New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast Tällberg Foundation

Israel seems to be on the verge of exploding. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s pursuit of radical judicial reform has been met with massive and growing street demonstrations. Meanwhile, violence between Israelis and Palestinians is soaring, raising the possibility of another intifada and adding to the sense of looming disaster.

Neri Zilber is a journalist and analyst who focus on Israel's - and more generally Middle Eastern - politics and culture. He is deeply knowledgeable, widely published and moves regularly between Tel Aviv and Washington. Listen as he joins host Alan Stoga for a conversation on a situation that seems destined to go from bad to worse.

After the Pinochet years, Chile evolved into one of the most successful countries in the Americas in terms of the health of its democracy. All of that came to a screeching halt in 2019 when protests escalated into widespread violence. Chile was suddenly at a revolutionary moment. However, instead of a civil war, the Chileans launched an inclusive political process to write a new constitution. Fast forward to September of this year, the new constitution was overwhelmingly rejected in a national referendum.

What happened and what happens next? What lessons can others learn from Chile's efforts to reimagine its democracy?

Isabel Aninat, Dean of the Law School of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, in Chile has been a keen observer of the constitution-writing process and of Chilean politics. She is fundamentally optimistic that Chilean democracy is headed in a good direction.

This episode was originally published on October 27, 2022

At times of rapid societal change, the academy can be a radical platform for experimentation and new thinking or a bastion of conservatism—or a combination of both.

How does a modern university navigate the space between its classrooms and labs and the rest of society? How do university leaders prepare students not just to cope with a world that is visibly changing before their eyes, but to lead in a world which is changing at an exponential pace?

The University of Pavia is one of the oldest universities in the world. Francesco Svelto, a distinguished electrical engineer, is now the university's rector. He has the remarkable opportunity and challenges to build a university of the future on a centuries-old foundation. He recently shared his vision for Pavia and, more broadly, education at a time of transformation.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed how global politics works. What about Mongolia? It is geographically sandwiched between China and Russia, making it almost impossible to avoid their embrace, especially if they can’t be played off against each other.

What to do?

Dr. Undraa Agvaanluvsan, a former member of Mongolia’s Parliament, holds a doctorate in physics. She recently explained her country’s challenges in coping with a changing global order.

What could possibly go wrong with underlying technology that can research, write, draw, code, compose music, and possibly even think at least as well as many, if not most, human beings?

Mark Abdollahian and Juan Enriquez help us understand not only what's technically called generative artificial intelligence, but to think together about the impact on jobs, on creativity, and innovation, on how we live or could live in the not-so-distant future.

Juan is an entrepreneur and an expert on the impact of life sciences and brain research on society. Mark is a businessman and academic who works at the intersection of strategy, operations, and analytics.

2023 looks likely to be a year of recession, inflation, social and labor unrest, war, the ravages of climate etc. One casualty of that mess is likely to be the rule of law; justice seems to take a beating when times are bad. Why is that?

The demand for justice is not only a basic human right, but also a human need. Is it possible to deliver effective justice at the individual level, to actually make justice systems work for people?

Sam Muller, believes the answer is an emphatic, “Yes”. He founded and today leads the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) they are in the business of building “people-centered justice” that works for everyone.