We're entering the final days of the 2024 presidential election, but a lot can change in a few weeks. Historically, several presidential contests have been upended in October. Coined the "October Surprise," for decades candidates have been tested at the finish line... and many have faltered. So what could trip up Harris or Trump?  Ray Suarez hosts a panel featuring political strategist and pollster Rachel Bitecofer, Jonathan M. Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland, and Tara Setmayer, co-founder and CEO of the Seneca Project. Guests: Rachel Bitecofer, author, political strategist and pollster Jonathan M. Metzl, author and director of the Department of Medicine, Health, and Society, at Vanderbilt University Tara Setmayer, co-founder and CEO of the Seneca Project Host:   Ray Suarez If you value this programming, you can help support future ones just like it. Visit Commonwealth Club World Affairs to make a donation. Any amount helps, thank you!

Refugees 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 to Cambodia. In this episode, the story of Phoeun You: a man returned to a country he never knew. This episode was produced in partnership with KQED's The California Report Magazine podcast. Producer:   Mateo Schimpf If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Immigration is once again a political football in the lead up to the 2024 Presidential Election, and while Congress stalled to address comprehensive border control measures, hundreds of thousands of migrants became pawns in a political game. The Washington Post's Eduardo Porter talks with Ray about how Mexico's former president used migrant flows to gain leverage in Washington D.C., and which US presidential candidate Mexico's new leadership prefers in the upcoming election.  Guest:   Eduardo Porter, columnist, The Washington Post Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

We're entering the final days of the 2024 presidential election, but a lot can change in a few weeks. Historically, several presidential contests have been upended in October. Coined the "October Surprise," for decades candidates have been tested at the finish line... and many have faltered. In 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump was trailing in the polls in October – as he is now with Kamala Harris – so could a last-second surprise ensure victory for Trump? Join us at Commonwealth Club - World Affairs on Tuesday, October 15th at Noon, for a special conversation with political strategist and pollster Rachel Bitecofer, Jonathan M. Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland, and Tara Setmayer, co-founder and CEO of the Seneca Project.

Monday, October 7, 2024 marks the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israeli territory. For a while, Israel's response to the violence supplanted the war in Ukraine in the headlines, but as the months dragged on, attention had largely turned away from Gaza. That all changed in late-September when Israeli airstrikes in neighboring Lebanon killed seven high-ranking commanders and officials from Hezbollah, including the militant group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Ray Suarez speaks with Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about how Nasrallah’s has already escalated violence in the region… and may drag in Iran and the United States. Then, Vox’s Zack Beauchamp on what the first anniversary of October 7th will mean to Israel, the United States, and the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency. Guests:    Zack Beauchamp, Senior Correspondent at Vox Trita Parsi, 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 Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

After the two recent assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump, it’s clear the United States has a problem with political violence. But in our history, several would-be assassins have attacked sitting presidents, so is there something different about these Trump shooters… and this era of political grievance?  Bruce Hoffman, Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security at the Council on Foreign Relations, on whether we can break the string of political violence across the globe. Guest: Bruce Hoffman, Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, Council on Foreign Relations Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The recent assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump were surreal for many. It's been almost a half-century since a US president was shot, but attacks on a sitting president aren’t new – Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan survived assassination attempts. What’s different is that violence on elected officials used to be carried out by individuals with coherent political aims. In a recent article for The Atlantic, Tom Nichols argues that Donald Trump hasn’t carried himself like Gerald Ford, and speaks with Ray Suarez about why Trump is trying to use these assassination attempts for his political advantage.  Guests:   Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic and professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College Host:    Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Kamala Harris holds a national lead of three points over Donald Trump. And as the polls following her recent debate performance continue to trickle in, her lead is expected to grow. But can we trust the latest polls? This week, in our latest special election series, we talk with an undecided voter who doesn’t trust what polls are saying. Then, a pair of political scientists break down how we can make polling better. We’ll hear from Samaya Garza, J.D. Candidate at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Dr. Peter Francia, professor and director of the ECU Center for Survey Research, Justin Grimmer, political science professor and senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, and Dr. Natalie Jackson, vice president at GQR. Guests:    Samaya Garza, J.D. Candidate at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Dr. Peter Francia, professor and director of the ECU Center for Survey Research Justin Grimmer, political science professor and senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution Dr. Natalie Jackson, vice president at GQR Host:    Ray Suarez Mateo Schimpf, senior producer If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Anne Applebaum argues that autocracy is spreading to democratic states, and the reason why is that illiberalism is good international business. She warns the seeds of autocracy have already been sown in the United States, so how can we protect ourselves during another contentious presidential election season?   Ray Suarez sits down with Anne Applebaum. Her latest book is Autocracy, Inc., and she has a new podcast, Autocracy in America. It’s co-hosted by British journalist Peter Pomerantsev. Do listen. Guest: Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic and pulitzer-prize winning historian Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In August, Ukrainian troops swept into Russia's Kursk region, and seized over 500 square miles of Russian territory. It’s the first time that Russia has been invaded since World War II. In Moscow, President Putin has relied on aid from China, Iran, and North Korea, but some analysts believe that his most consequential support may come from a second Trump term. They argue the Russian leader is biding his time till the 2024 US Presidential election. Meanwhile, President Zelensky is still waiting on answers from current US President Joe Biden on the use of long-range missiles on Russian targets. Can the Ukrainian military hold its ground until the November election, and what does President Zelensky need to secure a victory? The Guardian's Luke Harding joins Ray Suarez to share what he’s seeing on the battlefield. Guest:   Luke Harding, foreign correspondent for The Guardian Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Immigrants to America have always faced resistance, and have always—over time—assimilated and become vital parts of America. But in a political era of “America First'', what does it mean to be an immigrant in the 21st century? And who decides who is “American” enough? Ray Suarez has criss-crossed the country to speak to new Americans from all corners of the globe, and to record their stories for his new book. He shares what he learned while reporting and writing We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century, with veteran journalist Shereen Marisol Meraji. Learn more about Shereen’s new podcast, How I Get It Done. Guest:    Ray Suarez, host, On Shifting Ground Host:    Shereen Marisol Meraji, assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In May, Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, presented a sprawling “road map” for regulating artificial intelligence. But tech experts have called the plan “pathetic”, and many critics believe Washington is out of touch. And California’s legislature will soon vote on a plan that would put guardrails on the biggest AI players. This week, we're airing our special election episode from June about why AI may be the big bad “X Factor” of the upcoming presidential election. First, we’ll hear from Josh Lawson, Director of AI and Democracy at the Aspen Institute. Then, US Congressman Ted Lieu and Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder of Robust AI and Geometric AI, join Ray Suarez to talk about the future of AI, and whether it can be regulated in time. Guests: Josh Lawson, Director of AI and Democracy at the Aspen Institute US Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA 36th District) Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder of Robust AI and Geometric AI Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Earlier this century, reports indicated a little alcohol might even improve health. Moderation was the watchword. Those reports have been overtaken by a new generation of research which indicates the healthy amount of alcohol is no alcohol. But alcoholic beverages are deeply embedded in the brain. So if it’s so bad for us, why can’t we quit drinking? Ray speaks with New York Times health reporter Roni Rabin about a new UK study that concludes that drinking is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, regardless of underlying health and socioeconomic status. Guest: Roni Rabin, health reporter, The New York Times Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

For the most part, the world has gone back to normal. We’re getting on planes… going to concerts… but many Americans haven’t changed their pandemic drinking habits. And this increased consumption trend is especially high for older Americans. In 2020, alcohol accounted for more than 11,000 deaths among those 65 and up – that’s an 18 percent increase from the previous year – and many of those cases went untreated.  Ray speaks with Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, to get to the bottom of why Baby Boomers are drinking so much. Guest: Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, and in the few weeks since, Vice President Kamala Harris has garnered enough delegates to become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Biden had trailed Trump in virtually every poll, but Harris has rallied the hopes of her party, as her momentum continues to upend the race. This week, in our latest special election series, why party conventions matter, what to expect at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and how The Lincoln Project and Kamala Harris are taunting Trump. Stuart Stevens, former chief Republican strategist and author of Conspiracy to End America, joins Ray Suarez to discuss the state of the presidential race, and to make predictions for the final 75 days. Guests: Stuart Stevens, Senior Advisor, The Lincoln Project Host:    Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Ecuadorian journalist Jorge Imbaquingo says that his country used to be, “an island of peace.” But now it’s caught in the middle of Latin America’s bloodiest drug war. In our last episode, we heard about Ecuador’s historic vote to stop oil extraction in the Amazon. Today, we’ll hear about why its President, Daniel Noboa, nixed those plans to fund his war against the country’s drug cartels. First, producer Mateo Schimpf and El Diario del Comercio reporter Jorge Imbaquingo share why Ecuador has become a target for Latin America’s drug cartels. Then writer Jon Lee Anderson talks with Ray Suarez about his recent New Yorker profile of Daniel Noboa, and why the young leader is standing up to the narcos. Guests: Jorge Imbaquingo, politics reporter, El Diario del Comercio Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer, The New Yorker Mateo Schimpf, producer, On Shifting Ground  Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Last August, Ecuador passed a historic referendum that was more than a decade in the making. Oil accounts for roughly a third of the country’s exports, but Ecuadorians voted to stop extraction at a major production site deep in the Amazon. Since the vote, Ecuador’s “Keep It in the Ground” movement has hit some speed bumps.  In collaboration with our sister program, Climate One, why curbing climate emissions has economic consequences for rural Ecuadorians.  Guests:    Kevin Koenig, Climate, Energy, and Extractive Industry Director, Amazon Watch Kimberley Brown, freelance journalist Mateo Schimpf, producer, On Shifting Ground Host:    Ray Suarez  Ariana Brocious, co-host, Climate One If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Ray Suarez sits down with Dr. Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA, to examine Biden’s foreign policy legacy… and how country's around the world are preparing for a new US President in 2025. Guest:   Dr. Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA Host:  Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

A few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the US Congress, and he showed no signal that his government is open to a ceasefire with Hamas. President Biden had hoped to broker an Israeli-Hamas peace deal before leaving office, but an attack from Hezbollah in the Golan Heights—and Israel's military response—could dash any remaining hope for a deal in Gaza. Ray Suarez sits down with Mairav Zonszein, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group, to Israel’s military may be at odds with Netanyahu and why the Israeli Prime Minister is going all-in on a Trump Presidency. Guest: Mairav Zonszein, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Donald Trump’s anti-establishment message has galvanized tech leaders across the US, including in former Democratic Party stronghold, Silicon Valley. In the second half of our election special, we’ll hear from This American Life’s Zoe Chace about what happened when Michigan Republicans took his advice and actually tried to buck the system. Then, WIRED’s Steven Levy joins Ray Suarez to talk about why big tech and “little tech” are throwing their weight behind Trump’s presidential bid. You can hear Zoe's latest reporting from the Republican National Convention on This American Life. Guests: Zoe Chace, Producer, This American Life Steven Levy, Journalist and Editor, WIRED Mateo Schimpf, Producer, On Shifting Ground Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help.

Since Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Vice President Kamala Harris raised hundreds of millions in small dollar donations. Harris has received endorsements from virtually every major Democratic Party leader, and her path to nomination – and command of the dnc campaign war chest – appears inevitable.  But was it the big money DNC donors who really made this possible? The New York Times’ Astead Herndon joins Ray Suarez to talk about how Democratic Party donors helped force President Biden out. Guests:   Astead Herndon, National Politics Reporter, The New York Times Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The surprising success of Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics gave Vladimir Putin the political capital to invade Crimea, and it was all built on an elaborate state-sponsored doping program. Russia received little more than a slap on the wrist by the International Olympic Committee, so President Putin was emboldened to attack Ukraine in 2022. This time the IOC had to act, and the majority of Russian athletes have been banned from the 2024 Paris Games.    John Hoberman, Olympic Historian and Professor of Germanic Studies, University of Texas at Austin, joins Ray Suarez to share why the IOC has a history of enabling authoritarian leaders, and why it has blood on its hands. Guest: John Hoberman, Olympic Historian and Professor of Germanic Studies, University of Texas, Austin Host: Ray Suarez, host, On Shifting Ground If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

It's been a wild few weeks in US news... but remember the Olympics? After COVID-19 threw a curveball in Tokyo, the Olympic Games are back. Since the Olympics as we know them started in 1896, they have only been canceled for drastic events like World Wars and a pandemic. The 2020 Tokyo games were postponed a year due to lockdown restrictions, and global viewership suffered. So will the 2024 Paris games rekindle our love for the Games? The Athletic sports writer, Richard Deitsch, joins Ray Suarez to talk about whether the Olympics can rebound. Guests: Richard Deitsch, sports writer and host, Sports Media with Richard Deitsch Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

A gunman just tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump weeks after he was convicted of election interference…  Joe Biden’s campaign is in freefall… and all along voters have resented a choice between two troubled candidates. Americans — from the largest urban centers to the smallest rural towns — are deeply pessimistic about the state of the nation. And on both sides of the political aisle, there seems to be a disconnect between what people want… and where they feel the country is headed.  This week, in an election special, we’ll hear from Iowa voter Phil Hemingway, and how he’s feeling about this contentious election year. Then, Dante Chinni, director of MSU J-School’s American Communities Project, Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic, and Ian Bremmer, president of GZERO Media, join Ray Suarez to unpack why Americans have lost faith in democracy… and what it will take to get it back.  Guests:   Phil Hemingway, owner, manager and automotive technician at Phil’s Repair, LLC Dante Chinni, data and political journalist and director of the MSU J-School’s American Communities Project Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic, Pulitzer-prize winning historian and author of “The Twilight of Democracy” Ian Bremmer, a political scientist, author of “The Power of Crisis,” and professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Political Affairs 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.

For generations, a nuclear war has been assumed to be so horrible that no one has used these weapons since 1945. But what have we done in the last 80 years to pull ourselves back from the edge of nuclear destruction? In her new book “Nuclear War: A Scenario”, pulitzer-prize finalist Annie Jacobsen explores a ticking-clock scenario. Based on dozens of exclusive interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, she pieced together what a response to nuclear war might look like. She’s in conversation with independent tech journalist, Quentin Hardy. Guest:   Annie Jacobsen, Journalist; Author, Nuclear War: A Scenario Guest Host: Quentin Hardy, former Head of Editorial, Google Cloud Come check out Ray's live conversation on US immigration next Tuesday, July 9th at 6 pm PT! Tickets for in-person and online program are here: https://bit.ly/RaySuarezLive

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un just signed a mutual defense deal that feels a lot more like 1964 than 2024. In part two of our series, John Delury, associate professor of Chinese studies at Yonsei University, explains why Putin is taking his relationship with Kim to the next level, and whether the UN Security Council can do anything about it. Guest: John Delury, associate professor of Chinese studies at Yonsei University Host:   Ray Suarez Come check out Ray's live conversation on US immigration next Tuesday, July 9th at 6 pm PT! Tickets for in-person and online program are here: https://bit.ly/RaySuarezLive

On June 18th, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unprecedented trip to Pyongyang. It was the first time he’d set foot inside North Korea in nearly 25 years and marks a new low point in his war against Ukraine. This week, we’re running a two-part series about the recent courtship between President Putin and North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. In the first episode, we’re joined by New York Times’ national security reporter Julian Barnes. He’ll walk us through last year’s alleged arms deal between Russia and North Korea and Putin's growing desperation for munitions.  On Wednesday we’ll dive deep on Putin and Kim’s most recent meeting and how it’s destabilizing a fragile international order. Guest: Julian Barnes, national security reporter for The New York Times 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.

On June 9th, Europe's European Union members voted for their next parliament. The election tends to be a practical and mostly predictable affair, where parties across the continent build centrist coalitions, but major victories for the far-right in countries like France, Germany, and Italy are shaking things up. In 2023, journalist Julia Ebner joined Ray Suarez to share how she went undercover in the world of online extremists. Ebner revealed how conspiracy theories like QAnon have taken hold in Germany. In this week’s program, Ebner shares how political extremism has moved mainstream, and how the far-right is upending the elections in Europe. Guest: Julia Ebner, author of Going Mainstream: How extremists are taking over 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 recent spate of violence in Sub-Saharan Africa is centuries in the making, and finding solutions isn’t easy. And when we talk about lifting the world out of poverty, Africa is at the center of any meaningful discussion.  Abraham Leno, Executive Director of the Eastern Congo Initiative, has worked on the African continent for decades, and he joins Ray Suarez to share how ECI is working to change narratives about people in Eastern Congo.  Guest: Abraham Leno, Executive Director of the Eastern Congo Initiative  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 Democratic Republic of Congo sits just south of the so-called  “coup belt” in Africa – an area stretching across the entire continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. With more than half a dozen attempts in the region since 2021, social scientists are beginning to call the coups a “contagion”. As Congo faces the challenges of post-colonial governance, what can be done to protect the future of its democracy? Vox reporter, Ellen Ioanes, joins Ray Suarez to talk about the US, China, Russia’s role in fomenting violence in the DRC. Guest:    Ellen Ioanes, World & Weekend Reporter, Vox 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 May, Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, presented a sprawling “road map” for regulating artificial intelligence. The report called for $32 billion in spending to put guardrails on the rapidly evolving technology. But tech experts have called the plan “pathetic”, and many critics believe Washington is out of touch. This week, in our latest special election series, why AI may be the big bad “X Factor” of the upcoming presidential election. We’ll hear from Josh Lawson, Director of AI and Democracy at the Aspen Institute. Then, US Congressman Ted Lieu and Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder of Robust AI and Geometric AI, join Ray Suarez to talk about the future of AI, and whether it can be regulated in time. Guests:   Josh Lawson, Director of AI and Democracy at the Aspen Institute US Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA 36th District) Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder of Robust AI and Geometric AI 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.

Hate crimes, gun violence, political polarization…. to New York Times’ columnist David Brooks, these are signs that America is undergoing a new epidemic: social isolation. He joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen,” and to unpack how we can rebuild trust and empathy “for the opposition”... by getting to know our neighbors. Guest:    David Brooks, Op-Ed Columnist at The New York Times and author of “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen” 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.

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 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 May 19th, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter accident, and his death brings an uncertain future to his country. This comes weeks after Iran traded missiles with Israel. Ray Suarez speaks with Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about what Raisi’s death will mean to Iran… and the rest of the Middle East. Guest: Trita Parsi, 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.

We all get a vote...but do we really get a choice? In the second part of our special election episode, political scientist Lee Drutman joins Ray to talk about the future of ranked choice voting and third party politics in the US. Then, Ray sits down with Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt to talk about whether Robert Kennedy Jr. will play spoiler in the 2024 Presidential Election... and for which party.

Can two parties really represent America?   This week, in our latest special election series, we’ll hear from Michigan voter, Greg Stempfle, and former Ferndale city council member, Kat Bruner James, about how a suburb of Detroit is trying to reform elections... and make politics less bitter along the way.   Guests:     Greg Stempfle, Ferndale, Michigan voter   Kat Bruner James, former Ferndale, Michigan city council member   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.

While in China, Ray Suarez had a front-row seat to draconian lockdowns, the White Paper Protests, and Xi Jinping’s triumphant acceptance of a third term. But a year later, President Xi made his first visit to Europe since before the pandemic, to stave off a trade war with the EU. What happened to China’s economic dominance, and why is Xi turning to the West?   Sue-Lin Wong, a reporter from The Economist, joined Ray for a live-streamed discussion of Xi’s consolidation of power, and the future of the Chinese Communist Party. Then, Ray is joined by Christina Yu, staff writer at Foreign Policy, to break down what Xi’s recent European trip means for China’s economic future. Guests:     Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist’s Southeast Asia correspondent, host of The Prince: Searching for Xi Jinping   Christina Yu, staff writer, Foreign Policy   Host:   Ray Suarez, host of On Shifting Ground   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.

Next Monday (5/13) at noon PT, we're hosting a special live event where Ray will peel back the curtain on his latest book, We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century.   He'll be joined in conversation by the amazing Ali Noorani, Director of the U.S. Democracy Program at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.   You can get your tickets here. Ray will take questions from the audience at the end of the program!   We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century   Immigrants to America have always faced resistance, and have always – over time – assimilated and become vital parts of America. This is a process as old as the nation itself, and it can't be stopped, no matter how many – or how few – new immigrants arrive every year.   But in a fraught political moment where “America First” is threatening their security, what does it mean to be an immigrant in the 21st century?   Ray Suarez has criss-crossed the country to speak to new Americans from all corners of the globe, and to record their stories.

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 layoff, these visa holders have 60 days to find a new job, or lose their residency in the United States.   In 2023, tech reporter Pranav Dixit dug into the mass layoffs in Silicon Valley, and why these drastic reductions were forcing some foreign-born workers to reevaluate the decision to live in the US. At the time he was working for Buzzfeed News. But when the news unit shut down, Dixit was put in the same precarious situation as the H-1B workers he covered in his reporting.   Ray Suarez catches up with Pranav Dixit to get an update on his complicated journey to find new work, and his race to stay in the United States.    Read more of Pranav Dixit’s reporting for Buzzfeed: Laid-Off Tech Workers On H-1B Visas Might Be Forced To Leave The Country Guest:   Pranav Dixit, senior editor at Engadget   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 2018, Chinese scientist He Jianku sent shockwaves through the world’s medical and scientific world when he claimed to have made two children immune to HIV using a powerful gene-editing technology called “CRISPR”. After a three-year prison sentence, Jianku is back in the lab, but should he be experimenting with human genes?   Ray Suarez talks with Dr. Alta Charo, the Warren P. Knowles Professor Emerita of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, about the ethics of CRISPR, and the opportunities and risks of the technology.   Guest:   Dr. Alta Charo, the Warren P. Knowles Professor Emerita of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison   Host:   Ray Suarez, 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 do this work without your help. Thank you.

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

By 2030, it’s estimated one out of every six people on planet earth will be over 60. Thanks to leaps in technology and public health, people are living longer and better than ever before.    We’re taking a look at what economists and demographers are calling “the Silver Wave.” Ray speaks with MIT’s Joseph F. Coughlin,and New York Times Tokyo Bureau Chief Motoko Rich, on the challenges – and opportunities – that global aging presents.  Guests:   Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD, Founder and Director of MIT’s AgeLab   Motoko Rich, Tokyo Bureau Chief for the New York Times   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.  

For the most part, the world has gone back to normal. We’re getting on planes… going to concerts… but many Americans haven’t changed their pandemic drinking habits. And this increased consumption trend is especially high for older Americans.   In 2020, alcohol accounted for more than 11,000 deaths among those 65 and up – that’s an 18 percent increase from the previous year – and many of those cases went untreated.    Ray speaks with Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, to understand why.   Guest:   Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford 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.  

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 book Indelible City, an emotional eyewitness account of the pro-democracy protests and a reflection on Hong Kong’s identity.   Guest:     Louisa Lim, journalist and author of  “Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong”    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 speaks with Sebastien Lai, the son of the imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai, and Jonathan Price, a member of Lai’s legal team. He’s on trial for his pro-democracy campaign, and they explore the fate of Hong Kong after China’s passage of the restrictive Article 23.   Guests:    Sebastien Lai, democracy advocate and son of jailed Hong Kong businessman and publisher   Jonathan Price, a member of Jimmy Lai’s legal team   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.

Abortion advocates have long warned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would reverberate across all areas of reproductive health. Two years later, state personhood laws have challenged IVF and birth control… further threatening women’s bodily autonomy.   In our third special election episode, we explore how the issue of abortion rights is likely to shape the 2024 election. First, we hear from two women whose lives were changed by rapidly shifting legislation surrounding IVF and abortion access. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Dr. Jamila Perritt, President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH), and UC Davis Law Professor Mary Ziegler to discuss the upcoming cases before the Supreme Court, and who may be the next “Roe”.   Special thanks to All Roads Productions LLC for sharing the audio of Maleeha’s encounter with a crisis pregnancy center. You can watch the full scene from “Preconceived” at preconceivedfilm.com.   Guests:     Latorya Beasley, therapist and in vitro fertilization (IVF) patient in Alabama   Maleeha Aziz, Deputy Director at the Texas Equal Access Fund   Dr. Jamila Perritt, President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH)   Mary Ziegler, Martin Luther King Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis   Host:    Ray Suarez   Guest Producer: Elize Manoukian   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 this year, a grassroots movement emerged in the key battleground state of Michigan calling on Democratic voters to cast “uncommitted votes” in protest of president Joe Biden’s policy towards Israel’s war on Gaza. And in the months since, it’s gone national. But are Arab and Muslim American voters willing to gamble a second Trump presidency to hold Biden accountable for his Israel policy?   Nihad Awad, a CAIR Action board member, joins Ray Suarez to share why Arab and Muslim voters feel abandoned by the Democratic party, and why they won’t be bullied into accepting the “lesser of two evils.”    Guest:   Nihad Awad, Board Member of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Action   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.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's staunch opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza — and a future Palestinian state — is putting President Joe Biden in a vulnerable position at home. And as the 2024 election quickly approaches, it’s becoming clearer that US-Israel policy will be a lingering concern.    Ray Suarez sits down with Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent at Vox, to unpack how the political winds on Israel may be shifting.   Guest:   Zack Beauchamp, Senior Correspondent at Vox   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 US has once again ignored the United Nations’ annual resolution calling for an end to its decades-long embargo on Cuba, even as Cubans took to the streets to protest the island nation’s worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of food and fuel. And when the US Embassy urged the Communist-led regime to “attend to the legitimate needs” of its people, the Cuban government criticized the comment as “open interference in Cuba’s domestic affairs.” For Cuba, Washington's long standing role in the current crisis makes their complaints a “hypocrisy.”    In this episode, we revisit Ray’s conversation with Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Ada Ferrer on just how intertwined the histories of the US and Cuba are, and why we’re so inseparable.    Guest:   Ada Ferrer, Julius Silver Professor of History and Latin American Studies at New York University and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Cuba: An American History    Host(s):   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.

Cuba is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, and shortages of food, fuel, medicine — and opportunity — have fueled a record-breaking surge of Cuban immigrants at America’s borders. But the US shows no signs of changing its policy towards the embargoed island, nor reversing former President Trump’s designation of the communist-led nation as a “state sponsor of terror.”   Ray Suarez sits down with Lianys Torres Rivera, Cuban Ambassador to the US, to unpack how migration and economic sanctions are linked.   Guest:   Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, Chargée D'Affairs, Embassy of Cuba in United States   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.

Mass death and disappearances have become normalized on Europe’s borders. Back in 2015, when more than a million refugees turned up on Europe’s doorstep to request asylum, the European Union cut deals with North African and Middle Eastern nations to hold back the flow of asylum-seekers. Since then, roughly 29,000 people have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean, reports the Missing Migrants Project.    And for the migrants who were were intercepted while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly placed in detention centers in Libya, they face inhumane living conditions, beatings, sexual abuse, starvation… and death — consequences of Europe’s ongoing cooperation with nations like Libya on migration and border control.   In My Fourth Time, We Drowned, journalist Sally Hayden reports on the shadowy immigration system created by the European Union which captures and imprisons migrants from Africa to keep them from reaching European soil. In an interview with Senior KQED editor Rachael Myrow, Hayden explains how western institutions are complicit in this humanitarian crisis.  Featuring:   Rachael Myrow, senior editor of KQED's Silicon Valley News Desk   Sally Hayden, author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned and Africa correspondent for the Irish Times   Teklia Zumuy, teacher and refugee   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 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced millions to flee their homes. And for the Ukrainian civilians caught in the crossfire, war has become a way of life.    This week, we talked to Ukrainians about the ways that the war unexpectedly changed their lives. Kateryna Lazarevych, an archivist at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv, shares how she’s working to improve her country, as if everyday were her last day on earth. Filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk takes us through her decision to leave Kyiv where her husband is fighting as a soldier in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces. And Alex Gerz, a Russian-Ukrainian student living in Germany, records his story from the road, where he provides humanitarian assistance and safe passage to those fleeing Ukraine with a ragtag army of volunteers.    Guests:     Kateryna Lazarevych, archivist at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv   Iryna Tsilyk, filmmaker and director of “The Earth is Blue as an Orange”   Alex Gerz, Russian-Ukrainian student based in Kassel, Germany   Host:     Ray Suarez   Producers:   Andrew Stelzer, KALW 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.

Shortly before the end of his term in 2022, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged to end gender-based violence in his country by 2026. With two years left before the deadline, is Kenya still on track to fulfill the promises made to Kenyan women? And how is Kenyan media keeping the fight alive?   This week, we’re sharing an episode from Foreign Policy’s “Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women”, about how reality TV is helping women’s rights activists press the Kenyan government to uphold its pledge.   Guests:   Audrey Mugeni, the co-founder of Counting Dead Women Kenya   Anne Ireri, the executive director of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya   Hosts:     Reena Ninan, founder of Good Trouble Productions   Laura Rosbrow-Telem, senior producer at Foreign Policy   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.

To leaders in Silicon Valley, artificial intelligence is just the latest innovation in a never-ending “make our lives better.” But can we trust them with our data… and our lives… if they can’t be held accountable?   Journalist Kara Swisher joins Ray Suarez to discuss her newest book, “Burn Book,” and the psyche of Silicon Valley’s biggest players.   Plus: Hear Kara Swisher discuss “Burn Book,” the inside story of Silicon valley and the biggest boom in wealth creation in history live at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs on Thursday, March 7. Register here.   Guest:     Kara Swisher, author of “Burn Book,” and host of the podcast “On with Kara Swisher”   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.

Most Americans are far more focused on “pocketbook issues” – like stretching an ever-inflating dollar – than what the country does overseas in their name. But this election cycle, calls for additional aid for overseas wars has put foreign policy on the ballot for voters.   In the second episode of our special election series, South Carolina voter Maryann Wright shares her thoughts on the role of American democracy at home… and its responsibility abroad. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State, and Nicholas Kristof, columnist at The New York Times, to see why international affairs will matter come November.   Guests:     Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State   Nicholas Kristof, NY Times columnist   Maryann Wright, retired teacher and South Carolina voter   Phil Hemingway, former owner of Phil’s Repair, LLC and Iowa voter   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.

Saturday marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And while foreign support may be dwindling, Ukrainian determination to win the war is not. But what’s at stake when war no longer feels like an emergency… but a way of life?   Ray Suarez sits down with Masha Gessen, staff writer for The New Yorker, to unpack the toll of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine’s freedoms… and democracy.   Guest:   Masha Gessen, Russian-American award-winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker    Host(s):     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.

Vladimir Putin set the world on edge when Russia invaded Ukraine. Two years later, international support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is becoming more precarious, and war weariness amongst the resistance — and their allies— has begun to set in.    Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw joins Ray Suarez to explain how a besieged Ukraine may be Europe’s last line of defense against Putin.   Guest:     Michael Bociurkiw, global affairs analyst and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center   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.  

On February 16, 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Alexei Navalny had died, and offered no further explanation.    The cause of death hasn’t yet been reported, but since the news broke, world leaders have started speaking out against Vladimir Putin… and it brings a new round of scrutiny to the Russian dictator.   In May 2022, 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. The film took home the Academy Award for best documentary last year.   To remember the life and political career of Alexei Navalny, we’re revisiting Ray’s conversation with Daniel Roher.   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.  

Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel continues its massive retaliation against Hamas. And as violence spreads to Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, America’s global standing is taking a hit.   Ray Suarez sits down with Trita Parsi, Iran expert and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, to unpack how Biden’s unwavering support of Israel could cost him in the Middle East… and at home.   Guest:   Trita Parsi, 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.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established to aid Palestinian refugees, but it has become yet another flashpoint in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel has accused 12 out of the 13,000 UNRWA employees of taking part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli settlements. And as major donors like the United States, Germany and Britain have paused their funding, the aid agency may have to cease its life-saving operations for millions of Palestinians in Gaza by the end of February 2024.    Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins Ray Suarez to address Israel’s allegations against UNRWA, and offers a critique of the Biden administration's unequivocal support of Israel, despite evidence that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians in Gaza.   Guest:   Kenneth Roth, Former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and author of “Righting Wrongs”    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.

Immigration has emerged as a major voter concern in the 2024 elections, and the challenge of securing America’s Southern border is once again a political flashpoint. But while the US debates immigration reform, tens of thousands of migrants have become pawns in a game that endangers their lives…    Ray Suarez sits down with immigration attorney Mahsa Khanbabai to dive into what the broken visa process for Afghan refugees can teach us about immigration reform.   Guest:   Mahsa Khanbabai, immigration attorney at Khanbabi Immigration 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.

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.

Americans — from the largest urban centers to the smallest rural towns — are deeply pessimistic about the state of the nation. And on both sides of the political aisle, there seems to be a disconnect between what people want… and where they feel the country is headed.    This week, we’re kicking off our special election series, and throughout the year we’ll deep-dive into the issues driving the 2024 Presidential Election.    In this first episode, we’ll hear from Iowa voter Phil Hemingway about how he’s feeling about this contentious election year. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Dante Chinni, director of MSU J-School’s American Communities Project, to explore how to unite a divided country.   Guests:    Phil Hemingway, owner, manager and automotive technician at Phil’s Repair, LLC   Dante Chinni, data and political journalist and director of the MSU J-School’s American Communities Project   Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic, Pulitzer-prize winning historian and author of “The Twilight of Democracy”   Ian Bremmer, a political scientist, author of “The Power of Crisis,” and professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Political Affairs   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.

Elon Musk’s leadership at “X” (formerly Twitter) has been messy, and his disregard for user safeguards is part of a troubling trend in Silicon Valley. Revisiting the conversation from 2023, Ray Suarez sits down with NYU professor Dr. Scott Galloway to explore how Silicon Valley’s profit-chasing – and unchecked influence – is destroying American society… and our kids.   Guest:   Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business   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 2024 US election season is officially underway, and experts are already bracing for the array of threats to free and fair elections that were made all too real the last time Americans elected a president. And this time, many are concerned that it’ll be even harder to combat fake election claims online and political violence.   Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros, co-founders of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab, join Ray Suarez to break down how our digital lives are destroying our mental health… and our democracy.    Plus: check out our past conversation with Alexa Koenig on How Technology Fights – and Fuels – Misinformation to learn more about what UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Investigations Lab does.   Guests:   Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros, co-founders of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab and co-authors of “Graphic: Trauma and Meaning in our Online Lives”   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 accidental collateral damage deaths to targeted murders by the people in charge who don’t want them telling the truth, an unprecedented number of journalists are being killed while reporting. So what motivates reporters to keep filing stories despite the ever present threat of danger?   Sean Carberry, author of the memoir “Passport Stamps: Searching The World For A War To Call Home,” joins Ray Suarez to unpack the human costs of reporting from war zones.     Guest:   Sean Carberry, Managing Editor of National Defense Magazine and author of the memoir “Passport Stamps: Searching the World For a War to Call Home”   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.

Reporting in war zones is an inherently dangerous job. Last year, 95 international media workers were killed while reporting, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. And as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza drag on, 2024 may be just as deadly. So how can we protect the journalists putting their lives on the line?   We revisit our conversation with CPJ’s Gulnoza Said on why the safety of journalists matters to the health of a free press. Then, Ann Simmons, Moscow Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal, joins Ray Suarez to give an update on the detention of American reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage by Russia.    Guests:   Gulnoza Said, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator for The Committee to Protect Journalists   Ann Simmons, Moscow Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal   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.

Hate crimes, gun violence, political polarization…. to New York Times’ columnist David Brooks, these are signs that America is undergoing a new epidemic: social isolation. He joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen,” and to unpack how we can rebuild trust and empathy “for the opposition”... by getting to know our neighbors.   Guest:   David Brooks, Op-Ed Columnist at The New York Times and author of “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen”   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.

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   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.

Christmas is here, but for many Christians around the world, war has cast a shadow over this year’s festivities. To break with Russian orthodoxy and influence, Ukraine will officially observe Christmas on December 25, even as the terror of airstrikes taints the air. And in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Palestinian Christians have canceled all celebrations in solidarity with their countrymen under attack in Gaza.     Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Senior Pastor at The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, and Bohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor of Kyiv Post, join Ray Suarez to share what Christmas in wartime looks like, from Palestine to Ukraine.   Guests:    Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Senior Pastor at The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, Palestine and Academic Dean at the Bethlehem Bible College   Bohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor at Kyiv Post   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 Putin’s costly war in Ukraine, to simmering tensions between the US and China, and renewed violence in the Middle East, this week, we’re looking back at the international news stories that defined 2023. Professor Jessica Chen Weiss, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute; Karim Elgendy, founder of the Carboun Initiative for Middle Eastern Sustainable Cities; and Luke Harding, foreign correspondent at The Guardian, join Ray Suarez to dissect this year’s most significant geopolitical shifts… and the foreign policy issues that will define 2024.   To dive deeper, check out these episodes:    China’s Dream of Global Dominance Why China and the US are Saber-Rattling Over Taiwan Is The Middle East Swiping Left on America? How the Palestinian Question Could Unravel Netanyahu’s “New Middle East” Two Dictators Walk Into a Bar: What We Learned From the Putin-Kim Summit Putin’s Prigozhin Trap, with Anne Applebaum   Guests:     Jessica Chen Weiss, Michael J. Zak Professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute   Karim Elgendy, Urban sustainability and climate consultant, and founder of the Carboun Initiative for Middle Eastern Sustainable Cities   Luke Harding, foreign correspondent for The Guardian and author of Invasion   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 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.   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.

The APEC Multistakeholder Forum (AMF), organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs, was the first of its kind to feature Indigenous perspectives on what a ‘just transition’ away from fossil fuels should look like. Maui Solomon, Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust, and Raylene Whitford, Director of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board, join Ray Suarez to explain how Indigenous representation and inclusion means putting people and the planet above profit.   Guests:   Maui Solomon, Indigenous rights activist and Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust   Raylene Whitford, Director of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board   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.

What does a ‘just’ transition away from fossil fuels actually mean for Indigenous communities? At the APEC Multistakeholder Forum (AMF), organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs,  Ray Suarez sat down with Chéri A. Smith, a renewable energy expert and Mi’kmaq descendant. They discussed how the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy is working to combat energy poverty, bring solar to Indigenous communities and secure Native people a seat at the clean energy development table.   Guest:   Chéri A. Smith, founder, president and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy   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 78 years since a nuclear weapon was last used in war. Since then, the number of countries with a nuclear arsenal has increased from one… to nine. For the US government, two of the greatest nuclear threats are China and Russia – two superpowers that are escalating their nuclear capacity. US State Department nuclear expert, Mallory Stewart, shares how serious these threats are to the US.   Guest:   Mallory Stewart, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability.   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 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   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 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   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.

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   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.

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   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, Uganda enacted one of the harshest anti-LGBT+ laws in the world, making homosexuality punishable by death. Ugandan Human Rights activist Dr. Frank Mugisha joins Ray Suarez to share how American Christian evangelicals radicalized the East African country, and how the fight for human rights has turned deadly.   Guest:   Dr. Frank Mugisha, Ugandan LGBT advocate and Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda   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.

Can economic power-brokering overcome decades of repression and human rights abuses? Karen Elliott House has covered Saudi Arabia for over four decades, and the Pulitzer-Prize reporter joins Ray Suarez to share her take on Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s vision for his country’s future.    Guest:   Karen Elliott House, Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs   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.

Saudi Arabia has embarked on a bold vision of innovation, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated aims for a long war on Gaza could interrupt Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s plans. NPR International Correspondent Aya Batrawy joins Ray Suarez to unpack how Saudi Arabia’s leader may react.    Guest:   Aya Batrawy, NPR International Correspondent and head of NPR’s Gulf Bureau   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.

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   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.

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   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.

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   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 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   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.  

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   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.  

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   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 late September, Azerbaijan wiped out the self-proclaimed, ethnically Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, ending a 35-year conflict in less than 24 hours and prompting 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   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 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   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.

April marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, bringing to an end decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” But the chaotic implementation of Brexit and a new Northern Ireland Troubles “reconciliation” law from the UK are threatening that historic peace deal.   From our friends at Foreign Policy’s “The Negotiators,” Jonathan Powell, a chief negotiator of the Good Friday agreement, shares what actually happened in the room. Find the show’s new season wherever you get your podcasts.    Guest:   Jonathan Powell, chief negotiator for the Good Friday Talks under UK Prime Minister Tony Blair   Foreign Policy Production Team:   Host: Jenn Williams | Executive producers: Amjad Atallah, Jigar Mehta, and Japhet Weeks | Lead producer: Laura Rosbrow-Telem | Managing Editor: Dan Ephron | Additional support from: Rob Sachs, Rosie Julin, and Maria Ximena Aragon   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.

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   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.

Russia is firing off more artillery shells than they can produce at home, forcing the Kremlin to shop around for a new supplier. Ray Suarez speaks with New York Times’ national security reporter Julian Barnes about Russia’s alleged arms deal with North Korea, and what it means for the war in Ukraine.    Guest:   Julian Barnes, national security reporter for The New York Times   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 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   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 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   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.

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   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.

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   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 August 23rd, Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a mysterious plane crash just 60 days after his mercenary group Wagner led a failed coup attempt that Russian president Vladimir Putin called “treasonous.”   Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum argues that Putin needed a spectacular act of violence after Prigozhin’s challenge to his power. She and Ray discuss what this means for a fragile Russia.    Read Applebaum’s latest column for The Atlantic, Prigozhin’s Death Heralds Even More Spectacular Violence - The Atlantic.     Guest:   Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, author of  Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and staff writer at The Atlantic.   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?   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, 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 do this work without your help. Thank you.

Groups like the Reichsbürger and Sovereign Citizens are not new, but the ways in which they radicalize each other on the Internet are. Ray Suarez and journalist Julia Ebner explore how once-fringe movements like QAnon are popping up in European political circles.   Guest:   Julia Ebner, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and 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.

When former President Trump incited his followers to storm the US Capitol, he punctured a 220-year-old tradition in the US. And from the looks of things, the country is headed for another contentious election in 2024. Ray Suarez and New York Times columnist Tom Edsall explore whether we’ve passed a point of no return in American politics.    Guest:   Thomas B. Edsall, political columnist at The New York Times and author of “The Point of No Return: American Democracy at the Crossroads”   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.

Asian carmakers have pulled ahead in the race for EV innovation, leaving the US in their rearview mirrors. International auto journalist Hans Greimel joins Ray Suarez to break down how Asian countries are tackling the transition, and what the future of electric vehicles looks like.   Guest:   Hans Greimel, Asia editor for Automotive News   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.

President Biden’s bold energy future features significant investment in electric vehicles, but the United Auto Workers are pumping the breaks. Mark Phelan, auto writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press, joins Ray Suarez to break down why the threat of EVs is a red line for autoworkers.    Guest:   Mark Phelan, auto writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press   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.  

Elon Musk’s leadership at “X” (formerly Twitter) has been messy, and his disregard for user safeguards is part of a troubling trend in Silicon Valley. Ray Suarez sits down with NYU professor Dr. Scott Galloway to explore how Silicon Valley’s profit-chasing – and unchecked influence – is destroying American society… and our kids.   Guest:   Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business   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.

With a few keystrokes, users across the world can find virtually anything online. But at what cost? UC Berkeley researchers Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros join Ray Suarez to break down how everyday exposure to trauma is affecting social media users worldwide, and to discuss their upcoming book, “Graphic: Trauma and Meaning in our Online Lives.”    Plus: check out our past conversation with Alexa Koenig on How Technology Fights – and Fuels – Misinformation to learn more about what UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Investigations Lab does.   Guests:   Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros, co-founders of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab and co-authors of “Graphic: Trauma and Meaning in our Online Lives”   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 June, retired General David Petraeus joined the Marines’ Memorial Association “Leading From the Front” speaker series, where he offered insights on how small nations can contend with formidable superpowers, and how President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scored the role of a lifetime.   Guest:   General David Petraeus, Former CIA Director and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute   Host:    Mike Cerre, PBSNewsHour Special Correspondent   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.

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   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.

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   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.

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   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.

Researcher Christopher Reddy has watched in despair as public confidence in science has plummeted. He joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “Science Communication in a Crisis,” and why scientists may be part of the problem in science denialism.   Guest:   Christopher Reddy, Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and author of “Science Communication in a Crisis”   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 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   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.  

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   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.

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   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.

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   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.

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   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.

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   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.

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   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 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   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.  

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   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.

For decades, Georgia has tried to extricate itself from Russia's shadow. But with the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees and anti-war Russians and the rise of Georgia’s Dream Party, the former Soviet state is once again walking a political tightrope between Russia and a tenuous future with NATO. In this episode, reporter Levi Bridges takes us on the ground to hear about the dangers of standing up to Russia.   Reporter:   Levi Bridges, journalist    Featured guests:   Daniil Chubar, co-founder of Emigration for Action    Monika Jaranowska, Director of Kids Club "Happy Me" Tbilisi   Giga Bokeria, leader of the European Georgia party   Sonja Schiffers, Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Tbilisi Office   Giorgi Khelashvili, Georgian Dream MP and Deputy Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia   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.

“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   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 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   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.

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   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 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   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.

For decades, Asian-Americans have been the least likely racial minority to hold political office, accounting for less than 1% of elected leaders. But a new generation of Asian American leaders is changing the tide. In this episode, World Affairs President & CEO Philip Yun tells the story of the election that altered the course of his life. Then, California Assemblymember Alex Lee tells Ray Suarez about the political responsibility he has to all Americans.   Guests:   Philip Yun, President and CEO of World Affairs   Assemblymember Alex Lee, California State Assembly, District 24   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.

Aarthi Shahani, author of the memoir Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, joins Ray Suarez to discuss her family’s painful path to citizenship, and why it’s time to change the immigration narrative in America.   Guest:    Aarthi Shahani, author of the memoir Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares and host of “Art of Power”   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.  

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   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 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   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.

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   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.

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   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.  

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 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.

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   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.

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 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 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 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 Chinese Communist Party has made reunification with Taiwan one of its main political goals, and it has threatened to take the island by military force. Meanwhile, President Biden has reiterated unequivocal support for Taiwan’s security. Dr. Joel Wuthnow, senior research fellow at the National Defense University's Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, tells Ray Suarez why this puts the US in a political bind.   Guest:   Dr. Joel Wuthnow, senior research fellow at the National Defense University's Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs   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 Arizona grapples with looming cuts to its allocation of Colorado River water, the arid state is taking a hard look at how its groundwater is used and who has access to it. Dr. Natailie Koch, author of “Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia,” joins Ray Suarez to explain how Saudi Arabia ended up at the center of a water crisis in the American Southwest.   Guest:   Natalie Koch, Professor for Human Geography at Heidelberg’s Geography Institute and author of “Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia”   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 OPEC+ oil cartel’s surprise decision to cut oil production has the potential to cause all kinds of trouble for the global economy, and may increase geopolitical frictions between longtime allies – the US and Saudi Arabia. So what happens to US-Gulf ties when the desert kingdom turns off the tap?   Ray Suarez sits down with Jim Krane, author of “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf,” to unravel what these escalating tensions mean.   Guest:   Jim Krane, author of “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf”, journalist, and the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston.   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.

Amid heightened tensions between the US, North Korea, and South Korea in recent weeks, we produced a few episodes about nuclear ambitions and deterrence on the Korean peninsula.   In our first episode, we featured the voice of Siegfried Hecker – he's a nuclear scientist and former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and author of a new book called Hinge Points: An Inside Look at North Korea's Program.   It’s the story of how North Korea went from zero nuclear weapons in 2001, to an arsenal of nearly fifty in just twenty years. And it’s an amazing story… because Sig was there to witness it firsthand…   Guests:   Siegfried Hecker, former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and professor emeritus at Stanford University   Host:    Ray Suarez   Jim Falk   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.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are heating up once again. For the first time in years, the South Korean and US militaries have been conducting combined military drills in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. And as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares nuclear weapons a policy option, journalist Jeongmin Kim, Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at Korea Pro, answers what it’s like for South Koreans who live under the threat of a nuclear neighbor.      Guest:   Jeongmin Kim, Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at Korea Pro   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 security alliance between the United States and South Korea dates back to the Cold War. At its heart is the containment of North Korea, one of three nuclear powers that could threaten the United States – and South Korea and Japan – with catastrophic nuclear war.   Siegfried Hecker, the former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, identifies the moment North Korea became a nuclear power–and how the U.S. missed its chance to stop it. Then, Ray Suarez talks with Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to make sense of this escalating tension.   Guests:   Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies   Siegfried Hecker, former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and author of Hinge Points   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.

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   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 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   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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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   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

Iran continues to be shaken up by nationwide protests and general strikes. With no real independent press in the country, Iranians covering the story from around the world continue to provide critical insight into the protests and political turmoil. Golnaz Esfandiari, a senior correspondent for Radio Farda, joins the show to explain how breaking news escapes the country, despite threats and censorship from the regime.   Guest:   Golnaz Esfandiari, Senior correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty focusing on Iran   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 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.

A half-century ago, almost two million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist authoritarian regime in Cambodia. In 2006 – with the assistance from the United Nations – the Cambodian government set up a genocide tribunal. Sixteen years and over $300 million later, only three men were convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Why did it take decades to prosecute, and why was the decision so weak – and costly?   Ray Suarez speaks with David Scheffer, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who played a central role in the genocide tribunal. Then, Ray is joined by investigative journalist Lindsey Kennedy to talk about how Cambodia has changed in the decades since Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.   Guests:     David Scheffer, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations   Lindsey Kennedy, investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker, and the director of TePonui   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   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 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   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.

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.

In August, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei and stood shoulder-to-shoulder to Taiwanese officials. She said her visit was to honor the US’s unwavering support for Taiwanese sovereignty. Leaders in mainland China – who have made the annexation of Taiwan a key political priority – were furious.   This week, Ray takes a close look at Taiwan: its colonial past, vibrant democratic tradition, and what recent disputes over independence could mean for its people — and national security – today. We hear directly from a range of Taiwanese voices on the ground, including speakers from the two major political parties vying for influence in the country’s domestic sphere.    Guests:     Jeremy Huai-Che Chiang, Taiwanese student and research assistant with Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation   Syaru Shirley Lin, professor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia   Guan Fu, research associate at Taiwan Democracy Progressive Party (DPP)   Steven Wang, former staffer the Kuomintang (KMT) Party   Host:   Ray Suarez, host of On Shifting Ground with 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.

New name...same award-winning insights.   "On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez" drops on October 31st.

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.

In the past few years, there’s been a growing number of high-profile acts of violence inspired by the “great replacement theory,” an extremist doctrine based on the unsubstantiated belief that non-white populations will “replace” and subjugate white majorities across the globe. Once confined to the radical fringe, replacement theory has now entered mainstream conservative rhetoric.    On this week’s episode, Ray Suarez sits down with Daniel Byman, a counterterrorism expert and author of Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism, to discuss the roots of the global white power movement, how extremism spreads, and what the mainstreaming of violence as a political tactic means for targeted communities–and democracy–in the world today.   Guest:  Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and professor at Georgetown 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.

President Barack Obama delivered over 450 speeches during his tenure, but one of his most famous was entirely unscripted. Back in 2015, as the country mourned the victims of Charleston church shooting, the president spontaneously began to sing. And for longtime staff speechwriter Cody Keenan, Obama’s famous “Amazing Grace” speech epitomized the power of oration to guide Americans in times of immense national crisis.    This week, Keenan joins Ray to discuss his new book, “Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America.” In it, he pulls back the curtain on the presidential writers’ room, and how the administration strove to bring a country together.    Guest:   Cody Keenan, partner at Fenway Strategies and former White House Director of Speechwriting   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.

Cuba is a small island nation of 11.3 million people, but the country has long loomed large in the American political imagination. Viewed as both a hostile pro-Soviet neighbor and an anti-imperialist revolutionary, Cuba has held a contentious relationship with the US. The Obama administration began to repair the strained diplomatic relationship, but the invasion of Ukraine and enduring Trump-era sanctions are once again inflaming deep-rooted Cold War tensions.   In this week’s episode, we explore the deep roots of Cuban internationalism…and its impact on everyday Cubans. We begin with historian William Kelly, who charts Cuba’s little-known history of solidarity with Ukraine—and how Cuba’s pro-Putin stance is turning this history on its head. Then, Ray is joined by Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Ada Ferrer, whose new book Cuba: An American History offers a new take on US-Cuba relations.   Guests:   William Kelly, lecturer in Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University   Ada Ferrer, Julius Silver Professor of History and Latin American Studies at New York University and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Cuba: An American History    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 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 40 Americans are currently held captive around the world–not by terrorist groups, but by foreign governments. On today’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   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.

Just days before Putin invaded Ukraine, Russian authorities detained U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner on reported minor drug charges. Seven months later, Putin’s war rages on … and Griner—a Black lesbian athlete—remains in Russian custody, facing a brutal nine-year sentence that experts say may be politically motivated.    With her sentencing, Griner joins a growing list of US citizens detained abroad—not by rogue terrorist groups, but by established foreign governments. This week, ESPN investigative reporter TJ Quinn and hostage expert Dani Gilbert join Ray to discuss how state-endorsed hostage-taking creates leverage for autocrats—like Putin—upends American diplomatic norms, and places civilians in the crossfire.   Guests:   TJ Quinn, investigator reporter and senior writer at ESPN   Dani Gilbert, hostage expert and Rosenwald Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy and International Security at Dartmouth College   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.

On September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered a draft of Russian reservists, mobilizing up to 300,000 troops – the first such draft since World War II.   Just before Putin's military order, former US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, spoke with Ray Suarez to give a sense of what we can expect from the war in Ukraine in the coming weeks and – perhaps – months, and how it’s impacting Russia’s international standing.   Guest:     Michael McFaul, Professor of Political Science and Director of Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and author of From Cold War to Hot Peace 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.

Whether you’re a trader,  techie, or average joe, you’ve probably heard the words “crypto” or “bitcoin” swirling around the web. In the past year, digital coins – once viewed as the exclusive domain of tech millionaires – have shot to global prominence as the preferred currency of Russian oligarchs, Ukrainian resistance fighters, Salvadoran politicians, and everyone in between.   Despite the explosion of “cryptomania,” most people still know little about how the digital currency actually works. This week, we take a deep dive into the global world of cryptocurrency.   We start in Kazakhstan, where crypto miners are converting frigid winters into digital cash – and straining the country’s energy grid. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Ukrainian crypto champion Michael Chobanian and skeptic Molly White to discuss the ways crypto may help or hurt a country in crisis.   Guests:  Denis Rusinovich, co-founder of Maveric Group AG Joanna Lillis, author of Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CSO of Chainalysis Inc.  Michael Chobanian, founder of KUNA exchange and president of the Blockchain Association of Ukraine Molly White, software engineer and author of “Web3 is Going Just Great”   Host:   Ray Suarez This program was produced with additional reporting from Levi Bridges. You can check out more of Levi's work here.   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.    

Between the passing of Queen Elizabeth and the election of a new leader, the world’s eyes are on the United Kingdom.   Until recently, British politician Liz Truss was a relative unknown outside of the UK. Now, as prime minister, she faces the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, the first monarchy changeover in seventy years, and a host of pressing foreign policy matters – notably, Ukraine, Brexit, and Northern Ireland.   On this week’s episode, we break down the global implications of new British leadership with Ronan McCrea, professor of law at University College London. He joins Ray to discuss the country’s changing voting laws, party politics, and how Truss’s governing approach may differ from past Tory leaders. Then, we travel to Northern Ireland, where the fate of a Brexit protocol – and the precarious peace between north and south – is back up for debate.   Guests: Ronan McCrea, professor of law, University College London Noel Large, tour guide, Ex-Prisoners Interpretive Center     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 today’s global economy, a single event – like a storm or virus outbreak – can impact access to basic necessities, like food for millions of people. Add to that a rapidly growing world population and many experts are wondering…  how will we keep everyone fed? In what ways will our lifestyles, and our international supply chains, adapt to meet the needs of a warming and increasingly crowded planet?    On this week’s episode, we hear from two experts with competing visions of how we can sustainably feed a growing planet. Ray Suarez is joined by Raj Patel and Robert Paarlberg on a journey through the inequities and promise of our global food system.   Guests:     Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved and co-director of The Ants and the Grasshopper, University of Texas   Robert Paarlberg, author of Resetting the Table: Straight Talk About the Food We Grow and Eat, Harvard 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.

In collaboration with Foreign Policy, we bring you a story from “The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women,” to look at how reforming marital rights could be the biggest first step toward gender equality.   Host Reena Ninan uncovers the lesser-known role of women’s rights in the fight to end apartheid, and how the current struggle to reform sexist property laws in South African courts is keeping this legacy alive.   Guests:   Agnes Sithole, South African marital law reformist   Sharita Samuel, South African lawyer   Host:   Reena Ninan, host, Foreign Policy’s “The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women”   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 nearly thirty years since the fall of apartheid in South Africa. But what happens when the celebrations cease, the news cameras turn away, and the real work of democracy begins?   In this episode, a co-production with Foreign Policy, we take a look at South Africa’s path to political and economic equality.   First, political scientist Evan Lieberman joins Voice of America’s “Straight Africa Talk” host, Haydé Adams, to discuss the lingering “ghost of apartheid,” and why South Africa’s electoral future gives him hope. Then, we turn to a recent episode of Foreign Policy’s “The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women.” Host Reena Ninan uncovers the lesser-known role of women’s rights in the fight to end apartheid, and how the current struggle to reform sexist marital and property laws in South African courts is keeping this legacy alive.   Guests:   Evan Lieberman, professor of political science at MIT Haydé Adams, host, Voice of America’s “Straight Talk Africa” Reena Ninan, host, Foreign Policy’s “The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women” Agnes Sithole, South African marital law reformist Sharita Samuel, South African lawyer   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 1804, Haiti became the first nation to free itself from slavery, much to the disdain of the U.S. and the world’s leading European powers. Scars of colonialism and generations of racism have set Haiti back, and the country has been paying the economic price for freedom for over 200 years.   Ray sits down with Haitian author Évelyne Trouillot and historian Leslie Alexander for a conversation about Haiti’s turbulent history since its revolution.   Guests:   Leslie Alexander, Professor of History at Arizona State University, activist and author Evelyne Trouillot, Author, Poet and Professor of French at Universite d’Etat d’Haiti   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 US, polls show that more and more Americans say they want and need public goods like education, infrastructure, and healthcare. So why do we struggle to implement them?   Policy expert Heather McGhee says this tension is a centuries-old, racialized system of zero-sum economics and politics, which dictates that progress for some must come at the expense of others. McGhee joins Ray to discuss her new book and podcast, The Sum of Us, and the burgeoning cross-racial alliances pushing for real change.   Guest:     Heather McGhee, economic policy expert and author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together   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.

Warrior cultures throughout history have developed unique codes. These codes have shifted over the centuries, so what does “the code of the warrior” mean in the 21st century, and what are the ethics on the modern battlefield   Shannon French, Inamori Professor in Ethics at Case Western Reserve University, joins Ray Suarez to chart the ever-evolving field of military ethics and its central role in keeping both civilians and soldiers safe.   Guest:   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.

The so-called “War on Terror” has defined US foreign policy for the past twenty years. The dense web of overseas conflicts and the growing use of remote weaponry, like drones, 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. 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.   Guest:   Azmat Khan, investigative reporter for the New York Times Magazine   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.

Aminatta Forna was a child when Sierra Leone fell into a brutal, ten-year civil war. Now, 20 years later, she’s working to ensure that Sierra Leoneans shape the country’s postwar narrative.   Forna joins Ray to chat about legacy, trauma, and forging identity – and joy – in the aftermath of violence, in her recent essay collection, The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion.   Guest:   Aminatta Forna, award-winning writer and author of The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion   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.

War captures headlines… but what happens when the rubble clears? How does a country – and its people – rebuild after tragedy?   Chernor Bah was a child when Sierra Leone fell into a brutal, ten-year civil war. Now, 20 years later, he’s working to ensure that Sierra Leoneans, especially women, are at the center of the country’s postwar narrative and development.   Bah shares how his early experiences with war and humanitarian aid inspired to create Purposeful, an Africa-rooted organization that challenges the long held assumption that men – and white donors – should dictate redevelopment in the Global South.   Guest:   Chernor Bah, co-founder and CEO of Purposeful   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.

Dr. Atul Gawande has had a varied, celebrated career in medicine. He’s been a physician, a writer, and now he’s the Global Health Assistant Administrator at USAID. Dr. Gawande has always said the task of sharing medical progress with every corner of the planet is “the most ambitious thing we’ve ever attempted.” From facing a global public health system weakened by COVID-19, to families seeking support caring for aging loved ones, Dr. Gawande is focused on “generational work” at USAID, and about how society can step up.    In this episode, Dr. Gawande and Ray Suarez discuss taking public health work to the global stage, and the immense challenges that lie ahead.   Support for this podcast episode was provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.   Guest(s):   Dr. Atul Gawande, writer, physician, and Assistant Administrator for Global Health for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)    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.

By 2030, it’s estimated one out of every six people on Planet Earth will be over 60. In Japan, nearly 30% of the population is already over 65. But Poland, Romania, Cuba, Serbia, and South Korea? They’re some of the fastest-aging societies on the planet, as well.   Ray Suarez chats with Joseph F. Coughlin, founder and director of the MIT AgeLab, about how leaps in technology have led to longer life spans — and why it may be the key to making the most out of borrowed time. Then, Motoko Rich, Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times, shares how this demographic force is already being felt in Japan, the poster “grandparent” for aging societies worldwide.   Support for this podcast episode was provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.   Guests:   Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD, Founder and Director of MIT’s AgeLab   Motoko Rich, Tokyo Bureau Chief for the New York Times   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.

Forty years later, the anniversary of Vincent Chin’s death reminds us Anti-Asian hate crimes haven't gone away. Filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña, who co-directed the documentary, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” and activist Helen Zia talk with Ray Suarez about the ongoing fight to recognize diverse Asian-American histories, challenging stereotypes and what justice means today.    For more information, check out Renee Tajima-Pena’s documentary, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, and Tajima-Pena’s docuseries, Asian Americans.   Guests:   Renee Tajima-Peña, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Professor of Asian American Studies at UCLA   Helen Zia, activist, executor of the Vincent and Lily Chin estate, and author of books including Last Boat out of Shanghai and My Country vs. Me   Host:   Ray Suarez

On a summer night in 1982, a Chinese-American man named Vincent Chin was brutally murdered by two white men in a racially-motivated attack in Detroit. His death, and the failure of the courts to hold his killers accountable, sparked a civil rights outcry and marked a turning point for the Asian-American community.    We revisit an interview with filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña about her documentary, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” to learn about the movement sparked by Chin’s story.   For more information, check out Renee Tajima-Pena’s documentary, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, and Tajima-Pena’s docuseries, Asian Americans.   Guests:   Renee Tajima-Peña, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Professor of Asian American Studies at UCLA   Host:   Ray Suarez

Bill Browder was a prominent foreign investor in Russia until he was banned by President Vladimir Putin. In a gripping interview with Ray Suarez, Browder recounts a hunt for missing money that led him to discover a corruption and conspiracy plot involving Putin’s inner circle. Browder breaks down the Russian government’s lethal response, the landmark Magnitsky Act, and what Putin’s past can teach us about what he might do next - in Ukraine and beyond.   But first, we revisit a brief excerpt from Ray's 2021 interview with prominent Putin critic, Fiona Hill. In it, she warns us that the big mistake people often make is, "underestimating Russia and underestimating somebody like Vladimir Putin."   Ray's interview with Bill Browder was recorded as part of a live event at the Aspen Institute on July 12, 2022.   Guests:   Bill Browder, financier and author of Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath   Host(s):  Ray Suarez

Financial experts are warning that the global economy could be headed toward recession. At the same time, the pandemic, war and displacement, and the climate crisis have left many people concerned about keeping a roof over their heads.   In this week’s episode, sponsored in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we take on the global housing crisis – its roots, its demands, and how we can solve it. Ray Suarez digs deeper into two homegrown, people-powered housing initiatives for urban and rural communities across South Asia. Then, Ray is joined by Lydia Stazen, the executive director of the Ruff Institute of Global Homelesssness, to discuss how small-scale local programs can be scaled internationally to eliminate street homelessness on every continent.   Guests:    Adithya Jain, co-founder and CEO of Tvasta Construction   Yasmeen Lari, Karachi-based architect   David Ireland, CEO of World Habitat   Lydia Stazen, executive director of the Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness   Host:    Ray Suarez

In 1971, the United States was at a crossroads: The economy was stagnating, inflation was high and Americans were starting to feel like they were losing their competitive edge. Sound familiar?    In the second episode of our two-part series on inflation, we return to a conversation between NPR’s Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley and Jeffrey Garten, an influential economist who served in multiple presidential administrations. They explore Nixon’s consequential decision to abandon the gold standard, how this move created the modern global economy, and what this can tell us about inflation and fears of a recession.   Guest:   Jeffrey E Garten, Dean Emeritus, Yale School of Management, former Undersecretary of Commerce, and author of Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy   Hosts:   Philip Yun, host of World Affairs   Scott Horsley, NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent

Inflation in the U.S. has reached its highest point since 1981. In developing nations, the problem is even worse. The UN says thirty-seven nations are in need of food, but can't afford it, triggering fears of food riots. So what makes prices for necessary things – like food and fuel – so volatile?    This week, we revisit a conversation with filmmaker Rupert Russell about his book and film, “Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World.” Russell connects the dots between the cost of bread and oil to political upheaval around the world, and he explains why price swings by market players cause famine, conflict and crisis.    Guests:     Rupert Russell, author and director of Price Wars: How The Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World   Hosts:    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.

Diversity has often been seen as the United States’ defining strength, but today some Americans see it as a threat. And this isn’t new. Throughout history, differences of religion, ethnicity, and origin have driven states around the world to war, violence, and extreme division. However, German-American political scientist Yascha Mounk says this isn’t the only path.  On this week’s episode, Mounk joins Ray to discuss his new book, “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart And How They Can Endure,” which challenges the assumptions of a modern pluralist society and imagines how diverse democracies might succeed in an increasingly polarized political landscape.   Guest:   Yascha Mounk, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, contributing editor at The Atlantic and author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure   Host:   Ray Suarez

In the second part of his interview with Ray, author Wajahat Ali discusses how the war on terror shaped attitudes towards Muslims in the United States, and how the Muslim-American political identity evolved in its aftermath. And despite his family’s American Dream being destroyed by US law enforcement, Ali manages to find optimism in a story of our country that is still being written.   Guest:     Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American    Host:    Ray Suarez, host of World Affairs  

Even though writer and humorist Wajahat Ali was born and raised in Northern California to Pakistani parents, he gets told every day to "go back to where you came from.” Today, more than half of US citizens under 18 can trace their ancestry to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, yet many feel unwelcome in their own country. “The tragic history of America is that the rest of us have fought for a country and love a country when it doesn’t love us back,” Wajahat told Ray Suarez in a recent interview about his new memoir, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American. Wajahat takes readers on a journey to his childhood, figuring out the lines and boundaries of race and ethnicity on the fly, to an adulthood punctuated by the September 11 terrorist attacks, and an era of rising anxiety and suspicion of brown people of various origins in the years after. Through his personal stories, Ali manages to tackle the dangers of Islamophobia and white supremacy, with humor and insights into national security, immigration, and pop culture.  Guest:  Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American  Host: Ray Suarez, 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 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

Ray Suarez sits down with Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Institute on Global Affairs and former US Ambassador to NATO, to discuss the alliance’s evolution, the Russian “wake-up call” that placed it back in the news, and the future–and feasibility–of trans-atlantic defense.   To hear more from Ambassador Daalder, check out his weekly World Review podcast.   Guests:     Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Institute of Global Affairs   Host:    Ray Suarez

Apart from a distinct history and culture, Canadians have a vastly different political, legal and medical system from the United States. Yet there are times when the politics of the two North American neighbors move in rhythm. On today’s episode, Ray Suarez talks to Kelly Gordon, assistant professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, about the nuances of abortion access and abortion politics across our northern border.   Guests:     Kelly Gordon, assistant professor at McGill University   Host:   Ray Suarez

When a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion revealed plans to overturn Roe v. Wade, Amnesty International labelled it a victory of an emboldened global anti-abortion movement. The court’s decision, however, could place the United States at odds with regional trends across Latin America – where a transnational pro-choice “Green Wave” movement is growing, despite historic cultural and religious opposition.   What is the future of abortion in the Americas? We tackle that question–and where the U.S. fits into a changing reproductive health landscape–this week on World Affairs. We begin with a Mexican physician, who provided clandestine abortions in the country for over twenty years. Then, Ray is joined by Colombian attorney, Ximena Casas, to discuss the legal frameworks dictating abortion rights north and south of the U.S. border.   Guests:     Gregory Berger, documentary filmmaker Estela Kempis, Mexican physician Ximena Casas, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch   Host:   Ray Suarez

We're releasing our latest episode early this week in light of the recent tragedy in Buffalo. Please take care of yourselves.   The recent mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York left ten dead, three injured, and a city–and country–reeling. Within hours of the deadly attack, evidence emerged that the 18-year-old gunman’s crimes were racially motivated, explicitly targeting the area’s Black community.   Buffalo is the most recent in a string of high-profile acts of violence inspired by the “great replacement theory,” an extremist doctrine based on the unsubstantiated belief that non-white populations will “replace” and subjugate white majorities across the globe.   Once confined to the radical fringe, replacement theory has now entered mainstream conservative rhetoric, peddled by prominent right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson and J.D. Vance, and shared in online networks from El Paso to Christchurch. On this week’s episode, Ray Suarez sits down with Daniel Byman, a counterterrorism expert and author of Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism, to discuss the roots of the global white power movement, how extremism spreads, and what the mainstreaming of violence as a political tactic means for targeted communities–and democracy–in the world today.   Guests:   Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and professor at Georgetown University   Host(s):   Ray Suarez, co-host of World Affairs

When the Biden administration announced that the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, hundreds began to show up daily at the US-Mexico border. With a scarcity of appointments at US consulates in Europe, for those who could afford airfare, this circuitous route was their best option. “At the peak of it, there were over a thousand Ukrainian nationals,  enough to fill a shelter in Tijuana,” KPBS immigration reporter Gustavo Solis explained to Ray Suarez. “They would get picked up at the airport and volunteers would be ready. There was even a guy playing music for them – like a welcome party in Tijuana.” Then they would be processed the next day. As you might imagine, that streamlined process isn't the same for most other refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Depending on your country of origin, entering the US at the San Ysidro crossing between Tijuana and San Diego can be quite a bit more complicated...or even impossible. Guest: Gustavo Solis, Investigative Border Reporter for KPBS Host:  Ray Suarez, 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 do this work without your help. Thank you.

As early as November 2021, the Biden administration began to declassify military intelligence about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine and share it with the public. As declassified material poured in, the world watched the massive grinding gears of Russia's war machine creep towards Kyiv. Despite what seemed imminent—almost obvious—the White House and the State Department were under intense scrutiny. It wasn’t clear whether the strategy of opening the information floodgates would disrupt Moscow’s actions or provoke Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. On this week’s episode, Ray Suarez discusses President Biden’s Ukraine strategy with US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet.  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.

On February 9th, the U.S. Senate confirmed Chantale Wong as the U.S. Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank. On that day, she became the first LGBTQ person of color and the first "out" lesbian, to hold the rank of ambassador in the U.S. For the past 30 years, Ambassador Wong has spurned tradition and overcome challenges to forge her own trailblazing path, breaking barriers along the way. Her journey began in 1960, when at the age of six, her grandmother smuggled her out of Shanghai, and has included a thirty year career in public service, including stops at San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, NASA, the Treasury Department and a brief stint as photographer for the late Congressman John Lewis. During this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we celebrated the life and career of Chantale Wong at a live event on May 3, 2022. This is an excerpt of her conversation with Dean Fealk. 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.

After a thirty year civil war, Sri Lanka rebuilt its economy, with the help of foreign investment. But when the pandemic forced the small island nation to shut its borders, things began to unravel. Now, the war in Ukraine and skyrocketing food and fuel prices are pushing the country into deeper economic turmoil, political unrest, and violence.     Today, Sri Lanka owes a staggering $50 billion to regional neighbors, like China, and international lending institutions, like the World Bank. And it isn’t the only country in this situation. Ray Suarez talks with Washington Post’s Gerry Shih, and Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, a Sri Lankan geopolitical analyst, to understand why–and how–nations like Sri Lanka accumulate foreign debt, what it means for everyday citizens …and why it can be so hard to pay back.   Guests:    Gerry Shih, India bureau chief, Washington Post    Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, senior fellow at the Millenium Project   Host:    Ray Suarez, co-host of WorldAffairs

"At the end of the day, he believed it would be too great a gift to the regime—too great a gift to Putin—if he stayed away." Daniel Roher is the award-winning director behind "Navalny," a film that documents Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's journey from Germany to a Russian jail. Roher was given unprecedented access to Alexei Navalny while he was in Berlin recovering from an attempted assasination, searching for the Russian agents who tried to poison him, and eventually returning to Russia where he was inevitably imprisoned.  "Navalny" offers an intimate portrait of the man intent on undoing Vladimir Putin and his ongoing search for justice. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming on HBO Max. Guest:   Daniel Roher, documentary filmmaker and director of "Navalny" Host:  Ray Suarez, co-host of WorldAffairs

For the last century, Finland has walked a diplomatic tightrope between East and West. A former Russian imperial holding and Soviet target, the independent nordic nation boasts a free market economy, EU membership, and regional defense partnerships. Yet, Finland has previously stopped short of formally joining NATO, the West’s major military alliance–maintaining a pragmatic policy of forced neutrality along its 800-mile border with Russia. That is, until Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. How does a country survive the threat of Russian aggression? Ray Suarez talks with Henri Vanhanen, advisor to the Finnish National Coalition Party, about his country’s recent pivot toward NATO membership–both in parliament and the polls–and what it could mean for the future of international security.  Featuring: Henri Vanhanen, foreign policy and EU advisor for the Finland National Coalition Party Ray Suarez, co-host of WorldAffairs Finland 101, by Ray Suarez Maybe you’ve noticed how often Finland comes up during the Ukraine coverage, and wondered why? Here’s a quick little history…a thousand pages in a few seconds. For centuries, the Finns have had to thread their way, as a people, through the conflicts of other big powers in their part of the world. Ethnically and linguistically distinct…they’re not their Swedish neighbors to the west or their Russian neighbors to the east…but they had to fend off both to remain themselves. For centuries Finland was fought for, or fought over, by Russians and Swedes. As the 20thcentury began, Finland was part of Czarist Russia…then the Czar abdicated and the Empire collapsed. The Finns flirted with Communism, and with monarchy, before becoming a republic with a new president in 1919. Josef Stalin wanted Finland back for the USSR. The Soviets invaded, shortly after the Nazis bulldozed Poland in 1939. The Finns fought back ferociously. They inflicted heavy casualties. The Soviets eventually recognized Finland’s independence, signed a peace treaty, and permanently seized about a tenth of Finland’s territory, incorporating it into the USSR. The Finns would remain independent, somewhat free of Soviet domination after the Second World War, but that freedom came at a cost. Finland gave up more territory, and population, and diplomatic freedom of movement. The country lived in a gray area between east and west during the Cold War. Its status even got a dismissive name…Finlandization, used to describe a forced neutrality, an expensive freedom.  Finland had a market economy, democratically elected governments, freedom of speech, and growing prosperity….all the while staying aloof from the expanding European Union, and certainly NATO, the western military alliance. When the Soviet Union collapsed, much as Czarist Russia did, Finland had an escape hatch… denounced its earlier treaties, joined the EU, adopted the Euro, but remained outside NATO, sharing an eight hundred mile border with the Russian Federation.

When the British government handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997, it was with China’s promise that Hong Kong’s relative autonomy would be preserved, under the framework known as “one country, two systems.” But in recent years, China has cracked down on the region’s freedoms, especially freedom of press. One example is the 2020 arrest of media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, who helped catalyze an opposition movement. In 2021 Lai was arrested again, and sentenced to 13 months in jail for participating in a vigil marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.   On this week’s episode of WorldAffairs, World Affairs CEO Philip Yun talks with Mark Clifford, who was the director of Apple Daily’s parent company at the time of Lai’s arrest. Clifford, a journalist, activist, and president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, has a new book, Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China’s Crackdown Reveals About its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere.   Guests:     Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, journalist, activist      Host:    Philip W. Yun, President and CEO, WorldAffairs

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

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, we are confronted daily with images of atrocities. But what constitutes proof of a war crime in the digital age? It’s a question a new generation of experts is answering. In December, the United Nations Human Rights Office teamed up with lawyers at UC Berkeley to release a new set of legal guidelines for gathering and verifying war crimes. The “Berkeley Protocol” establishes norms for authenticating open source and social media evidence of human rights violations, and it stands to usher in a new era for punishing those who commit these horrors. In the past, war crimes were proven with extensive witness testimony and conventional forensic evidence, often gathered slowly and well after the fact  by government agencies. Now, researchers can use an array of digital tools, including social media videos, satellite imagery, and geolocation, in real time. By codifying professional standards in the field, the Berkeley Protocol aims to shore up the admissibility of digital evidence in court and could change the future of prosecuting these heinous crimes.    On this week’s episode of WorldAffairs, Ray Suarez talks with Alexa Koenig, executive director of the Human Rights Center and Investigations Lab at Berkeley Law, which has been at the forefront of this new legal frontier in human rights.

When President Biden calls Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and says that Russia’s war in Ukraine amounts to “genocide,” what does it mean? Do such prounouncements place obligations on the United States? Does it threaten some sort of legal jeopardy for the Russian president? When an artilleryman a thousand yards away sends a projectile slamming into an apartment building full of civilians, is that a war crime? Is the soldier who released the shell more or less responsible than the politician a thousand miles away who ordered the assault on a city? Ray Suarez tackles these questions with a war-crimes prosecutor and a former student organizer who played a critical role in the downfall of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who was the first sitting head of state indicted for war crimes.   Guests:   Ivan Marovic, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict  Alex Whiting, war-crimes prosecutor and visiting professor at Harvard Law School 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.

Even with the heat turned up on Russian oligarchs—and more recently, his own family—Vladimir Putin’s wealth remains one of the biggest mysteries for law enforcement, investigative journalists, and anti-corruption activists. New York Times investigative journalist Mike McIntire explains to us what his reporting has uncovered about Putin’s strategy for avoiding sanctions, the Western advisors who shield his inner circle from financial scrutiny, and maybe, perhaps, where the Russian President is ultimately hiding his riches.   Guests:   Mike McIntire,  investigative reporter The New York Times   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.

A complex web of shell companies, offshore banks and hidden transactions has concealed the wealth of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs for years. With international sanctions aimed at staunching the flow of money that funds Russia's war in Ukraine, a new nonprofit reporting collaboration led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Guardian, launched the Russian Asset Tracker. It's the most comprehensive database to date that catalogs the assets of Russians with links to Putin. On this episode of the podcast, we follow the money trail to better understand the connection between Putin’s power and his oligarchs. Then we explore the legal mechanisms for seizing these assets.  Guests: Drew Sullivan, co-founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project  Karen Greenaway, former special agent in the FBI's International Corruption Unit 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.

Teklia Zumuy fled Eritrea, a small and autocratic nation in the Horn of Africa, in 2016. He sought out for a new life in Europe, and hoped to eventually bring his wife and three young daughters with him. But as he attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea on a small wooden boat, Teklia and his companions were apprehended by the Italian Coast Guard and handed over to Libyan militias. He was held there for over two years, with inadequate food or health services, and with no way to contact his family. Teklia is one of hundreds of migrants whose stories are told in a new book by investigative journalist Sally Hayden. In My Fourth Time, We Drowned, Hayden reports on a shadowy immigration system, created by the European Union, which captures and imprisons African migrants in Libya, keeping them from reaching European soil. In Libya, they endure starvation, scorching temperatures, beatings and rape -- and are sold to human traffickers. In an interview with Senior KQED editor Rachael Myrow, Hayden also explains the role that western institutions have played in this humanitarian crisis.   Featuring: Rachael Myrow, senior editor of KQED's Silicon Valley News Desk Sally Hayden, author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned and Africa correspondent for the Irish Times Teklia Zumuy, teacher and refugee 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 times of crisis, one of the most painful decisions people face is whether to stay or leave: to risk abandoning their homes, personal belongings, and sometimes, loved ones. 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes this month. Many have been displaced within their country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called this exodus Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.   In this episode, we hear audio diaries from two people on opposite sides of the crisis. First, filmmaker Iryna Tsilk, who we first met in the weeks before the invasion, takes us through her decision to leave Kyiv where her husband is fighting as a soldier in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces. Then, a Russian-Ukrainian student living in Germany named Alex records his story from the road. The week after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Alex traveled to a border crossing with Poland, joining a ragtag army of volunteers providing humanitarian assistance and safe passage to those fleeing Ukraine.   Guest Contributors:   Iryna Tsilyk, filmmaker and director of “The Earth is Blue as an Orange”   Alex Gerz, Russian-Ukrainian student based in Kassel, Germany   Host(s):     Ray Suarez, WorldAffairs co-host   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 week, President Biden announced the U.S. is accepting 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.   Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was three years old when he and his family fled Odessa for a better life in the U.S. He, along with his twin brother Yevgeny, rose through the ranks of military service, to the role of Eastern European affairs expert on the National Security Council. Vindman’s past and present converged on the stand when he appeared as a lead witness in the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, which dealt with the U.S. relationship to Ukraine.   In the second part of our interview with Lt. Col. Vindman, he speaks with Ray Suarez about the phone call that changed everything, how his immigrant experience inspired his courageous testimony, and why he says President Trump and figures within the GOP have “blood on their hands,” and set the stage for Vladimir Putin’s inevitable invasion of Ukraine.   And World Affairs CEO, Philip Yun, pays tribute to the late Madeleine Albright.   Guest(s):   (Ret.) Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council from 2018 to 2020   Host:     Ray Suarez, World Affairs co-host   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 Alexander Vindman warned the world about President Donald Trump's July 2019 phone call with Ukranian President Volodymr Zelensky, he says he was thinking about the U.S. Constitution and his duty as an American. But as a retired army Lieutenant Colonel and former director of European affairs for the National Security Council, Vindman was also thinking about the role that a sovereign and democratic Ukraine plays in U.S. national security interests.   In part one of Alexander Vindman’s conversation with Ray Suarez, they discuss how Ukraine, Russia, and the world have been changed by Putin’s war.   On the hesitancy of Western powers to get involved, Vindman says, “There is wishful thinking about the fact that we could return to a world before this war. And that's impossible for me. To me, it's clear that we're in a cold war.”   Guest:   (Ret.) Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council from 2018 to 2020   Host:   Ray Suarez, WorldAffairs co-host   What do you think about the war in Ukraine? What coverage on the war would you like to hear from us? We’d love to hear from you. Send us a message at [email protected].   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 is not the first time Russia invaded a neighboring country that was being considered for entry into NATO. In 2008, Moscow took advantage of a conflict in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia as a justification to invade. A brutal five day war followed and today, 20% of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory remains under Russian military occupation. Journalist Levi Bridges traveled to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to see the remnants of its 2008 war with Russia – and what the conflict can or can’t tell us about Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.  This is part 2 of a three-part series looking at how Vladimir's Putin consolidates power in former Soviet republics. Please be sure to listen to part 1: A War Between Dictators and the Free World with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and watch the podcast feed for part 3 to drop on Thursday. 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

Belarus, a former Soviet republic which shares a 700 mile border with Ukraine, has been used as a staging ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. 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. An English teacher and mother, she rose to prominence when her husband was jailed for publicly speaking out against the regime. In a conversation with Ray Suarez, Tsikhanouskaya warned, “This is not a war between Russia and Ukraine. It's a war between dictators and the free world. And there’s a moral obligation of every person in this free world to be with those who are fighting.”  Guest: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled leader of the Belarusian democratic movement Host: Ray Suarez, co-host of World Affairs  This is part 1 of a three-part series looking at how Vladimir's Putin consolidates power in former Soviet republics. Please be sure to listen to part 2 If Putin Succeeds in Ukraine, Is Georgia Next? and watch the podcast feed for part 3 to drop on Thursday. 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 in Ukraine drags on, global alliances are shifting, sometimes in surprising ways. A delegation from the White House recently made a secret trip to Caracas to discuss the possibility of easing sanctions on Venezuelan oil just as the Biden administration is planning to ban Russian oil imports. A few days later, Venezuela freed two jailed Americans in an apparent goodwill gesture. One of the freed prisoners was among six Citgo oil executives arrested in 2017 and convicted on charges the U.S. government says were fabricated. Five of the men still remain in prison. Venezuela is not alone in its use of hostage diplomacy. Russia recently announced the arrest of WNBA player Brittney Griner. She is one of at least three Americans held unjustly by Russian authorities. On this week’s episode, we meet the State Department’s lead hostage negotiator, an innocent man who was held hostage for 544 days in an Iranian prison and his brother who led the campaign to free him. Their conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the World Affairs Center in San Francisco.   Guests:   Ambassador Roger Carstens, Special Envoy to Hostage Affairs at the US Department of State Jason Rezaian, Washington Post global opinions writer, host of 544 Days and author of Prisoner  Ali Rezaian, consultant and leader of the “Free Jason and Yegi” campaign  Hosts:  Philip Yun, President and CEO of World Affairs Lily Jamali, senior reporter at American Public Media’s Marketplace

What motivated Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and how is his war changing the balance of power between Russia, the US, Europe and China? First, a voice from the ground: Katia Iakovlenko, a writer who lives in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv, shares how extreme hardship has unified her country. Then, former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul tells Ray Suarez how it feels to be scolded by Vladimir Putin and explains how the US missed critical opportunities to spread democracy in post-Soviet Russia.  Guests: Katia Iakovlenko, writer and curator based in Kyiv Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Russia (2012-2014), director at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Host:  Ray Suarez, WorldAffairs co-host Additional Reading: "Eat Me, Drink Me--This is a War," by Kateryna Iakovlenko  “From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia,” by Michael McFaul Editor's note: Since we recorded this episode, Katia Iakovlenko safely escaped Irpin, which has sustained heavy shelling from Russian forces. This episode was produced in partnership with Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies podcast WorldClass.  If you appreciate this program 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 Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, it was the Chinese head of state’s first in person meeting with another world leader in two years. Declaring that China and Russia’s friendship had “no limits,” the two authoritarian leaders signaled they were more aligned than ever and determined to present a united front against the US. Then, Russia invaded Ukraine. Wall Street Journal chief China correspondent Lingling Wei joins Ray Suarez to discuss the diplomatic tightrope Beijing is walking as Moscow’s global isolation grows.  Guest: Lingling Wei, chief China correspondent at the Wall Street Journal Host:  Ray Suarez, WorldAffairs co-host Recommended reading:  “China Declared Its Russia Friendship Had ‘No Limits.’ It’s Having Second Thoughts,” by Lingling Wei “Superpower Showdown,” by Bob Davis and Lingling Wei 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 not a given that the democratic values will rule the 21st century. This is the first real test of what those values will be.” Congressman Ami Bera, a Democrat from California, joined Ray Suarez to talk about countering aggression from Russia and China, why immigration is such an important part of American history, and overcoming political disunity in foreign policy.  Guest: Rep. Ami Bera (D CA-7), physician and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation. 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.

WorldAffairs host Ray Suarez remembers Paul Farmer, the late physician and champion of global public health who inspired many by example. Beyond opening clinics and distributing life saving medications in Haiti and other developing nations, Dr. Farmer worked to change the way healthcare is delivered to the world’s most vulnerable–through compassion and genuine partnership.  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.

According to the USDA, shoppers are paying more than seven percent more than they were last year for their groceries. In developing countries, it’s even worse. The UN says thirty-seven nations are in urgent need of food, but can't afford it. But while food prices soar, so do Wall Street’s profits.   WorldAffairs host Ray Suarez talks with Rupert Russell about his new book and film, “Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World.” He introduces us to people whose lives have been upended by skyrocketing food and gas prices around the world and explains how the global financial system drives famine, conflict, and crisis.   Guest:   Rupert Russell, author and director of Price Wars: "How Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World"   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.

Is the US on the verge of a second Civil War? Acclaimed author Barbara Walter suggests that American exceptionalism, the belief that things are different here, may have blinded us to patterns we’ve seen previously around the world.   From the former Yugoslavia to South Africa to Brazil, Walter and WorldAffairs host Ray Suarez examine risk factors that can contribute to the outbreak of violence, and how social media adds fuel to the fire. If bipartisan discord and events like January 6 are signs of instability within American democracy, what can we do to turn it around?   Guest:   Barbara Walter, author of “How Civil Wars Start”   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.

The Winter Olympics have begun. China wants the Beijing Games to showcase the country’s meteoric rise, but American legislators and an international coalition of activists see the Games as an opportunity to spotlight China’s human rights record.   First, we hear from U.S. track and field star Raven “Hulk” Saunders about the Olympic podium protest ban. Then, WorldAffairs host Philip Yun talks with a former State Department colleague, Bennett Freeman, about the campaign to pressure China to change. Finally, journalist Mary Kay Magistad speaks with two leaders from China’s persecuted Uyghur minority about surveillance, repression, and state violence in the shadow of the Winter Olympics.    Guests:   Raven Saunders, 2021 silver medalist for U.S. Olympic Track and Field team Bennett Freeman, former deputy assistant secretary of state, democracy, human rights and labor  Zumretay Arkin, program manager at World Uyghur Congress Nury Turkel, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute   Hosts:  Philip Yun, co-host, WorldAffairs Mary Kay Magistad, associate director at Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society   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.

Imagine yourself explaining to your child how to stay safe during a military attack while you try to remain focused on your job and enjoy life in the face of impending war. These seemingly incompatible and contradictory goals have become a daily routine in Ukraine and they're at the heart of Iryna Tsylik's award winning film, The Earth is as Blue as an Orange. Tsylik takes us inside the lives of a family living in Eastern Ukraine, in the declining coal region of Donbass, where a low-grade war has been going on since 2014. The war has outlasted more than two dozen ceasefires between Ukraine, Russia, and Russian-backed armed separatists. With more than 13,000 casualties to date and troops already in the region, Donbass is one of the many routes by which Russia could launch a larger scale invasion in the near future. WorldAffairs producer Andrew Stelzer spoke with Iryna Tsylik about her film and how her identity as a Ukrainian has been shaped by art, politics and a war that’s now been going on for almost 8 years. If you have not already done so, please be sure to listen to Ukraine Part 1: A Young Country with an Old History, where you’ll learn about Ukraine’s Maidan revolution, which precipitated war in the Donbass. Guests:   Iryna Tsilyk, filmmaker and director of The Earth is Blue as an Orange Hosts:  Ray Suarez, co-host, WorldAffairs Andrew Stelzer, producer, WorldAffairs