On Shifting Ground

The hard truth is that whenever tensions escalate between the US and Asian nations overseas, Asian Americans bear the brunt of that anger at home. In this episode, we revisit the story of Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-American scientist who was falsely accused of spying for the Chinese government, with Helen Zia and George Koo. Guests: Helen Zia, journalist, activist and author of Last Boat out of Shanghai and My Country vs. Me George Koo, retired business consultant and writer Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

For decades, Asian-Americans have been the least likely racial minority to hold political office, accounting for less than 1% of elected leaders. But a new generation of Asian American leaders is changing the tide. In this episode, World Affairs President & CEO Philip Yun tells the story of the election that altered the course of his life. Then, California Assemblymember Alex Lee tells Ray Suarez about the political responsibility he has to all Americans. Guests: Philip Yun, President and CEO of World Affairs Assemblymember Alex Lee, California State Assembly, District 24 Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Aarthi Shahani, author of the memoir Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, joins Ray Suarez to discuss her family’s painful path to citizenship, and why it’s time to change the immigration narrative in America. Guest: Aarthi Shahani, author of the memoir Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares and host of “Art of Power” Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Everybody knows the immigration system is broken. So what are policy makers doing to fix it? And with the end of Title 42 – a pandemic-era order to deny asylum at the US-Mexico border – Biden’s immigration policy will face new challenges. Ray Suarez speaks with Sabrina Rodriguez, national political reporter at The Washington Post, about what the end of Title 42 means for the 2024 presidential campaign. Guest: Sabrina Rodriguez, national politics reporter for The Washington Post Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In an era where changing social norms and labor-market shifts are pushing men to the sidelines, can a crisis of masculinity explain why men are falling behind? Idrees Kahloon, author of “What’s The Matter With Men?,” joins Ray Suarez to explain why improving the welfare of struggling men may help bring greater gender equality. Guest: Idrees Kahloon, DC bureau chief for The Economist and author of “What’s The Matter With Men?” Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Despite being found liable for sexual abuse, many commentators wonder if the E. Jean Carroll verdict will burden — or boost— Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. The rise of strongman rhetoric and polarizing gender politics is fueling a cultural war in the US, and masculinity is at the center of the debate. Angela Saini, author of The Patriarchs: How Men Came To Rule, joins Ray Suarez to break down what the “patriarchy” is, and how it operates. Guest: Angela Saini, author of The Patriarchs: How Men Came To Rule Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Distrust in official election results isn’t a new trend in Nigerian politics, but the explosion of mis- and disinformation across social media platforms ahead of the country’s 2023 presidential elections made it even harder for Nigerian voters to sort fact from fiction. BBC Nigeria senior disinformation journalist, Fauziyya Tukur, joins Ray Suarez to share how digital disinformation is threatening the future of social trust and democracy in her country. Guest: Fauziyya Tukur, senior journalist, Disinformation at BBC News Nigeria Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Despite being the first president—former or sitting—to be indicted for a crime, Donald Trump remains the front-running candidate for the GOP nomination. If the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol and allegations of assault and defamation aren’t enough to deter diehard MAGA fans, what does the future of American politics look like? Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Ray Suarez to break down what Trump’s historic indictment—and the fight for the truth in the US—means for the coming 2024 elections. Guest: Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic and professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Media is being challenged as audience consumption trends continue to change, and journalists are facing violence and imprisonment in the field. What do these threats mean for the future of journalism? Ray Suarez sits down with Mark Goldberg, host of “Global Dispatches,” to explore how international journalism can remain vital. Guest: Mark Leon Goldberg, editor of UN Dispatch and host of "Global Dispatches" Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Recently, media organizations have laid off thousands of journalists, and in March, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s federal security services under suspicion of espionage. It’s clear that international journalism is under threat. Gulnoza Said, the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, joins Ray Suarez to discuss why the safety of journalists matters to the health of a free press. Guest: Gulnoza Said, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The Chinese balloon’s voyage over American skies has escalated concerns about foreign land ownership in the US. Lawmakers in roughly 11 states — from Arizona, to Montana, to Texas — are up in arms about Chinese ownership of American farmland. Nancy Qian, James J. O'Connor Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences at Kellogg MEDS, Northwestern University, joins Ray Suarez to share how a proposed ban of foreign land ownership could backfire. Guest: Nancy Qian, James J. O'Connor Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences at Kellogg MEDS, Northwestern University Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The Chinese Communist Party has made reunification with Taiwan one of its main political goals, and it has threatened to take the island by military force. Meanwhile, President Biden has reiterated unequivocal support for Taiwan’s security. Dr. Joel Wuthnow, senior research fellow at the National Defense University's Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, tells Ray Suarez why this puts the US in a political bind. Guest: Dr. Joel Wuthnow, senior research fellow at the National Defense University's Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

As Arizona grapples with looming cuts to its allocation of Colorado River water, the arid state is taking a hard look at how its groundwater is used and who has access to it. Dr. Natailie Koch, author of “Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia,” joins Ray Suarez to explain how Saudi Arabia ended up at the center of a water crisis in the American Southwest. Guest: Natalie Koch, Professor for Human Geography at Heidelberg’s Geography Institute and author of “Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia” Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The OPEC+ oil cartel’s surprise decision to cut oil production has the potential to cause all kinds of trouble for the global economy, and may increase geopolitical frictions between longtime allies – the US and Saudi Arabia. So what happens to US-Gulf ties when the desert kingdom turns off the tap? Ray Suarez sits down with Jim Krane, author of “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf,” to unravel what these escalating tensions mean. Guest: Jim Krane, author of “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf”, journalist, and the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Amid heightened tensions between the US, North Korea, and South Korea in recent weeks, we produced a few episodes about nuclear ambitions and deterrence on the Korean peninsula. In our first episode, we featured the voice of Siegfried Hecker – he's a nuclear scientist and former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and author of a new book called Hinge Points: An Inside Look at North Korea's Program. It’s the story of how North Korea went from zero nuclear weapons in 2001, to an arsenal of nearly fifty in just twenty years. And it’s an amazing story… because Sig was there to witness it firsthand… Guests: Siegfried Hecker, former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and professor emeritus at Stanford University Host: Ray Suarez Jim Falk If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are heating up once again. For the first time in years, the South Korean and US militaries have been conducting combined military drills in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. And as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares nuclear weapons a policy option, journalist Jeongmin Kim, Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at Korea Pro, answers what it’s like for South Koreans who live under the threat of a nuclear neighbor. Guest: Jeongmin Kim, Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at Korea Pro Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The security alliance between the United States and South Korea dates back to the Cold War. At its heart is the containment of North Korea, one of three nuclear powers that could threaten the United States – and South Korea and Japan – with catastrophic nuclear war. Siegfried Hecker, the former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, identifies the moment North Korea became a nuclear power–and how the U.S. missed its chance to stop it. Then, Ray Suarez talks with Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to make sense of this escalating tension. Guests: Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Siegfried Hecker, former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and author of Hinge Points Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In the background of the latest US-China political disputes, is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. This year, the United States plays host to the meeting, which involves more than 1,500 delegates from 21 economies – including China and Russia. Ray Suarez spoke with Matt Murray, senior US official for APEC, from the conference's first event in Palm Springs. Murray, who spent a number of years in Beijing and Shanghai, talks to Ray about whether the US and China can find common ground in trade on the Asian continent. Guest: Matt Murray, US Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), US Department of State Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Congress is debating the future of TikTok, the hugely popular video app owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. TikTok’s detractors suggest that while you watch, the app may be watching you too… vacuuming up data from user’s devices, which can then be handed to the Chinese government. Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Ray Suarez to explain the hubbub. She suggests the calls to ban Tiktok aren’t really about data privacy: they’re about China. Guest: Caitlin Chin, Fellow, Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies Host: Ray Suarez, host of On Shifting Ground If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In recent decades, millions more Russians have died than have been born. There are many causes – Russian women don’t have many children, and Russian men are dying young in large numbers – and the war in Ukraine is only worsening the trend. So why is Vladimir Putin risking the future of Russia? Ray Suarez talks with post-Soviet expert Nicholas Eberstadt to understand why this historic population collapse is fueling Putin’s brinkmanship in Ukraine. Guest: Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.