Aspen UK

In this special episode, recorded live in honour of International Women's Day, Deborah Bonetti , Director of the Foreign Press Association and UK Correspondent for QN-II Giorno speaks to Beth Rigby , Political Editor at Sky News; Alison Phillips , deputy Editor-in-chief of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People; Megha Mohan , BBC World Service's global gender and identity corr...

Prashant Rao, Global Editor at The Atlantic speaks to Simon Cheng, exiled pro-democracy activist and founder of Hongkongers in Britain; Laurel Chor, Emmy-nominated freelance journalist; Ines Gafsi, Co-Founder of Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide; and Professor Shirley Ze Yu, Director of the China-Africa Initiative at LSE and Senior Practitioner Fellow with the Ash Center of Harvard Kennedy School. Th...

Paul Mason, journalist and film-maker, and author of How to Stop Fascism: History, Ideology, Resistance , speaks to Olya Kudinenko; Founder and Chair of the Board at the Tabletochki Foundation; Yegor Lanovenko, Founder and Chairman of Opora; Olena Sotnyk, Policy Advisor to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; and Olga Tokariuk, Non-resident Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Follow...

Following the outbreak of conflict in March 2011, Syria has seen protracted fighting which has given rise to numerous humanitarian, economic and political challenges.  In this episode, Ghadi Sary, Managing Partner at Governance House and former BBC News Producer speaks to Chris McNaboe, Field Officer for the Carter Center; Oudai Tozan, Founder of the International Syrian Association for Education...

Jan Cienski, Senior Policy Editor at POLITICO in Europe, moderates a discussion on the future of Poland. The panel features Dr Stanley Bill, Director of Slavonic Studies at Cambridge University; Professor Katarzyna Pisarska, Chair of the Warsaw Security Forum; Anna Clunes, the UK’s Ambassador to Poland, and Piotr Wilczek, Poland’s Ambassador to the UK. They cover Poland’s humanitarian response to...

The EU Delegation to the UK and Aspen UK convene a panel of experts to discuss Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and the impact it might have on Europe. POLITICO’s Suzanne Lynch is joined by Robert Brinkley, Committee Chair of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House; Natalie Jaresko, former Ukrainian Finance Minister; Ambassador Matti Maasikas, EU Ambassador to Ukraine; and Professor Joseph Nye, Profess...

Elif Shafak, award-winning British-Turkish novelist, joined Alec Russell, Editor of FTWeekend, for a conversation about the future of Turkey, Europe, and the challenges facing democracy today. Recorded four days after Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine, the pair discuss the current state of democracy and rise of authoritarianism across the globe; recent changes in Turkish society and...

The deeply rooted transatlantic relationship now faces old and new challenges. With rising autocracy, growing economic insecurity, climate threats, and the rapid development of technology, what is the transatlantic relationship’s role in mitigating these challenges? The Aspen Institute's International Partners convened the NextGen Network of millennials and Generation Z, from across the Unite...

In the battle against climate change, each and every one of us can get involved. Even the smallest individual action contributes to the building of a greener future - but with just 100 companies producing over 70% of CO2 emissions, the role played by our industry leaders is critical. They have a responsibility to mobilise civil society, by leading industry transformation and reinventing norms. Can...

Our current food and agriculture system exceeds planetary boundaries: it depletes soil health, contributes massively to greenhouse gas emissions, causes a decrease in biodiversity, and generates large-scale malnutrition. As a reaction, a growing number of companies and start-ups are attempting to revolutionise the way we produce and consume food. Some are turning to cell-cultured meat - meat produ...

Nuclear energy is one of the most controversial forms of alternative energy, and the least understood. Consumers can confuse a fear of nuclear weapons with nuclear energy, and naysayers cite plant explosions or the possibility of a terror attack employing misused nuclear energy materials. Yet advancements in safety measures, regulation and technology have made nuclear energy safer than ever. In th...

Lord Adair Turner, the chair of the Energy Transitions Commission talks with Marisa Drew, chief sustainability officer for Credit Suisse on tackling climate change and the challenges ahead. In this in-depth conversation, Adair answers the question: was COP26 a success or a failure? They discuss the role of policy makers, government and private sectors in this battle; and share the importance of in...

Carbon offsetting as a solution to the climate crisis faces an inescapable barrier: time, or rather – the lack of it. Philippa Nuttall, environment and sustainability editor at the New Statesman leads this discussion on the role of carbon offsetting. On the panel is Rebekah Braswell, founding member and CCO of Land Life Company; Sabine Frank, executive director at Carbon Market Watch; Tariye Gbade...

Budgets vs biodiversity – how can we protect both as tensions rise in the crusade to defend our planet’s natural habitats? Simon Mundy, Moral Money editor at The Financial Times is joined by Sandra Guzman Luna, manager of the Climate Finance Programme at the Climate Policy Initiative; Jojo Mehta, co-founder of Stop Ecocide International; Dr David Obura, founding director of CORDIO East Africa; Oli...

South Africa is still recovering from an unprecedented political crisis, in which 300 people lost their lives, and goods worth billions of dollars were looted. This episode assembles South African leaders in business, education, and development, to discuss the future of their country. Andrew Harding, BBC Africa correspondent, hosts the conversation with Emma Dicks, Founder and director of CodeSpac...

Wales is distinct from the rest of the United Kingdom for its strong cultural identity. The Welsh language is spoken and taught across the country to this day, and 2021 marked over a century of Labour Party domination of Welsh politics. In this episode Guto Harri, communications consultant and political commentator, hosts a conversation with Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioners for Wales;...

Professor Philippe Sands and Frans Timmermans in conversation about our common future. The human rights lawyer and European Commission Executive Vice president for the European Green Deal talk with Penny Richards, managing director of the Aspen Institute in the UK. They discuss the plight of humanity in an age of climate and biodiversity crises, sharing their predictions and fears for the future;...

Robin Lustig, award-winning journalist and broadcaster, leads this discussion on the future of Israel. He is joined by Mira Awad, singer, songwriter, actress, and activista; Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu, co-CEO of The Abraham Initiatives; Alistair Burt, Pro-Chancellor of Lancaster University; and Ohad Zemet, spokesperson of the Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom. The panel come together to discuss...

In this episode, University of Sheffield Politics Professor Matthew Flinders chairs a conversation on the future of England. He is joined by Gavin Esler, award-winning writer and BBC journalist; Baroness Helena Morrissey, former CEO of Newton and now lead non-executive director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Ella Whelan, author, journalist and co-convener of the 2021 Battle o...

In this episode, John Kampfner, award-winning author, broadcaster, commentator and cultural leader guides this conversation on the future of UK-German relations with Jill Gallard, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany; and the German Ambassador to the UK, Andreas Michaelis. They discuss the current state of Germany following the recent election and formation of a coalition go...

In this episode, Nicola Smith, Asia correspondent for The Telegraph leads a conversation on the future of Taiwan with Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia Programme at the German Marshall Fund of the United States; Brian Hioe, co-founding editor of New Bloom, an online magazine covering activism and youth politics; Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, senior advisor to the President of Taiwan; Chen-wei Lin, c...

In February 2021, Myanmar's military seized power in a coup against the democratically elected government. The country’s population has since been living under a state of emergency. In this episode, Jonathan Head, South East Asia correspondent for the BBC has a conversation with Zin Mar Aung, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the National Unity Government of Myanmar; Tom Andrews, UN Special Rap...

It’s 30 years since Ukraine gained its independence, but it is seven years since the Russian occupation of Crimea and eastern regions of the country. In this episode, Natalia Antelava, co-founder of the award-winning news start-up Coda Story, hosts a conversation with Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration; Melinda Simmons, UK Ambassador to Uk...

In this special episode of the Aspen UK Podcast, Penny Richards is joined by Anthony Scaramucci, host of Mooch FM. They talk about Penny’s unforgettable experiences while working as a foreign reporter at war zones across the world for the BBC. Penny talks about the Aspen Institute’s remarkable ability to “bring people together who fundamentally disagree, to discuss incredibly important topics — an...

In this special episode, Penny Richards, head of the Aspen Institute UK leads a conversation on the future of Britain after Brexit. She is joined by Lord Peter Ricketts, former British diplomat; Muddassar Ahmed, managing partner at Unitas Communications; and Ella Whelan, freelance journalist and commentator. The panel explore what life without the European Union looks like, as the UK develops new...