1,029 episodes

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.

Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters World News and Opinion

    • News
    • 4.8 • 289 Ratings

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Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

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.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    The Geopolitics of English

    The Geopolitics of English

    Podcast guest Rosemary Salomone is the Kenneth Wang Professor of Law at St John's University School of Law and author of the book "The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language." The book takes readers around the world to show the political, social and cultural implications of English having been firmly established as the Lingua Franca. We kick off discussing how English became the dominant global language. We then discuss how reactions against the dominance of English are shaping domestic and international politics in interesting and sometimes unusual ways.   
     

    • 23 min
    What New Legislation to Ban Tik Tok Tells Us About US-China Relations Today

    What New Legislation to Ban Tik Tok Tells Us About US-China Relations Today

    In Mid-March the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would effectively ban Tik Tok in the United States. Tik Tok's parent company, Byte Dance, is Chinese. This bill would force Byte Dance to sell Tik Tok to an American buyer or else the app would no longer be available in the United States. President Biden has said he’d sign this bill into law, but at the moment the legislation is stalled in the Senate. 
     
    My guest today Kaiser Kuo argues that these anti-Tik Tok measures are emblematic of a "moral panic" around China that is increasingly taking hold among American policy makers. He is the host of the Sinica Podcast and after discussing our views on whether or not the US should ban Tik Tok, we discuss the broader geopolitical context in which a move like this is being contemplated. 

    • 25 min
    Why Gender Equality Advocates Are Playing Defense at the UN Commission on the Status of Women

    Why Gender Equality Advocates Are Playing Defense at the UN Commission on the Status of Women

    The Commission on the Status of Women concludes this week at the United Nations. CSW, as it is known, is one of the major annual events at UN headquarters, second only to the opening of the UN General Assembly in September. But unlike UNGA, it rarely gets much media attention, at least not the kind of attention commensurate for a diplomatic gathering of its size.
    Joining me to explain the key debates and discussion from the 68th Commission on the Status of Women is Michelle Milford Morse, Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy at the United Nations Foundation.  We kick off with a long conversation about the unique diplomatic dynamic surrounding international debates and discussions on gender equality--including why after years of progress, advocates for gender equality are now playing defense. We then discuss some of items that were on the agenda at CSW this year. 
     

    • 24 min
    Why Haiti is Descending Deeper into Crisis

    Why Haiti is Descending Deeper into Crisis

    The security and humanitarian situation in Haiti has gone from bad to worse over the last several days. The country, ensnared in an enduring crisis following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, now faces a critical juncture as violence led by gang coalitions escalates and state authority wanes. Amid this chaos, Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled his intent to step down, agreeing to a transitional governing council. Meanwhile, a Kenya-lead prospective police mission under UN authorization remains in limbo, highlighting the urgency for immediate intervention to prevent further collapse.
    Renata Segura, Deputy Director for Latin American and the Caribbean for the International Crisis Group, sheds light on Haiti's descent into chaos. This includes a recent surge in gang conflict which saw a temporary alliance aiming to confront the state's governance structures. This gang alliance has led to an unprecedented level of turmoil, targeting police stations, airports, and causing mass jailbreaks. Segura explains where this crisis may be headed next, and what the international community can do to prevent the crisis from getting even worse. 
    Key Takeaways: Haiti has entered a heightened state of crisis following a gang coalition that directly challenges state authority. Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to transfer power to a transitional council composed of various Haitian political and civil society groups. The United Nations Security Council's multinational support mission, led by Kenya, is critical but currently faces significant challenges in deployment. Renata Segura emphasizes the importance of swiftly addressing the violence in Haiti before the state potentially fails completely. There is discussion around the prospect of integrating gangs into the political framework as a means to de-escalate conflict.

    • 33 min
    How to Limit the Threat of "Killer Robots" and Autonomous Weapons That Are Changing Warfare

    How to Limit the Threat of "Killer Robots" and Autonomous Weapons That Are Changing Warfare

    Artificial Intelligence is changing warfare. Fully autonomous weapons that can make their own decisions about what to target or whom to kill are already in limited use today. But the pace of development of AI suggests that these so-called "Killer Robots" may become more and more common in future armed conflicts. Meanwhile, the speed at which new AI technology is coming online far exceeds the ability of the international community to come up with guardrails that might place controls on fully autonomous weapon systems.
    Guest Paul Scharre is the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security. He is the award-winning author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. We kick off by discussing what we mean by autonomous weapons before having a longer conversation about what the future holds for AI in warfare, nuclear security, and how to secure sensible regulations on autonomous weapons and military uses of AI.
    Paul Scharre in Foreign Affairs
     

    • 25 min
    Why Confiscating Russian Assets is Key to Financing Ukraine's Reconstruction

    Why Confiscating Russian Assets is Key to Financing Ukraine's Reconstruction

    Western countries have seized hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian assets following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Since then, the question of what to do with those assets has loomed large over debates about Ukraine.
    Vladimir Milov is a Former Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation and now a Russian opposition politician. Milov makes a compelling case for the expropriation of these assets as a means to aid Ukraine's reconstruction efforts and explains the web of state-affiliated money hidden overseas. Vladimir Milov delves into the staggering amount of Russian capital funneled out of the country, shedding light on the possibility that a significant portion is controlled by entities with direct ties to the Russian state. He emphasizes the necessity of differentiating between clearly identified state-owned assets and the more obscured parastatal resources that play a role in the international economy. Milov also discusses the potential for substantial funds to be uncovered, which could dramatically aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine's war-damaged infrastructure and society.
    Vladimir Milov's article for GlobeSec

    • 28 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
289 Ratings

289 Ratings

DelCoTrash ,

Excellent Africa analysis

Its rare to find long form in depth reporting on events in Africa. This podcast regularly devotes entire episodes to African news and generally offers a good perspective for listeners who dont normally deep dive into it

Exasperatd ,

Disappointingly Naive

Only recently came to this podcast.
So, this review is primarily a response to the podcast on the China-USA relationship, as evidenced by the proposed actions against TikTok.

Will listen to more episodes in the future, hopefully with better insight.

Kayla92075 ,

Great Informative Podcast! Distracting Intro

This is a super informative podcast re international affairs. Highly reccomend! Lately it’s seemed the like intro voices are robotic and flat, as if they are generated by AI. It’s distracting! I could be wrong but every time I hear the intro it sounds so different and robotic. Otherwise the contest is very informative and overall a great podcast.

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