Why It Matters

A World Under the Influence

With the rise of social media, influencers around the world have increasingly taken on the role of newscaster without a traditional media organization behind them. Some say it has democratized journalism, but with the rise of misinformation, influencers who capture massive audiences online also run the risk of spreading false or even harmful information. How much have influencers altered the media landscape?

 

Featured Guests:

 

Nic Newman (Senior Research Associate, Reuters Institute)

Michael Spikes (Lecturer and Director of Teach for Chicago Journalism Program, Northwestern University)

Renee DiResta (Technical Research Manager, Stanford Internet Observatory)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/world-under-influence 

Who’s Afraid of the National Debt?

The United States national debt is rising to levels not seen since World War II. Many economists say Washington is on an unsustainable track, but no one knows when it will pass the point of crisis. What is at risk if U.S. debt continues to grow?

 

Featured Guests:

Maya MacGuineas (President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget)

Roger W. Ferguson Jr. (Steven A. Tananbaum Distinguished Fellow for International Economics, CFR)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/whos-afraid-national-debt 

Why Is the World Obsessed With the U.S. Election? Ask Germany

The world is watching the U.S. presidential contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris with intense interest. Few countries are tracking the race more closely than Germany, Europe's biggest economy and a founding member of the NATO alliance. Its experiences provide insights into how this election is reverberating globally.

 

Featured Guests:

Liana Fix (Fellow for Europe, CFR) 

Stefan Kornelius (Foreign Editor, Süddeutsche Zeitung)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/why-world-obsessed-us-election-ask-germany 

Can West Africa Curb Its Brain Drain?

West Africa is losing many of its best and brightest. Across the region, doctors, lawyers, and engineers are leaving, depriving some of the world’s youngest countries of the minds they need to develop sustainably. At the same time, coups have rocked the nearby Sahel, threatening to create a corrosive cycle of instability. Can West Africa quell the tide of emigration?

 

Featured Guests:

Aanu Adeoye (West Africa correspondent, Financial Times)

Ebenezer Obadare (Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies, CFR)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/can-west-africa-curb-its-brain-drain 

Global Abortion Access After Roe

In the past thirty years, sixty countries have expanded access to abortion care as an underpinning of maternal health. The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade made the United States the fourth country ever to decrease access to abortion—and the world took notice. Some countries have since reinforced protections for abortion care, while others have moved to further restrict it.

 

Featured Guests:

Onikepe Owolabi (Director of International Research, Guttmacher Institute)

Patty Skuster (Reproductive Health Law Policy Researcher and Consultant, University of Pennsylvania)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/global-abortion-access-after-roe

India, Modi, and Hindu Nationalism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular man in India. On track to be elected for a third term, he has boosted the country’s global standing and propelled strong economic growth while consolidating power and galvanizing majoritarian support for his Hindu nationalist agenda—all while growing closer to the United States. How could Hindu nationalism reshape India?

 

Ashok Swain (Head of Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University)

Hartosh Singh Bal (Executive Editor, The Caravan)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/india-modi-and-hindu-nationalism 

 

Publishing in a Polarized World

A free and independent press is at the core of many democracies. But threats to the safety of journalists abound worldwide, and the rise of generative artificial intelligence has raised concerns about the future of media. At the same time, more people have access to high quality news now than perhaps ever before. Where does all this leave the state of the current media climate?

In this episode, Host Gabrielle Sierra and Foreign Affairs Editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan talk about the future of journalism, and whether political polarization presents a challenge to nonpartisan publishing.

 

Dan Kurtz-Phelan (Executive Editor, Foreign Affairs)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/publishing-polarized-world 

 

Can Israel and Iran Step Back From the Brink? (Podcast Takeover)

A little over a week ago, Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory for the first time in history. And while the United States and Israel shot down almost all of the missiles and drones, the attack remains unprecedented. Since the release of this episode, Israel has launched a relatively moderate counter strike, and tensions appear to be cooling. But the Middle East might still be on the brink of a wider war. Host Dan Kurtz-Phelan and guests Suzanne Maloney and Ali Vaez discuss the consequences of deteriorating Iran-Israel dynamics and more in this Foreign Affairs Interview episode.

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit Foreign Affairs at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/can-israel-and-iran-step-back-brink 

Remembering the Rwandan Genocide

Thirty years ago, Rwanda’s government began a campaign to eradicate the country’s largest minority group. In just one hundred days in 1994, roving militias killed around eight hundred thousand people. Would-be killers were incited to violence by the radio, which encouraged extremists to take to the streets with machetes. The United Nations stood by amid the bloodshed, and many foreign governments, including the United States, declined to intervene before it was too late. What got in the way of humanitarian intervention? And as violent conflict now rages at a clip unseen since then, can the international community learn from the mistakes of its past?

 

Featured Guests:

Claude Gatebuke (Executive Director, African Great Lakes Action Network)

David Scheffer (Senior Fellow for International Law and Criminal Justice, CFR)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/remembering-rwandan-genocide 

 

Local Leaders in the Global Economy

Many Americans are losing faith in the benefits of internationalism. But whether it’s wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, worsening extreme weather as a result of climate change, or the trade-offs of globalization, events abroad are increasingly having a local impact. At the same time,  more state and local officials in the United States are becoming involved in global affairs, conducting their own form of diplomacy on international issues and driving investment home. What role should the United States play in the world economy? And how do states and cities fit in?

 

Read about the RealEcon Initiative.

 

Featured Guests:

Matthew P. Goodman, Distinguished Fellow for Global Economic Policy and Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

Nina Hachigian, U.S. Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/local-leaders-global-economy