Global Get Down - A Global Affairs Podcast by IRSA

Join us for a conversation with Travis Misurell, the founder and leader of the non-profit Future is Now Coalition (FiNC) with a passion for amplifying the voices of everyday Americans and helping to promote grassroots movements and candidates. In this 45-minute interview, Misurell speaks on the outsized influence of party bosses and moneyed interests in American electoral politics, the importance...

Join us with a conversation with Nigel Fischer, an Officer of the Order of Canada, the former President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, and a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations with experience in post-conflict and post-genocide negotiations in nations like Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Syria. In this 45-minute conversation, Fischer lays out the inner workings of post-conflict UN mission...

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Jason Grillo, founder of the Super Pollutant Education and Credit Transaction Alliance (SPECTRA). In this half-hour conversation, Grillo lays out what super pollutants are, what measures are being taken to curb them, and what both international institutions and concerned consumers can do to help fight pollution, as well as his motivation for founding SPECT...

Join us for an interview with James Reeves, the founder and managing director of Challenger Research leading a multidisciplinary team in the creation of tailored insights on complex international situations. In this half-hour sit-down, our host Raza picks his brain on the evolving role of minerals, drones, and academic studies thereof in international analyses, as well as the benefits of approachi...

Join us for a conversation with Karen Mathiasen and Nico Martinez, a project director and research assistant both working at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. on stablecoins and their use cases for international financial institutions. For the next half hour, our guests break down the definition of a stablecoin, the dangers of their adoption, the extent of existing regulation a...

Join us for an in-depth interview with Julian Lam and Nancy Luo, two ex-presidents of UBC's International Relations Student Association who have gone on to lead successful careers in in geopolitical risk-analysis and national economic development. Together with our hosts, Julian and Nancy provide a fresh perspective on the politics of AI governance and risk-negation, as well as some possible pathw...

Join us for a conversation with Charley Ward, a research assistant working on IMF reform, sovereign debt, and climate finance at the Center for Global Development. Together with hosts Raza and Guarav, Ward maps out the likely future of international trade and collaboration, and sheds some light on what it takes to work in a think tank and make a career for oneself in international development.

In this episode of Global Getdown, host Raza Sidhu sits down with special guest Sachiko Akashi, a longtime educator and scholar whose journey from studying English literature in Japan to researching international relations in the U.S. offers a unique lens on global politics and peacebuilding. Together, they unpack the big question: what exactly is international relations? Listeners get a clear and...

In an era where multilateralism is fragmenting, defining the Global South has never been more complicated. As new challenges like climate change, the concentration of technology and AI and increasing inequality emerge, older threats like militarism and even nuclear tensions are making a comeback. Every country today is moving towards strategic autonomy - charting their own paths through geopolitic...

The Montreal Protocol from 1987 banned gases and refrigerants that deplete the ozone layer. This is something that even a backbencher in an elementary school science class could tell you. But what is less commonly known today in 2025, is that there are still millions of gas canisters all over the world containing dangerous and banned ozone refrigerants like R-12, either sitting around in warehouse...

In times like these, staying informed and engaged with political developments is more crucial than ever. With tensions between the US and Canada escalating over tariffs and trade wars, we need to tune in and understand the underlying issues at play. If there's one expert who can shed light on our current political climate, it's Bart W. Édes. As a Professor at McGill University, Bart brings invalua...

In this episode, we’re honoured to welcome Wenjie Chen, Deputy Division Chief in the IMF African Department, for an in-depth discussion on the region’s emerging role in the global clean energy transition. We begin by defining Sub-Saharan Africa and outlining the countries and territories that make up this vibrant, resource-rich region. Chen provides an overview of Sub-Saharan Africa’s current econ...

In this episode of the Global Get Down, host Gaurav is joined by climate finance expert Jonathan Beynon from the Center for Global Development for a primer on climate finance. They address the current scale of ambition to finance climate mitigation and adaptation, and discuss the different sources for the trillions of dollars in investment needed to address the impacts of climate change. They also...

Ever come across the term ‘Special Drawing Rights’ or ‘SDRs’ and felt completely bewildered? Check out this latest episode of the Global Get Down, where Host Gaurav has a conversation with an expert on the IMF and the SDRs. Mark Plant joins us as Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development, where he currently dedicates the bulk of his research on making the case that Central Banks sh...

Renowned American historian, journalist and author Adam Hochschild joins us for a deep dive into the colonial history of what is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to help explain how the 'Resource Curse' phenomenon has shaped this tragic history of exploitation.

Rachel Silverman Bonnifield, currently Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC joins us to talk about her extensive research on addressing neglected global health crises: specifically, her work on Widespread Lead Poisoning of Children. Rachel and Host Gaurav cover, among other things, the scope of the problem, a brief history of action to address Lead Poisoning, specifi...

Karen Mathiasen, Project Director at the Center for Global Development (CGD) in Washington DC, joins us for a Deep Dive into Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Reform. She discusses, among other things, shareholder dynamics at the World Bank, the Bridgetown Agenda, the recently concluded Spring Meetings, her appraisal of the World Bank’s reform agenda and some of the issues to watch out for in MD...

Today, the Global Get Down podcast is joined by Jonathan Tee, Recruiter for the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs (MPPGA) program at UBC, who talks to Host Gaurav about what recruiters and the admissions team at the program are looking for. They talk about the ideal student profile for applicants and how they can aim to set themselves apart in this very competitive program.

In the first part of our 2-day collaboration with the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs (MPPGA) program at UBC, we are joined by Mercy Muthuuri. She is a current student in the MPPGA program with a background in climate finance and talks to Host Gaurav about how the program is structured, student life and coursework in the MPPGA. This episode is immensely helpful to anyone looking at MA p...

Adva Saldinger, Senior Reporter at Devex, who covered the recently-concluded Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF on the ground from Washington DC, joins us for a primer on the Meetings and discusses World Bank Reform with our Host Gaurav. They cover the main outcomes and announcements from the Spring Meetings and talk about who attended, touching on both the high profile personnel and the va...

Jonathan Arnold from the Canadian Climate Institute joins us to kickstart the mini-series on Sustainable Finance Taxonomies. Our host Gaurav asks Jonathan about the premise of a Climate Taxonomy in Canada, the bureaucratic process it took to set this up and the current political holdup this taxonomy is facing. They also touch upon how the Canadian Taxonomy is unique because of its 'transition' lab...

Join hosts Sriya and Ishita as they explore the history of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in this special episode of the Global Get Down. Our guest, esteemed professor and expert on the topic, Professor Ibrahim Muradov, takes center stage to shed light on the intricacies of this geopolitical saga. His expertise and thorough analysis shed new light on the multifaceted aspects of the conflict. Professo...

Incoming Chairperson of the World Bank Inspection Panel, Mark Goldsmith joins our hosts Belle and Gaurav on this special episode of the Global Get Down to introduce the organisation and tell us about the work it has done in its 30 years of existence. Mark gives us an outline of what the Inspection Panel is and how it functions and talks through his personal journey and the career path that led him...

Back for our third episode in the Environmental Policy series running parallel to COP 28, Professor Naoko Ellis from the Chemical and Biological Engineering (CHBE) Department at UBC joins us to explain how Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) works. Hosts Gaurav and Sriya get Professor Ellis's view on when and under which circumstances CCS is a good policy option to encourage, and get a primer on how...

Our Team spoke to Dr. Peter Arcese from the Faculty of Forestry at The University of British Columbia to help understand what Biodiversity Credits are, how they work and how they link to the more traditional Carbon Credits. Co-hosts Gaurav and Alyssa get Dr. Arcese's take on the inter-disciplinarity involved to make Biodiversity Credits a reality, and dig into the complex researcher-financier-poli...