On Shifting Ground
The Russian military is on the move toward the border with Ukraine. President Biden and European leaders have warned Russia against an invasion, suggesting military action will trigger a response. Caught in the middle, and almost completely drowned out in the din, are the voices of more than 40 million Ukrainian people living in one of the biggest countries in Europe.

 

In part one of a two-part story about Ukraine, we fill in some of the blanks on the backstory of Ukraine. Historians Katherine Younger and Emily Channell-Justice tell Ray Suarez the story of modern Ukraine, and why embracing Western values has made Ukraine a threat to Vladimir Putin. 

 

Guests:

Katherine Younger, research director, Ukraine in European Dialogue at The Institute for Human Sciences


Emily Channell-Justice, director, Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at Harvard University.

 

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.

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

In 2008, Jason Rezaian made a life changing decision to move to Iran and follow his dream of being a foreign correspondent. He fell in love, became a reporter for the Washington Post, and even played host to Anthony Bourdain in the Iran episode of Parts Unknown. Then, Jason’s life was turned upside down when he was arrested and held hostage in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison for 544 days. At least forty Americans are currently held captive around the world–not by terrorist groups but by foreign governments.

On this week’s episode, we hear Jason’s story and why he thinks it’s essential that the US government and media change the way they talk about American hostages abroad so we can finally bring them home.

Guests:

Jason Rezaian, Washington Post global opinions writer, host of 544 Days and author of Prisoner 

Yeganeh Rezaian, senior researcher at the Committee to Protect Journalists

Kate Woodsome, documentary filmmaker at the Washington Post

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.

 

Direct download: 1-24_World_Affairs_for_podcast_feed.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

With the rapid spread of Omicron and CDC guidelines changing on a near-daily basis, the pandemic can feel more confusing than ever. To help make sense of it all, we bring you this week’s episode two days ahead of schedule.

Even in the face of a highly infectious variant, COVID vaccines still offer the best protection from severe illness and death, but 40% of the world’s population, mostly in low income countries, have yet to receive a first dose. With so many people unvaccinated, new variants will continue to emerge. So, what can be done to break vaccine gridlock and bring this pandemic to an end?

On this week’s episode, Dr. Luciano Cesar Azevado, an ICU doctor in São Paulo, explains how Brazil went from being a COVID hotspot to a world leader in vaccinations. Then, Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, talks with Ray Suarez about overcoming the challenges of vaccine distribution in hard to reach areas.

Guests: 

Dr. Luciano Cesar Azevado,  ICU physician and professor of critical care and emergency medicine, Sírio-Libanês Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil

Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO, GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance

Hosts:

Philip Yun, CEO, World Affairs

Ray Suarez, co-host, World Affairs

Direct download: 1-17_World_Affairs_for_podcast_feed.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 4:00am PDT

When footage of rioters storming the US Capitol streamed live in 2021, some far-right extremists in Germany watched it like a soccer game. The European nation has spent decades confronting its dark history, but neo-Nazi and conspiracy theorist movements continue to rise in Germany, and around the world.

 

In this rebroadcast from last year, Ray Suarez talks with two domestic intelligence agents: one in Germany and the other in the United States. What have they learned in their fight against violent extremism?

 

Guests:

Stephan Kramer, chief of intelligence for the German state of Thuringia

Michael German, Brennan Center for Justice at NYC Law School and former FBI agent

 

Host:

Ray Suarez, co-host of 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: 1-10_World_Affairs_for_podcast_feed.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

One year after supporters of former President Donald Trump violently stormed the Capitol,  how do we make sense of the January 6 insurrection? Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat returns to WorldAffairs to discuss modern authoritarians and the “leader cult” created around former president Donald Trump. With a majority of Republicans believing the false claim that voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election, could Donald Trump be reelected in 2024? If weaknesses in our democratic institutions aren’t addressed, Ben-Ghiat warns, the real danger lies in the blueprint left for future leaders.

 

Guest: Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies at New York University and author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present

Host: Ray Suarez, co-host of 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: 1-3_World_Affairs_for_podcast_feed.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

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