State of the World World Affairs Council of Connecticut

Ambassador Charles Shapiro (Ret.), former Ambassador to Venezuela and President of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, recaps 2021 with Council CEO, Megan Torrey. The world and its politics are constantly in flux, and looking back, some of the most destabilizing events seem to arrive unannounced. And as these critical moments unfold, it's important for our national and local communities to stay engaged with what's happening outside our borders. So what is the current state of the world as w...

Chris George, Executive Director at Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, joins Council CEO Megan Torrey to discuss the Afghan refugee crisis and the United States’ refugee resettlement infrastructure. We know that the pursuit of safety is a major reason people leave their home countries. But what happens when families and individuals arrive in the United States for refugee resettlement? And how can we build resilient refugee infrastructure from the top down to better serve these commu...

Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer at Planet, speaks to Council CEO Megan Torrey about what causes our local and global communities to remain resilient in the face of adversity. We know that the pandemic has disrupted our patterns, lifestyles, institutions and more. But this is far from the first crisis communities around the world have faced. So how do systems and people maintain their capacity to recover from adversity? And what is the connection between resiliency and sustainability?Follow...

The United Arab Emirates recently joined the small group of nations to have successfully launched a spacecraft to Mars, further proving space is the new domain for international cooperation—or competition.On this episode, we speak with the woman who led the UAE's successful mission to Mars, and one of the world's rising stars in space and technology: H.E. Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri. She is the nation's first-ever Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency...

General Daniel Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Farah Pandith, first ever Special Representative to Muslim communities, David Sanger, NYTimes National Security and Cyber expert, and many more leaders in global security are featured in this special highlights episode. Tickets for the Council's annual Global Security Forum go on sale this week, so we’re bringing you some of our favorite discussions from past forums, with topics ranging from artificial intelligence to China’s future...

Ambassador Meron Reuben, Consul General of Israel to New England speaks to Council CEO Megan Torrey about Israel’s new government and the country’s post-Netanyahu future. For the first time in 12 years, Israel has a new prime minister. The new coalition government is led by Naftali Bennet, who claims this will be a “government of change.” Meanwhile, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that he and his party would be back. Is Israel really entering a new era? How will this new coa...