On Shifting Ground World Affairs

Can two parties really represent America?
 
This week, in our latest special election series, we’ll hear from Michigan voter, Greg Stempfle, and former Ferndale city council member, Kat Bruner James, about how a suburb of Detroit is trying to reform elections... and make politics less bitter along the way.
 
Guests:  
 
Greg Stempfle, Ferndale, Michigan voter
 
Kat Bruner James, former Ferndale, Michigan city council member
 
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.

While in China, Ray Suarez had a front-row seat to draconian lockdowns, the White Paper Protests, and Xi Jinping’s triumphant acceptance of a third term. But a year later, President Xi made his first visit to Europe since before the pandemic, to stave off a trade war with the EU. What happened to China’s economic dominance, and why is Xi turning to the West?
 
Sue-Lin Wong, a reporter from The Economist, joined Ray for a live-streamed discussion of Xi’s consolidation of power, and the future of the Chinese Communist Party. Then, Ray is joined by Christina Yu, staff writer at Foreign Policy, to break down what Xi’s recent European trip means for China’s economic future.

Guests:  
 
Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist’s Southeast Asia correspondent, host of The Prince: Searching for Xi Jinping
 
Christina Yu, staff writer, Foreign Policy
 
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.

Next Monday (5/13) at noon PT, we're hosting a special live event where Ray will peel back the curtain on his latest book, We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century.
 
He'll be joined in conversation by the amazing Ali Noorani, Director of the U.S. Democracy Program at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
 
You can get your tickets here. Ray will take questions from the audience at the end of the program!
 
We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century
 
Immigrants to America have always faced resistance, and have always – over time – assimilated and become vital parts of America. This is a process as old as the nation itself, and it can't be stopped, no matter how many – or how few – new immigrants arrive every year.
 
But in a fraught political moment where “America First” is threatening their security, what does it mean to be an immigrant in the 21st century?
 
Ray Suarez has criss-crossed the country to speak to new Americans from all corners of the globe, and to record their stories.

Silicon Valley relies on a huge foreign born workforce, mostly from India and China, to provide specialized skills in fields like engineering, biotech, AI and computer science. But after layoff, these visa holders have 60 days to find a new job, or lose their residency in the United States.
 
In 2023, tech reporter Pranav Dixit dug into the mass layoffs in Silicon Valley, and why these drastic reductions were forcing some foreign-born workers to reevaluate the decision to live in the US. At the time he was working for Buzzfeed News. But when the news unit shut down, Dixit was put in the same precarious situation as the H-1B workers he covered in his reporting.
 
Ray Suarez catches up with Pranav Dixit to get an update on his complicated journey to find new work, and his race to stay in the United States. 
 
Read more of Pranav Dixit’s reporting for Buzzfeed: Laid-Off Tech Workers On H-1B Visas Might Be Forced To Leave The Country

Guest:
 
Pranav Dixit, senior editor at Engadget
 
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 2018, Chinese scientist He Jianku sent shockwaves through the world’s medical and scientific world when he claimed to have made two children immune to HIV using a powerful gene-editing technology called “CRISPR”. After a three-year prison sentence, Jianku is back in the lab, but should he be experimenting with human genes?
 
Ray Suarez talks with Dr. Alta Charo, the Warren P. Knowles Professor Emerita of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, about the ethics of CRISPR, and the opportunities and risks of the technology.
 
Guest:
 
Dr. Alta Charo, the Warren P. Knowles Professor Emerita of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison
 
Host:
 
Ray Suarez, host of World Affairs
 
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.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, access to water in Gaza has dropped by 95 percent since October 7th, and as many as seven-in-ten Gazans are drinking salty and contaminated water to survive. Water is at the center of environmental challenges facing the whole Middle East, and it is perhaps the most pressing concern for desperate Gazans. So what are regional NGOs doing to provide clean water to millions of displaced people?
 
Climate One’s Greg Dalton speaks with Nada Majdalani, Palestinian Director of EcoPeace Middle East, about Ecopeace’s three-decade journey to water security in the Middle East. Then, Ray Suarez speaks with Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, to understand how climate scientists are trying to rebuild in Gaza following the recent violence.
 
Guests: 
 
Nada Majdalani, Palestinian Director of EcoPeace Middle East
 
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
 
Host: 
 
Ray Suarez
 
Greg Dalton, founder and co-host, Climate One