Breaking Boundaries: A podcast from Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

Maria Hadden brings a global point of view to her position on the Chicago City Council as the alderwoman of the 49th Ward. Since being elected in May 2019, she has pushed forward issues of local, national and international importance, such as recognizing Juneteenth as a city holiday, exploring reparations to Black people and supporting a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons. Hadden shares background a...

On this episode of Breaking Boundaries we welcome Juliet Sorensen, a Clinical Professor of Law at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law and the director and founder of the Northwestern Access to Health Project. Sorenson is an international human rights champion whose work is changing the lives of women and girls around the world. Gender justice is a foundation of all the UN’s sustainable developme...

In recent weeks, Russia has assembled tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine, actions that led to a phone call on Dec. 7, 2021, between President Biden and Vladimir Putin about consequences should Russia plan any attack. On this episode of the Breaking Boundaries podcast, two former U.S. ambassadors weigh in on the current tensions and provide context and opinions on the current si...

Using the power of narrative film to explore a current global crisis is not only a delicate art, but a personal passion for Rana Kazkaz. She is an award-winning filmmaker and Assistant Professor of Communication at Northwestern University in Qatar where she teaches narrative filmmaking. Her work focuses on Syrian stories with many of her short films recognized at the world’s leading film festivals...

Breaking down silos, trying to help people to work together across boundaries of discipline, profession and culture, is a difficult job and one that Christian Madsbjerg has spent much of his career trying to accomplish with much success. Madsbjerg is the co-founder of the consulting company, ReD Associates, Professor of Applied Humanities at The New School and has just launched a new venture calle...

The Northwestern delegation that attended COP26 in Glasgow is back on campus. Of the many topics discussed at COP26, climate change and the roles and rights of Indigenous peoples was top of mind for our delegation. Here to discuss this topic is Reynaldo Morales. He’s a member of our delegation and an assistant professor at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications...

Righting injustices in energy and climate change regulation is an important part of addressing the global climate crisis. Hari Osofsky, Dean of Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, talks about working with business, government and nonprofit leaders to make bipartisan progress on climate, energy and equity issues.

Universities are uniquely positioned to take action on climate change. Experts John Robinson of the University of Toronto, and Jennifer Dunn of Northwestern University, discuss how to change the institutional culture of universities to make sustainability an essential component of operations as well as research and education missions.

Economic growth at expense of the environment is no longer an option. Chris Canavan, a Partner at Lion's Head Global Partners and Chairman of the Governing Board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking talks about how an outdated economic structure is endangering our planet and new approaches that could save it.

Building new and necessary infrastructure while complying with sustainability agendas and agreements is a challenge that must be met in the next decade. Kate Newman, Vice President for Sustainable Infrastructure and Public Sector Initiatives at the World Wildlife Fund, and Jim Hambleton, of Northwestern University, discuss the paths forward to make sustainable infrastructure a priority.

Innovators. Trail Blazers. Boundary Breakers. These are the people you will meet on the Breaking Boundaries podcast. Annelise Riles is the host of the show and Executive Director of Northwestern University's Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. This podcast series illuminates how leaders and experts across sectors, national borders and cultural identities are joining forces to tackle our...