World Review from the New Statesman

Alix Kroeger in London speaks to the BBC’s world affairs editor John Simpson after his recent visit to Afghanistan. They talk about how life under the Taliban compares with the last time the regime was in power, where the country is getting aid from, and how the rest of the world should engage with Afghanistan. If you have a You Ask Us question for the New Statesman international team, email ...

Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted after fatally shooting two men and wounding another during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. Megan Gibson in London and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by Sarah Manavis in London to discuss what the case means for questions of racial justice and for firearms rights.   Meanwhile, new restrictions to curb surging Covid-19 cases...

Europe Correspondent Ido Vock speaks to Belarus opposition leader and democracy activist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an exclusive interview for World Review.   They discuss the migrant crisis on EU’s border, why the EU needs to impose tougher sanctions on Lukashenko and how she manages to keep in touch with Belarusians from exile in Lithuania.   If you have a You Ask Us question for the in...

Six years after terror attacks killed 130 people and injured more than 400 across Paris, the biggest criminal trial in French history is under way. The nine-month trial is being welcomed as a truth commission: a forum to address personal and national trauma, as well as the socio-political context of the attacks.   Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC, Megan Gibson in London, and Philippa Nuttall in...

Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC interviews Samir Saran, the president of the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank based in New Delhi.   They discuss India-US relations, how Washington wants closer ties with New Delhi and whether that enthusiasm is matched on the Indian side.   If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email  podcasts@newstatesman.co....

Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing a political crisis that some fear could lead to conflict. The Bosnian-Serb member of the country’s tripartite presidency Milorad Dodik has announced that Republika Srpska will withdraw from the military and other shared state institutions, which many see as a prelude to secession and a merger with Serbia.   Jeremy Cliffe and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by Em...

Megan Gibson interviews Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law. They discuss his new book, Freedom: How We Lose It and How We Fight Back. They talk about the speed of the impact of Hong Kong’s National Security Law, how safe and stable western democracies really are and whether he could ever return to Hong Kong. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstate...

World leaders from over 100 countries have descended on Glasgow for the climate summit. Cop26 is billed by host Boris Johnson as the ‘last chance’ to limit global warming to 1.5C.   Are headline-grabbing pledges to reduce methane emissions and end deforestation realistic? Emily Tamkin in Washington and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by New Statesman environment and sustainability editor Philip...

In the first of our new Monday interview episodes, International Editor Jeremy Cliffe interviews author, and geopolitical researcher Parag Khanna , the author of the new book Move: How Mass Migration Will Reshape the World. They talk about the countries that are embracing migration, those that are having a harder time and how pressures such as climate change and ageing populations might transform...

This Sunday the UN climate summit Cop26 begins. World leaders will meet in Glasgow to try to agree new ways to solve the climate crisis. They must arrive ready to turn ambitious slogans into action, but who will deliver and who will pay the costs if they don’t?   Emily Tamkin in Washington and Alix Kroeger in London are joined by Philippa Nuttall in Brussels to discuss whether Cop26 will achi...

With the COP26 climate summit less than two weeks away, Megan Gibson met the EU Commission vice president Frans Timmermans in London to discuss leading the European Green Deal, the role of the private sector, and the need for a just transition. Ultimately, he warns that ambitious climate  targets  are not enough, and leaders need to prove that they can deliver.   Emily Tamkin joins...

As the world looks ahead to COP26 in Glasgow, against the backdrop of a global pandemic, what will it take for the summit to be declared a success? Jeremy Cliffe and Megan Gibson are joined by New Statesman Environment and Sustainability Editor Philippa Nuttall, all in London, to discuss the summit, the need for a just transition that includes the global south and whether big players like Russia a...

Kishida has formally taken office as Japan’s new prime minister, succeeding Yoshihide Suga as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Ido Vock in Berlin and the World Review’s new co-host Megan Gibson in London discuss his rise to power with Tokyo-based journalist Kenji Hall. They cover Kishida’s plans for economic reform, whether Japan’s pacifist constitution could change as the country fac...

In a special episode of the Germany Elects podcast made in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Jeremy Cliffe talks with an array of experts on progressive politics in Germany to discuss the prospect of a "traffic-light" coalition of the centre-left SPD, the Greens and the centre-right FDP.   He is first joined by Martin Schulz, the FES president and SPD chancellor candidate...

In this special episode of World Review, Ido Vock in London is joined by Emily Tamkin in Tel Aviv to discuss his interview with Michel Barnier, now running for the Republican presidential nomination. We hear about Barnier’s new book, My Secret Brexit Diary , the right-wing polemicist Eric Zemmour, and whether fuel shortages in the UK are, in part, a result of Brexit. Further reading: Michel Barnie...

Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin is joined by Emily Tamkin in Tel Aviv on the morning after the German election to discuss the results. How did Germans vote? Which parties gained and which lost seats? And what does it all mean for the coming coalition talks and the country's next government? You can catch up on the New Statesman's  German election night live blog,  and follow all of our rolling c...

Emily Tamkin in Tel Aviv and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss the Australia, UK, US defence pact Aukus with Rory Medcalf, professor and head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.   Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on what this means for European powers in the region.   If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.u...

In this final episode of Germany Elects before polling day (Sunday 26 September) we discuss how the election actually works and whether this has been Germany's first "climate election". Host Jeremy Cliffe is joined by World Review's Emily Tamkin to explain the electoral system, the results and possible coalitions, and takes a quick-fire round of You Ask Us listener questions. Then he is joined by...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a snap election. He claims his minority Government needs to win a majority to push through his Covid recovery plans. Critics, however, say the move is a cynical power play. In this episode of World Review, Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined from London by Canadian journalist Megan Gibson, the New Statesman’s new senior...

In the latest episode of our special series on the German election, Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin is joined by Michaela Kuefner, Chief Political Editor at Deutsche Welle and host of the podcast Merkel’s Last Dance , and Dr. Alex Clarkson of King's College, London. They discuss Angela Merkel’s legacy, how the “Merkel factor” has shaped the election and why Armin Laschet's Christian Democrats are struggli...

Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin and Sarah Manavis in London are joined by New Yorker columnist and author Evan Osnos to discuss his new book, Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury and how America has changed since the attacks on New York and Washington. Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on whether there could be another Trump or Trump-like president in 2024. Further reading Sarah Mana...

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by political analyst and New Statesman contributing writer Bruno Maçães to discuss the political fallout from the withdrawal from Afghanistan Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on what the US handling of Afghanistan will mean for the future of the EU. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newsta...

Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin presents a special series from World Review focusing on the German federal election – the runners and riders, the issues and what it means for Germany and beyond. In this episode we look at the surprise front runner to succeed Angela Merkel: Olaf Scholz . Tarik Abou-Chadi, associate professor of European politics at Nuffield College, Oxford University takes us through the l...

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Berlin talk to Ted Johnson, senior fellow at the Brennan Centre for Justice on the fight to protect voting rights in the US. They discuss the attempts to pass new voting rights legislation and whether this is the right time for the Democrats to end the filibuster and allow the senate to pass bills with a simple majority. Plus Emily and Ido discuss the...

Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin and Emily Tamkin in Washington DC are joined by the BBC’s World Affairs Editor, John Simpson to discuss the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. They talk about the country’s history of rapid takeovers, the failings of the US and allies and what life is like in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s quest...