The Agenda Podcast

Send a text No sooner has the the Euros Football finished in Germany, than in just a few days  the Paris Olympics will begin with the largest opening ceremony in history.  So with thousands of athletes and millions of spectators spending the summer in Europe - and alongside promises from both events they’ll be the most sustainable ever, this week on The Agenda, Juliet Mann looks at just how green...

Send a text It wasn't the swing to the far right many had expected, but President Emmanuel Macron's decision to call a snap election in the wake of the European poll in June doesn't appear to have done his centrist Ensemble group much good. Unexpectedly it was the left leaning New Popular Front that took the most seats - but not enough for an outright majority.   So what does this m...

Send a text China's Chang'e 6 is now back on terra firma with the first ever rock samples taken from the dark side of the moon. As well as Chinese technology, the mission involved cooperation with scientists from France, Sweden, Italy and the European Space Agency. So what does this mean for future lunar missions, and further international cooperation in space? To find out, in this episo...

Send a text The world’s population may have recently topped 8 billion for the first time, but where the worries were once about the world becoming too crowded, now the concern is about a drop in global fertility rates.  There are very real fears that a shrinking, ageing population could be catastrophic for the global economy and its healthcare systems. But some experts argue that there might in fa...

Send a text As the pollsters had predicted, far-right groups made big gains in last weekend's EU parliamentary elections. In France, Germany, Austria and Belgium to name just a few, there was a large swing to the right - even leading French President Emmanuel Macron to call a surprise snap election.   But with the centre-right European People's Party group still the largest in Parliament...

Send a text In just a few weeks’ time, the torch will be lit in Paris to begin the 33rd Olympic summer games. It’s promising to be the largest and most sustainable games ever, with around 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees expected to compete.  But against a backdrop of global conflict, and huge arguments in sport over issues like prize money and transgender athletes, what will P...

Send a text On June the 6th the first polling stations will open in The Netherlands to begin one of the largest elections in the world. Nearly 400 million people across 27 countries will get the chance to decide who will sit in the 720 seats in the European parliament. So with concerns mounting over the conflict in Ukraine, the future of trade, the green transition and the rise of the far right -...

Send a text Nearly 300 million people from across the globe are currently facing severe food insecurity. And according to the latest report from the United Nations, that figure is set to rise sharply unless immediate action is taken. Conflict in places like Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, as well as the rising impact of climate change has left the world facing a devastating struggle to feed its populatio...

Send a text China’s President Xi Jinping is now back in Beijing following his first trip to Europe in five years. Stopping is France, Serbia and Hungary, the talk was of increased trade ties and new investment deals, and how China can work with European nations to improve peace and stability across the globe.   On this edition of The Agenda. Juliet Mann examines what the long term impact of the vi...

Send a text With less than three months to go until the 2024 Paris Olympic Games the International Olympic Committee has unveiled its "AI Agenda".  As with so many other sectors, AI is set to revolutionise sport - from training to judging, identifying new talent to cutting the cost of hosting global events. In this episode of The Agenda , Juliet Mann visits the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Pa...

Send a text With China's commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Europe and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing this week – accusations of overcapacity in the EV market have been top of the agenda around the world – accusations China has strongly denied.    So with the need for more electric powered cars only growing as the world seeks to hit tough net zero targets, where is the sector rea...

Send a text Last week, the first ever Nuclear Energy Summit took place in Brussels. Leaders and experts from around the world – including China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing -  gathered to discuss the competitiveness, usability, and sustainability of nuclear power in the race to net zero.  So in this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann investigates just what role nuclear has in the world’s energy fu...

Send a text Poverty alleviation and climate change are two of the biggest, if not THE two biggest challenges facing the world today. Both require huge amounts of international cooperation, and of course money, to solve. But is the world getting the balance of funding right? On this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to an expert who thinks not - Bjorn Lomborg, President of the Copenhagen Co...

Send a text Later this year, Azerbaijan will host the UN's COP29 climate summit. It's one of the top ten most fossil fuel dependent countries in the world - but that's all set to change as Azerbaijan looks to transition to a greener future.    It's one of the many issues Juliet Mann discussed in an exclusive interview with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikaiyil Jabbarov . Th...

Send a text New quality productive forces. This was one of the key messages from the annual Two Sessions in Beijing. The term, coined by China's President Xi Jinping in September 2023 during a local visit, is viewed in the sessions as key to maintaining and enhancing the quality of China's growth.  In wide-ranging discussions on everything from continued economic growth and upgrading to...

Send a text AI is arguably the world’s most talked about technology since the birth of the internet. It is going to change the way we live and work - creating a new industrial revolution.   At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said AI is a double edged sword - if applied well it will bring huge opportunities to human civilisation, but at the same time it poses real...

Send a text The gap between the developed north and developing global south has never been more acute. Issues like climate change, debt and technological advances are all threatening to widen the wedge between north and south. So what needs to be done to address that problem. In this edition of the Agenda, Juliet Mann gets the views of four senior ministers from across Africa. She speaks to Yusuf...

Send a text Protests by farmers have been sweeping Europe for months. Tractors have blockaded cities in France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania and more in a show of frustration at EU green policies farmers say threaten their livelihoods.   So, does climate policy need to be more farmer friendly? Or does the already subsidized agricultural sector need to embrace the fast pace of change ne...

Send a text On 31st January 2020, the UK made history when it became the first country to leave the European Union. It followed a hugely contentious referendum campaign when all kinds of promises were made by both sides as to a future inside and outside Europe.   But four years on, what exactly has changed? Is the UK thriving in a post-EU world, or has Brexit left the country woefully adrift from...

Send a text On the 27th of January 1964, France became the first major Western nation to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. At the time, it was referred to by some as a diplomatic nuclear explosion. But what have been the real results of that decision 60 years ago? And what might the future hold for Sino French ties?   On this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Man...

Send a text The theme at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was rebuilding trust and reshaping the global economic framework. During his keynote speech, Chinese Premier Li Qiang expressed concern that a lack of trust was aggravating risks to global growth, and said that as the world enters a new period of turbulence international collaboration was essential. So what can be done to increase...

Send a text Brussels went to Beijing last week as European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Xi Jinping in person for the first time in four years. President Xi said the two sides need to “work together to sustain the momentum of growth in China-EU relations”. But what might that look like in practice? And what did von der Leyen mean when s...

Send a text In 2023, global debt hit a new record high at more than 307 trillion dollars. That led UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres to warn that more than 3.3 billion people - almost half the world’s population - are now living in a country where money spent on debt repayments outstrip that spent on health and education.  So what can be done to solve the world’s debt issues? On this edition o...

Send a text World leaders scientists and environmentalists will gather in the United Arab Emirates this week for the latest UN Climate Conference - COP 28. And far from hitting the much discussed 1.5 degree warming target, the United Nations has warned that the world could be facing what it called a "hellish" 3 degrees if urgent action isn't taken. So can COP28 deliver where so many...

Send a text China's President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden have now held their first face to face meeting in a year. After the Summit in San Francisco, both sides seemed positive, with agreements to open new lines of communication, and President Xi insisting China is not going to fight a cold war, or indeed a hot war with anyone.  But what does the summit really mean for global relat...