WAC Houston

Two powerful earthquakes. More than 50,000 people unaccounted for. A death toll still climbing. And a government blocking aid deliveries to maintain control. Venezuela was already one of the most fragile states in the Western Hemisphere. Now it's facing a catastrophe that is exposing and deepening every crack in its political and economic foundation. Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Henry Ziemer,...

Iran's national team can't spend the night in the United States. A referee arrived with a valid visa and was turned back at the border. FIFA promised free movement for all teams. Trump didn't care. Welcome to the 2026 World Cup, the most geopolitically charged sporting event in modern history. Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Dr. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow at Rice University's Baker Instit...

The headlines called it a diplomatic breakthrough. A leading China expert calls it something else. Scott Kennedy, Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and one of America's foremost authorities on the Chinese economy, with 38 years of on-the-ground experience in China, joins Maryanne Maldonado to break down what actually happened at the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, an...

Washington has fired career diplomats, shuttered USAID, and pulled back from international engagement. Houston is doing the opposite. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Ambassador Chase Untermeyer, veteran of the Reagan and Bush administrations, former US Ambassador to Qatar, and director of the Voice of America, and Nick Sawicki of the Houston Public Library Foundation to announce...

Most people travel to see the world. WAC Houston members travel to understand it. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with travel expert Ilyas Hokkaci to preview two of the most geopolitically charged trips the World Affairs Council has ever offered: Uzbekistan, sitting at the center of a quiet new great power competition between Russia, China, and the West, and South Korea & Taiwan,...

In only four eventful and momentous years, numerous major geopolitical events have shocked global oil markets and redefined how oil is, and may be, traded around the world in the years to come. Those events and the leaders still shaping them have contributed to often staggering and unpredictable swings in global oil prices. In the longer term, even if prices stabilize again, what may prove to be t...

Every time a president walks into a room, hundreds of decisions have already been made — the route, the handshakes, the camera angles, and the escape plan. And sometimes, despite all the planning, things go sideways. Jean Becker spent nearly 25 years as Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush — running his post-presidential office, managing his state funeral, and living inside the machinery o...

Most people travel to see the world. WAC Houston members travel to understand it. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Ilyas Hokkaci, WAC Houston's travel program lead, to talk about what intentional travel really looks like — from the just-completed cherry blossom season trip through Kyoto and Tokyo, to the upcoming October journey through Morocco that has members already booking th...

The war in Iran has dominated every headline. But in Gaza, there is no ceasefire. The suffering didn't pause; it just stopped being covered. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Dr. Alice Rothchild, physician, author, filmmaker, and one of the most unflinching voices on the Gaza crisis. A former Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School with nearly 40 years of practice as an OB-G...

The peace talks in Islamabad lasted just 21 hours. Hours later, the U.S. Navy began a full blockade of Iranian ports. And yet, a former Iranian Ambassador says this wasn't a collapse. It was progress. So what's really going on? Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian ambassador and one of the most closely watched voices on Iran-West relations, to decode the...

The fall of Assad. The capture of Maduro. A ceasefire in Iran. On the surface, it looks like Russia is losing ground, but is it? Dr. Angela Stent, one of the world's leading experts on U.S.-Russia relations and author of Putin's World, says the picture is far more complicated than the headlines suggest. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Dr. Stent to unpack what's really happening...

Check Wafik Beydoun IN PERSON at our upcoming event on April 29th 2026. https://wachouston.org/event/1080-global-oil-in-chaos-with-otc/   The Strait of Hormuz carries over 20% of the world's oil — and right now, it's at the center of a global energy crisis. Gas is hovering around $4 a gallon, emergency reserves are being tapped, and analysts warn that even if the conflict ends tomorrow, recovery c...

India is rewriting the rules of global power, and nobody does it quite like New Delhi. In this episode of The Global Lens, host Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Ambassador Rahul Chhabra, a 40-year veteran of Indian diplomacy, to break down how India is simultaneously managing its relationships with the United States, Russia, and China without fully committing to any of them. From buying Russian o...

Check out the upcoming live event that will cover these and many more topics on the 2026 World Health Day. https://wachouston.org/event/2026-world-health-day/ Billions of people around the world lack access to basic healthcare — and most of us never hear about it. In this episode, we speak with Walter Ulrich, CEO of Medical Bridges, a Houston-based nonprofit redistributing surplus medical supplies...

In a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many see America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones. In American Struggle, Pulitzer Prize-Winner Jon Meacham illuminates the nation’s complicated past. This rich and...

The Arctic is melting — and the world's powers are racing to control what's left.   In this episode, we sit down with Kenneth R. Rosen, national security correspondent and author of Polar War, to explore how climate change is triggering a dangerous new era of geopolitical competition at the top of the world. From Russia's push to dominate Arctic shipping lanes, to China's quiet near-Arctic ambitio...

In The Architect of Espionage, Samuel M. Katz masterfully chronicles the life of Meir Dagan, a visionary covert warfare veteran who revolutionized the art of intelligence and espionage. Born in the shadows of the Holocaust, his life personified the modern history of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Dagan’s journey embodies decisive action, innovative thought, and bold leadership under fi...

What is really happening inside modern Russia—and what does it mean for the future of global security? In this episode, veteran journalist and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty joins the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston to unpack the power dynamics shaping Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its growing impact on the world stage. Drawing on decades of experience covering the Kremlin, D...

Check out our full upcoming program with Clay Risen! https://wachouston.org/event/red-scare-mccarthyism-today/   The Red Scare and McCarthyism didn’t just define a moment in history — they reshaped American civil liberties, politics, and culture in ways that still resonate today. In this conversation, journalist and author Clay Risen explores how fear of communist infiltration spiraled into nation...

Escalating tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran are reshaping the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. In this episode of *The Greater Loop* from the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, host Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Middle East expert Mona Yacoubian to unpack the rapidly evolving crisis and what it could mean for regional stability and global security. The conv...

What does America stand for in a moment of global uncertainty? And how should we understand the nation’s political divisions in the context of its history?   In this episode of The Greater Loop, the World Affairs Council of Greater Houstonbrings the Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and bestselling author Jon Meacham to explore the enduring story of the American experiment.   Drawing from his book,...

What really determines success in hostage negotiations? It’s not just intelligence briefings or strict protocols — it’s trust, relationships, and human instinct. In this powerful conversation, Roger D. Carstens, former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, shares a rare behind-the-scenes look at high-stakes international hostage diplomacy. Drawing from cases involving Brittney Grine...

This episode welcomed Sean Theriault, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, for a compelling discussion on the modern papacy and its growing influence in global affairs. In a time of geopolitical tension and social polarization, today’s popes must adapt their leadership to meet rapidly changing global challenges. Professor Theriault examined how Pope...

In this program Podcast, renowned Latin American energy expert Francisco J. Monaldi, Ph. D., examines the dramatic political shift in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the uncertainties surrounding the country’s transition. Monaldi provides a clear, grounded assessment of what comes next — not only politically, but economically. With Venezuela holding the largest proven oil res...

Africa is entering a period of profound political transformation. With the world’s youngest population, rapid urbanization, and unprecedented digital connectivity, the continent is poised for increased political volatility, experimentation, and change. In this timely conversation, Ambassador Michelle D. Gavin — Senior Fellow for Africa at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. Ambassador...