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UN-Scripted

News & Politics Podcasts

A podcast taking you inside the United Nations and beyond the carefully written policy speeches to where the real work is being done: the unscripted debates on the most pressing issues of our time. Hosted by PassBlue reporters Kacie Candela and Stephanie Fillion. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. PassBlue is an independent, women-led digital publication offering in-depth journalism on the US-UN relationship and its effects on women’s issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters, as reported from our base in the UN press corps. Founded in 2011, PassBlue is a project of the New School, and not tied financially or otherwise to the UN.

A podcast taking you inside the United Nations and beyond the carefully written policy speeches to where the real work is being done: the unscripted debates on the most pressing issues of our time. Hosted by PassBlue reporters Kacie Candela and Stephanie Fillion. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. PassBlue is an independent, women-led digital publication offering in-depth journalism on the US-UN relationship and its effects on women’s issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters, as reported from our base in the UN press corps. Founded in 2011, PassBlue is a project of the New School, and not tied financially or otherwise to the UN.

Location:

United States

Description:

A podcast taking you inside the United Nations and beyond the carefully written policy speeches to where the real work is being done: the unscripted debates on the most pressing issues of our time. Hosted by PassBlue reporters Kacie Candela and Stephanie Fillion. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. PassBlue is an independent, women-led digital publication offering in-depth journalism on the US-UN relationship and its effects on women’s issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters, as reported from our base in the UN press corps. Founded in 2011, PassBlue is a project of the New School, and not tied financially or otherwise to the UN.

Twitter:

@pass_blue

Language:

English

Contact:

5169874534

Episodes

Ep. 41: The Women Who Run Estonia

5/31/2021
On this episode, we have a very special guest: Eva-Maria Liimets, Estonia's foreign minister, as well as Estonian ambassador to the UN, Sven Jurgenson, who assumes the Security Council presidency in June. Estonia is the only country in the world that is not a monarchy that is led by a woman president and a woman prime minister. We discuss how women have assumed top roles in Estonia's government, its agenda for the month of June and the winding up of the UN secretary-general selection...

Duration:00:21:33

Ep. 40: China, Avoiding the Big Challenges in the Security Council

5/5/2021
China assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for May, trying to control the narrative around the Covid-19 pandemic, Myanmar and human rights all in one month, in a packed agenda. In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Rosemary Foot, an Oxford professor who has recently published a book titled "China, the UN, and Human Protection: Beliefs, Power, Image." We also talk with Peter Irwin, a program officer at the Uighurs Human Rights Project, a nonprofit defending the persecuted...

Duration:00:21:40

Ep. 39: Vietnam in the Security Council: 'We Try to Make Everyone Happy'

4/4/2021
As Vietnam assumes the UN Security Council presidency, harsh crackdowns by the Myanmar military continue in the country after the Feb. 1 coup d’état. And since Vietnam presented itself as a "bridge builder" when it joined the Council in January 2020, its ability to bring the 14 other members together on specifically preventing further atrocities in Myanmar will be rigorously tested this month. We talk about the challenges with Vietnam’s ambassador to the UN, Dang Dinh Quy, and experts Dr....

Duration:00:20:59

Ep. 38: The New US Ambassador Hits the Ground 'Sprinting'

3/5/2021
The newly arrived American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, hits the ground sprinting as she assumes the presidency of the Security Council in March. On today's episode, we speak with retired Ambassador Ruth A. Davis, one of the ambassador's longtime mentors; Peter Yeo, President of the Better World Campaign and Senior Vice President at the United Nations Foundation; and Mark Ballard, reporter for the Louisiana newspaper The Advocate, who has written an extensive profile of the...

Duration:00:27:03

Ep. 37: The UK Tests Its 'Global Britain' Foreign Policy at the UN

2/1/2021
Britain assumes the Security Council in February with a new ambassador: Permanent Representative Barbara Woodward, who was most recently her country's ambassador to China. In this episode, she shares how her new job compares with working in Beijing and how staying fit helps her get through tense diplomatic negotiations, wherever she lives. Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the International Crisis Group and a popular, witty commentator in UN circles in New York, joins us on the show. Links:...

Duration:00:22:53

Ep. 36: Tunisia’s Delicate Diplomacy, a Decade After the Arab Spring

1/6/2021
It has been 10 years since the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia in 2011 and forced the exile of its president and strongman, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Now, a democratic Tunisia assumes the UN Security Council rotating presidency in January as an elected member. To discuss Tunisia's priorities and diplomatic strategy, we are joined by Tunisia’s ambassador to the UN, Tarek Ladeb, and Youssef Cherif, director of Columbia University’s Global Center in Tunis and a political analyst...

Duration:00:24:03

Ep. 35: South Africa on the Security Council: How'd It Do?

12/3/2020
PassBlue is a non-profit media site, and we depend on your generous donations to help us report on important stories about the UN. In December, PassBlue takes part in NewsMatch, a national matching-gift campaign that drives donations to nonprofit newsrooms. If you give today at https://www.newsmatch.org/organizations/passblue, NewsMatch doubles your donation, up to $5,000. For a nonprofit like us, this is a big deal and will help us continue to report exclusive stories at the UN throughout...

Duration:00:29:36

Ep. 34: How Hard Will It Be for the Biden-Harris Team to Embrace the UN Again?

11/17/2020
“America is back”: In this episode, we detail the challenges the new White House faces to fully commit to the UN again, including rejoining all the UN entities and agreements it left, resigned from or defunded under the Trump administration, like the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization. To sort it all out, we ask three experts: Larry Johnson, a professor at Columbia Law School and a former legal affairs expert at the UN; a Franco-British climate change specialist, Paul...

Duration:00:31:16

Ep. 33: The Smallest Country to Ever Lead the Security Council

11/1/2020
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island nation in the Caribbean, is the smallest country ever elected to the Security Council, and this month, it assumes the Council Presidency for the first time. There is nothing conventional about the country’s ambassador, Rhonda King. On this episode, she shares with us her government’s sometimes confusing foreign policy; how getting cancer inspired her to leave her accounting career and become a writer; and how most of her top staff at the UN mission...

Duration:00:22:37

Ep. 32: The Nobel Committee Awards Its 12th UN-Related Peace Prize

10/16/2020
The Nobel Committee awarded the World Food Program a Nobel Peace Prize this month, for 2020. This is the UN system's 12th time winning the world's highest recognition for peace, and it comes as the UN celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. PassBlue contributor Clair MacDougall shares with us how David Beasley, the Executive Director of the WFP, reacted to finding out about the win on his tour of the Sahel region of Africa, and the significance of Nobel Committee's choice amid a global...

Duration:00:17:54

Ep. 31: Russia Names its First Female Deputy Ambassador in New York

10/4/2020
Russia has a new deputy ambassador at its UN mission in New York: Anna Evstigneeva, the first woman to hold the position there. Evistgneeva, who originally hails from St. Petersburg, gives us her take on Russia's Security Council presidency this month as the Council tackles high-stakes topics such as the expiration of the arms embargo on Iran and the aftermath of a military coup in Mali. We also chat with Anton Barbashin, the editorial director of Riddle, a Russian-focused think tank, and a...

Duration:00:19:25

Ep. 30: The Oscars of International Politics Goes Digital

9/17/2020
On Sept. 21, 2020, the United Nations opens the 75th General Assembly session. But this year's debate will be unlike any other. As the Covid-19 pandemic still rages and because travel restrictions remain in effect in New York City, the usual retinue of heads of state and their delegates will be mostly staying home –– sending video speeches instead. We chat with an e-diplomacy expert, Jovan Kurbalija, of the Maltese nonprofit organization Diplofoundation, about how world leaders can project...

Duration:00:24:50

Ep. 29: Niger Gives the Sahel Region a Voice on the Council

9/1/2020
Niger assumes the Security Council presidency this month, bringing the voice of Africa’s Sahel region to the body as it and its neighbors battle terrorism and chronic instability in the region. On the show, we talk with Ambassador Abdou Abarry about the country's plans for the Council, especially as the United States triggers the snapback provision of the Iran nuclear deal, and Michael Shurkin, an American expert on West Africa for the Rand Corporation. Links: PassBlue's website:...

Duration:00:23:01

Ep. 28: In Lebanon, a Crisis on Top of a Crisis

8/16/2020
As the world unites to help Lebanon recover from a blast that decimated parts of its capital on Aug. 4 and killed nearly 200 people, some powerful members of the Security Council in New York are arguing over the mandate renewal of the UN's peacekeeping mission in the country, UNIFIL. On today's show, we talk to Ambassador Amal Mudallali, the ambassador of Lebanon to the UN, about her hopes for the relief effort and the future of her country. We also interview Karim Makdisi, a professor at...

Duration:00:26:57

Ep. 27: ‘Independent’ Indonesia Now Has to Pick Sides

8/3/2020
Indonesia assumes the Security Council presidency this month, and two big items are on its agenda: burgeoning its role as a 'bridge builder' between small and large powers on the Council, and transitioning the Council to in-person voting on Council resolutions. On today's show, we hear from Indonesian Ambassador to the UN, Dian Triansyah Djani, as well as Dr. Moch Faisal Karim, Assistant Professor in International Relations at Bina Nusantara University, located in the in the Indonesian...

Duration:00:18:51

Ep. 26: How to Get a Job at the UN

7/21/2020
It is no secret that the global economy has taken a major hit from Covid-19. While graduations from universities, colleges and other schools were canceled or moved online, there is still an entire class of young people entering the job market who are passionate about multilateralism, global development, human rights and sustainability. But how can they land a coveted, highly competitive entry-level job at the United Nations or a related agency, in a pandemic? On today's episode, we chat with...

Duration:00:16:20

Ep. 25: Can German Diplomacy Thrive Without Chancellor Merkel?

7/5/2020
Germany is regarded as one of the most powerful defenders of multilateralism in the world right now and has largely resisted the current global wave of populism and isolationism. But Chancellor Angela Merkel, the face of Germany since 2005, is retiring in 2021. What role will the country play on the world stage without her? As Germany begins its last presidency of the Security Council in its two-year term in July, Ambassador Christoph Heusgen shares his plans for the month and his vision for...

Duration:00:15:05

Ep. 24: Elders and Youth Reflect on the UN's 75th Birthday

6/25/2020
Happy Birthday, UN Charter! As the United Nations turns 75, UN-Scripted looks at the past, present and future of the organization through the sharp eyes of elders and youth. In this episode, you’ll hear from former heads of states, diplomats and United Nations officials on what they believe are the UN’s greatest accomplishments and the path ahead for the organization. In this episode, you'll hear strong, controversial opinions: disillusioned UN youth delegates, elders desperate for...

Duration:00:46:11

Ep. 23: It’s French only in le Conseil de sécurité in June

5/31/2020
Bonjour! If you want to learn a new language to add to your list of quarantine ambitions, now may be the time to learn some very basic French — at least diplomatic French. In June, France assumes the Security Council presidency and is insisting on leading its meetings in la langue de Molière. On the show, we're joined by two longtime French diplomats: France’s current ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, who played a key role in the negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal, and a former...

Duration:00:20:46

Ep. 22: The UN’s Top Doc Checks Out, Returning to Australia

5/18/2020
Dr. Jillann Farmer has managed her share of crises as United Nations medical director, such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014 in West Africa and the Syrian chemical attacks that occurred in the country soon after that epidemic. Last winter, Dr. Farmer was ready to move on to a new job after 7 years at the UN to return to her native Australia, when the coronavirus pandemic quickly incapacitated New York City, putting the thousands of UN employees working at the Headquarters at risk. In this...

Duration:00:27:12

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