WorldAffairs-logo

WorldAffairs

KQED

WorldAffairs is dedicated to curating conversations across difference, on both global challenges and global solutions. We explore international affairs with the world’s most knowledgeable voices in politics, business, academia, media and technology. Each hour-long episode marries thought-provoking analysis from multiple perspectives to make complex issues relatable. Our expert hosts, former nuclear policy expert Philip Yun, and renowned journalists Ray Suarez and Markos Kounalakis, have only one goal: to inform and inspire listeners so they can become active participants in this great experiment of democracy. If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please sign up for a World Affairs membership. Your donation enables us to produce programs you value and it connects high school students directly with leaders in the field of international relations while engaging them in critical global issues. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you. We want to hear from you! Please write to share your feedback at communications@worldaffairs.org or take a quick survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

WorldAffairs is dedicated to curating conversations across difference, on both global challenges and global solutions. We explore international affairs with the world’s most knowledgeable voices in politics, business, academia, media and technology. Each hour-long episode marries thought-provoking analysis from multiple perspectives to make complex issues relatable. Our expert hosts, former nuclear policy expert Philip Yun, and renowned journalists Ray Suarez and Markos Kounalakis, have only one goal: to inform and inspire listeners so they can become active participants in this great experiment of democracy. If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please sign up for a World Affairs membership. Your donation enables us to produce programs you value and it connects high school students directly with leaders in the field of international relations while engaging them in critical global issues. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you. We want to hear from you! Please write to share your feedback at communications@worldaffairs.org or take a quick survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

Location:

San Francisco, CA

Networks:

KQED

Description:

WorldAffairs is dedicated to curating conversations across difference, on both global challenges and global solutions. We explore international affairs with the world’s most knowledgeable voices in politics, business, academia, media and technology. Each hour-long episode marries thought-provoking analysis from multiple perspectives to make complex issues relatable. Our expert hosts, former nuclear policy expert Philip Yun, and renowned journalists Ray Suarez and Markos Kounalakis, have only one goal: to inform and inspire listeners so they can become active participants in this great experiment of democracy. If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please sign up for a World Affairs membership. Your donation enables us to produce programs you value and it connects high school students directly with leaders in the field of international relations while engaging them in critical global issues. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you. We want to hear from you! Please write to share your feedback at communications@worldaffairs.org or take a quick survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

Language:

English

Contact:

2601 Mariposa Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 864 2000

Episodes

Syrians Reflect on Ten Years of War

3/21/2021
Ten years since the war in Syria began and one month in office, President Biden launched his first airstrikes in Syria. The targets were Iranian backed militia groups in response to attacks on American personnel in Iraq. This is just one manifestation of the dangerous proxy wars at play in Syria, involving Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Syrian people are caught in the crossfire and have essentially lost their country. An estimated six hundred thousand...

Duration:00:58:59

Israel Heads to the Polls Again, But What About the Palestinians?

3/14/2021
When Israelis head to the polls on March 23, it will be the fourth time in just two years. The most recent coalition government fell apart last December, when the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) failed to pass a budget, automatically triggering new elections. The vote is regarded as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges. At the same time, Israel leads the world in COVID-19 vaccinations and is normalizing relations with some of its Arab neighbors....

Duration:00:58:59

Why They’re Protesting in Burma

3/8/2021
On February 1, Burma’s military stormed the country’s capital, arrested its elected leaders, and declared a military state of emergency. Since then, protesters throughout Burma (also known as Myanmar) have taken to the streets, even as the military threatens more violence. Dozens of people have been shot and killed by the military junta, and the crackdown has been compared to the 1989 protests and massacre in China’s Tiananmen Square. Burma was supposed to be a transitioning democracy, and...

Duration:00:58:59

Why the Solarwinds Cyberattack Was Inevitable

3/1/2021
Computer security experts at the Department of Homeland Security sighed in relief after seeing minimal Russian interference in the 2020 elections. What they didn’t realize was that hackers were in the process of performing what might be the largest and most sophisticated cyberattack on the United States. SolarWinds is named after the software hackers used to breach computers throughout the federal government, including nuclear labs and the Department of Homeland Security, the agency charged...

Duration:00:58:59

Why Farmers are Fighting in Modi's India

2/22/2021
When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a series of agricultural reforms last November, India’s farmers launched what might be the largest protest movement in modern history. An estimated 250 million Indians went on strike in solidarity, and today, tens of thousands of farmers are camped just outside the nation’s capital. Modi’s government has responded by silencing journalists and detaining activists, raising troubling questions about the state of the world’s largest democracy....

Duration:00:58:59

Russia Resurrected

2/18/2021
Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner take a closer look at Russia — a country whose economy has continued to grow despite international sanctions—as Vladimir Putin cracks down on protestors. The discuss her new book, Russia Resurrected. In this episode, we partnered with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. 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...

Duration:00:27:38

Democracy in Peril

2/15/2021
In his inaugural address, president Biden declared, “Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause -- the cause of democracy.” But is the United States still a beacon for aspiring democratic societies around the globe? In this episode, we’re partnering with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University to look at the state of democracy with Francis Fukuyama and Michael McFaul. If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work...

Duration:00:32:27

Rebuilding American Trust, The FBI Way

2/11/2021
As the US reckons with the shock of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, the FBI has arrested dozens of alleged rioters, and we still don’t fully know why law enforcement was so unprepared for the attack.In this episode of the podcast, we talk with former FBI assistant director of counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi about the issues now facing authorities in the wake of the January 6 insurrection and reflect on the FBI’s history and culture. In his new book, The FBI Way: Inside the...

Duration:00:31:15

Why White Nationalism is Still a Threat in Germany

2/7/2021
When footage of rioters storming the US Capitol was broadcast live around the world, some far-right extremists in Germany were watching it like a soccer game. The country has spent decades confronting its dark history, but neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists remain a threat. In this episode, we hear from Stephan Kramer, the head of domestic intelligence in the eastern German state of Thuringia. He talks with Ray Suarez about what he’s learned trying to stop this movement. Guest: Stephan...

Duration:00:27:47

Unraveling the Brexit Divide

2/3/2021
After years of agonizing political and economic uncertainty, the United Kingdom has finally left the European Union. Brexit is the law of the land and UK voters are just as divided over it as they were five years ago. As the UK’s new trade deal with the EU rattles the country’s economy, Teresa Cotsirilos talks with two political activists on opposite sides of the Brexit divide. Guests: Lara Spirit, Our Future Our Choice Hani Mustafa, Student and Brexit activist If you appreciate this...

Duration:00:21:22

Post-Brexit Ireland with Fintan O’Toole

2/1/2021
The United Kingdom has officially left the European Union, but Brexit is far from resolved. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted against leaving the EU in 2016, but they were powerless to stop it. Now, Scotland is talking about independence again and tensions are on the rise in Northern Ireland. With the Republic of Ireland still a member of the EU and Northern Ireland in the UK, how will Northern Irish people and commerce move freely between the two countries? Will Brexit divide or...

Duration:00:41:03

President Biden on the World Stage

1/25/2021
Donald Trump is no longer in charge, and much of the world is hoping Joe Biden will rebuild America’s international reputation. President Biden got the ball rolling his first week by rejoining the World Health Organization and the Paris Accords, and stopping construction on a border wall with Mexico. How will his administration mend relationships with the rest of the world after four years of unpredictability? Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia, and Jorge Castañeda, former...

Duration:00:58:59

How White Supremacy Fueled the Attack on the Capitol

1/16/2021
For months, the domestic terrorist attack on the US Capitol was planned in plain sight on social media. So why weren’t we ready for it? This week, former FBI special agent Michael German explains why the bureau deprioritized the threat posed by white supremacists… and why the Department of Homeland Security says they pose “the most persistent and lethal threat to the homeland.” Then, historian Nell Irvin Painter breaks down how a legacy of racism in the United States brought us to this...

Duration:00:58:59

Strongmen From Mussolini to Trump

1/8/2021
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat has spent her career documenting the stealth strategies authoritarian leaders use to gain power. In her new book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, she outlines the “strongman playbook” used by authoritarian leaders including Donald Trump. She says that the January 6 insurgency by far-right extremists, meant to facilitate Trump’s self-coup, lays bare how much the 45th president has in common with autocrats like Benito Mussolini and Vladimir Putin. When President...

Duration:00:58:59

The Global Economy After COVID-19

1/4/2021
As each country manages the pandemic differently, the already fragile global economy has been disrupted by broken supply chains and shifts in demand. Now we’re questioning the role of the government, the future of capitalism and changing our values. The choices we make now could change the world for decades. On this week’s episode, we revisit a conversation about the future of the global economy with James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, Mohamed El-Erian,...

Duration:00:58:59

Anand Giridharadas: Are Elites Really Making the World a Better Place?

12/27/2020
With record unemployment, increasing income inequality and soaring poverty, it’s hard to escape the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but there is one group of people that have fared well. The world’s billionaires are 27% richer than they were last year. As of July, their wealth has soared to a record high of $10.2 trillion. In the absence of a strong social safety net -- these are the people our society turns to for help. But is this philanthropy model working? For his 2018...

Duration:00:58:59

We Have the Power to Stop World Hunger

12/20/2020
When the World Food Program was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, executive director David Beasley warned that “famine is at humanity’s doorstep.” He said that a “hunger pandemic,” worse than COVID-19, is a real possibility if the world does not address the problem. Hunger is not new, but the coronavirus pandemic and global recession has thrown millions of people into poverty. The good news is that there is enough food to feed everyone on earth; it’s just not always distributed fairly...

Duration:00:58:59

Larry Brilliant and Peter Hotez: Vaccinating Our Way Out of the Pandemic

12/11/2020
Now that the process is beginning for distribution of a vaccine for COVID-19 -- and another is close behind -- it seems as though ending the pandemic is finally in sight. But with the world’s wealthy countries hoarding billions of vaccine doses, the majority of people living in developing countries likely won’t get vaccinated in more than a year. Dr. Larry Brilliant, best known for eradicating Smallpox, says that’s a problem because the virus “will continue to ping pong back and forth among...

Duration:00:58:07

Redefining Latino Identity

12/7/2020
At 60 million people and counting, Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States. But if the 2020 election taught us anything, it’s that our political establishment does not understand this community, which is undergoing a transformation. Young Latinos across the country are redefining their identities, pushing boundaries, and awakening politically in powerful and surprising ways. Many of them are coming together in solidarity under the term "Latinx." Join co-host Ray Suarez...

Duration:00:58:59

What Biden Can Do To Secure Our Climate Future

11/30/2020
When Joe Biden ran for president, he pledged to make climate change a major priority. How will he make good on that promise and what are the consequences if he fails to act? On this week’s episode, we discuss climate policy with former California Governor Jerry Brown, oceanographer Sylvia Earle and former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, 2016 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, we visit Paradise, California, the site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s...

Duration:00:58:59

See More