GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Did US inflation come from supply, or did it come from demand? On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with economist and University of Chicago professor Austan Goolsbee about the causes of the current high levels of inflation in the US and around the world. If inflation is being driven by too much stimulus, as economists like Larry Summers believe, Goolsbee believes the Federal Reserve is...

Frances Haugen blew the whistle against Facebook because she believed her employer wasn't doing enough to stop its outrage-driven algorithm from spreading online misinformation and hate, which led to offline violence. Haugen speaks with Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast about the major role that social media companies play in politics in the US and around the world, and the life-or-death cons...

“Women make about 75% of all household consumption decisions, and control close to 100 trillion in wealth,” says Ida Liu, Global Head of Citi Private Bank. "Women can no longer be ignored." On the latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, we look at the impact women have in 2022 on the U.S. and global economy. After some progress in the number of women in leadership positions and running businesses...

US President Joe Biden didn't get much out of his recent controversial trip to Saudi Arabia, says Princeton University Bernard Haykel, who frames it as a "big win" for the Saudis and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with Haykel, an expert on all things Saudi and an MBS confidante. He explains how MBS consolidated power over the king...

Japan is reeling from the shocking assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan's former and longest-serving prime minister. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks to longtime Abe adviser Tomohiko Taniguchi, who discusses the impact of Abe's legacy on the country and the broader region. Will Abe's unfulfilled dream of amending Japan's postwar pacifist constitution now be realized?   On a personal le...

“Envision supply chains like a strand of Christmas lights. If one light goes out, then the whole strand will stop working,” said Eurasia Group’s Christina Huguet. On the latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, we’re talking about the moment those lights went out—as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and disrupted shipping, manufacturing, and labor all at once—and what it will take more than two year...

Americans now live in a much more divided country — as has been on full display after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and removed the constitutional right to an abortion, while the rest of the world - including largely Catholic countries in Latin America and Europe - is moving in the opposite direction. But the SCOTUS ruling is already making waves around the world.   On GZERO World, I...

In 1985, after four decades of standoff between the world's biggest superpowers, US President Ronald Reagan had a private conversation with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Reagan asked him, "What would you do if the United States were suddenly attacked by someone from outer space? Would you help us?" "No doubt about it," Gorbachev responded. That moment didn't magically end one of the greate...

Former CDC chief Tom Frieden says he's stunned by how infectious COVID is compared to other diseases. The pandemic isn't over yet, he tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast, thanks to long COVID plus the fact that we can't predict how the virus will play out in the future. Frieden's advice for everyone is to get vaxxed and boosted, to "keep yourself out of the hospital and, quite frankl...

“Geopolitics and their impact on the markets are greater right now than at any point in my professional life,” said Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. In this episode of “Living Beyond Borders,” a special GZERO podcast series brought to you by Citi Private Bank, we’re looking at the current state of the global economy. Gas prices are skyrocketing, supply chain issues abound,...

As inflation, including as seen in rising food and commodity prices, destabilize global systems, strong leadership will appeal to more people. Part of the pushback against globalization has been led by autocrats who reject ideas like free trade and the liberal international order. Globalization is seen to equate losing control. But the world today remains more interconnected than ever. So, do thos...

At the 2022 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, it was clear that history is at a turning point, with a war in Europe whose cascading impact can be felt all over the globe. But this year’s WEF wasn’t just about the many crises we’re facing. It was also a referendum on the forum itself, and the strength of the multilateral values it defends. Ian Bremmer speaks to thought leaders at Davos on...

As the global pandemic surged in the US, so too did home sales and home prices. On the flip side of things, commercial real estate took a hit as workers increasingly worked from home. As interest rates rise, we look to see what markets are still hot, which are cooling, and what impact this important sector has on the larger economy.  The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast s...

To fix our broken international political system, we need a crisis. For instance, a pandemic, climate catastrophe, Big Tech having too much power, or a Russia invasion of Ukraine. But it must be a crisis that's so destructive it forces us to respond fast, and together — like World War II. That's the crisis that created the international system we have today, and kept the peace until now. On GZERO...

As record inflation meets rising interest rates, we’re examining the role of the US Federal Reserve in protecting the economy from recession in the coming months. 15 years ago the world faced the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression, brought on by a perfect storm of risky lending, mortgage defaults, and failures of financial institutions. In January 2008, the Fed made significant cu...

Michael McFaul knows a thing or two about Russia and Putin from his days as the former US ambassador in Moscow. As Putin's Victory Day speech illustrated, Russia hasn't moved on much since 1945, McFaul tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. But if the West goes too far, there's a much bigger risk: World War III. McFaul says that Putin signaled in his nothing-burger speech that Russia is rea...

Cybercrime is a rapidly growing threat, and one that will require a global effort to combat. But could some of the same measures taken to fight criminals online lead to human rights abuses and a curtailing of freedom? As the United Nations debates a new and expansive cybercrime treaty first proposed by Russia, we’re examining the details of the plan, how feasible it would be to find consensus, and...

Nearly half of the world's population currently lives in areas that face water scarcity for at least one month out of every year, and more than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. This basic human need is too often at risk for communities around the globe, creating grave public health and security crises. The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series fro...

Not much has gone right for Vladimir Putin since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Ian Bremmer speaks to political scientist and author Ivan Krastev, who believes Putin has the autocrat's curse: his back is against the wall because he can't be perceived as weak. Krastev unpacks many of Putin's problems, including his expectations about the "special operation" and how badly he misread U...

The concept of mercenaries, hired soldiers and specialists working privately to fight a nation’s battles, is nearly as old as war itself. In our fourth episode of “Patching the System,” we’re discussing the threat cyber mercenaries pose to individuals, governments, and the private sector. We’ll examine how spyware used to track criminal and terrorist activity around the world has been abused by ba...

The Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia have created a perfect storm that will lead to a global food supply crisis, Ertharin Cousin, former head of the UN World Food Programme, tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. Russia and Ukraine account for almost a third of the world's wheat exports. All nations could be affected since these are global commodities, but developing countries that...

Last year the US economy grew 5.7%, the biggest growth rate in decades, yet at the beginning of 2022 fewer than 1 in 5 Americans thought it was strong. And as the world confronts the converging crises of pandemic and war in Ukraine, inflation and skyrocketing prices are further contributing to feelings of financial insecurity. The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series f...

Two years after the discovery of one of the largest cyber attacks in history, we’re looking at the current state of security for both software and hardware supply chains. In early 2020, a group of hackers broke into a software system built and managed by the Texas-based company SolarWinds. The malware they installed was eventually downloaded by thousands of SolarWinds customers, including both pri...

The relationship between Putin and Xi is a "marriage of convenience," journalist Melinda Liu tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. Russia's war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader.   Liu, who has been Newsweek's Beijing bureau chief for decades, believes that Xi is likely as isolated and surrounded by sycophants as Putin, which makes...

Confidence in democracy is declining in the West at the same time authoritarian leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping have become more transparent about their demands and lack of respect for democracy, says Johns Hopkins University professor Yascha Mounk, author of a new book, "The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure."   On the GZERO World podcast, Mounk tells...