H.R. McMaster, a retired Army lieutenant general and former national security advisor,  says the last twenty years of US foreign policy have been characterized by a belief that the world revolves around us. The result? A series of strategic blunders, from interminable wars in the Middle East to missing out on crucial opportunities to build peace. But author and peacebuilding expert Severine Autesserre says the US isn’t the only political power player guilty of what the retired general would call “strategic narcissism.”

In an episode originally aired in April, we look at what happens when you think you know what you’re doing… and don’t listen to the people you are trying to help. 

Guests:

H.R. McMaster, Retired lieutenant general, former national security advisor and author of BattleGrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World

Séverine Autesserre, Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University and author of The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider’s Guide to Changing the World

Hosts:

Philip Yun, CEO, World Affairs

Ray Suarez, co-host, 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.

The world is changing quickly around us. So, how can we help lead the change? Former Obama campaign Chief Operating Officer, Henry De Sio, Jr., shares his insights on how to approach the unique challenges and opportunities of our time. With an approach rooted in empathy, ethics, and co-creative teamwork, De Sio offers tools for navigating a post-pandemic landscape in which change may be one of the only things we can count on.

In a discussion with KQED’s Silicon Valley senior editor Rachael Myrow, De Sio shares lessons learned from leading change makers in business, social entrepreneurship, education and politics.

Guests: 

Henry F. De Sio, Jr., Author and former Deputy Assistant to the President in the Obama White House

Hosts:

Rachael Myrow, Senior Editor of KQED's Silicon Valley News Desk

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 week, we’re looking back at 2021’s biggest stories from around the world. As we turn another corner, we ask: what’s happening with the Iran nuclear negotiations? Where does the European Union come down on defending Ukraine against Russian incursion? And as China’s economic leadership grows in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, can the rising superpower stay out of regional entanglements?

Ray Suarez speaks with Trita Parsi, the executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Joanna Kakissis, international correspondent based in Athens, Greece, and Bob Davis, a veteran Wall Street Journal editor and China reporter about why these stories matter for the road ahead.

Guests: 

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Joanna Kakissis, contributing international correspondent for NPR

Bob Davis, author, reporter and former editor at the Wall Street Journal

Hosts:

Ray Suarez, co-host, 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 do this work without your help. Thank you.

Noel Large was a cold-blooded gunman for a Protestant paramilitary group during “The Troubles,” a period of bombings, shootings, and political turbulence that rocked Northern Ireland in the 20th century. Today, he’s a reconciliation activist, working alongside Catholics to keep the peace. Although the situation is more stable today, Catholic and Protestant communities remain divided in cities across Northern Ireland, by physical barriers known as “Peace Walls.”

On the centenary of Northern Ireland’s birth, we look at the lines and borders that define it. We tag along with Noel on a tour of Belfast’s “Peace Walls.” Then, Ray Suarez speaks with historian Margaret O’Callaghan and journalist Susan McKay about Northern Ireland’s past, and what changes the future may hold in a post-Brexit world.

Guests: 

Noel Large, tour guide, Ex-Prisoners Interpretive Center  

Susan McKay, journalist and author of “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground”

Margaret O’Callaghan, historian, Queen’s University, Belfast

Host:

Ray Suarez, co-host, 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.