Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Global Dispatches
  • 4.8 (302)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

The longest running independent international affairs podcast features in-depth interviews with policymakers, journalists and experts around the world who discuss global news, international relations, global development and key trends driving world affairs. Named by The Guardian as "a podcast to make you smarter," Global Dispatches is a podcast for people who crave a deeper understanding of international news.

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  1. 2d ago ·  Video

    Helen Clark on Whether the World Is Ready for the Next Pandemic

    The world promised to be better prepared for the next pandemic. But has it followed through? Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who co-chairs the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about the intersection of global cooperation, diplomacy, and pandemic preparedness. We begin by discussing what the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reveals about the strengths and weaknesses of the global pandemic response system. We then turn to the political and practical significance of a Pandemic Agreement reached at the WHO and an upcoming United Nations High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, taking place in September.

  2. 6d ago

    Russia's War Economy Is Starting to Crack

    Russia's economy once seemed remarkably resilient in the face of international sanctions. But in recent months, a growing number of indicators suggest that Russia's war economy is coming under strains not seen since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. The budget deficit, which had remained relatively stable, is beginning to balloon. Inflation is accelerating. Labor shortages are widespread. And banks are being compelled to offer preferential loans to military industries, crowding out lending to the civilian economy. Is Russia's economy finally approaching a breaking point? And what might that mean for Vladimir Putin's grip on power and his ability to sustain the war? I'm joined today by Charles Lichfield, director of economic foresight and analysis and the C. Boyden Gray Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center. He is the author of a new report showing how recent developments have intensified some of the Russian economy's underlying structural weaknesses. In our conversation, he explains why Russia's economy is beginning to crack after four years of war in Ukraine—and what those cracks could mean for the future of the war.

  3. Aug 3

    What are the "Causes of Peace" Today? | Live from the Aspen Security Forum with the International Crisis Group

    What can bring about peace in an era of geopolitical rivalry and persistent conflict? In an ambitious new report, the International Crisis Group takes a hard-nosed approach to this question, offering a realistic assessment of what is—and is not—possible when it comes to preventing and ending conflict today. I caught up with Crisis Group's Comfort Ero, Michael Hanna, and Ginger Jacobs at the Aspen Security Forum in July. They explain why a new approach to conflict resolution is needed—and why the old models are no longer suited to today's world.

  4. Jul 30 ·  Video

    World Food Program Chief Carl Skau on the Perfect Storm Driving Up Global Food Prices

    With humanitarian needs surging and resources increasingly scarce, how does the World Food Programme decide where to cut assistance? Our guest today is Carl Skau, acting executive director of the World Food Programme. We begin by discussing how renewed fighting between the United States and Iran—and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a key Red Sea transit corridor—is driving up food prices and worsening food insecurity around the world. Carl Skau also responds to Israeli criticism of a recent food-security report on Gaza, explains the operational challenges facing the WFP in Afghanistan and Sudan, and discusses why, on top of everything else, the organization is bracing for the possible arrival of a powerful El Niño.

  5. Jul 27

    What Is the Future of US-China Relations? | Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Live from the Aspen Security Forum

    Nicholas Burns is a veteran diplomat who served as President Biden's ambassador to China during a crucial period in U.S.-China relations. We caught up at the Aspen Security Forum in July for a wide-ranging conversation about Chinese foreign policy, including Beijing's evolving diplomatic role in the conflict with Iran, what Xi Jinping hopes to gain from upcoming summits with Donald Trump, and whether China is really seeking to supplant the United States in international institutions.

  6. Jul 23 • Subscribers Only

    What's Going on With the ICC? Plus: UNHCR in Trump's Crosshairs...And a rumored new Sec Gen Candidate? | To Save Us From Hell, Full Ep

    To the world, Zohran Mamdani is the mayor of New York. To the UN, he is the mayor of its host city. So when he posted a video calling for the arrest and extradition of Benjamin Netanyahu to the International Criminal Court should he visit the UN General Assembly in September, it naturally generated some buzz around the UN. Of course, the New York mayor has no authority to do so—and a longstanding headquarters agreement between the United States and the UN compels the U.S. to admit foreign officials traveling to address the organization, no matter how odious. Meanwhile, Mamdani’s remarks came a week after Marco Rubio announced an all-out assault on the ICC, threatening to dismantle the court. All of this is taking place amid an unprecedented push by ICC member states to potentially remove the current prosecutor over allegations of sexual misconduct. We kick off this episode of To Save Us From Hell by talking all about the ICC. We discuss the specific allegations against Netanyahu; the obligations of the United States—and New York—as host of the UN; the historical precedents involving leaders wanted by the ICC who have sought to come to the UN; why Marco Rubio will likely fail in his effort to dismantle the court; and what the future holds for embattled ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. In our other segments, we discuss a reported effort by the Trump administration to withdraw from the UN Refugee Agency and an unexpected potential candidate in the UN secretary-general race.

  7. Jul 22 ·  Video

    UN Secretary-General Candidate María Fernanda Espinosa: The Interview

    The race to become the next United Nations Secretary-General is heating up, with the Security Council preparing to hold its first straw polls to test the viability of the candidates. In this Global Dispatches exclusive, I speak with María Fernanda Espinosa, a former foreign minister, defense minister, and UN ambassador for Ecuador who served as president of the UN General Assembly from 2018 to 2019. Espinosa discusses how her early work with Indigenous communities in Ecuador continues to shape her approach to diplomacy and problem-solving. She also explains her proposal to create a crisis-prevention and early-action hub at the UN and shares her views on the organization's role in conflicts involving Iran and Ukraine. We also discuss how the next Secretary-General can advance global health and development—and what should replace the Sustainable Development Goals after their 2030 deadline. It is a wide-ranging conversation with a leading international diplomat seeking to lead the United Nations at a particularly precarious moment in global affairs.

  8. Jul 20

    How Ukraine Turned the Tide of the War | Live from the Aspen Security Forum

    In recent months, Ukraine has clearly seized the initiative against Russia. Its impressive use of drones and autonomous weapons systems has put Russia on the defensive, while strikes on Russian energy infrastructure are causing gasoline shortages for ordinary Russians. I speak with The Wall Street Journal's Yaroslav Trofimov about how and why Ukraine's fortunes have suddenly turned—and what comes next in the war. We caught up at the Aspen Security Forum on the same day that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, even though Fedorov had championed many of the tactics that made Ukraine's advances possible. We begin by discussing that dramatic turn of events before broadening the conversation to the current trajectory of the war. Buy Yaroslav's book about the Urkaine war from an indy bookseller here: Our Enemies Will Vanish

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4.8
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The longest running independent international affairs podcast features in-depth interviews with policymakers, journalists and experts around the world who discuss global news, international relations, global development and key trends driving world affairs. Named by The Guardian as "a podcast to make you smarter," Global Dispatches is a podcast for people who crave a deeper understanding of international news.

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