cotsirilos tells the story of a man whose past experiences with the police drove him to fight for justice from the inside. Jinho Ferreira, also known as “The Piper,” discusses his childhood in West Oakland, his experiences working in law enforcement and what it means to be an artist in a moment of radical change.

Guest: 

Jinho Ferreira, artist, actor and former Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputy

Credits:

Teresa Cotsirilos, producer

Jarrod Sport, senior producer

Joanne Elgart Jennings, executive producer

Philip Yun, President and CEO

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Direct download: 07_11_20_Jinho_Journey.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:39am PDT

Over the past few months, we’ve had to reimagine everything we do. From shopping, to eating and socializing, the ways we spend money have completely changed. And as each country manages the pandemic differently, the already fragile global economy has been disrupted by broken supply chains and shifts in demand. Now we’re questioning the role of the government, the future of capitalism and changing our values. The choices we make now could change the world for decades. On this week’s episode, we tackle these big issues and examine our new digital economy with James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, and Gillian Tett, Editor at Large at the Financial Times.
 
 
James Manyika, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company; Chairman and Director, McKinsey Global Institute
 
Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor, Allianz
 
Gillian Tett, Chair of Editorial Board and Editor-at-Large, US, Financial Times
 

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Direct download: 07_06_20_Global_Economy_COVID-19.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

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