Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Global Dispatches
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Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters Podcast
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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.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    What Happened at the Recent Sudan Peace Talks

    In mid-August, the United States and Switzerland hosted peace talks for Sudan's warring parties. The talks took place outside Geneva at a time when the conflict was exacting a massive toll on the civilian population of Sudan. Just as the talks were getting underway, the UN confirmed a famine in a massive IDP camp in Darfur. Meanwhile, over 10 million people have been displaced by the fighting, making it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world by the numbers. There have been some attempts at international mediation, none of which have stuck. Over the summer, the newly appointed U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, began laying the groundwork for these talks in Switzerland, which only recently concluded. There is obviously still no ceasefire in Sudan, but according to my guest today, Cameron Hudson, Senior Fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the talks nonetheless did achieve important progress on getting humanitarian aid to beleaguered populations.

    28 min

  2. 5 DAYS AGO

    An NGO Leader in Afghanistan Explains the Delicate Process of Engaging the Taliban on Women's Rights

    Ever since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban three years ago, I have periodically checked in with my guest today, Zuhra Bahman. She is the Afghanistan Country Director for Search for Common Ground, an NGO focused on peacebuilding. When the Taliban toppled the Afghan government and asserted control in Kabul, Zuhra Bahman happened to be out of the country on a business trip. However, she was determined to return, and she did. As she explained in our previous conversations, she felt an obligation to influence the direction of her country under Taliban rule, improve the lives of women and girls, and promote local peacebuilding efforts. In our conversation today, I ask her: Has she been successful? More broadly, Zuhra Bahman explains how consistent engagement with the Taliban authorities has led to some incremental gains, and she argues why the international community ought to deal directly and consistently with the Taliban.

    24 min

  3. 6 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    What's Wrong With the New UN Cybercrime Treaty

    On August 8th, a committee representing most UN Member States approved a draft text of a new United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime. Despite the support from the majority of UN member states, civil society and private sector groups are arguing against its adoption. In fact, the proposed Convention on Cybercrime has the dubious distinction of being opposed by industry titans like CISCO, Amazon, and Microsoft, as well as major watchdogs such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Human Rights Watch. So, what is the problem with this convention? And how did an idea that originated with Russia, and is backed by China, North Korea, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Syria, Cambodia, Venezuela, and Belarus, end up gaining the support of most other UN member states, including the United States and Europe? Today’s episode of To Save Us From Hell takes a deep dive into this question and much more.

    34 min

  4. AUG 26

    MPox is a Global Health Emergency, Again

    On August 14th, the World Health Organization declared MPOX a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern." This is the highest level of alarm that the WHO can issue to confront a public health crisis, and it was triggered in response to a rapidly spreading outbreak in Central Africa. As my guest, Dr. Eric Toner, explains, this MPOX outbreak is different from the one two years ago due to the fact that this new strain of the virus is both more deadly and more transmissible. Dr. Eric Toner is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He explains the differences between the strains and what we know so far about how MPOX is spreading within Central Africa and, more recently, to other continents. We have a lengthy discussion about how to contain the outbreak, which includes deploying effective vaccines. However, the problem is that the supply is limited and controlled by just a handful of vaccine manufacturing companies.

    20 min

  5. AUG 19

    Will Somaliland Get International Recognition?

    In 1991, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia, but no country has yet to accept Somaliland's sovereignty. That, however, may soon change. On January 1st, Ethiopia and Somaliland entered into a memorandum of understanding that includes Somaliland leasing a coastline and port to landlocked Ethiopia, and in return, Ethiopia would be the first country in the world to formally recognize Somaliland's independence. When news of the MOU came to light earlier this year, it sent shockwaves throughout the Horn of Africa. Somaliland is in the north of Somalia, with a long coastline on the Gulf of Aden and bordering Ethiopia and Djibouti. It has many of the trappings of a state, including its own currency and governing institutions. It is a multiparty democracy and far more stable and less violent than Somalia. Somalia, however, still claims Somaliland—and every country in the world formally considers Somaliland to be part of Somalia. This move by Ethiopia threatens to upend this consensus of the last three decades. Joining me from Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, is Guleid Ahmed Jama, a lawyer and researcher. We kick off by discussing Somaliland's unique history before having a long conversation about this Ethiopia deal and what comes next.

    22 min

  6. AUG 12

    The UN Reveals the Latest Trends in World Population

    Every two years, since 1951, the United Nations has compiled data and estimates about the world's population. These are contained in a report called World Population Prospects, which provides our best estimates about global population and demographic trends. The latest edition of World Population Prospects was released in June, and joining me today is one of the people responsible for putting this report together. John Wilmoth is Director of the Population Division at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He last joined us two years ago after the previous iteration of this report was released. We will discuss what has changed, or not, from the estimates of two years ago, why we should be paying attention to rapidly aging populations in East Asia, and what we mean by the "demographic dividend" that many countries in Africa are poised to harness.

    23 min

  7. AUG 8

    Is Africa's Debt Crisis a Threat to International Security? | Live from the Aspen Security Forum

    I caught up with Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli at the Aspen Security Forum in mid-July. She is the new President and CEO of the One Campaign, which advocates on behalf of global development, justice, and equal rights, with a particular focus on Africa. I was interested in speaking with her at a major conference dedicated to international security precisely because African security issues are often far from the top concerns of the American foreign policy community. One of the big challenges facing many African countries today is how heavily indebted they are. Many African countries these days are spending far more money servicing debts than on their own economic and social programs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli explains that this already has international security implications and is bound to get worse unless something changes. We discussed how we can change the narrative around Africa in general and why including Africa in conversations about global security will become increasingly imperative in the future.

    20 min

  8. AUG 5

    Venezuela's Stolen Election

    The July 28th national elections in Venezuela were supposed to usher in a new era of democracy after 25 years of Chavismo rule. Back in October, President Nicolas Maduro agreed to free and fair elections and, in return, had some US sanctions lifted. He quickly reneged on that deal, barred a popular opposition leader from running, and engaged in other election-related shenanigans. Still, Venezuelans voted in massive numbers, rallying around a lesser-known opposition candidate named Edmundo Gonzalez. But hours after the polls closed, Nicolas Maduro claimed victory, a position backed up by his hand-picked national electoral body. Crucially, Venezuelan authorities have not released a full accounting of the election results, including a paper trail that Venezuela's voting systems use to verify results. This has led to widespread and credible accusations that Venezuela's election was stolen. On the line with me from Caracas is Phil Gunson, a senior analyst for the Crisis Group. We recorded our conversation on August 1st amidst profound political uncertainty in Venezuela. He explains what happened in the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of the elections and how this situation may evolve.

    27 min
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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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