Christmas is here, but for many Christians around the world, war has cast a shadow over this year’s festivities. To break with Russian orthodoxy and influence, Ukraine will officially observe Christmas on December 25, even as the terror of airstrikes taints the air. And in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Palestinian Christians have canceled all celebrations in solidarity with their countrymen under attack in Gaza.  

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Senior Pastor at The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, and Bohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor of Kyiv Post, join Ray Suarez to share what Christmas in wartime looks like, from Palestine to Ukraine.

Guests:

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Senior Pastor at The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, Palestine and Academic Dean at the Bethlehem Bible College

Bohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor at Kyiv Post

Host:

Ray Suarez

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From Putin’s costly war in Ukraine, to simmering tensions between the US and China, and renewed violence in the Middle East, this week, we’re looking back at the international news stories that defined 2023. Professor Jessica Chen Weiss, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute; Karim Elgendy, founder of the Carboun Initiative for Middle Eastern Sustainable Cities; and Luke Harding, foreign correspondent at The Guardian, join Ray Suarez to dissect this year’s most significant geopolitical shifts… and the foreign policy issues that will define 2024.

To dive deeper, check out these episodes: 

• China’s Dream of Global Dominance

• Why China and the US are Saber-Rattling Over Taiwan

• Is The Middle East Swiping Left on America?

• How the Palestinian Question Could Unravel Netanyahu’s “New Middle East”

• Two Dictators Walk Into a Bar: What We Learned From the Putin-Kim Summit

• Putin’s Prigozhin Trap, with Anne Applebaum

Guests:  

Jessica Chen Weiss, Michael J. Zak Professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute

Karim Elgendy, Urban sustainability and climate consultant, and founder of the Carboun Initiative for Middle Eastern Sustainable Cities

Luke Harding, foreign correspondent for The Guardian and author of Invasion

Host:

Ray Suarez

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.

As the war on Gaza continues with no end in sight, two peace activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli – are already charting a non-violent path forward. Ray Suarez sits down with Luxembourg Peace Prize laureates, Ali Abu Awwad, founding leader of the Taghyeer (Change) Palestinian National Nonviolence movement, and Dr. Gershon Baskin, the Middle East director of the International Communities Organization, to learn why they maintain hope for a peaceful, two-state solution.

 Ali Abu Awwad was just awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace. Learn more.

Guests:

Ali Abu Awwad, Palestinian peace activist and founder of the Taghyeer (Change) Palestinian National Nonviolence Movement

Gershon Baskin, Israeli peace activist and the Middle East Director of the International Communities Organisation

Host:

Ray Suarez

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.

The APEC Multistakeholder Forum (AMF), organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs, was the first of its kind to feature Indigenous perspectives on what a ‘just transition’ away from fossil fuels should look like. Maui Solomon, Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust, and Raylene Whitford, Director of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board, join Ray Suarez to explain how Indigenous representation and inclusion means putting people and the planet above profit.

Guests:

Maui Solomon, Indigenous rights activist and Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust

Raylene Whitford, Director of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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.

What does a ‘just’ transition away from fossil fuels actually mean for Indigenous communities? At the APEC Multistakeholder Forum (AMF), organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs,  Ray Suarez sat down with Chéri A. Smith, a renewable energy expert and Mi’kmaq descendant. They discussed how the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy is working to combat energy poverty, bring solar to Indigenous communities and secure Native people a seat at the clean energy development table.

Guest:

Chéri A. Smith, founder, president and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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.