The CGD Podcast

Megan O'Donnell of CGD and Soumya Kapoor of IWWAGE on breaking down the barriers that keep Indian women from the workforce, the roles of local and international actors, and promising policy models in India

Next week CGD will launch the new podcast series Lagos to Mombasa: The Trans-Africa Podcast from CGD . The series will focus on policies, problems, and promise across Africa. Join Gyude Moore every two weeks as he speaks to researchers and practitioners about some of the biggest development challenges facing the continent. 

Anit Mukherjee of CGD, Pam Dixon of World Privacy Forum, and Camilla Ravnbøl of the University of Copenhagen on how vaccine certificates work, what challenges they pose, and how to make sure no one gets left behind

CGD's Sarah Rose; Henry Asor Nkang from Nigeria's Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning; and Publish What You Fund CEO Gary Forster on the current state of aid data transparency, the impacts of the pandemic, and how countries and donors can use data to improve development efforts

CGD's Sarah Rose, Bella Bird of the World Bank, Sharmarke Farah of the government of Somalia, and Jonathan Papoulidis of World Vision on the potential of country platforms for aid coordination—specifically the history and progress of Somalia's platform, the importance of country ownership, and how to make the best use of lessons learned.

CGD's Megan O'Donnell, Stephanie Kimou of PopWorks Africa, and Angela Bruce-Raeburn of Global Health Advocacy Incubator discuss the impact of the colonization of Africa on development culture, the economic and social impacts of aid workers flooding a struggling country, and a future where development is led by the so-called "beneficiaries" themselves, not by well-meaning foreigners.

CGD's Gyude Moore and journalist Howard French discuss US perceptions of Africa, the business opportunities the US is leaving on the table, and how policy changes could benefit both the US and African countries. 

CGD's Amanda Glassman talks with Kupanda Capital's Bobby Pittman and rapper Ladipoe about development opportunities in Africa's entertainment industries, Bobby's experience working with Nigerian record label Mavin Records, and the inspiration behind Ladipoe's songs.

Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, Director of Technical Coordination at Ghana's Ministry of Health, explains how Ghana's health services have evolved, how they select which medicines to cover, and how to maintain political will for health reform.

CGD's Gyude Moore, Amaka Anku of Eurasia Group, and Nonso Obikili of Economic Research Southern Africa on Nigeria's recent border closure. They discuss the history between Nigeria and Benin, the costs of the border closure for people living in poverty, and possible next steps for the Nigerian government.

CGD's Megan O'Donnell, KLAY founder Priya Krishnan, and CDC Group's Jen Braswell and Graham Wrigley discuss the importance of investing in women, how to find good investments, and how to get partners on board.

In this episode of  Sounds Robotic , host Charles Kenny talks with Carl Benedikt Frey, co-director of the Program on Technology and Employment at the Oxford Martin School, about his fears that the wage stagnation and rocketing inequality that resulted from the first industrial revolution could be repeated thanks to the spread of automation and artificial intelligence today. 

IFPRI's Agnes Quisumbing joins CGD's Dominique van de Walle and Megan O'Donnell to discuss the contexts in which headship is (and isn't) useful, the importance of the circumstances leading to female headship, and how headship can relate to women's property rights and financial security.

In this episode of  Sounds Robotic , host Charles Kenny talks with Benno Ndulu, an academic director of the Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development, about opportunities presented by new technologies to speed equitable growth.

Cribsheet author and economist Emily Oster on the data behind health recommendations for pregnant women, how to balance children's and parents' needs, and how policymakers can empower parents to make good decisions for their families.  

Landry Signé, Aubrey Hruby, Judd Devermont, and Gyude Moore on their expectations for the new Prosper Africa initiative and the roles that infrastructure, communication, and the US Development Finance Corporation might play in its impact.

In this episode of  Sounds Robotic , host Charles Kenny talks with Amolo Ngweno, CEO and East Africa Regional Director for BFA, about her recent paper on what technological advance might mean for the informal sector. 

Canadian Senator Ratna Omidvar on how the Frozen Assets Repurposing Act would work, what it could mean for Canada, and why it resonates with her personally.

In this episode of Sounds Robotic, host Charles Kenny talks with Bright Simons, founder of the mPedigree Network and VP at the IMANI Center for Policy and Education, about the problems with the "leapfrogging" narrative of innovation in frontier markets, especially in Africa.

CGD's Ian Mitchell on why looking beyond aid is important for development, how the Commitment to Development Index measures and weighs various development factors, and what's ahead for the Index. 

Gyude Moore, former Minister of Public Works in Liberia and current visiting fellow at CGD, on aid branding, what China does differently, and what innovation could help developing countries save big on infrastructure.

In this episode of  Sounds Robotic , host Charles Kenny talks with Tom Standage, Deputy Editor of the Economist, about the potential upsides of AI and automation as well as the "lump of labor" fallacy as applied to robots.

In this episode of  Sounds Robotic , host Charles Kenny talks with Shahid Yusuf, who argues that the old path to rapid growth—manufacturing export goods—is less and less of an option for poorer countries, and there isn't a clear new path to replace it.

Yuen Yuen Ang on how to make your data more meaningful, the dangers of big data in cases of oppression, and whether political freedom is really a requirement for technological development.

Economist Stephany Griffith-Jones on the role development banks can play in innovation, how they should interact with private actors and governments, and what new institutions can learn from their predecessors.