Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Today's episode is the launch of a new series called "From Fragility to Stability" in which we examine what  works to improve the well-being of people in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings who often struggle to sustain resilient food, land, and water systems in the face of the climate crisis. The series is produced with CGIAR, a global partnership that unites international organizations engage...

Today's episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration for a new series that examines what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.  We are calling this series "From Fragility to Stabi...

For the United Nations itself, the big event during the UN General Assembly was the Summit of the Future. This was a two-day event that kicked off UNGA and led to the adoption of a document known as the Pact for the Future. This pact contains a suite of proposals for reforms to the UN and the broader multilateral system. Negotiations had been taking place line by line for months, and last week it...

Today's episode is a crossover with our sister podcast To Save Us From Hell , a weekly chat show about the UN. I'm joined by co-host Anjali Dayal, who is an international relations professor at Fordham University, and Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group. We spoke on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after President Biden's farewell UNGA address. We cover a good deal of ground...

UNGA week is here! Hundreds of world leaders are gathering in New York for the opening of the 79th United Nations General Assembly. This is always one of the most important moments in international diplomacy, and this week will be no different. We have a special episode today. I kick off with some commentary about the stories I think will drive the agenda during UNGA78, including the Summit of the...

I caught up with my guest today, Pascal Lamy, on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization's Public Forum. Pascal Lamy is a former Director-General of the WTO and the current Vice Chair of the Paris Peace Forum. He has a reputation as a big thinker, particularly on geopolitical matters. In our conversation, we discussed some of the contours of the deepening rivalry between China and the United...

Today's episode was recorded live at the World Trade Organization's headquarters in Geneva. The live taping coincided with the WTO's "Public Forum," a week-long gathering of civil society at the WTO's headquarters. It's a major event, with around 5,000 people registered from around the world, attending a series of meetings, workshops, speeches, panel discussions, and, of course, our live Global Di...

While in Geneva, I paid a visit to the U.S. Permanent Mission to interview Ambassador Bathsheba Crocker. She is the top U.S. official in Geneva, representing the United States at the many United Nations agencies and international organizations headquartered here. I wanted to speak with Ambassador Crocker because the work of the UN in Geneva can sometimes fly under the radar, yet it directly impact...

Gene therapy is effective against many diseases and even has the potential to address enduring global health challenges like HIV. However, gene therapy as it currently exists is astronomically expensive to develop and administer. What's more, the burden of diseases that may be most susceptible to gene therapy, such as sickle cell disease and potentially HIV, is concentrated primarily in the develo...

If you are a regular listener to the podcast and reader of our associated Global Dispatches newsletter, you know that I believe one of the most important issues in the world today is the growing gap between humanitarian needs and the funding available to meet those needs. Climate change and conflicts are causing a surge in the number of people around the world who require a modicum of humanitarian...

In mid-August, the United States and Switzerland hosted peace talks for Sudan's warring parties. The talks took place outside Geneva at a time when the conflict was exacting a massive toll on the civilian population of Sudan. Just as the talks were getting underway, the UN confirmed a famine in a massive IDP camp in Darfur. Meanwhile, over 10 million people have been displaced by the fighting, mak...

Ever since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban three years ago, I have periodically checked in with my guest today, Zuhra Bahman. She is the Afghanistan Country Director for Search for Common Ground, an NGO focused on peacebuilding. When the Taliban toppled the Afghan government and asserted control in Kabul, Zuhra Bahman happened to be out of the country on a business trip. However, she was determin...

On August 14th, the World Health Organization declared MPOX a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern." This is the highest level of alarm that the WHO can issue to confront a public health crisis, and it was triggered in response to a rapidly spreading outbreak in Central Africa. As my guest, Dr. Eric Toner, explains, this MPOX outbreak is different from the one two years ago due to the...

In 1991, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia, but no country has yet to accept Somaliland's sovereignty. That, however, may soon change. On January 1st, Ethiopia and Somaliland entered into a memorandum of understanding that includes Somaliland leasing a coastline and port to landlocked Ethiopia, and in return, Ethiopia would be the first country in the world to formally recognize Somali...

Every two years, since 1951, the United Nations has compiled data and estimates about the world's population. These are contained in a report called World Population Prospects, which provides our best estimates about global population and demographic trends. The latest edition of World Population Prospects was released in June, and joining me today is one of the people responsible for putting this...

I caught up with Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli at the Aspen Security Forum in mid-July. She is the new President and CEO of the One Campaign, which advocates on behalf of global development, justice, and equal rights, with a particular focus on Africa. I was interested in speaking with her at a major conference dedicated to international security precisely because African security issues are often far fro...

The July 28th national elections in Venezuela were supposed to usher in a new era of democracy after 25 years of Chavismo rule. Back in October, President Nicolas Maduro agreed to free and fair elections and, in return, had some US sanctions lifted. He quickly reneged on that deal, barred a popular opposition leader from running, and engaged in other election-related shenanigans. Still, Venezuelan...

Kamala Harris did not have an extensive foreign policy track record before becoming Vice President. And as Vice President, she did not assume much of a foreign policy portfolio during the Biden Administration. So what could we expect from a Kamala Harris foreign policy? How might it be the same as or different from Joe Biden's foreign policy? And if Harris becomes President, who might assume senio...

On July 19th, the Houthis launched a drone that struck an apartment building in Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli. This was a long-range, sophisticated drone and marked the first time the Houthis successfully struck Israeli soil. Israel responded with airstrikes against the Port of Hodeida, in the Houthi-controlled part of Yemen. The Houthis are the de facto rulers of most of Yemen, including the capit...

Bangladesh is roiled in the most intense protests and domestic upheaval in decades. The protests began peacefully by students objecting to a quota system for government jobs, in which government jobs are mostly reserved for those who fought in the 1971 war for independence and their descendants. That quota system was in place for years, then it was substantially revoked only to be re-instated by B...

Alsu Kurmasheva was visiting her ailing mother in Russia when she was detained by the authorities and had her passports confiscated. She is a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and her arrest immediately raised alarms that, like the Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich, yet another American journalist has been targeted and wrongfully detained in Russia. However, unlike the wrongful...

On May 19th, a helicopter crash in Iran killed President Ebrahim Raisi and several top government officials. This forced new presidential elections, and on July 5th, Masoud Pezeshkian defeated his more hardline opponent and is now Iran's president-elect. Pezeshkian comes from the reformist faction of Iranian politics, but real power still lies in the hands of unelected clerics, none more so than S...

The Labour Party won an overwhelming victory in the recent elections in the United Kingdom. Keir Starmer is now Prime Minister, ending 14 years of Conservative rule in the UK. So what does this mean for Britain's foreign policy? Can we expect any major changes to Britain's relationship with the world? Joining me to discuss the foreign policy implications of the UK elections is Jason Pack, host of...

From July 15th to the 18th, the Chinese Communist Party is holding a gathering known as the Third Plenum. This is a highly anticipated political event, as Xi Jinping and party officials are expected to announce key economic reforms intended to spur the Chinese economy. For the past several years, especially since COVID, the Chinese economy has been lagging. According to my guest today, Anja Manuel...

A rather bizarre incident recently occurred in the South China Sea off the coast of the Philippines. On June 17th, the Chinese Coast Guard clashed with Philippine naval vessels en route to resupplying a stranded Philippine ship on a formation known as the Second Thomas Shoal. This desolate shoal is very much in the territorial waters of the Philippines, but China nonetheless claims it as Chinese s...