Doha Debates Podcast

It can write emails, essays and even songs. It has created award-winning pieces of art, and it’s one reason that Hollywood is on strike. That’s right—today’s podcast episode is about artificial intelligence. Generative AI programs such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and Midjourney are worrying artists of all kinds about the future of art. Is AI coming for artists’ jobs and livelihood, or is it a helpful tool...

This week, enjoy a special episode from our friends at Foreign Policy Magazine from their podcast FP Live. Has China peaked? After decades of record economic growth, China’s economy is showing signs of a slowdown. In the world’s second-largest economy, recent numbers show a reduced rate of growth. Michael Beckley, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and popularizer of the term “peak...

Do you think it’s OK to sacrifice a mouse’s life to cure a disease? What if it were a monkey? A cow? Or a dog? For a long time, research on animals has been a crucial component of scientific and medical innovation. Testing on animals has led to the development of the world's first vaccine. And drugs used to combat cancer, malaria and HIV/AIDS and many other illnesses would not have been possible w...

Is it time to cancel the debts of low-income countries in the global south? It’s estimated that three out of five low-income countries are struggling to pay their debts. In Africa, 21 countries are either bankrupt or in financial distress, and are on the hook to repay more than $70 billion in 2023 alone. Freeing up this money could help these countries get back on their feet and invest more at hom...

Is it time to ban gasoline-powered vehicles?  Climate activist and author Aakash Ranison says that while electric vehicles may not be a silver-bullet solution to climate change, they are an important and urgent step in the right direction. On the other side, journalist Jonathan Miltimore argues that there are actually lots of drawbacks and hidden costs to producing electric cars. Gas-powered vehic...

Are some sports too violent for children? Kids and teens who play full- or high-contact sports like rugby, American football and mixed martial arts have higher rates of concussions, which can lead to traumatic brain injuries. On the flip side, there are also huge benefits to playing sports when you’re young, including community and confidence.  Dr. Bennet Omalu, a pioneer in understanding chronic...

About 1.5 billion people in the world eat a plant-based diet. For most of them, it’s a necessity, because meat is either too expensive or unavailable. But about 75 million people choose to go vegetarian for reasons like animal welfare and personal health. Some meat-eaters counter that humans have evolved to eat meat, and that animals can be raised and slaughtered humanely. Doha Debates asks: Is ch...

Who does art belong to? Where should it live? And how can—or should—it be shared with the world? These are some of the questions at the heart of this week's debate. Recently, museums like the Smithsonian in the US and the Horniman Museum and Gardens in the UK have made headlines by returning stolen and disputed artifacts to Nigeria, the country they were taken from centuries ago. Should more museu...

Video games are built on creative storytelling and intricate worldbuilding, but what happens when the violence depicted in video games starts to spill over into the real world? Researchers at Dartmouth University have found a link between violence in video games and increased physical aggression in teens and preteens. Game designer Bahiyya Khan says that while violence can be important to video ga...

Introducing the Doha Debates Podcast: A new debate every two weeks. Tackling the world’s most pressing issues, the podcast brings together people with starkly different opinions for an in-depth and human conversation that tries to find common ground. With a rotation of hosts and young guest voices from the Doha Debates ambassador program, join us for debate, dialogue and inspiration.

Note: This episode discusses suicide. In the final installment of our six-part series about the refugee experience, host Nelufar Hedayat talks to weightlifter, nurse and refugee Cyrille Tchatchet. A native of Cameroon, Cyrille first came to the UK in 2014 to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Feeling that it was too unsafe to return home, he became a refugee, experiencing both homelessness and dep...

More than 85 percent of refugees and asylum-seekers are hosted in developing countries, many of which neighbor the countries being fled. In this episode, host Nelufar Hedayat looks at the role that local communities can play in hosting refugees. Nelufar speaks with Rodaan Al Galidi, who talks about his experiences fleeing Iraq to start a new life in the Netherlands. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and a...

This week, a bonus episode: A town-hall-style discussion with Malala Yousafzai on the future of women's and girls' education in Afghanistan and other conflict areas. In the six months since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, many schools and universities have closed their doors to young women, and promises to reopen have gone unfulfilled. Education and equality advocate Malala Yousafzai jo...

Jennifer Roberts, a senior education officer with UNHCR, talks to host Nelufar Hedayat about the 10 million refugee children worldwide who lack access to education, what it takes to educate displaced people and how some host countries are working to meet the challenge. Next, Nelufar speaks with Dr. Saleema Rehman, an Afghan refugee who received her medical degree in Pakistan. Dr. Rehman talks abou...

In Part III of our season on refugees, we look at the mental-health toll of living as a refugee or an internally displaced person. Host Nelufar Hedayat speaks with an internally displaced Afghan woman about trying to care for herself and her children while living in a shipping container. She also examines different ways that refugees define and experience the trauma of conflict, and she shares sto...

On this episode of our season chronicling the refugee experience, we’re focusing on bodily harm. What kinds of injuries do displaced people suffer, and what does it take to tend to those injuries — not just the ones that can be seen, but the invisible ones that might take longer to heal? This episode features a first-hand account from an internally displaced Afghan dealing with a long term foot in...

In the premiere episode of our season on the refugee journey, we'll take a closer look at the moment of displacement and its immediate aftermath. Hear from experts on what causes displacement, and what resources refugees and internally displaced persons have once they decide it's no longer safe to remain at home. This episode features the story of Mohammed Anwar, a Rohingya refugee who nearly lost...

For the past two seasons of the Course Correction podcast, we’ve challenged ourselves to find ways to change the world. In season one, host Nelufar Hedayat conducted personal challenges to explore how individuals can have a real impact on global issues. In season two, she focused on listening to people she disagreed with in order to figure out how to bridge the gaps that divide us. This season, we...

Course Correction is proud to introduce listeners to The Long Game, a new sports-themed podcast that highlights stories of courage and conviction on and off the field. In this episode, The Long Game host and US Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad talks to Amy Mackinnon from Foreign Policy Playlist to introduce herself and the new podcast. The Long Game is a production of Doha Debates and Foreign Policy.

Violence, unrest and the coronavirus pandemic have displaced an unprecedented number of people globally. Yet instead of offering shelter to refugees, many countries use populist rhetoric to excuse their global responsibility and reject those in need. In the final episode of season two of Course Correction, host Nelufar Hedayat speaks with refugee advocates David Miliband and Melanie Nezer, as well...

In this episode, host Nelufar Hedayat examines the power and limitations of dialogue with three people working to create justice and equality in Israel and Palestine. She speaks with rapper Tamer Nafar, a Palestinian who lives in Israel, about how he uses music to call attention to the lives of his fellow Palestinians in Israel. Then she speaks with Hussein Agha, an advisor to Palestinian leaders...

Host Nelufar Hedayat looks at the evolution of masculinity and what — if any — role men have in within the feminist movements. First she hears from British comedian David Baddiel about how he went from being a "lad" comic to someone acutely aware of gender dynamics. For her challenging interview, Nelufar speaks with French writer and activist Pauline Harmange, who argues that modern men have no pl...

Host Nelufar Hedayat begins this episode with a trip to her old London neighborhood of Hampstead ,where she and her younger sister Fatema go apartment hunting and find out just how unattainable home ownership is for younger generations. Next she talks to debt relief advocate Astra Taylor about some of the factors that have created the generational wealth gap. Finally, Jayathma Wickramanayake, the...

Host Nelufar Hedayat explores the economic and social considerations around automation and artificial intelligence. She talks to three guests with different views about automation, and looks at its effect on women working in Bangladesh's garment industry, the social changes necessary to ensure ethical AI use and questions who should be writing the rules governing AI.

In this episode, host Nelufar Hedayat examines France's Laïcite or "secularism" laws, which discourage religious involvement in public life. First she speaks about experiences wearing the hijab in Western Europe with members of Collectif Les 100 Diplômées, a Belgian group that supports Muslim women. Then French lawmaker Aurore Bergé  discusses why she believes that restricting where the hijab can...