On Shifting Ground

*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.

Direct download: China_Xi_for_pod.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

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.

Direct download: Tech_and_Inflation_pt_2_for_pod.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

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.

Direct download: Inflation_and_Tech_Layoffs_pt._1_for_pod.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

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.

Direct download: 1-16_OSG_for_pod.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

What will a new Congress mean for the next two years of foreign policy? The writing on the wall of the new GOP-controlled House spells more hawkishness on China, and more scrutiny of the Biden administration’s aid to Ukraine.

 

Ray Suarez speaks with Chris Tuttle, from the Council on Foreign Relations, about the impact of the midterms on US foreign policy. Will the razor-thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives empower more conservative, “America-first” factions within the party?

 

Guest:

 

Chris Tuttle, Senior Fellow and Director of the Renewing America Initiative, Council on Foreign Relations

Host(s):  

 

Philip Yun, CEO of World Affairs

 

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.

Direct download: 2023_FP_pt._2_for_pod.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

A viral photo captured Rep. Andy Kim as he worked to clear debris in the aftermath of the Capitol attack. Two years after January 6th, Congressman Andy Kim has been reflecting on today's era of division and uncertainty. 

 

From the failure of deterrence with Russia and China, to rising authoritarianism and a growing disconnect between Washington and the American people, geopolitical norms are under stress. To avoid catastrophic international conflict, Rep. Kim says we will need to think creatively, and act empathetically. 

 

Kim sits down with World Affairs CEO Philip Yun to discuss why now is the time to steer the ship back to calmer waters, and why it’s important to bring the American people into the conversation. 

 

Guest:

 

Democratic Congressman Andy Kim, New Jersey’s Third District 

 

Host:  

 

Philip Yun, World Affairs CEO

 

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: 2023_FP_pt._1_for_pod.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

When President Trump incited his followers to storm the US Capitol, he punctured a 220-year-old tradition in the United States of America. Two years later, we’re still reckoning with the consequences. 

 

Rising political violence is no surprise to Ruth Ben-Ghiat, scholar of fascism and advisor to the House Select Committee on January 6th. Ben-Ghiat and Ray Suarez discuss the stakes of the committee, and how to prevent another riot in the United States. Then, Ray is joined by Julia Ebner, a journalist who went undercover in the world of political extremists. Ebner reveals how conspiracy theories like QAnon have taken hold in Germany.

 

Guests:  

 

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present

 

Julia Ebner, author of Going Dark: The Secret Lives of Extremists

 

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.

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

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