Deep Dish on Global Affairs

Making Russia great again has long been a domestic and foreign policy goal of Vladimir Putin and his Russian base of support. This week's Deep Dish explores Russian politics, foreign and domestic, that are geared toward making that wish a reality. 

Bitcoin may be the most famous application of blockchain technology, but its potential extends well beyond cryptocurrency. On this week's Deep Dish podcast, two tech experts explore the promise of this revolutionary technology in the global economy.

President Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital – a move he says "acknowledges the obvious." But officials and religious leaders across the Middle East condemn the decision for stoking violence and defying UN resolutions on Jerusalem's status. This week's Deep Dish podcast welcomes Carnegie's Maha Yahya, POLITICO 's Susan Glasser, and the Council's Cécile Shea to discuss. 

ISIS has been decimated and Bashar al-Assad sits secure atop the bloody streets of Syria. With Russia leading diplomatic efforts to close the books on the Syrian Civil War, this week's Deep Dish examines the state of play in Syria, how we get there, and the competing interests of those who hope to influence what happens next. Brian Hanson is joined by U.S. Ambassador (ret.) to Syria Robert S. Ford...

Now that President Trump has passed the Iran deal to Congress, debates about the deal's merits have resurfaced. To help explain the arguments for and against the deal, we asked two experts with extensive experience in the area to present their perspectives on this week's episode of Deep Dish. Listen as Brian Hanson moderates a debate between Jessica Mathews, Distinguished Fellow and past President...

Ma Jun is China's leading environmental activist. In this week's Deep Dish, he joins host Brian Hanson during a rare visit to the United States to talk about how he's using big data to hold corporations in China accountable to the environmental damage they're causing in his country. 

Saudi Arabia says Lebanon and Iran have declared war on it. Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has initiated the arrest of dozens of royal family members, officials, and business executives in an anti-corruption sweep.  This week's Deep Dish looks at what's going on and explains it within the larger context of geopolitical trends in the region. 

President Trump is preparing to visit China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Hawaii from Nov. 3 - 13. In the latest Deep Dish, we gathered a group of Asia experts to dissect the potential pitfalls and opportunities that await in each leg of his journey, as well as what to watch for during the trip. 

The Spanish government's violent treatment of Catalonian voters thrust its national political crises into worldwide headlines. On this week's Deep Dish, CSIS's Daniel Runde brings context and clarity to the unsettled scene in Catalonia and the international reaction to the independence referendum.

The odds of NAFTA renegotiations successfully concluding on time are vanishingly small, says the Council's trade expert Phil Levy. In this episode of Deep Dish, he explains the economic, political, and legal difficulties associated with completing the deal—and why it might be just as complicated to back out.   

The United States and Britain enjoy a special relationship, but can it hold against the winds of change? UK Minister of State Alan Duncan joined us to talk about President Trump, Brexit, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, explaining how his government sees the US-UK relationship in light of the many challenges it now faces.

The International Rescue Committee deemed today's hunger crisis "the least reported but most important issue of our time." The Council's Roger Thurow, author of The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children—and the World, outrages and inspires as he explains the injustices of stunting and tells inspirational stories of overcoming hunger on this week's episode of Deep Dish.

"Textbook ethnic cleansing" of the Muslim Rohingya minority continues in Western Myanmar. How do the internal politics of Myanmar, and its fragile democracy under Aung San Suu Kyi, explain the tepid response of the international community to this horrific attack on a forsaken people? Azeem Ibrahim, author of "The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar's Hidden Genocide," joins Brian Hanson on this week's Deep...

Why does America have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in the first place, and what will policy changes mean for economic and national security? On the latest Deep Dish podcast, Council experts Sara McElmurry and Cécile Shea join host Brian Hanson to discuss the economic, human, and foreign policy implications of today's renewed focus on DACA.

With news that North Korea may have the capability to launch a miniaturized nuclear weapon on an intercontinental ballistic missile, can the North Korea can be kicked any further down the road? In this summer bonus episode, Brian Hanson discusses with Kori Schake and Jim Lindsay, alums of the national security council and leading voices in foreign policy and national security.

Deep Dish is taking a break for August, but we'll be back in September! In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you thought of our first season of Deep Dish and what you'd like to hear next. Write to us at DeepDish@TheChicagoCouncil.org. Brian and Evan will ready every note you send. We can't wait to hear from you!

From Iran to Canada, the Trump Administration has a number of tough negotiations ahead. Conversely, European leaders are beginning to understand what they need to say and do to keep the President comfortable. On this week's episode of Deep Dish, Dick Longworth, Cécile Shea, and Phil Levy continue the conversation on Donald Trump's Syrian ceasefire and the difficulties this administration can expec...

The G20 has concluded, Presidents Trump and Putin finally met in person, and America's allies are growing closer as we pull away from the herd. This week on Deep Dish, Council fellows Phil Levy, Cécile Shea, and research associate Craig Kafura convene to discuss the G20's present and future, as well as the united front our trading partners are taking against Trump's proposed steel tariff.

For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the United States Navy is facing true naval competition from other countries all over the world. With the responsibility of maintaining the maritime prosperity of the United States on their shoulders, how is the Navy continuing to address the changing landscape on the open sea? To answer this question, and many others, Admiral John Richardson joins...

In the worst humanitarian crisis in seven decades, 20 million people face famine in South Sudan, northeast Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen. On this week's Deep Dish, Alesha Black, director of the Food and Agriculture program at the Council, talks to Brian Hanson about the causes and reactions to this international emergency.

For months, Brexit has been characterized as an 'ugly divorce' between Britain and the rest of America's European allies. As it turns out, Great Britain might be taking to the single life better than anyone expected. On this week's episode of Deep Dish, we are joined by Stephen Bridges, the United Kingdom's Consul General to Chicago, and our own senior fellow Phil Levy discuss the road that led Br...

China, Russia, and the United States, three of the biggest players in global energy markets, use energy in very different ways, giving rise to complex geopolitical issues that will play out over the next few decades. Adam Sieminski, energy and geopolitics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explains the implications of global energy dynamics on this week's episode of Deep...

As anti-globalist populism continues to influence the decisions of national governments, local governments are exercising their ability to stand up on a national stage and act with autonomy. On this week's Deep Dish, Governor Claudio Orrego of Santiago, Chile joins us to discuss the unique challenges and advantages of his metropolitan constituency and how big cities can work together to enact chan...

How did President Trump's first foreign trip go? From the Middle East speech on Islam to the NATO summit in Brussels and the G7 summit in Sicily, Trump's trip was ambitious and full of real and symbolic action. On this week's Deep Dish, three Council experts give their review of how the trip went and what it did or did not accomplish.