According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, access to water in Gaza has dropped by 95 percent since October 7th, and as many as seven-in-ten Gazans are drinking salty and contaminated water to survive. Water is at the center of environmental challenges facing the whole Middle East, and it is perhaps the most pressing concern for desperate Gazans. So what are regional NGOs doing to provide clean water to millions of displaced people?

Climate One’s Greg Dalton speaks with Nada Majdalani, Palestinian Director of EcoPeace Middle East, about Ecopeace’s three-decade journey to water security in the Middle East. Then, Ray Suarez speaks with Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, to understand how climate scientists are trying to rebuild in Gaza following the recent violence.

Guests: 

Nada Majdalani, Palestinian Director of EcoPeace Middle East

Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

Host: 

Ray Suarez

Greg Dalton, founder and co-host, Climate One

Immigrants in California are generally protected from federal deportation under sanctuary and safe haven laws, unless they've been incarcerated. And in 2022, after serving 25 years for murder, San Quentin State Prison parolee Phoeun You was turned over to ICE, and deported without warning. 

In this episode, Phoeun You tells “On Shifting Ground” senior producer Mateo Schimpf about coming to terms with surviving the Cambodian genocide, how he got caught up in the prison-to-deportation pipeline, and the hard choice he made to find freedom.

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.

In the background of the latest US-China political disputes, is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. This year, the United States plays host to the meeting, which involves more than 1,500 delegates from 21 economies – including China and Russia.

Ray Suarez spoke with Matt Murray, senior US official for APEC, from the conference's first event in Palm Springs. Murray, who spent a number of years in Beijing and Shanghai, talks to Ray about whether the US and China can find common ground in trade on the Asian continent.

Guest:

Matt Murray, US Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), US Department of State

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.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russian forces. On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant to arrest President Vladimir Putin for crimes against humanity.

In the weeks before the ICC's action, officials within the state department were pressuring the US to support the court’s efforts to hold the Kremlin accountable, but the Pentagon blocked the Biden administration’s coordination with the ICC.

To understand why, Ray Suarez speaks with Beth Van Schaack, ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice at the State Department. 

Guest:

Beth Van Schaack, ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice at the State Department

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.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long had strong ties to the Kremlin, but he has become increasingly dependent on Putin since he retained power after a contested election in 2020. International observers recognized the true victor as Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is now leading her country’s democratic movement in exile.

With Belarus’ neighbors still at war, we’re revisiting her conversation with Ray Suarez to understand how women might light a new path of leadership, and why there is still more work to do following the country’s struggle against its strongman.

Guest:

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled leader of the Belarusian democratic movement

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.

So far, the world has failed to keep up with the U.N. development goals for gender equality… and the clock is ticking. Can increased financial inclusion and political participation for women help bridge the gap?

Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, believes our traditional financial system fails women. She speaks with Ray Suarez about how tech and global investment can help level the playing field. 

Guest:

Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President & CEO of Women’s World Banking and author of “There’s Nothing Micro About A Billion Women: Making Finance Work For Women”

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

Last May, Ray sat down with documentarian Daniel Roher to chat 'Navalny,' his new film following the famed Russian opposition leader’s recovery from a Kremlin-sponsored assassination attempt and his ongoing search for justice.

We revisit the episode after 'Navalny' recently took home the Academy Award for best documentary.

Guest:  

Daniel Roher, documentary filmmaker and director of 'Navalny'

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.

There are few places in the world where delegates from the United States, China and Russia meet together to consider trade and economic issues, but they met recently in Palm Springs. World Affairs visits a recent Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) event, where 21 nations hashed out the future of global trade. Ray Suarez talks with APEC research head, Carlos Kuriyama, about how the global economy can bounce back from the pandemic.

Guest:

Carlos Kuriyama, Policy Support Unit at APEC

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.

Joshua Yaffa wasn’t a war correspondent, but The New Yorker writer became one when Russia invaded Ukraine. He tells Ray Suarez how the war solidified a sense of Ukrainian unity that didn’t exist previously. “That is the tragic and dark irony of this war,” said Yaffa. “Putin's invasion brought about the very thing Putin thought he was fighting against from the beginning.”

Guest:

Joshua Yaffa, contributing writer at The New Yorker

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 war over Ukraine continues, and former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul says Putin is not backing down. He tells Ray Suarez why the global response to the current crisis will determine who wins or loses.

This episode was produced in partnership with Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies podcast WorldClass.

Guest:

Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Russia (2012-2014), director at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

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 Putin announced a mandatory draft of Russians after taking huge losses in Ukraine, thousands fled the nation. As these anti-war activists have taken refuge in post-Soviet countries, they’ve had to face Russia’s complicated relationship with its neighbors.

In part two of our Ukraine war anniversary series, journalist Levi Bridges tells the story of the Russian exodus, and the cultural reckoning that followed. 

Guest:

Levi Bridges, journalist and audio producer

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.

Bill Browder, formerly Russia’s largest foreign investor, predicted President Vladimir Putin’s long and cruel war in Ukraine. One year later, Browder says Putin’s failures extend far beyond the battlefield.

So, what fuels Putin’s destructive campaign? And what can the rest of the world do to bring the war to an end?

In the first part of our Ukraine anniversary special, Browder joins host Ray Suarez to answer what Putin might do next – and how long this war may last.

Guest:

Bill Browder, financier and author of Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath

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 aftermath of the Chinese surveillance balloon saga reveals a growing diplomatic divide between the US and China. Where does this mistrust come from? And why would Beijing take the risk of high-stakes state espionage?

In “Wealth and Power,” authors Orville Schell and John Delury argue that foreign humiliation over the past century and a half is the story that holds China together.

They join host Ray Suarez to discuss China’s quest for global dominance.

Guests: 

John Delury, US Professor of Chinese Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea

Orville Schell, director of the Center on US-China relations at the Asia Society

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.

A father and daughter journey to their ancestral homeland, looking to track down the place their family had lived before being forced to flee the Armenian genocide.

Armenian Pilgrimages: A Journey to the Homeland, comes from Kerning Cultures, a podcast telling stories from the Middle East, North Africa, and the spaces in between. 

As a postscript to this story – Nubar ended up going back, on a second trip to historic Armenia. This time with a camera crew and a fixer. He wanted to see if he could buy his grandmother’s plot of land.

The film’s not out yet, but you can watch the trailer at scarsofsilence.com.

Guests:

Nubar Alexanian, filmmaker and photographer

Abby Alexanian, Nubar’s daughter

Carel Bertram, author of A House in the Homeland

Armen Aroyan, (tour guide)

Annie Kahkejian, (tour guide)

Hosts:  

Dana Ballout, editor, Kerning Cultures

Alex Atack, managing producer for English production, Kerning Cultures

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.

On December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan blockaded a narrow road into Nagorno-Karabakh, creating a disastrous situation for the region’s 120,000 Armenian residents. The blockade is the latest in a bloody, post-Soviet conflict flying under the radar.

Journalist Lara Setrakian and political scientist Artak Beglaryan join Ray Suarez to explain the stakes of the crisis, the role of regional powers Russia and Turkey and hopes for democracy’s survival in the region.

Guests:

Artak Beglaryan, advisor to the state minister, the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) government.

Lara Setrakian, journalist

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.

Earlier in the week, we heard about how President Jair Bolsonaro stoked a Second Amendment culture war in Brazil–a country without a Second Amendment.

Now we'll hear from Bloomberg reporter Neil Weinberg, who explains how the NRA forged ties with Brazilian gun advocates, and how the American gun lobby exported its aims around the world.

Guests:

Neil Weinberg, Bloomberg News reporter

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.

Former president Jair Bolsonaro galvanized a U.S.-style gun culture in Brazil.  Although Brazilians still have no constitutional right to bear arms, the former president loosened gun control, and encouraged his supporters to arm themselves. After Bolsonaro lost the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, what happened next closely mirrored what happened in the United States after Donald Trump lost the election in 2020. 

So, how did Jair Bolsonaro leverage a Second Amendment culture war in a country...without a Second Amendment? And how did a fundamentally American ideology lead to an attack on Brazil’s Congress earlier this year?

Ray Suarez spoke with Reuters reporter Gabriel Stargardter about Brazil’s version of the January 6th Insurrection, and the Latin American nation’s fight over the "right" to bear arms.

Guest:  

Gabriel Stargardter, Reuters reporter in Rio de Janeiro

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.

*Ray Suarez will be at World Affairs live and in-person on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, for a discussion about his life and career.

Find out more information by clicking this link to sign up and attend in person or view online.* 

“On Shifting Ground” host Ray Suarez has just returned from a four-month stint living in Shanghai. There, he had a front-row seat to draconian lockdowns, the White Paper Protests, and Xi Jinping’s triumphant acceptance of a third term, cementing the Chinese President’s vision for the country’s future. On his way out of China, Ray witnessed the country’s chaotic exit from “Zero-Covid”, as Beijing scrambled to face the deadly fallout. 

What is Xi Jinping’s plan to reset China, and how do we make sense of his enigmatic rule? 
Sue-Lin Wong, a reporter from The Economist, joined Ray for a live streamed discussion of the consolidation of power by the Chinese Communist Party, and its national and global implications. Wong is also the host of the magazine’s hit podcast “The Prince: Searching for Xi Jinping.”

Guest:  

Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist’s Southeast Asia correspondent, host of The Prince: Searching for Xi Jinping.

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.

Economist Brad DeLong was feeling optimistic in February 2021, because inflation was well below target. Weeks later, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine, sending price shocks through the global economy.

The latest numbers indicate inflation is slowing, but people around the world are still feeling the sting. While the US has it better than most, no one is immune from the global economic slump.

So what does inflation mean for our pocketbooks, and for our mental health? Ray Suarez speaks with DeLong about why a little bit of inflation may be good for the economy, but also signals to service-sector and middle class workers that the system isn’t working for them. 

Guest:

Bradford DeLong, UC Berkeley economist and author of Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century

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.

Silicon Valley relies on a huge foreign born workforce, mostly from India and China, to provide specialized skills in fields like engineering, biotech, AI and computer science. But after the most recent round of tech layoffs, visa holders have 60 days to find a new job, or lose their residency in the U.S.

Tech reporter Pranav Dixit has been paying attention to the outsized role foreign born workers play in companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon, who have laid off more than 26,000 employees in 2023, and thousands more at the end of 2022. In the course of his reporting, Dixit has found that these drastic cuts have left immigrant programmers and computer scientists wondering if it’s worth staying in the U.S. “People are really using this time to reevaluate their priorities and their relationships,” said Dixit, “with both the US and their own country in many cases.”

Read more of Pranav Dixit’s reporting for Buzzfeed: Laid-Off Tech Workers On H-1B Visas Might Be Forced To Leave The Country

And check out his past appearance on the program: Podcast: Why Farmers are Fighting in Modi’s India - World Affairs Council 

Guest:

Pranav Dixit, tech reporter at Buzzfeed

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 we approach the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Iran has been hit with further sanctions for supplying Russia with drones and ballistic missiles. The dense web of overseas conflicts and the growing use of remote weaponry has left many average Americans feeling disengaged from the human toll of war. Journalist Azmat Khan says our ignorance isn’t an accident. She was recently awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her work uncovering the US military’s systematic failure to investigate civilian casualties in the ongoing US fight against ISIS. 

On this week’s program, Khan sits down with Ray Suarez to discuss what accountability looks like in the age of remote warfare, and the importance of civilian oversight in US military action. Then, Shannon French joins the program to chart the ever-evolving field of military ethics – and its central role in keeping both civilians and soldiers safe.

Guests:  

Azmat Khan, investigative reporter for the New York Times Magazine

Shannon French, Inamori Professor of Ethics at Case Western University

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.

From mass shootings in the United States to Vladimir Putin’s brazen invasion of Ukraine, it can feel like the world is in a constant state of turmoil. Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem has a prescription for learning to live in an “Age of Disasters.” In her new book, The Devil Never Sleeps, she explains how an international “architecture of preparedness” can help communities anticipate, assess, and manage urgent crises like gun violence and climate change. She talks with Ray Suarez about what global communities–and their leaders–can do to prepare before disaster strikes close to home.

Guest:

Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project and the Security and Global Health Project at Harvard University and author of The Devil Never Sleeps, Learning to Live in An Age of Disasters.

Host: 

Ray Suarez

Additional Reading: 

The Problem With 'Lone Wolf' Shooters

Design Your Organization to Withstand Future Disasters

How Leaders Prepare to Communicate in a Crisis

Guests:  Derek Chollet, Counselor of the United States Department of State

Host:  Ray Suarez, co-host of World Affairs

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

Guest: Ambassador Chantale Wong, U.S. Executive Director, Asia Development Bank

Host:  Dean Fealk, World Affairs trustee and co-managing partner at DLA Piper.

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.

Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt’s “Pillar of Shame,” a 26-foot copper-cased monument to the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, stood for nearly a quarter century outside the student union at Hong Kong University. The tower-like statue of human faces contorted by suffering was installed in 1997, just before the handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. In December 2021, under cover of darkness, the university removed the statue. It’s a move many say is an overt attempt to suppress the memory of the brutal crackdown—and part of a broader effort by China to erase Hong Kong’s history of independence. On this week’s episode, we hear from Galschiøt, the sculptor who built the “Pillar of Shame.” Then, Ray Suarez talks with former NPR Beijing correspondent Louisa Lim about China’s brazen efforts to stamp out free speech in Hong Kong, the city she grew up in. Lim shares the experiences she chronicled in her new book Indelible City, an emotional eyewitness account of the pro-democracy protests and a reflection on Hong Kong’s identity.

Guests:  

Jens Galschiøt, Danish sculptor

Louisa Lim, author of  “Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong” 

Host: 

Ray Suarez, co-host WorldAffairs

Guests:

Liana Chlachidze, Ergneti village resident

Galina Kelekhsaeva, German language teacher 

Gerard Toal, professor of government and international affairs at Virginia Tech

Shalva Dzebisashvili, head of political science at the University of Georgia in Tbilisi

Nino Tsagareishvili, legal advisor to German development agency GIZ

Host:  Ray Suarez

Reporter: Levi Bridges

Carmen Carcelén lives in a small town on the Colombia-Ecuador border. One night in 2017, she invited 11 beleaguered Venezuelan migrants into her home for a meal and a decent night's sleep. From there, word of Carmen's shelter spread all the way back to Venezuela. In the past four years, Carmen has fed and sheltered over 10,000 migrants.

After we ran a story about Carmen in August, listeners reached out and asked how they could help. Thanks to their generous donations, a GoFundMe campaign to support Carmen's "Casa De Paz," has raised more than $2,000. 

In case you missed the original story, "In Carmen's Hands," you can listen here, with a special update from Carmen explaining how she is using the funds to expand her work. 

If you want to support Carmen’s shelter, it's not too late to donate to her GoFundMe campaign.

The discovery of mass graves at residential schools for indigenous children in Canada has shed new light on a disturbing chapter in North American history---the abuse and neglect of Indigenous children at the hands of the American and Canadian governments. This week, we look at Canada’s journey towards truth and reconciliation with its native people. From the late 19th century until the last school closed in 1996, the Canadian government took indigenous children from their families and forced them to attend schools run by churches. Little learning happened in these institutions, which were the sites of widespread abuse. Children were separated from their siblings and stripped of their native language and culture. First we speak with Connie Walker, an investigative journalist whose family members were forced to attend these schools. Then, we speak to Ry Moran, an indigenous archivist who works to preserve the testimonies of residential school survivors.

Guests:

Ry Moran, The University of Victoria Associate University Librarian - Reconciliation

Connie Walker, host of Stolen: The Search for Jermain, Gimlet Media

Hosts:

Teresa Cotsirilos, senior producer, WorldAffairs

Ray Suarez, co-host, WorldAffairs

When footage of rioters storming the US Capitol was broadcast live around the world, some far-right extremists in Germany were watching it like a soccer game. The country has spent decades confronting its dark history, but neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists remain a threat. In this episode, we hear from Stephan Kramer, the head of domestic intelligence in the eastern German state of Thuringia. He talks with Ray Suarez about what he’s learned trying to stop this movement.

Guest: 

Stephan Kramer, head of domestic intelligence for the eastern German state of Thuringia

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.

With 5 million recorded COVID-19  infections and 160,000 deaths, the coronavirus has paralyzed the United States…the richest, most powerful country in the world. We know it was preventable because at the same time, some countries with far fewer resources have kept infection and death rates remarkably low. Even with its close proximity to China, where the pandemic started, parts of Southeast Asia have managed to control the coronavirus far better than the US and Europe. What are Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar doing that the rest of the world finds itself unable to do? In this episode, we hear from New York Times Southeast Asia Bureau Chief Hannah Beech, Country Director for the Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam Dr. Todd Pollock and Director of the Oxford University clinical research unit in Vietnam Guy Thwaites about the quick decision making that went into these countries’ successes. What can we learn from them?

Guests:

Hannah Beech, NYTimes Southeast Asia Bureau Chief, based in Bangkok, Thailand @hkbeech

Dr. Todd Pollock, Country Director for the Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam @toddmpollack

Guy Thwaites, Professor of infectious diseases and the director of the Oxford University clinical research unit in Vietnam @ThwaitesGuy

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 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.

Guyana is the latest country where a major oil discovery has been made. With ExxonMobil set to begin oil production next year, the small, impoverished nation is on the path to become one of the richest in the world. But with oil production brings risk. Next door Venezuela offers a cautionary tale of the “resource curse,” a spiral of political corruption and economic mismanagement that has driven commodity-rich nations into crisis.  But it doesn’t have to happen that way.  In some places natural resource production has brought much-needed development through education, infrastructure and economic diversification. What can Guyana learn from countries that have avoided the resource curse?

At the southern border, the rhetoric and emotion surrounding the issue of immigration have stood in the way of comprehensive reform. Where policy has fallen short, international, national and local nonprofit organizations have stepped in to provide vital, life-saving services. On this week’s episode, we’re taking a sobering look at the realities of what happens to migrants when they reach the border. Joining us are civil society leaders working to lessen the trauma for migrants and asylum seekers fleeing violent crime and political persecution.

Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save the Children, Maria Moreno, Principal of the Las Americas Newcomer School, and Jonathan Ryan, CEO and President of RAICES, are in conversation with Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of MercyCorps.

We want to hear from you! Please take part in a quick survey to tell us how we can improve our podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

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.

We want to hear from you! Please take part in a quick survey to tell us how we can improve our podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

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

The conflict in Afghanistan reached its 17th anniversary in October, and US involvement in Iraq will be 15 years. Americans are aware of these wars, but what about the almost 200,000 other US military personnel stationed around the world in over 130 countries? Where are American forces and what explains the large military footprint? Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Richard Fontaine, President of the Center for a New American Security, discuss the value of the American military abroad with Ray Suarez, former chief national correspondent for PBS NewsHour.

We want to hear from you! Please take part in a quick survey to tell us how we can improve our podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

American exceptionalism has long been a tenet of US foreign policy. Today, it’s taken the form of an isolationist, “America first” approach. In this week’s episode, world renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs shares his perspectives on how a century of exceptionalism has created false justification for countless wars while leading to an increasingly polarized, unjust world. Sachs argues that in order to meet the global challenges we face, America must adopt an internationalist view, one that “embraces global cooperation, international law and aspirations for global prosperity.” He discusses his new book “A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism” with Ray Suarez, former chief national correspondent for PBS NewsHour.

We want to hear from you! Please take part in a quick survey to tell us how we can improve our podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

In 2018, Russia will hold its presidential election, and few are likely to oppose the current president, Vladimir Putin. One of the potential challengers gaining momentum is Alexei Navalny, a central figure in the pro-democracy movement. Since 2011, this small but passionate opposition group has captured the attention of many disaffected Russians angered by corruption, economic disparity and the restriction of civil liberties. What can Russia's pro-democracy movement do to break through a culture of systemic corruption to win the election? What can the opposition do to build support among all Russians?

Vladimir Ashurkov, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and close colleague of Alexei Navalny, will provide insight into the pro-democracy campaign, recent protests in Moscow and the many challenges facing the opposition movement.

SPEAKER:

Vladimir Ashurkov
Executive Director, Anti-Corruption Foundation

MODERATOR:

Carla Thorson
Senior Vice President, Programs, World Affairs

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1744

In 2011, Cairo's Tahrir Square commanded the attention of the world as the Egyptian people demanded their freedom. At the time, President Barack Obama famously declared: “Egyptians have inspired us, they have changed the world.” But, half a decade later, is this the whole story?

The Arab World's most populous nation remains as volatile as ever and thoroughly enmeshed with a broader moment of political turbulence that is unfolding across the globe. In his new book, "The Egyptians: A Radical Story," former Egypt Correspondent for the Guardian, Jack Shenker, examines the roots of Egypt’s revolution, arguing for a much more nuanced, and far-reaching view of the forces that are reshaping the region. Egypt’s revolutionary turmoil has never just been about Mubarak, or his successors, or elections, says Shenker. It is not merely a civil war between Islamists and secularists, nor a fight between backwardness and modernity. Underlying it all, the unrest is about economically marginalized citizens muscling their way onto the political stage to demand sovereignty over domains previously closed to them: factories and urban streets, the houses they live in, the food they eat and the water they drink. The real story is more complicated and, ultimately, more hopeful.

Speaker Jack Shenker is an author and journalist, and Former Egypt Correspondent for the Guardian.

The conversation is moderated by David D. Arnold is President of The Asia Foundation.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1683

Our lives in 2050 will be vastly different than today. Rapidly advancing technology is changing everything from food production to health care, energy output, manufacturing and the military balance. Innovations already in development include brain-computer interfaces, vat-grown cruelty-free meat, knitted cars and guided bullets among many others. Technology which once seemed like science fiction is now reality - and even old news - where can we possibly go from here?

The Executive Editor of The Economist, Daniel Franklin, explores how technology will shape the future in his recent book, Megatech: Technology in 2050. His insights are based on extensive interviews with distinguished scientists, industry leaders, academics and acclaimed science-fiction authors who are at the forefront of the most exceptional inventions and sinister trends.

Where will technology be in 2050, and how will it affect the way we live? What does this mean for the job market and how we perform our work? In what ways can we prepare for the opportunities — as well as the dangers — that await?

Speaker Daniel Franklin is Executive Editor at The Economist. He is in conversation with Quentin Hardy, Head of Editorial at Google Cloud.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1699

Is American influence in Asia and around the world set to decline? In the years following the global financial crisis, the US has increasing ceded its leadership in the world, while China has rushed in to fill the gap left behind. Based on the inward-looking economic nationalism of the Trump administration, some say this trend is poised to accelerate.

Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times, terms this phenomenon “Easternization” - the tectonic shift of the world’s center of gravity from West to East, and from the US to China. Though obscured by the headlines of the day, in the not-so-distant future we may come to view this, as Rachman does, as the momentous transformation of the young century.

How is the growing wealth of Asian nations transforming the international balance of power? Will Trump’s temperament lead to war or peace with Asian nations? After striving for years to be a part of Europe, is Russia now returning to its Asian roots? How would a shift to the East shape all of our lives? This event is co-organized with the Mechanics Institute.

SPEAKER:

Gideon Rachman
Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times

MODERATOR:

Carla Thorson
Senior Vice President, Programs, World Affairs

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1714

General Michael Hayden is the only person ever to lead both the CIA and NSA. For 10 years, he was a key player in some of the most important events in the history of American national security. Now, at a time of ominous new threats and political change, General Hayden will share an insider’s perspective of America's intelligence wars.

What role did US intelligence play in the wake of terrorist threats, a major war and the technological revolution? What was the transformation of the NSA after 9/11? Why did the NSA begin the controversial terrorist surveillance program that included the collection of domestic phone records? What else was set in motion during this period that formed the backdrop for the infamous Snowden revelations in 2013?

General Hayden is a retired United States Air Force four-star general, former director of the NSA, principal deputy director of National Intelligence, and director of the CIA. His recent book, "Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror," is a behind-the-scenes account of his experiences within our national intelligence operations. His goals for writing it are simple: No apologies. No excuses. Just what happened.

Speaker General Michael Hayden is the Former Director of the NSA and CIA.

Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs and Global Philanthropy Forum, and Vice President, The Aspen Institute, moderates the discussion.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1692

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the Iran deal — is perhaps the most important negotiated arrangement thus far in the 21st century. Iran’s capacity to construct a nuclear weapon has been stopped for 15 years and perhaps longer. It has not yet led to greater cooperation with Iran in the region, domestically on human rights and more democratic governance, and it has created problems for the governments of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Why? What are the prospects for the future for the next US president.

Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director, Foreign Policy Program, The Brookings Institution

Thomas Pickering, Vice Chairman of Hills & Company, former Under Secretary of State for Policy and Career Ambassador

Moderator: Greg Dobbs, former Foreign Correspondent, ABC News

Refugee camps spring up around the world in response to the needs of displaced populations. Always intended to be temporary, these camps often become long term homes for their residents. From the outside, they're seen as a humanitarian crisis by aid workers and a security challenge by host governments. What does life look like for those who call a refugee camp home?

Journalist Ben Rawlence spent years documenting life in Dadaab, a group of refugee camps in northern Kenya. The camps make up a small city of almost half a million people, mostly Somalis who fled civil war and violence. How does this population address the challenges of education, employment, healthcare and meeting other basic needs? Why has this camp, and others like it, become a more permanent settlement for so many? Rawlence will share the stories of a few of Dadaab’s citizens, exploring both individual lives and the wider political forces that have kept them from returning home.

Speaker Ben Rawlence is an author and journalist.

Karen Ferguson, Executive Director, Northern California, International Rescue Committee, moderates the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1551