GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

The United States will no longer play global policeman, and no one else wants the job. This is not a G-7 or a G-20 world. Welcome to the GZERO, a world made volatile by an intensifying international battle for power and influence. Every week on this podcast, Ian Bremmer will interview the world leaders and the thought leaders shaping our GZERO World.

  1. 2 days ago

    Lebanon's best chance for peace, with Kim Ghattas

    While the world’s attention has focused on the Strait of Hormuz and the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran, another potentially transformative front has opened in Lebanon. Israeli attacks against the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah have left more than 4,000 people dead and displaced over a million. Now, a fragile ceasefire has raised a question diplomats have struggled with for decades: Can Hezbollah actually be disarmed? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with Lebanese-born journalist and Middle East expert Kim Ghattas about Iran’s shrinking regional influence, Israel’s possible plans for a long-term buffer zone, and Lebanon’s best chance in decades to reclaim control of its territory. Hezbollah remains armed, but Ghattas argues that it is substantially weaker, while the fall of Syria’s Assad regime has severed a crucial link in Iran’s regional network. Forcing the Lebanese Army to confront Hezbollah could trigger another civil war. Instead, Ghattas says Lebanon must gradually constrain the group, strengthen state institutions, and show Hezbollah’s supporters that diplomacy can deliver more than armed resistance. That will require Israeli withdrawals, international support, and difficult negotiations over the political future of Lebanon’s Shia community. “You constrain their capacity to operate. You crowd them out,” Ghattas says. “You demonstrate that diplomacy works and delivers for the Lebanese people in terms of aid, in terms of improved relations with the US.” Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Lebanon's best chance for peace, with Kim Ghattas
  2. 18 Jul

    Inside Ukraine's strategy to pressure Putin, with Dmytro Kuleba

    For more than four years, Russia has wagered that it can outlast Ukraine. The Kremlin has more troops, more resources, and a greater tolerance for casualties, betting that Kyiv—and its Western allies—will eventually lose the will to keep fighting. But that assumption is being tested. Ukraine is carrying out increasingly sophisticated strikes deep inside Russian territory, forcing Moscow to defend military bases, energy infrastructure, and even symbolic strongholds like Crimea. At the same time, NATO support has strengthened, Europe is expanding its defense cooperation with Kyiv, and President Donald Trump has struck a noticeably warmer tone toward Ukraine than he did just months ago. On the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss whether the momentum in the war is truly beginning to shift. They examine Ukraine's strategy of bringing the war home to Russia, why Kyiv believes pressure inside Russia is essential to changing the course of the conflict, and what Putin's remaining options look like if the costs continue to rise. Kuleba also weighs in on Trump's changing approach to Ukraine, NATO's long-term commitment, Ukraine's path toward the European Union, and why he believes Europe's future security is inseparable from Ukraine's future. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Inside Ukraine's strategy to pressure Putin, with Dmytro Kuleba
  3. 4 Jul

    America at 250: Patriotism, Trump, and America's future, with Bill Maher

    America turns 250 at a time when even celebrating the country can feel political. In the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with comedian and political commentator Bill Maher to discuss patriotism, polarization, and the arguments Americans are having over what their country represents. Maher argues that patriotism should not belong to US President Donald Trump or any one political party. Americans can confront the country’s failures, he says, without losing sight of the ideals and institutions that have helped drive progress: the rule of law, civil rights, scientific inquiry, and a system of checks and balances designed to restrain power. The conversation also turns to the future of the Democratic Party, the political costs of ideological purity, and the challenge of winning back the center ahead of 2028. Maher weighs in on Trump’s second term, too, arguing that while the president continues to test the limits of executive power, Congress, the courts, and members of his own party have shown that America’s guardrails still matter. It is a wide-ranging conversation about the country’s past, its present divisions, and whether Americans can still find reasons to celebrate the experiment they share. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    America at 250: Patriotism, Trump, and America's future, with Bill Maher
  4. 20 Jun

    The future of the Democratic party, with Josh Shapiro

    What can Democrats learn from winning in America's ultimate swing state? On the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to discuss the future of the Democratic Party, the growing crisis of trust in American institutions, and the biggest challenges facing the country at home and abroad. The conversation spans a wide range of issues: the future of North American trade and USMCA, the economic impact of tariffs, the war in Iran, changing US policy toward Israel, and the challenge of regulating artificial intelligence without stifling innovation. Shapiro also explains why he believes government must play a more active role in overseeing emerging technologies and protecting the public from the risks posed by AI. Throughout the discussion, Shapiro returns to a theme that has defined his time as governor: trust is earned through results. Whether the issue is economic opportunity, public safety, education, healthcare, or foreign policy, he argues that voters want leaders who can solve problems and improve people's lives. As speculation continues about the next generation of Democratic leadership, Shapiro offers a window into how one of the party's most closely watched figures thinks Democrats can win again, and what government must do to earn back the public's trust. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The future of the Democratic party, with Josh Shapiro
  5. 6 Jun

    The Supreme Court's biggest tests ahead, with Emily Bazelon

    From birthright citizenship to the independence of federal agencies, the Supreme Court is poised to decide a series of cases that could redefine the balance of power in Washington. Yale legal scholar and New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer to assess what's at stake and whether the judiciary remains an effective check on presidential authority. Bazelon argues that Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship is unlikely to succeed, but says other pending cases involving the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission could significantly expand presidential control over agencies that Congress intentionally designed to operate independently. "I think it's very likely the court will rule in the president's favor," she says of the FTC case. The conversation also examines the Court's recent decisions on tariffs and voting rights, including a ruling that further weakened protections against partisan gerrymandering. Bazelon argues that the consequences extend beyond individual cases, contributing to a broader perception that the Court is becoming increasingly political. Yet despite declining public trust, Bazelon sees reasons for cautious optimism. While Congress has largely failed to constrain executive power, she argues that the judiciary, particularly the lower courts, has repeatedly pushed back against actions that exceed legal authority. The bigger question is whether those guardrails will continue to hold as the Court confronts some of the most consequential constitutional disputes still ahead. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The Supreme Court's biggest tests ahead, with Emily Bazelon
  6. 16 May

    Winners and losers of the Iran war, with Kori Schake

    Operation Epic Fury may be over, but the Iran war is far from resolved. On this week's episode, American Enterprise Institute Kori Schake joins Ian Bremmer to discuss the conflict's global ripple effects.  With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to commercial shipping, the US finds itself in what Schake calls a Mexican standoff, unable to force Iran's hand without dramatic escalation, and unwilling to accept the humiliation of ceding control of one of the world's most critical waterways. Meanwhile, Washington's two biggest rivals are gaining ground. Russia is cashing in on higher oil prices at a moment when the Kremlin was under mounting financial pressure over Ukraine.  In Beijing, the Trump-Xi summit took place with the White House in a weakened position. The US needs China's help pressuring Iran, and Xi knows it. As Schake puts it: "It's an important measure of just how much President Trump has lost in starting the war in Iran and pursuing it in the way he has, that he's having to go appeal to China, America's most powerful potential adversary, for assistance in delivering us from a problem of our own creation." The costs for US allies are adding up too. Partner countries are absorbing economic pain they had no hand in creating, with energy prices squeezing European economies. Schake also raises a harder structural question: with Patriot systems redirected from Europe to the Gulf and munitions stocks stretched thin, the war has laid bare the limits of the American defense industrial base, and what it means for the credibility of US commitments around the world. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Winners and losers of the Iran war, with Kori Schake

About

The United States will no longer play global policeman, and no one else wants the job. This is not a G-7 or a G-20 world. Welcome to the GZERO, a world made volatile by an intensifying international battle for power and influence. Every week on this podcast, Ian Bremmer will interview the world leaders and the thought leaders shaping our GZERO World.

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