Former president Dwight Eisenhower described nuclear war as “unwinnable, unsurvivable and unthinkable.” But what changes when the use of a nuclear weapon now seems thinkable, and maybe… inevitable? 

Ray Suarez sits down with Shannon E. French, Director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, and Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, to unpack why talk of nuclear annihilation is now being so casually thrown around by world leaders.

Guests:

Shannon E. French, Director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence and a tenured professor in the philosophy department at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland

Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists and Associate Researcher with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Weapons of Mass Destruction program

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who died in 2018, was one of the most famous diplomats of his time. In today’s episode, we're sharing an Foreign Policy Magazine's The Negotiators about Annan’s mediation of a Kenyan political crisis in 2008—which stands out as one of his most impressive acts of diplomacy.

What we can learn about the nuances of negotiating? 

Guest:

Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General for the Global Centre for Pluralism

Hosts:

Ray Suarez

Jenn Williams

Producer:

Laura Rosbrow-Telem

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During APEC, President Xi Jinping reminded world leaders that China is “open for business.” So what does the next era of US-China relations look like? Ivan Kanapathy, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, joins Ray Suarez to unpack the stakes of the Biden-Xi sideline talks, and just how far the two leaders will go to reestablish ties.

Guest:

Ivan Kanapathy, Senior Associate, Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic & International Studies

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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While the past year has seen major gains for LGBT+ rights, politicians around the world are increasingly using the community as scapegoats. Julie Dorf, Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality, joins Ray Suarez to explain how a transnational network of American Christians is targeting LGBT+ rights at home… and abroad.

Guest:

Julie Dorf, Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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By 2030, around 600 million people will be struggling with extreme poverty. And the effects of climate change will only exacerbate the problem. Jorge Familiar joins Ray Suarez to share how the World Bank has revised its mission to tackle the twin problems of climate change and inequality.

Guest:

Jorge Familiar, VP and Treasurer of the World Bank

Host:

Ray Suarez

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What do you need to know about wealth to understand structural inequality in America? Becoming wealthy is getting harder with each generation, and the biggest predictor of whether you’ll achieve it isn’t your class… but your race. Ray Suarez sits down with economist Darrick Hamilton to discuss closing the racial wealth gap in the US.

Guest:

Darrick Hamilton, American economist and Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy and Professor at The New School for Social Research

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Thousands have been killed in the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, and a ground invasion into Gaza appears imminent. Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates predicts how war could ripple through the Middle East.

Guest:

Robert Gates, former US Secretary of Defense

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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On October 7, Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist terrorist group, broke through the high-tech security barrier which divides Israel from the Gaza Strip, and launched a coordinated surprise attack on neighboring Israeli military targets and communities. Over 1,200 were killed, and 200 Israelis are still being held hostage. In retaliation, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip — killing almost 4,000 Palestinians— and cut off water, electricity, medical and humanitarian aid in the occupied territory. 

As the conflict spills over to the occupied West Bank and to neighboring Lebanon and Syria, and Israel’s far-right government prepares troops for a ground invasion into Gaza, how is the Arab world responding? Ray Suarez speaks with Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about how the attacks may undo years of relationship-building in the Middle East.

Guest:

Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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While many Baby Boomers have already left the workforce behind, almost half are considering coming out of retirement in search of a new purpose in life. Leading sociologist and business economist Mauro Guillén joins Ray Suarez to explain why the days of “OK Boomer” are coming to an end… and why the future of work will be “post-generational.”

Guest:  

Mauro F. Guillén, Vice Dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and author of “The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Post Generational Society”

Host:

Ray Suarez

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How does Russia benefit from conflict in the Caucasus? And what role can the media play in building bridges of understanding? In this episode, we revisit our conversations with Russian-American journalist Simon Ostrovsky and independent Azeri journalist Arzu Geybulla on the roots of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict post-Soviet collapse, and the potential for future reconciliation.

Guests:

Simon Ostrovsky, PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent

Arzu Geybulla, Independent Azeri journalist and Founder of Azerbaijan Internet Watch

Hosts:  

Ray Suarez

Teresa Cotsirilos

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In late September, Azerbaijan wiped out the self-proclaimed, ethnically Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. The attacks prompted Armenia to finally join the International Criminal Court—despite warnings from Russia.

Ray Suarez speaks with human rights lawyer Sheila Paylan about what Armenia’s decision means for the country’s strained relations with Russia, and why Armenians are accusing Azerbaijan of war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Guest:

Sheila Paylan, International Lawyer and Human Rights & Gender Expert

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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The United Kingdom recently passed a law which grants immunity for the violence of The Troubles – adding another wrinkle to the ongoing Brexit saga. Jude Webber, Ireland correspondent for The Financial Times, joins Ray Suarez to unpack how the precarious peace held together by the Good Friday agreement is at risk of unraveling. 

Guest:

Jude Webber, Ireland correspondent for The Financial Times

Host:

Ray Suarez

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If military cooperation with North Korea is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, why would Russia do it so publicly? And what’s in it for the Hermit Kingdom? Andrei Lankov, Director at NK News, joins Ray Suarez to explain why Kim Jong Un is solidifying relations with Russia… and not China.

Guest:

Andrei Lankov, Director at NK News and Professor at Kookmin University

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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As many as 150,000 US auto workers have walked out in a historic strike against the Big Three Automakers. In this special rerun episode, Mark Phelan, auto writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press, joins Ray Suarez to break down why electric vehicles and wages are a red line for autoworkers. 

Guests:

Shawn Fain, President of the United Auto Workers 

Mark Phelan, auto writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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In 2023, the rapid pace of innovation in Silicon Valley is making it increasingly challenging for our global partners to keep up. Ray Suarez speaks with Gerard de Graaf, Senior Envoy for Digital to the US, about strengthening US-EU cooperation on digital affairs. Then, Caitlin Chin, Strategic Technologies Program Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, returns with an update on the latest digital drama between Washington and Beijing… and where a possible TikTok ban goes from here.

Guests:

Gerard de Graaf, Senior Envoy for Digital to the U.S. and head of the EU office in San Francisco

Caitlin Chin, Strategic Technologies Program Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Is West Africa going to war over Niger? And is the Niger coup part of a wider decline in French colonial influence – and growing Russian and Chinese interest – in the region? Ray Suarez sits down with security analyst Fola Aina and journalist Nabila Ramdani to discuss the coup in Niger – and across former French colonies in the Sahel region. They explain why the Niger coup could help the Wagner Group expand influence. 

Guests:

Fola Aina, international security analyst at the Royal United Services Institute of Security and Defense Studies in London

Nabila Ramdani, French journalist and author of “Fixing France, How to Repair a Broken Republic”

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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What will happen to Wagner without Prigozhin? And can Russia continue to isolate itself from the economic chaos its war has created? Ray Suarez speaks with Catherine Belton, The Washington Post’s Russia reporter, about the mercenary organization’s future and the price Russians — ordinary and oligarch — are paying for Putin’s power plays.

Guest:

Catherine Belton, international investigative reporter for The Washington Post and author of “Putin's People” 

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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After 20 years of “forever wars,” the American contest for influence and control in the Middle East hasn’t stopped. But now the US has company, and the countries in the region have options. Mara Rudman, Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress, joins Ray Suarez to dissect the delicate state of play in the Middle East. 

Guest:

Mara Rudman, Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress

Host:

Ray Suarez

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At the 2023 APEC Forum in Detroit, Malaysian Deputy Minister Liew Chin Tong tells Ray Suarez how spaces like APEC are key to balancing relationships with competing superpowers. Then, Deputy Secretary Vangelis Vitalis shares how the demand for traditional Kiwi exports has kept Aotearoa’s economy afloat.

Guest:

Liew Chin Tong, Deputy Minister of Malaysian Investment, Trade and Industry

Vangelis Vitalis, Deputy Secretary, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Host:

Ray Suarez

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US Trade Representative Katherine Tai played host to the APEC Forum in Detroit, where she balanced American interests, international trade agreements and ongoing rivalries with China. Ambassador Tai joined Ray Suarez to speak about how that meeting went, and what it really means to put workers at the center of US trade policy. 

Guest:

Ambassador Katherine Tai, US Trade Representative

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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In his new book, “A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World,” nature writer David Gessner grapples with communicating about climate change with the next generation. David and his daughter, Hadley, join Ray Suarez to have that conversation, and to spur all of us “hypocrites” who drive cars and fly in planes to fight the climate fight.

Guest:

David Gessner, nature writer and author of “A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World”

Hadley Gessner, David’s daughter 

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Screenwriter Noah Pink tells Ray Suarez how he discovered the true story behind “Tetris,” from the Cold War race to secure the rights to the classic video game to its escape from the former Soviet Union.

Guest:

Noah Pink, “Tetris” screenwriter 

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Putin may have won the “battle” against Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin, but he’s losing the meme war. Ray speaks with Jen Kirby, Vox’s foreign and national security reporter, about fact verification and conflict reporting amidst state propaganda and viral Twitter memes. 

Guest:

Jen Kirby, senior foreign and national security reporter at Vox

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Peace is a process, not an outcome. And in the case of Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s meddling in the country’s civil war has prevented peace for almost a decade. Ray Suarez speaks with Arwa Mokdad, Peace Advocate with the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, about what a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran could mean for the future of Yemen.

Guest:

Arwa Mokdad, Peace Advocate with the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Can a single gathering of world leaders really pull billions of people out of poverty? Eric Pelofsky, Deputy Chief of Staff and Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation, joined Ray Suarez days before the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris to share how international financial institutions can make up for past mistakes.

Guest:

Eric Pelofsky, Deputy Chief of Staff and Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Conspiracy communities that once promoted QAnon and anti-vaccine theories have now sunk their teeth into an even tastier morsel: our food supply chain. Laicie Heeley, Executive Producer and Host of “Things That Go Boom,” joins Ray Suarez to break down how cracks in our food system have paved the way for international conspiracy theories about the ongoing food crisis. 

Guest:

Laicie Heeley, Executive Producer and Host of “Things That Go Boom”

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Concerns about a 'global elite' exerting control over demographic shifts and our food choices have hit the mainstream, and they are feeding anxieties. Ray Suarez speaks with French legal scholar Rim-Sarah Alouane about the "great replacement theory", and what it takes to be considered “French first.”

Guest:

Ridha Khadher, baker and owner of Au Paradis du gourmand

Rim-Sarah Alouane, French legal scholar

Host:

Ray Suarez

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The 1998-1999 war in Kosovo may have ended the fighting between Serbs and Albanian Kosovars, but it didn’t end the conflict. Anatol Lieven, journalist and Eurasian Program Director at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, joins Ray Suarez to explain why ethnic tensions are once again flaring up in the Balkans.

Guest:

Anatol Lieven, journalist and Eurasian Program Director at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Host:

Ray Suarez

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s all-powerful leader of 20 years, was recently re-elected, raising serious questions about the state of Turkey’s democracy. Is Erdoğan trying to rebuild the Ottoman Empire? And is his republic Russia’s Trojan Horse in NATO? Ray Suarez speaks with Merve Tahiroğlu, Turkey Program Director at the Project on Middle East Democracy about Erdoğan’s imperial ambitions.

Guest:

Merve Tahiroğlu, Turkey Program Director at the Project on Middle East Democracy

Host:

Ray Suarez

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“How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?” asked retired Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, in her testimony during the first impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump in 2019. 

In her absorbing memoir, “Lessons from the Edge,” Yovanovich reflected on the disinformation campaign that eventually led to the end of her post as Ambassador to Ukraine. Ray Suarez spoke with Yovanovitch about a lifetime of public service, and why she remains optimistic about Ukraine’s fight for freedom.

Guest:

Marie Yovanovitch, Former US Ambassador to Ukraine and author of the memoir “Lessons From The Edge”

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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The innovative concept of a “15-Minute City” holds the potential to address many urbanization challenges. But it hasn’t been without its critics. Ray Suarez and ‘CityNerd’ creator Ray Delahanty, delve into the eccentric conspiracy theories surrounding it, and its feasibility for the future of urban planning in American cities.

Guest:

Ray Delahanty, Host and creator of CityNerd 

Host: 

Ray Suarez

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Derailed trains, collapsed bridges and an unreliable power grid point to America’s growing infrastructure problem. And though President Biden campaigned on “building back better,” these issues have taken a back seat to political gridlock—at home and abroad. 

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg joins Ray Suarez to break down how the Biden administration plans to get America’s infrastructure back on track — one EV at a time. They spoke following the APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting in Detroit, Michigan.

Guest:

Pete Buttigieg, US Secretary of Transportation

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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The hard truth is that whenever tensions escalate between the US and Asian nations overseas, Asian Americans bear the brunt of that anger at home. In this episode, we revisit the story of Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-American scientist who was falsely accused of spying for the Chinese government, with Helen Zia and George Koo.

Guests:

Helen Zia, journalist, activist and author of Last Boat out of Shanghai and My Country vs. Me

George Koo, retired business consultant and writer

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Everybody knows the immigration system is broken. So what are policy makers doing to fix it? And with the end of Title 42 – a pandemic-era order to deny asylum at the US-Mexico border – Biden’s immigration policy will face new challenges.  

Ray Suarez speaks with Sabrina Rodriguez, national political reporter at The Washington Post, about what the end of Title 42 means for the 2024 presidential campaign.

Guest:

Sabrina Rodriguez, national politics reporter for The Washington Post

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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In an era where changing social norms and labor-market shifts are pushing men to the sidelines, can a crisis of masculinity explain why men are falling behind? Idrees Kahloon, author of “What’s The Matter With Men?,” joins Ray Suarez to explain why improving the welfare of struggling men may help bring greater gender equality.

Guest:

Idrees Kahloon, DC bureau chief for The Economist and author of “What’s The Matter With Men?”

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Despite being found liable for sexual abuse, many commentators wonder if the E. Jean Carroll verdict will burden — or boost— Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. The rise of strongman rhetoric and polarizing gender politics is fueling a cultural war in the US, and masculinity is at the center of the debate.

Angela Saini, author of The Patriarchs: How Men Came To Rule, joins Ray Suarez to break down what the “patriarchy” is, and how it operates.

Guest:

Angela Saini, author of The Patriarchs: How Men Came To Rule

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Distrust in official election results isn’t a new trend in Nigerian politics, but the explosion of mis- and disinformation across social media platforms ahead of the country’s 2023 presidential elections made it even harder for Nigerian voters to sort fact from fiction. BBC Nigeria senior disinformation journalist, Fauziyya Tukur, joins Ray Suarez to share how digital disinformation is threatening the future of social trust and democracy in her country.

Guest:

Fauziyya Tukur, senior journalist, Disinformation at BBC News Nigeria

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Despite being the first president—former or sitting—to be indicted for a crime, Donald Trump remains the front-running candidate for the GOP nomination. If the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol and allegations of assault and defamation aren’t enough to deter diehard MAGA fans, what does the future of American politics look like?

Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Ray Suarez to break down what Trump’s historic indictment—and the fight for the truth in the US—means for the coming 2024 elections.

Guest:

Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic and professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Media is being challenged as audience consumption trends continue to change, and journalists are facing violence and imprisonment in the field. What do these threats mean for the future of journalism? Ray Suarez sits down with Mark Goldberg, host of “Global Dispatches,” to explore how international journalism can remain vital.

Guest:

Mark Leon Goldberg, editor of UN Dispatch and host of "Global Dispatches"

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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Recently, media organizations have laid off thousands of journalists, and in March, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s federal security services under suspicion of espionage. It’s clear that international journalism is under threat.

Gulnoza Said, the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, joins Ray Suarez to discuss why the safety of journalists matters to the health of a free press.

Guest:

Gulnoza Said, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator

Host: 

Ray Suarez

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The Chinese balloon’s voyage over American skies has escalated concerns about foreign land ownership in the US. Lawmakers in roughly 11 states — from Arizona, to Montana, to Texas — are up in arms about Chinese ownership of American farmland. Nancy Qian, James J. O'Connor Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences at Kellogg MEDS, Northwestern University, joins Ray Suarez to share how a proposed ban of foreign land ownership could backfire.

Guest:

Nancy Qian, James J. O'Connor Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences at Kellogg MEDS, Northwestern University 

Host:

Ray Suarez

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Congress is debating the future of TikTok, the hugely popular video app owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. TikTok’s detractors suggest that while you watch, the app may be watching you too… vacuuming up data from user’s devices, which can then be handed to the Chinese government.

Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Ray Suarez to explain the hubbub. She suggests the calls to ban Tiktok aren’t really about data privacy: they’re about China.

Guest:

Caitlin Chin, Fellow, Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Host:

Ray Suarez, host of On Shifting Ground

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In recent decades, millions more Russians have died than have been born. There are many causes – Russian women don’t have many children, and Russian men are dying young in large numbers – and the war in Ukraine is only worsening the trend. So why is Vladimir Putin risking the future of Russia?

Ray Suarez talks with post-Soviet expert Nicholas Eberstadt to understand why this historic population collapse is fueling Putin’s brinkmanship in Ukraine.

Guest:

Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute

Host:

Ray Suarez

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One billion children lost a year or more of critical schooling due to the lockdowns caused by COVID-19. How can we make up for this lost time? On this week’s program, Ray Suarez is joined by Norbert Schady, Chief Economist for Human Development, and Mamta Murthi, Vice President for Human Development, both at the World Bank. They address the challenge of lost human capital, and explain why it’s not too late to get kids back on task. 

Guests:

Norbert Schady, Chief Economist for Human Development, World Bank

Mamta Murthi, Vice President for Human Development, World Bank

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.

This year’s protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, are not the first time Iranians have united in the struggle for freedom. Writer, scholar and television star Reza Aslan tells Ray the epic story of an American named Howard Baskerville, who joined Iran’s first fight for democracy nearly 100 years ago.

Guest:

Reza Aslan, writer, religious scholar, and author of a new book, “An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville.” 

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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When journalist Lisa Phu’s mother escaped genocide in Cambodia in 1980, she had no idea what would happen to her. It wasn’t until Lisa had a baby of her own that she had a long overdue conversation with her mother, Lan, about their family’s history—through war and violence, separation and loss, endings and beginnings.

In this special episode, we share “Before Me”, a five-part podcast series following one woman’s life—from Cambodia to America—over the course of decades. The story was created, written, and produced by Lisa Phu, deputy editor of the Alaska Beacon, with support from Self Evident Media.

Guest:

Lisa Phu, justice, education, and culture reporter for the Alaska Beacon

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 Americans continue to grapple with a post-Roe future, how should those seeking reproductive healthcare navigate rampant misinformation online?

Ray Suarez speaks with Alaa Mostafa from Reveal and Anabel Sosa, a journalist with the Human Rights Center investigations lab at the UC Berkeley School of Law, to untangle the spread of abortion misinformation on TikTok and YouTube.

Guests:  

Alaa Mostafa, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting

Anabel Sosa, Human Rights Center investigations lab at the UC Berkeley School of Law

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.

When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one group wasn’t surprised: Polish abortion activists. Poland has also restricted access to abortions, and feminist Agnieszka Graff observed, “ This is a cultural battle that has been ongoing for half a century, and I think we were wrong to assume that we won it.” Can Poland’s fight over abortion offer lessons for an uncertain future?

Ray Suarez speaks with Agnieszka Graff about Poland’s war on abortion – and how a historic protest movement is fighting back.

Guests:  

Agnieszka Graff, Polish feminist and co-author of Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Movement

Host: 

Ray Suarez

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The 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world’s most popular sporting event, is hosted by Qatar, and over 5 billion viewers are expected to tune in. Even if you’re not a diehard soccer fan, you might be familiar with some of the serious controversies surrounding this year’s games. From allegations of corruption and bribery around Qatar’s bid to the host’s flagrant human rights abuses, the World Cup has already had a heavy financial and human cost.

Ray Suarez teases the tournament’s most interesting storylines with Alex Kay-Jelski, the editor-in-chief of the Athletic UK. Kay-Jelski is England’s first openly gay sports editor, and he shares what it’s like covering the games in Qatar – where homosexuality is a crime. Then, economist Andrew Zimbalist tries to untangle FIFA’s complicated ledger to explain why the games are so expensive.

Guests:

Alex Kay-Jelski, the editor-in-chief of The Athletic UK

Andrew Zimbalist, American economist, Robert A. Woods professor of economics at Smith College

Host

Ray Suarez

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Tribal rights are guaranteed by the US Constitution, but modern court cases – including the Brackeen case currently before the US Supreme Court – are reminders that Indigenous sovereignty and Native lands are still at risk in the United States. And in Canada, Indigenous activists are still fighting back against generations of hardship and forced separation of families. 

Ray Suarez is joined by Tammerlin Drummond, creator and host of the Gold Chains from the Northern California chapter of the ACLU. Then, Jenn Williams, host of Foreign Policy’s co-production with Doha Debates, The Negotiators, talks with Cindy Blackstock, the plaintiff in the largest-ever class action settlement in Canada’s history – $32 billion dollars set aside for Native victims and families harmed by the child welfare system. 

Guests:

Tammerlin Drummond, communications strategist, ACLU of Northern California; creator, host and writer, Gold Chains podcast

Cindy Blackstock, executive director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society

Hosts:

Ray Suarez

Jenn Williams, host of The Negotiators

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 US midterms may be over, but the web of misinformation shaping global politics is everywhere…disrupting elections, destabilizing currencies, and dividing communities around the world. Identifying false information, like deep fakes and conspiracy theories, can be hard – and sites like Facebook and Twitter aren’t making things any easier.

In this week’s episode of On Shifting Ground, we look at the global relationship between misinformation, war, and peace. CEO of PeaceTech Lab, Sheldon Himelfarb, sits down with Ray to discuss what makes our present-day information crisis so unique – and dangerous. Then Alexa Koenig, Executive Director of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center, breaks down “The Berkeley Protocol,” a new international standard for verifying online images in war zones, from Myanmar to Ukraine.

Guests:

 
Sheldon Himelfarb, CEO of PeaceTech Lab

Alexa Koenig, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley

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.

It’s been three years since the Sudanese Revolution, a massive grassroots campaign that ousted the country’s longtime dictator Omar Al-Bashir. Now, Sudan is back under military control … but calls for change from the country’s pro-democracy movement are only getting louder.

On this week’s episode, Ray brings us to the frontlines of Sudan’s daily street protests, guided by activist and researcher Muzan Alneel. Then, guest host Hana Baba speaks with Declan Walsh, Chief Africa Correspondent for the New York Times, about Russia’s shadow investments in Sudan and how Putin’s aggressive policy in Africa may have predicted his invasion of Ukraine. Hana sits down with Kholood Khair, a Khartoum-based political strategist, and Bakri Ali, a diaspora organizer, to discuss the failings of US policy in Sudan and the revolution’s importance to democracy movements everywhere.

Guests:  

Muzan Alneel, pro-democracy activist and nonresident fellow at The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy

Declan Walsh, Chief Africa correspondent at The New York Times

Bakri Ali, Sudanese diaspora activist and aerospace engineer

Kholood Khair, political strategist and founder of Confluence Advisory 

Hosts:

Ray Suarez

Hana Baba, guest host of On Shifting Ground, host of KALW’s Crosscurrents

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.

COVID-19 and monkeypox cases may be down for now … but we’re not out of the woods yet. And according to famed epidemiologist and CEO of Pandefense Advisory, Larry Brilliant, these aren’t the last – or even the most destructive – mass outbreaks we could see in our lifetimes. Climate change, population growth, and rampant disinformation will exponentially increase the risks of disease.

On this week’s episode of On Shifting Ground, Brilliant joins Ray Suarez to break down what the global pandemic response community got wrong (and right), the enduring geopolitics of vaccination, and the urgent need to build a more pandemic-resilient society.

Guest: 

Larry Brilliant, physician, epidemiologist, and CEO of Pandefense Advisory

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.

When Joe Biden took office, he promised to pull the US out of costly wars in the Middle East and take a harsher stance toward human rights violations in the region. But this past year, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – and the ensuing energy crisis – have thrown a wrench in Biden’s strategy. And longtime ally Saudi Arabia is giving the US the cold shoulder, cutting oil production weeks before midterm elections.

This week, Ray Suarez sits down with two Middle East policy experts to debate the best path forward for US engagement in the region. Quincy Institute Executive Vice President Trita Parsi and Brookings Institution senior fellow Shadi Hamid break down their new books, that OPEC news, and the uneasy policy balance between oil, guns, and human rights.

Guests:

Shadi Hamid, senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution

Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

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.