Deep Dish on Global Affairs

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.

The apparent concession of American hegemony to China has alarmed many Americans, but it seems unclear what, if anything, can be done. Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times and author of Easternization: Asia's Rise and America's Decline From Obama to Trump and Beyond, explains what the birth of a new global superpower means for the United States, and what we can e...

This is the most important election in the history of the Islamic Republic, says Saeid Golkar. Two main candidates, incumbent president Hassan Rouhani and conservative challenger Ebrahim Raisi, face off in tense two-round vote that will determine the future of Iran's interaction with the rest of the world. Will the moderate, reformist president responsible for the nuclear deal win out, or will Rai...

"When you focus on Korea, you have to focus on everything," says Council expert Karl Friedhoff. In the latest episode of Deep Dish, Karl explains the significance of South Korea's newly elected president and how he will usher in a new era affecting North Korea, China, Japan, and the United States.

The race for the French presidency between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen is approaching its final stage. From the spike in populism to the floundering of primary party leadership, this election will play a major role in determining the direction of political winds across the West. Join the consul general of France in Chicago, Vincent Floreani; the Council's Dick Longworth, who brings decades o...

Often missing from discussions about the US-China relationship is the perspective of the Chinese government. On this week's Deep Dish podcast, Hong Lei, China's Consul General in Chicago, explains how China and the United States may be able to cooperate on global security and the global economy.

Given recent airstrikes in Syria, use of the MOAB in Afghanistan, and missile tests in North Korea, we asked Council President and former US NATO Ambassador Ivo Daalder about the objectives of current US military deployments. He discusses the capabilities of the US armed forces and how to balance military action with diplomatic efforts.

President Trump's response to the gas attack in Syria created a wave of media coverage. In this week's Deep Dish on Global Affairs, veteran journalists Susan Glasser of POLITICO and Edward Luce of the Financial Times discuss what insight we gained into Trump's foreign policy and what role the news media might play in shaping his doctrine.

As President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time, Council fellows Karl Friedhoff and Phil Levy preview the pressing issues likely to arise at their summit: economic relations and the ever-aggressive North Korea.

President Trump said President Obama warned him of a "big problem" before he left office: North Korea. The increasing application of sanctions has been ineffective, transforming its nuclear program into a "superbug" that rest of the world can't seem to kill. North Korea experts Dr. John Park and Karl Friedhoff dish in the latest slice of Deep Dish on Global Affairs.

Populations across Midwest metros are either shrinking or experiencing slowing growth rates, especially in prime working-age adults. But influxes of immigrants are helping offset those declines. Immigration expert Sara McElmurry and expert demographer Rob Paral break down a new report from the Council about these changing demographics in and discuss how to harness this growth in a politically sens...

Brexit is coming. The House of Commons and House of Lords just cleared the way for Theresa May to trigger Article 50 and formally exit from the European Union. Rebalancing the country's economy will be no small task – and to explain what's at stake, former European commissioner for trade Lord Peter Mandelson sits down for a slice of the Deep Dish podcast.