Intercross: The Podcast

Disclaimer:  The advice, opinions and statements contained in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. Today on the show we're saying good-bye to almost a decade of this podcast.  We started this podcast to inform audiences about International Humanitarian Law. We'll talk about what's next, look back at some of our most memorable moments, including...

Disclaimer:  The advice, opinions and statements contained in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC.   According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), there are around 81,000 Americans missing and unaccounted for from World War II, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf Wars, and other conflicts.  Today on the podcast we get a first-h...

Disclaimer:  The advice, opinions and statements contained in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC.   Nowadays on the global stage, the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain,  and Kuwait are shaping a new collective role, in which influence, funding, and humanitarian engagement inter...

Disclaimer:  The advice, opinions and statements contained in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC.  What are the principles guiding humanitarians in their work? And do they need a refresh? Today on the podcast, we learn more about the principles guiding humanitarian action. Then we meet Dr. Paul Spiegel, Director of the Center for Humanitarian...

Disclaimer:  The advice, opinions and statements contained in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. Does artificial intelligence make wars better or worse? That was the provocative question we asked participants at an AI Expo hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project earlier this summer. SCSP is, a non-profit whose mission is to help str...

Disclaimer:  The advice, opinions and statements contained in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. Today we're doing something different on the podcast.   We're going to hear from our colleagues at the American Red Cross about their disaster relief response efforts in times of hurricanes. Experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini...

After 14 years of registering more than 35,000 people as missing, the International Red Cross can finally bring some solace to families on the fate and whereabouts of their missing loved ones in Syria. We sit down with the head of the Syria delegation, Stephan Sakalian, to talk about how the International Committee of the Red Cross is working to provide some consolation to those seeking missing lo...

It's been a challenging time to be part of a humanitarian organization in the U.S. The terms: foreign assistance aid and foreign aid have been discussed a lot lately. But, what do they really mean? Can humanitarian aid to help people affected by conflict and violence—the work we do at International Committee of the Red Cross—really meet an America-first agenda?   On today's episode, ICRC's Head of...

Since the beginning of time, war has been used as a tool to resolve disagreements. While countless numbers of civilians die in war, the cost of war only gets more expensive each year. In this episode, we look at one of the only programs on the globe that brings together adversaries and allies to talk through ways to reduce the costs of war—in treasure and in lives--and maybe build toward positive...

In this Digital Dilemmas 2.0: Deepfakes episode, we take a look at two poignant questions: "How do we distinguish truth from manipulation? Who owns the truth?"   We tour a deepfake exhibit created by the ICRC and L'École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) at the United Nations. Then, we zoom out and look at how dissemination of harmful narratives projected in images, videos, or other inform...

In a country of more than 100 armed groups, the Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the most protracted and forgotten conflicts in the world. In the latest Intercross episode, we ask what the recent hostilities that started around December mean for the more than 4.5 million people who have been forced to flee their homes? And what is the ICRC's response? In this episode, we hear from Francois...

We'll be back soon with new episodes.  For now please like, follow, rate, review, and subscribe to Intercross wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us on X @ICRC_dc Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an episode.  See archived episodes, bonus materials, and additional information on our website .        

In 2017, a battle raged in Mosul, as Iraqi armed forces and their international supporters fought to dislodge Islamic State fighters from the city. Almost 2 million people—half of Mosul's population--fled from the fighting. During the battle, over 9000 civilians were killed and more than 130,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. In the latest episode, we hear from the staff at one of the hospitals...

Following the end of the Islamic State Group's caliphate in Mosul, Iraq in 2017, hundreds of women and children were detained in facilities throughout Iraq and Syria, and left in a state of limbo, not knowing when or if they would be released and repatriated into third-party countries. In this episode, we meet one family that has at least partly managed to leave detention and the war behind them t...

While media images showed the initial destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam leaving thousands of homes underwater and civilians without electricity or clean drinking water, it wasn't able to show the unexploded ordnances lurking under the surface, affecting untold numbers of people. Today go to the Kherson Region, which has been heavily impacted unexploded ordnances, and hear from civilians and a U...

Today, we have an archived episode for you from last year called "Inside the Central Tracing Agency." It's a 150-year-old division of the ICRC that today is a crucial resource for families searching for loved ones gone missing due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, or along the migration route.  We hope to be back in the New Year with all new episodes for you. So stayed tuned and enjoy! See...

The level of armed violence in Haiti—akin to what we see in areas of conflict around the world—has had a direct and devastating impact on the population living in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince. For about the last two years, these neighborhoods have been living under protracted armed violence and suffer from the absence of basic services like safe drinking water, and emergency healthcare...

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains sounds of an explosion and may be disturbing to some listeners.  Digital dilemmas surrounding internet connectivity, artificial intelligence, and data surveillance are becoming more ubiquitous in our everyday lives as technology advances. It's difficult to keep pace with those changes. But now picture yourself with one of these digital dilemmas in the midst o...

Welcome to the 2022 season of the International Committee of the Red Cross's Intercross: The Podcast. If you're new to the podcast, our goal is to delve into the rules of war and takes you to the frontlines of some of the most inaccessible conflicts in the world, where the ICRC and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement work to neutrally and independently respond to emergencies. Subscribe to our news...

In this episode, we learn about the Ubumwe Community Center in Gisenyi, Rwanda, their motto, "disability is not inability," and the importance of inclusion, especially in communities affected by violence. We first hear from one of the center's student musicians about how the center's music program has given him opportunities to perform for others. We then turn to Subhash Sinha, the ICRC's Physical...

Intense hostilities in Yemen have raged for more than seven years. The needs are severe and deepen by the minute with more than two-thirds of Yemen's people in need of humanitarian assistance.  All, while essential services are on the brink of collapse and people are losing hope as the conflict appears to drag endlessly. In these past decades, the ICRC has been providing a wide array of humanitari...

Following the change of government in August 2021, most of the health workers in Afghanistan were no longer getting paid. Medicines were no longer available, and many health professionals deserted the country's hospitals in search of incomes. As a result, patients were sometimes refused access to treatment and the overall healthcare system in the country was on the verge of coming to a full stop....

Prolonged drought, conflict, global inflation, and now a shortage of grain due to the Ukraine conflict. Somalia is particularly hard hit. Over 7 million people are in urgent need of food and water—that's half the country's population and equal to the populations of Los Angeles and Chicago, combined. The numbers are unfathomable. They represent millions of human stories and life experiences that do...

Almost 40 years after the Falkland Islands/Malvinas conflict, we look back on the ICRC's efforts to identify unknown soldiers. Figuring who these unknown soldiers were took decades to resolve. But in 2012, the ICRC received a request from the Argentine government to help identify their remains. Then in 2016 with the ICRC as a neutral intermediary, Argentina and the UK negotiated and signed an agre...

In this episode, we tell the story of the more than 150-year-old Central Tracing Agency, a division of the ICRC that today is a crucial resource for families searching for loved ones gone missing due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, or along the migration route. We take you for a trip back in time to the foundations of the CTA in 1860 to understand how this history has made it what it is...