Podcasts about international affairs

Roula Khalaf is a journalist and the first woman to serve as editor of the Financial Times in its 138‑year history. She joined the paper in 1995 as North Africa correspondent, covering the Algerian civil war before reporting more broadly across the Middle East, including Syria, Iran and Iraq, and later the Arab Spring.Roula was born in Beirut and grew up there during the Lebanese civil war which began in 1975. She studied communications at Syracuse University in New York State and then completed a Master's degree in International Affairs at Columbia University.She joined Forbes Magazine in 1989 before relocating to the UK. Her work has earned several awards, including Foreign Commentator of the Year at the Editorial Intelligence Comment in 2016 Awards and the Foreign Press Association's Feature Story of the Year for her reporting on Qatar in 2013.Roula has two children with her husband Assaad and lives in London.DISC ONE: Misunderstanding - Genesis DISC TWO: Dernière Danse - Indila DISC THREE: Oghneyat Al Bostah - Ziad Rahbani DISC FOUR: Feeling Good - Nina Simone DISC FIVE: Zina - Babylone DISC SIX: Ya Laure Houbbouki - Fairuz DISC SEVEN: Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day DISC EIGHT: 7 Seconds - Youssou N'Dour ft Neneh Cherry BOOK CHOICE: A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin LUXURY ITEM: A notebook and pen CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Ya Laure Houbbouki - Fairuz Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Paula McGinley

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei — Iran's new Supreme Leader? Who was the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?In this episode of the Burn Bag Podcast, A'ndre Gonawela is joined by Vali Nasr, the Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS and one of the leading scholars of Iranian politics and Shia leadership structures.Nasr breaks down the power structure of the Islamic Republic following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the rise of his son Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new Supreme Leader. The leadership transition comes as the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues to escalate, with Tehran threatening to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and expand attacks across the region.In this conversation, Nasr explains:Who Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was and how he shaped modern IranHow the Supreme Leader actually governs inside the Islamic RepublicThe role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran's power structureWhat Mojtaba Khamenei's leadership means for the regime and the warWho is making wartime decisions inside Iran right nowWhether the conflict represents an existential fight for the Islamic RepublicAs the war intensifies and global energy markets react to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, this episode provides a clear guide to how Iran's leadership thinks — and what it means for the future of the conflict.

Caroline Glick, International Affairs Advisor to Bibi Netanyahu, joins the program to discuss the Iran war, with Sid describing friends across Israel still using bomb shelters and casualties from recent bombings, while Glick says Israelis are near-unanimous that the campaign must be done and is the only path to peace because Iran has long blocked peace by sponsoring terrorist armies since 1979. Asked about Netanyahu's political prospects, Glick cites specific pollsters and Channel 14/15 polling she says show rising support and a landslide for Netanyahu's coalition. Sid and Caroline also discuss Israel's remarkable intelligence capabilities, and Glick describes the Iranian regime as a dangerous “death cult” pursuing missiles, terror proxies, ICBMs, and a nuclear umbrella that must be stopped before it becomes immune to attack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eleven days into the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, starting on Feb. 28, 2026, I speak with Vali Nasr, a renowned analyst of Iran. He's the author of several books dealing with Iran, including most recently Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History (Princeton University Press, 2025). Nasr was born in Tehran in 1960 and is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In our talk, he discusses his surprise at the resilience the Iranian government has so far displayed in the war, as well as the high degree of advance planning the government performed in anticipation of the attack. Although many Iranians do not like the Islamic Republic, he told me, there is nevertheless a resurgent element of Iranian nationalism in Iranian society. The West, he believes, underestimates the cohesion of Iran. Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Paul Starobin is a former contributing editor of The Atlantic and a former Moscow bureau chief of Business Week. His companion Substack newsletter America and Beyond includes transcripts of podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Eleven days into the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, starting on Feb. 28, 2026, I speak with Vali Nasr, a renowned analyst of Iran. He's the author of several books dealing with Iran, including most recently Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History (Princeton University Press, 2025). Nasr was born in Tehran in 1960 and is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In our talk, he discusses his surprise at the resilience the Iranian government has so far displayed in the war, as well as the high degree of advance planning the government performed in anticipation of the attack. Although many Iranians do not like the Islamic Republic, he told me, there is nevertheless a resurgent element of Iranian nationalism in Iranian society. The West, he believes, underestimates the cohesion of Iran. Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Paul Starobin is a former contributing editor of The Atlantic and a former Moscow bureau chief of Business Week. His companion Substack newsletter America and Beyond includes transcripts of podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Eleven days into the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, starting on Feb. 28, 2026, I speak with Vali Nasr, a renowned analyst of Iran. He's the author of several books dealing with Iran, including most recently Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History (Princeton University Press, 2025). Nasr was born in Tehran in 1960 and is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In our talk, he discusses his surprise at the resilience the Iranian government has so far displayed in the war, as well as the high degree of advance planning the government performed in anticipation of the attack. Although many Iranians do not like the Islamic Republic, he told me, there is nevertheless a resurgent element of Iranian nationalism in Iranian society. The West, he believes, underestimates the cohesion of Iran. Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Paul Starobin is a former contributing editor of The Atlantic and a former Moscow bureau chief of Business Week. His companion Substack newsletter America and Beyond includes transcripts of podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Eleven days into the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, starting on Feb. 28, 2026, I speak with Vali Nasr, a renowned analyst of Iran. He's the author of several books dealing with Iran, including most recently Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History (Princeton University Press, 2025). Nasr was born in Tehran in 1960 and is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In our talk, he discusses his surprise at the resilience the Iranian government has so far displayed in the war, as well as the high degree of advance planning the government performed in anticipation of the attack. Although many Iranians do not like the Islamic Republic, he told me, there is nevertheless a resurgent element of Iranian nationalism in Iranian society. The West, he believes, underestimates the cohesion of Iran. Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Paul Starobin is a former contributing editor of The Atlantic and a former Moscow bureau chief of Business Week. His companion Substack newsletter America and Beyond includes transcripts of podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Japan's thunderbolt elections held in February saw all eyes on Japan's First Female Prime Minister elect, Sanae Takaichi. She has successfully portrayed herself as Japan's Iron Lady and the standard bearer of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's legacy. 

Donald Trump's approach to global threats is in the spotlight. From Iran to Cuba to Latin American cartels, Trump and allies like Marco Rubio and Ken Paxton reportedly coordinated with regional leaders to dismantle criminal networks and eliminate hostile leadership. Today's episode unpacks the strategy, potential risks, and historic implications of these actions for U.S. foreign policy and national security. Episode Summary The focus of today's discussion is Trump's multi-pronged strategy against international threats, including the Iranian regime, Cuban instability, and Latin American cartels. Analysts claim Trump coordinated with allies and local governments to neutralize dangerous actors and assert U.S. dominance in critical regions. Key highlights include: Trump's leadership style described as combining Reagan-era decisiveness with bold, contemporary military strategy. Iran's leadership targeted to prevent future threats, drawing parallels to prior U.S. operations in Afghanistan. Coordination with Latin American countries to dismantle cartel networks and secure borders. The use of precise military force, including targeted strikes, as a tool to stabilize regions and protect U.S. interests. Concerns about potential disasters, such as nuclear or dirty bomb attacks, and strategies to mitigate these risks. Assertions that Democrats may have been allied with hostile foreign actors, emphasizing the urgency of decisive action. The episode emphasizes the historic nature of these actions, framing them as a new chapter in American foreign policy where leadership, timing, and bold decisions shape global outcomes. Key Takeaways Trump and allies engaged with multiple Latin American nations to combat cartels and organized crime. Iran's leadership was targeted to neutralize imminent threats and prevent Democratic influence on hostile actors. U.S. military precision and coordination with international partners were central to the strategy. Cuban political change is anticipated as part of broader regional restructuring. Analysts highlight the unprecedented nature of U.S. actions in this era of history. The episode raises questions about the intersection of domestic politics and foreign policy in safeguarding national security. Host: Tara Show: AmperWave Daily Topic Tags: Donald Trump, Iran, Cuba, Latin America, Cartels, Marco Rubio, Ken Paxton, U.S. Military, Foreign Policy, National Security, Targeted Strikes, Strategic Leadership, Democrats, International Affairs

Is Imam Ali a source of division or the grounds for friendship among Muslims?How did a man who asked that his killer's ropes be loosened in his dying moments become the most contested figure in Islamic history?In this episode of Thinking Islam, we explore Dr Hassan Abbas's acclaimed book, "The Prophet's Heir" through the lens of a policy maker and conflict resolution scholar. Drawing from both Shi'a and Sunni sources, Dr Abbas tells the story of Imam Ali not as a sectarian narrative but as a bridge between traditions. We examine the political dynamics of Saqifa, Ali's radical economic justice, the bias in Western scholarship of Islam, and the paradox of a warrior whose defining qualities were dialogue, selflessness, and forgiveness. In his final moments, struck by a poisoned sword, Ali asked that his killer be treated well, a measure of the justice and forgiveness that Dr Abbas argues makes Ali's legacy not a source of division but a possibility for renewal and unity.Dr Hassan Abbas is Distinguished Professor of International Relations at the National Defence University in Washington, D.C. and a senior adviser at Harvard University's Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs. His research focuses on countering political and religious extremism, rule-of-law reforms, and the intersections of security, politics, and faith in South Asia and the Middle East. "The Prophet's Heir: The Life of Ali ibn Abi Talib," published by Yale University Press, has been widely praised across traditions.Audio Chapters: 0:00 – Highlights 01:32 – Writing a Book on Imam Ali 8:04 – Using Both Shi'a and Sunni Sources 17:23 – The Bias in Western Scholarship 25:35 – An Uncritical Version of Imam Ali? 32:00 – Saqifa Through the Lens of a Policy Maker 43:47 – Did the Companions Fail the Test? 51:28 – Imam Ali as a Diplomat 56:45 – Imam Ali & Economic Justice 1:07:15 – Imam Ali, Dialogue & Egalitarianism 1:16:02 – Imam Ali's Legacy 1:21:05 – Thinking Islam Question

Punk Anarchism: An Anti-Politics of Resistance (Bloomsbury, 2026) is a radical critique of contemporary politics, offering an alternative framework rooted in anarchism, punk rock, dadaism, situationism and political nihilism. Arguing that traditional approaches to political change are ineffective in the face of the climate crisis and the failures of liberal institutions, the book advocates for rejecting the possibility of meaningful political change within the existing political system. Drawing on historical cultural movements like the Russian and Japanese nihilists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sean Parson calls for a politics of pure negation, centered on the destruction of the current social order, rather than its reform – advocating for a revolutionary politics that embraces resentment against the wealthy and rejects hierarchical power dynamics. Punk Anarchism asks: what if resistance were motivated by a sense of playfulness and enjoyment, rather than hope for a better future? Ultimately, Parson proposes an anti-theory of negation as a way to imagine political agency beyond traditional frameworks. Sean Parson is Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University, USA. They are the author of Cooking Up a Revolution: Resistance to Gentrification (2019) and the co-editor of four edited books includingRepresentations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction (2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Punk Anarchism: An Anti-Politics of Resistance (Bloomsbury, 2026) is a radical critique of contemporary politics, offering an alternative framework rooted in anarchism, punk rock, dadaism, situationism and political nihilism. Arguing that traditional approaches to political change are ineffective in the face of the climate crisis and the failures of liberal institutions, the book advocates for rejecting the possibility of meaningful political change within the existing political system. Drawing on historical cultural movements like the Russian and Japanese nihilists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sean Parson calls for a politics of pure negation, centered on the destruction of the current social order, rather than its reform – advocating for a revolutionary politics that embraces resentment against the wealthy and rejects hierarchical power dynamics. Punk Anarchism asks: what if resistance were motivated by a sense of playfulness and enjoyment, rather than hope for a better future? Ultimately, Parson proposes an anti-theory of negation as a way to imagine political agency beyond traditional frameworks. Sean Parson is Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University, USA. They are the author of Cooking Up a Revolution: Resistance to Gentrification (2019) and the co-editor of four edited books includingRepresentations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction (2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Punk Anarchism: An Anti-Politics of Resistance (Bloomsbury, 2026) is a radical critique of contemporary politics, offering an alternative framework rooted in anarchism, punk rock, dadaism, situationism and political nihilism. Arguing that traditional approaches to political change are ineffective in the face of the climate crisis and the failures of liberal institutions, the book advocates for rejecting the possibility of meaningful political change within the existing political system. Drawing on historical cultural movements like the Russian and Japanese nihilists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sean Parson calls for a politics of pure negation, centered on the destruction of the current social order, rather than its reform – advocating for a revolutionary politics that embraces resentment against the wealthy and rejects hierarchical power dynamics. Punk Anarchism asks: what if resistance were motivated by a sense of playfulness and enjoyment, rather than hope for a better future? Ultimately, Parson proposes an anti-theory of negation as a way to imagine political agency beyond traditional frameworks. Sean Parson is Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University, USA. They are the author of Cooking Up a Revolution: Resistance to Gentrification (2019) and the co-editor of four edited books includingRepresentations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction (2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Punk Anarchism: An Anti-Politics of Resistance (Bloomsbury, 2026) is a radical critique of contemporary politics, offering an alternative framework rooted in anarchism, punk rock, dadaism, situationism and political nihilism. Arguing that traditional approaches to political change are ineffective in the face of the climate crisis and the failures of liberal institutions, the book advocates for rejecting the possibility of meaningful political change within the existing political system. Drawing on historical cultural movements like the Russian and Japanese nihilists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sean Parson calls for a politics of pure negation, centered on the destruction of the current social order, rather than its reform – advocating for a revolutionary politics that embraces resentment against the wealthy and rejects hierarchical power dynamics. Punk Anarchism asks: what if resistance were motivated by a sense of playfulness and enjoyment, rather than hope for a better future? Ultimately, Parson proposes an anti-theory of negation as a way to imagine political agency beyond traditional frameworks. Sean Parson is Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University, USA. They are the author of Cooking Up a Revolution: Resistance to Gentrification (2019) and the co-editor of four edited books includingRepresentations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction (2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Punk Anarchism: An Anti-Politics of Resistance (Bloomsbury, 2026) is a radical critique of contemporary politics, offering an alternative framework rooted in anarchism, punk rock, dadaism, situationism and political nihilism. Arguing that traditional approaches to political change are ineffective in the face of the climate crisis and the failures of liberal institutions, the book advocates for rejecting the possibility of meaningful political change within the existing political system. Drawing on historical cultural movements like the Russian and Japanese nihilists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sean Parson calls for a politics of pure negation, centered on the destruction of the current social order, rather than its reform – advocating for a revolutionary politics that embraces resentment against the wealthy and rejects hierarchical power dynamics. Punk Anarchism asks: what if resistance were motivated by a sense of playfulness and enjoyment, rather than hope for a better future? Ultimately, Parson proposes an anti-theory of negation as a way to imagine political agency beyond traditional frameworks. Sean Parson is Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University, USA. They are the author of Cooking Up a Revolution: Resistance to Gentrification (2019) and the co-editor of four edited books includingRepresentations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction (2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

Where are Iran's ayatollahs? The real ayatollahs have not been involved in Iran's government for decades. And Ayatollah Khamenei (son and father) are not real ayatollahs. In this interview, we discuss the following: ►Was Iran's Supreme Leader supposed to be an all-powerful king or a philosopher king? ►What are the real powers of Iran's Supreme Leader? Does he rule by consensus or fiat? ►Have any Iranian presidents ever defied the Supreme Leader? ►Why does Iran have so many non-governmental institutions with so much power? ►How and when did Iran become Shia? ►Who are ayatollahs and why are there so many? ►How has Shiism formed the Iranian identity from the 19th century to now. ►What is about Iran that most Americans (actually, most people) don't understand? *****

The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosted "How Can Universities Strengthen Civic Education in K–12 Schools?" with Jennifer McNabb, Joshua Dunn, and Jenna Storey on March 4, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT. Universities are increasingly reexamining their role as incubators of effective citizenship. An essential yet often overlooked part of this work is strengthening K–12 civic education. This webinar explores how efforts within higher education can support civic learning in K–12 schools, with particular emphasis on the academy's role in training the next generation of educators. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Meira Levinson is a political theorist/philosopher of education who is working to start a global field of educational ethics that is philosophically rigorous, disciplinarily and experientially inclusive, and both relevant to and informed by educational policy and practice. In doing so, she draws upon scholarship from multiple disciplines as well as her eight years of experience teaching middle school humanities, civics, history, and English in the Atlanta and Boston Public Schools.  Meira has written or co-edited nine books, including Civic Contestation in Global Education and Educational Equity in a Global Context (both 2024, with Ellis Reid, Tatiana Geron, and Sara O'Brien), Instructional Moves for Powerful Teaching in Higher Education (2023, co-authored with Jeremy Murphy), Democratic Discord in Schools (2019, with Jacob Fay), winner of the 2020 AERA Moral Development and Education SIG Outstanding Book Award, and Dilemmas of Educational Ethics (2016, with Jacob Fay). Her book No Citizen Left Behind (2012) won awards in political science, philosophy, social studies, and education and has been translated into Chinese and Japanese. Meira shares educational ethics resources on JusticeinSchools.org, materials to support K-12 educators working in politically charged environments at Educational Values in Action, and resources for youth activists and teacher allies at YouthinFront.org. Each of these projects reflects Levinson's commitment to achieving productive cross-fertilization — without loss of rigor — among scholarship, policy, and practice. Meira earned a B.A. in philosophy from Yale and a D.Phil. in politics from Nuffield College, Oxford University. Her work has been supported by fellowships from Guggenheim, the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, and the National Academy of Education. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, Meira taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Jennifer McNabb is Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of Northern Iowa, where she teaches courses on early modern European history and the history of England. She was Co-Chair of UNI's Civic Education Task Force, which created UNI's Center for Civic Education, and she was Co-PI for a National Endowment for the Humanities Connections Grant that developed UNI's first civic education curriculum: "Civic Literacy, Engagement and the Humanities." McNabb is also a Co-PI of a national grant that will establish the Iowa Civic Educators Institute, providing professional development opportunities for in-service and pre-service social studies and history teachers throughout the state. McNabb has received several awards for her teaching and has completed four courses for The Teaching Company's The Great Courses on the Renaissance, witchcraft, sex, and marriage. She currently serves as a Councilor in the Professional Division of the American Historical Association and as president of the Midwest Conference on British Studies. Joshua Dunn (PhD, University of Virginia) serves as Executive Director of the Institute of American Civics at the Howard H. Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research and teaching focus on constitutional law and history, education policy, federalism, and freedom of speech and religion. His books include Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri v. Jenkins (University of North Carolina Press), From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: The Judiciary's Role in American Education (Brookings Institution Press) and Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University (Oxford University Press).  Moderator Jenna Silber Storey is the Ravenel Curry Chair in Civic Thought in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies Division of the American Enterprise Institute, and Co-Director of AEI's Center for the Future of the American University.  She is also an SNF Agora Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and a Research Fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.  She previously taught political philosophy at Furman University, where she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs, and Executive Director of Furman's Tocqueville Program.  Her writing has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, First Things, and The National Endowment for the Humanities flagship journal, Humanities.  Dr. Storey is the co-author, with her husband Ben, of Why We Are Restless:  On the Modern Quest for Contentment (Princeton University Press, 2021).  They are currently working on a book titled The Art of Choosing: How Liberal Education Should Prepare You for Life.

In this month's ARINS podcast, Professor Brendan O'Leary (UPenn) and Professor John Garry (QUB) together with host Rory Montgomery discuss the recently published article they co-authored with Dr James Pow (QUB): My Symbols or Our Symbols? The Effect of Inclusive Narratives on the Acceptability of Out-Group Symbols.   https://muse.jhu.edu/article/970057/ The article is available open access in Irish Studies in International Affairs, as are all ARINS articles.  This podcast series provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.  Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.  ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com    ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

As Iran counter attacks by targeting energy infrastructure in neighbouring countries and threatening to shut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, we explore how Canada moves forward in a global economy dealing with even more chaos and uncertainty. Paul Haavardsrud talks to Stephanie Carvin, a professor of International Affairs at Carleton University.

As conflict escalates across the Middle East, the dominant frameworks for reading Iran, its system, its strategy, and its staying power are widely misunderstood.BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Professor Anoush Ehteshami, International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, to examine the geopolitical backdrop and its transmission into financial markets. The podcast is moderated by Karima Fenaoui, BI's Research Content Officer.

Iran has changed forever. The US and Israel are firing missiles and dropping bombs on targets across Iran. Senior figures from the regime and the IRGC are being assassinated. Ayatollah Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war. The future of Iran is still being written. On this week's episode of The New Arab Voice podcast, we look at recent events in Iran, and ask what are the ambitions of US President Donald Trump and the US military. We also look at the opposition inside and outside the country, and who might be able to step up and lead Iran in the future. We're joined by Charles W. Dunne, non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington D.C and Adjunct Professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. And Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran: The United States, Foreign Policy and Political Rivalry since 1979. This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge (@hugogoodridge). Theme music by Omar al-Fil with additional music from Audio Network. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TNAPodcasts or email podcast@newarab.com

Welcome to another episode of “On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir.” Today's guest is Abdülhamit Bilici, a veteran journalist, editor, commentator, and media executive with over 25 years of experience in journalism, editorial leadership, and international affairs. He served as CEO of Zaman Media Group until its seizure by the Turkish government in March 2016, after which he went into exile in the United States. In this episode, Alon and Hamit discuss the current war on Iran's impact on Turkey, what role Turkey may play in trying to find an end to the current conflict, and how this and other regional conflicts impact Turkish domestic issues, particularly in relation to the Kurds. Full bio Abdülhamit Bilici is a veteran journalist, editor, commentator, and media executive with over 25 years of experience in journalism, editorial leadership, and international affairs. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of Zaman, formerly Turkey's highest-circulating newspaper, and later as CEO of Zaman Media Group, which included Today's Zaman (English-language daily), Cihan News Agency, and Aksiyon weekly news magazine. From 2008 to 2015, he was General Manager of Cihan News Agency, known for its extensive video news coverage and trusted election reporting across the country. As a columnist for Zaman and Today's Zaman, Bilici wrote on Turkish foreign policy, domestic politics, and broader international developments. He also hosted a political affairs TV program, Democracy Watch, and participated in many national and international news broadcasts. Following the government seizure and closure of Zaman and its affiliated outlets in March 2016, Bilici went into exile in the United States. Since then, he has continued to write, speak, and provide analysis on press freedom, democratic backsliding, and human rights in Turkey. He recently testified before the U.S. Congress, sharing firsthand experience of media repression and institutional erosion under the current Turkish government. He has also spoken at prominent platforms such as the Middle East Institute, Center for American Progress, World Affairs Councils of America, and Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. As part of his outreach, he has addressed more than 20 World Affairs Councils across the U.S. and delivered lectures at Niagara University, Clemson University, University of Central Oklahoma, Elizabethtown College, and others. In addition to his writing in the Miami Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other publications, Bilici regularly appears in international media including CBS News, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sky News Arabic, and Voice of America. He has been interviewed on a wide range of topics including press freedom, political polarization, and Turkey's role in global affairs. Since 2021, he has co-hosted the weekly YouTube program Kum Saati, where he and his guests explore political, intellectual, and historical topics relevant to Turkey and the wider region. The show provides in-depth discussions on democratic values, identity, power, and public memory, drawing a growing audience of Turkish-speaking viewers around the world. Throughout his career, Bilici has conducted interviews with high-level political leaders, including former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine Othmani. He holds a BA in Political Science and International Affairs from Boğaziçi University, an MA in International Relations from Istanbul University, and an MBA from Fatih University. He is currently completing a PhD in International Relations, with research focusing on the intersection of media, power, and democratic institutions. Drawing on his firsthand experience as a journalist, editor, and political exile, Hamit Bilici continues to engage in public dialogue on freedom of expression, democratic resilience, and the risks posed by authoritarian governance.

The U.S. and Israel are continuing attacks on Iran for the fourth day. Iran's leadership has been devastated, hundreds have been killed and retaliatory attacks have been launched against Israel and neighbouring nations. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Iranians to topple the theocratic government that has held power for 47 years. Thomas Juneau, professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, joins The Decibel to discuss why this is an existential war for the Islamic Republic, what calculations the U.S. and Israel are making and how this could be the beginning of a larger and longer war. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As chaos ensues in the Middle East in the aftermath of US-Israel airstrikes on Iran - which killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - talks of a post-Khamenei country are top of mind for millions. But the reality of a complete regime take-down seems father away than US President Trump made it out to be. Host Caryn Ceolin is joined by Thomas Juneau, professor from the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and Nader Hashemi, an associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics from Georgetown University. They discuss Canada's endorsement of Trump's military action, global response to the killing of Khamenei, and Iran's complex political future. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

What happens when a stable career in government turns into a sudden layoff in the middle of New York City? For Claire Angelle, it was the "oh sh*t" moment that birthed a thriving agency. Claire Angelle is a former diplomat turned PR strategist with over 20 years of experience in communications, media relations, and international affairs. Before founding Elevia, Claire opened and led the City of Atlanta’s first Office of International Affairs, helping generate over $2.7 billion in economic impact and 10,000+ new jobs while raising more than $3 million in funding for global initiatives. In this episode, Claire joins Nathan to discuss her transition from the French Foreign Service to founding Elevia. They dive deep into why mission-driven organizations often struggle to tell their stories, the critical balance between "the head and the heart" in data-driven narratives, and why ethical storytelling requires a new approach to consent. RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS EPISODE Visit https://elevia.agency/ Follow Claire on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-collobert-angelle-5267b4a Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/clairecangelle/ CREDITS Theme Music

This weekend after weeks of threats and tense negotiations, the U.S. and Israel began a war with Iran. The developments have been incredibly consequential, from the assasination of Iran's Supreme Leader to Iran's retaliatory attacks on neighbouring Gulf states. To unpack this moment, what led to it, and go through what the future of the Middle East could look like in the aftermath, we are joined by Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He is also the author of Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History.

******Support the channel******Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenterPayPal: paypal.me/thedissenterPayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuyPayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9lPayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpzPayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9mPayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ******Follow me on******Website: https://www.thedissenter.net/The Dissenter Goodreads list: https://shorturl.at/7BMoBFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/Twitter: https://x.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Richard Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. He is also the co-founder of Democracy at Work and host of their nationally syndicated show Economic Update. In collaboration with his colleague, Stephen Resnick, he has developed a new approach to political economy. While it retains and systematically elaborates the Marxist notion of class as surplus labor, it rejects the economic determinism typical of most schools of economics and usually associated with Marxism as well. In this episode, we talk about what Marxism is. We discuss what dialectical materialism is and how it relates to Marxism. And we also discuss how Marxists should approach Marxism, since scientific knowledge keeps evolving.--A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, HUGO B., JORDAN MANSFIELD, CHARLOTTE ALLEN, PETER STOYKO, DAVID TONNER, LEE BECK, PATRICK DALTON-HOLMES, NICK KRASNEY, RACHEL ZAK, DENNIS XAVIER, CHINMAYA BHAT, RHYS, AND ALEX MACLEOD!A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, NICK GOLDEN, CHRISTINE GLASS, IGOR NIKIFOROVSKI, AND PER KRAULIS!AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER,SERGIU CODREANU, AND GREGORY HASTINGS!

What happens when a democracy is pushed to the brink? In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Ben Engel to explore the outrageous martial law declaration, the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, the life sentence, and the rise of the far-right in South Korea. We also explore the powerful concept of Min-sim (민심) and how ethno-nationalism is reshaping the country's democratic future. About the Guest: Benjamin Engel is an assistant professor of Korean Studies at Dankook University. He received his Ph.D. and Master's in International Studies from the Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University. He previously worked as a research professor at the Institute of International Affairs at Seoul National University and as a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Unification Studies and at the East Asia Institute. His recent academic publications include "Koreagate Revisited: ROK Government Lobbying on the Human Rights Issue" in Cold War History (2024) and "Making Amends: U.S. Public Diplomacy Efforts in the late 1980s to Address the Gwangju Democracy Movement" in Korea Journal (2024). Additionally, he has written several articles linking history to current affairs and analyses of US-ROK relations in various publications including East Asia Forum, The Diplomat, and Korea Pro and has been quoted in various media outlets including the Washington Post, Financial Times, and Korean Herald. Originally from United States and a graduate of the University of Missouri, he has been living and researching in South Korea since 2010. Public Profiles https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-engel-73178443/  https://bsky.app/profile/benjaminaengel.bsky.social Discussion Outline 0:00 Explaining What Happened 5:00 How Dangerous Was It? 7:10 Why Did Yoon Do It? 11:40 Sentencing the President 16:40 Explaining Minsim 23:10 Ideology in Korea 27:25 Ethnonationalism in Korea 33:00 Gender and Demographics 37:00 Assessing Lee Jae Myung 43:00 Democratic Lessons for the US 47:15 Korean Culture 51:40 How Did Korea Become Democratic? 58:15 Recommendations   Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Jasmine Gripper and Ana Maria Archila returned to the show to discuss their work leading the New York Working Families Party, progressive politics and efforts to influence state policy-making, Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul, and endorsements in 2026 Democratic primaries including New York's 7th and 10th congressional districts. Gripper and Archila have been co-directors of the NYWFP for the last few years, and Gripper has now become sole state director while Archila just left party leadership to soon join the Mamdani administration as Commissioner of International Affairs. (Ep 570

Modern Syria has seen violence, repression, and autocracy, suffering through tragedy after tragedy over the past century. Yet the history of Syria is not just a tale of dictators and generals. From the 1800s to the 2020s, the Syrian people have engaged in a passionate struggle for justice, equality, and a better future. Whether fighting for national independence from French colonial rule, battling local landowning elites to share the country's wealth, or rising up against the Assad regime, the Syrian people have fiercely clung to their right to live with respect and dignity. Theirs is a story of protest and perseverance in the long fight to reshape the political destiny of their nation. Daniel Neep's new book, A History of Modern Syria, offers a gripping narrative of how Syrians have navigated the events of the last two centuries. Never losing sight of the fates of ordinary people, it provides a comprehensive account of how a nation born in conflict sustained a rich, complex, and diverse society that after the fall of Assad will chart a new path into the uncertain future. Daniel Neep is Non-Resident Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, and Senior Editor at Arab Center Washington DC. He has taught Middle East politics at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and the University of Exeter. He was previously Research Director (Syria) at the Council for British Research in the Levant and spent several years living in Syria and Jordan. He is also the author of Occupying Syria under the French Mandate: Insurgency, Space, and State Formation (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and articles in journals including International Affairs, Journal of Democracy, New Political Economy, and the Journal of Historical Sociology. Meet our discussant and chair Charles Tripp FBA is Professor Emeritus of Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research interests include the nature of autocracy, state and resistance in the Middle East, the politics of Islamic identities, and the role of art in the constitution of the political. He is currently working on a project on the politics of memory in Tunisia. Jasmine Gani is Assistant Professor in International Relations Theory at LSE. She specialises in anti-colonial theory and history, and the politics of empire, race and knowledge production. She is author of 'The Role of Ideology in Syria-US Relations: Conflict and Cooperation' (2014), and co-editor of 'Actors and Dynamics in the Syrian Conflict's Middle Phase' (2022).

MPs in the British Parliament have forced the British government to release files on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. 

Iranian political scientist Hamidreza Azizi explains that a nuclear deal with the United States would be widely opposed by Iranians. He says trust in the regime has been irreparably damaged following the mass killings of protesters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Nathan Sheets, Global Chief Economist at Citi and former U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, to explore Japan's shifting economic landscape following a historic political moment.* Just over 100 days into her term, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called a snap election that delivered a rare supermajority for the Liberal Democratic Party. With such a decisive mandate, Japan enters 2026 with renewed political strength and major policy opportunities. Together, they discuss what Prime Minister Takaichi's victory means for economic policymaking, how the U.S.-Japan alliance is shaping the outlook, and the growing debate around possible U.S. intervention in the yen. Nathan offers insight into why intervention is being discussed now, what it would aim to accomplish, and whether it is truly likely given recent messaging from Washington. The conversation also examines the broader dollar debate, Japan's uniquely high debt levels, and the pressures facing both the U.S. and Japanese economies. Clay and Nathan conclude with a look at geopolitics, specifically the delicate triumvirate relationship between the U.S., Japan and China, and how this balance could impact the global economy in the year ahead. *Before jumping into Japan, Clay acknowledges the U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down the administration's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping global tariffs. For more on IEEPA and its implications, check out Current Account episodes [134](https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6450/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-134--The-Best-of-Times-and-the-Worst-of-Times--A-Tale-of-Trump-s-Tariffs "https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6450/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-134--The-Best-of-Times-and-the-Worst-of-Times--A-Tale-of-Trump-s-Tariffs"), [126](https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6360/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-126--Stop--In-the-Name-of-Tariffs---The-Supremes--Court----IEEPA "https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6360/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-126--Stop--In-the-Name-of-Tariffs---The-Supremes--Court----IEEPA"), [109](https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6166/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-109--An-Eye-for-an-IEEPA--Trump-Tariffs---Where-Are-They-Now- "https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6166/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-109--An-Eye-for-an-IEEPA--Trump-Tariffs---Where-Are-They-Now-"), and [96](https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6026/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-96--Tariff-o-Rama--Explaining-U-S--Tariff-Implications "https://www.iif.com/Publications/ID/6026/Current-Account-with-Clay-Lowery---Episode-96--Tariff-o-Rama--Explaining-U-S--Tariff-Implications"). This IIF Podcast was hosted by Clay Lowery, Executive Vice President, Research and Policy, with production and research contributions from Christian Klein, Digital Graphics and Production Associate and Miranda Silverman, Senior Program Assistant.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's coalition swept to a historic election win last week, paving the way for tax cuts and military spending aimed at countering China. 

As part of our series devoted to the pasts and futures of higher education in the United States, this conversation, hosted by LCHP Director David Myers, features Princeton sociologist Kim Lane Scheppele alongside legal scholars Ariela Gross from UCLA and Nomi Stolzenberg from USC to discuss an escalating war on universities by the Trump administration. Scheppele frames the assault as a distinctly modern autocratic strategy: not bullets, but budgets that target elite institutions to seek ideological conformity, weaken leadership, and force anticipatory compliance. Drawing on her experience living in Hungary under Viktor Orbán, she identifies an authoritarian playbook that pairs fiscal strangulation with autocratic legalism, the repurposing of law to anti-democratic ends, while leveraging accusations to mask or legitimize discriminatory and coercive governance.Gross emphasizes how long-standing right-wing projects, especially attacks on DEI, are being accelerated through institutional bargaining (for example, over withheld scientific funding) while trading away racial and gender justice infrastructure. Stolzenberg adds a longue durée account of U.S. conservative opposition to the modern university, highlighting theological currents that cast universities as battlegrounds in a moral struggle over national identity. Kim Lane Scheppele is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. She is also a faculty fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her book, Legal Secrets,won Special Recognition in the Distinguished Scholarly Publication competition of the American Sociological Association as well as the Corwin Prize of the American Political Science Association.Ariela Gross is a Distinguished Professor of Law and History at UCLA and teaches Contract Law, Constitutional Law, Enslavement and Racialization in U.S. Legal History, as well as other courses on race and legal history. Gross is the author of Becoming Free, Becoming Black: Race, Freedom, and Law in Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana, with Alejandro de la Fuente (Cambridge UP 2020) and What Blood Won't Tell: A History of Race on Trial in America (Harvard UP 2008).Nomi M. Stolzenberg is the Nathan and Lilly Shapell Chair in Law at the USC Gould School of Law. Her research spans a range of interdisciplinary interests, including law and religion, law and liberalism, law and psychoanalysis, and law and literature. Stolzenberg's scholarly publications include the frequently cited “The Profanity of Law”. With David N. Myers, she has published American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New Yo

Kim Lane Scheppele joins Valerie Nannery to discuss how America's slide into autocracy is similar to and different from autocratic shifts around the world, how far America is on the path to autocracy, and what we can all do to stop the descent. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and ProgramGuest: Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs & Director of the Program in Law and Normative Thinking at the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University Link: Autocratic Legalism, by Kim Lane ScheppeleLink: Trump's Counter Constitution, by Kim Lane ScheppeleLink: The ‘Big Lie's' Autocratic Assault on the Rule of Law: Attorneys Can Stop It, by Jim SaranteasLink: Become a Poll WorkerVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube -----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn't.----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

Anna-Carin Svensson joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they explore how Sweden's decision to punish buyers instead of victims has reshaped who feels safe coming forward — and how that same principle is now being applied to hold online exploitation accountable.Chapters(00:00) - Introduction: Sweden's Principle That Changed Everything (01:07) - The Equality Model: Why Sweden Criminalized Buyers, Not Sellers (07:37) - What 25 Years of Data Actually Shows (09:16) - When Exploitation Moves Online: Updating the Law for the Digital Age (14:37) - Why Multidisciplinary Collaboration Is Non-Negotiable (18:41) - The Gap Between Good Laws and Correct Application (25:02) - Prevention Starts Before the Warning Signs (29:51) - Hope, Humanity, and the Road Ahead Anna-Carin SvenssonAnna-Carin Svensson serves as Sweden's Ambassador to Combat Trafficking in Persons, representing Sweden in multilateral anti-trafficking efforts including at the United Nations. In this role, she has participated in high-level discussions related to the appraisal of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, including the side event "Proactive by Design: Leveraging Multidisciplinary Collaboration and Digital Innovation to Prevent Human Trafficking."Previously, Svensson served as Director-General for International Affairs at the Swedish Ministry of Justice, where she led Swedish delegations in international human rights forums and oversaw Sweden's implementation of international legal obligations, including under the Convention against Torture. Across her career, she has consistently emphasized state responsibility, institutional accountability, cross-government coordination, and the importance of translating legislation into effective practice.Key PointsSweden's Sex Purchase Act, introduced in 1999, was a landmark legal shift that criminalized the buyer of sexual services rather than the seller, placing the state firmly on the side of the more vulnerable party in the transaction and signaling that prostitution is a harm to all of society — not just to the individual.A 2010 official evaluation of the law found measurable results: street prostitution decreased, criminal networks were deterred from establishing trafficking operations in Sweden, and public attitudes shifted significantly — evidence that law can have both a direct and a normative effect.As exploitation moved online, Sweden updated its legislation in 2025 to extend the same principle into the digital space, criminalizing the purchase of live, on-demand sexual acts performed remotely — because if something is illegal offline, it must be illegal online.Many victims who had been coerced into performing live cam shows said the new law would have made it easier for them to refuse, illustrating how legal frameworks can shift power back to the exploited person even before a crime is prosecuted.Correct application of the law matters as much as the law itself — broad training across all professions, not just specialized units, is essential so that any first responder can recognize a victim, give an appropriate initial response, and connect them to the right support.Multidisciplinary collaboration is not optional: criminal justice, social services, civil society, health professionals, schools, and international partners must all work in concert, because victims often feel safer disclosing to a social worker or nonprofit than to law enforcement, and that trust must be honored.Digital literacy and healthy relationship education must begin before exploitation happens — teaching young people to recognize manipulation, loverboy tactics, and online red flags is one of the most important prevention investments a society can make.Hope lies in the growing global community of organizations and individuals bringing creative, collaborative solutions to every aspect of this problem — and in the simple recognition that for every challenge, there are many possible answers.ResourcesEnding Human Trafficking PodcastGlobal Center for Women and Justice (GCWJ)UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons – 2025 AppraisalSweden's Sex Purchase Act – Swedish Gender Equality AgencySweden's 2025 Online Sexual Acts Legislation – Library of Congress SummaryTranscriptClick here to view the episode transcript.

Coalitions promise power, but what if they mostly deliver blame? We dig into the sharp difference between a United Front and a Popular Front, trace their roots from the Second International through the Comintern, and confront the hard history behind antifascist coalitions in France, Italy, and Spain. Along the way, we separate romance from results: Allied armies defeated fascism; Popular Front cabinets rarely did. That sobering fact reframes what “winning” looked like—and why so many movements grew fast, entered government, and then unraveled.From there, we bring the analysis home. The United States isn't Europe: our parties are private duopoly machines, election law is fractured across states, and governing power is fenced in by bond markets, courts, and bureaucratic veto points. That's why the CPUSA's most significant advances—interracial union drives, Southern organizing, voting rights fights—came through oppositional power, not shared ministries. We examine how the postwar purge erased that base, why ministry-without-hegemony plagued South Africa's tripartite deal, and how today's left populism keeps rediscovering the same brick wall in city halls and Congress.We also tackle China's “United Front,” New Democracy, and why that path depended on peasant majorities and civil war conditions absent in developed economies. The throughline is clear: coalitions without control invite contradictions. United Front tactics—independence, coordinated action, refusal to co-govern without command—were built to avoid that trap. Popular Fronts trade clarity for breadth; breadth without hegemony turns victories into boomerangs. If you care about socialist strategy, labor power, and actually shifting policy, this conversation offers a sharper, historically grounded map for what to build, when to join, and when to say no.If this challenged your priors or clarified some foggy distinctions, share it with a comrade, hit follow, and leave a review telling us where you stand on coalition strategy.About Brandon LightlyBrandon Lightly is a policy researcher with a background in International Affairs and History. His work focuses on investigating the intersection of ideology and contemporary global crises, providing deep-dive analysis into the historical roots of today's political challenges.Send a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic,Julian

This is Episode 2 of our sub-series "Environmental Issues along the Belt and Road."The series considers the complexities of Chinese actors' impacts on the environment, extractive activities, and role in driving sustainability solutions from the sands of the Mekong River to lithium mines in Argentina. Since 2012, China has invested roughly US$4 billion in 12 nickel projects across Southeast Asia, with a major focus on Indonesia, which supplies 16% of global nickel production. In South America, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina— known as the Lithium Triangle—together hold over 54% of the world's lithium reserves beneath their salt flats as of 2024, and China is the only country to have signed agreements with all three. In this episode, we explore what makes minerals “critical” to the energy transition, how China's long-term industrial strategy and geopolitical struggles has (re)shaped global critical mineral supply chains, and, through cases of Indonesian nickel and lithium in Argentina, how stakeholders in producer countries navigate trade-offs between economic development, sovereignty, & environmental and social impacts.We interview 4 experts: Dr. Jing Li is a professor at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business and holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Investment Strategy. She also serves as the Co-Director of the Jack Austin Center for Asia Pacific Business Studies. Her research explores international investment strategies, joint ventures, emerging market firms, innovation in emerging economies, & the behavior and performance of state-owned enterprises. Related reading here, here & here.Dr. Anastasia Ufimtseva is the Senior Program Manager for International Trade and Investment at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She holds a Ph.D. in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University, with a specialization in international political economy. Her research explores global energy governance, trade & investment, the political economy of natural resources, & international development, with a focus on Asia. Related reading here & here. Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan (Zahwan) is a researcher at the Department of International Relations, CSIS Indonesia. He holds an MA in International Economics and General International Relations from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. His research areas cover sustainable development, critical minerals, & emerging technologies. Related reading here, here & here. Thanks for listening! Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Are we living in an era of competing international orders? A new book, entitled Competing Visions for International Order: Challenges for a Shared Direction in an Age of Global Contestation (Routledge, 2025) edited by Ville Sinkkonen, Veera Laine, Matti Puranen addresses the ultimate question. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Ville Sinkkonen (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defense University and University of Helsinki), and Bart Gaens (Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the International Centre for Defense and Security) about the ambition of this new book and several key takeaways concerning particularly the US, China, and India from this book. The book's analysis also offers normative prescriptions on how to avoid a tragic race to the bottom – a fragmented world of competing orders where states are unable to address shared global crises and challenges such as pandemics, cross-border crime, climate tragedies, and armed conflict. With this, it concludes by recognising the importance of agency as well as political imagination in navigating the crisis-ridden ordering moment of the international system. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students in global order studies and governance, geopolitics, regional studies, foreign policy analysis as well as more broadly to international relations and security, political history, human geography, and policymakers. Julie Yu-Wen Chen is Professor of Chinese Studies and Asian studies coordinator at the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki (Finland). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia), Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland), Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland), Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) and Centre for South Asian Democracy, University of Oslo (Norway). We aim to produce timely, topical and well-edited discussions of new research and developments about Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Are we living in an era of competing international orders? A new book, entitled Competing Visions for International Order: Challenges for a Shared Direction in an Age of Global Contestation (Routledge, 2025) edited by Ville Sinkkonen, Veera Laine, Matti Puranen addresses the ultimate question. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Ville Sinkkonen (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defense University and University of Helsinki), and Bart Gaens (Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the International Centre for Defense and Security) about the ambition of this new book and several key takeaways concerning particularly the US, China, and India from this book. The book's analysis also offers normative prescriptions on how to avoid a tragic race to the bottom – a fragmented world of competing orders where states are unable to address shared global crises and challenges such as pandemics, cross-border crime, climate tragedies, and armed conflict. With this, it concludes by recognising the importance of agency as well as political imagination in navigating the crisis-ridden ordering moment of the international system. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students in global order studies and governance, geopolitics, regional studies, foreign policy analysis as well as more broadly to international relations and security, political history, human geography, and policymakers. Julie Yu-Wen Chen is Professor of Chinese Studies and Asian studies coordinator at the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki (Finland). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia), Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland), Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland), Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) and Centre for South Asian Democracy, University of Oslo (Norway). We aim to produce timely, topical and well-edited discussions of new research and developments about Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

I'm very excited to have on Rory Truex as my guest for today's episode. Rory is Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. His research focuses on Chinese politics and authoritarian systems, and his work has been published in the American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, The China Quarterly and many more. He has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Hill, South China Morning Post, and The New York Times. He is also the host of The Civic Forum Podcast, a weekly public speaker series on democracy featuring leading scholars and practitioners.We talk the decline in funding for China related research grants in the US, the role of the government and individual institutions in creating a productive and protective relationship with China, and the golden age of China studies (and if it's possible to ever get back there).Read the working paper hereCheck out The Civic Forum hereBuy book club books hereBuy me a coffeeLatest Substack postSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

Are we living in an era of competing international orders? A new book, entitled Competing Visions for International Order: Challenges for a Shared Direction in an Age of Global Contestation (Routledge, 2025) edited by Ville Sinkkonen, Veera Laine, Matti Puranen addresses the ultimate question. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Ville Sinkkonen (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defense University and University of Helsinki), and Bart Gaens (Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the International Centre for Defense and Security) about the ambition of this new book and several key takeaways concerning particularly the US, China, and India from this book. The book's analysis also offers normative prescriptions on how to avoid a tragic race to the bottom – a fragmented world of competing orders where states are unable to address shared global crises and challenges such as pandemics, cross-border crime, climate tragedies, and armed conflict. With this, it concludes by recognising the importance of agency as well as political imagination in navigating the crisis-ridden ordering moment of the international system. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students in global order studies and governance, geopolitics, regional studies, foreign policy analysis as well as more broadly to international relations and security, political history, human geography, and policymakers. Julie Yu-Wen Chen is Professor of Chinese Studies and Asian studies coordinator at the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki (Finland). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia), Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland), Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland), Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) and Centre for South Asian Democracy, University of Oslo (Norway). We aim to produce timely, topical and well-edited discussions of new research and developments about Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Are we living in an era of competing international orders? A new book, entitled Competing Visions for International Order: Challenges for a Shared Direction in an Age of Global Contestation (Routledge, 2025) edited by Ville Sinkkonen, Veera Laine, Matti Puranen addresses the ultimate question. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Ville Sinkkonen (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defense University and University of Helsinki), and Bart Gaens (Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the International Centre for Defense and Security) about the ambition of this new book and several key takeaways concerning particularly the US, China, and India from this book. The book's analysis also offers normative prescriptions on how to avoid a tragic race to the bottom – a fragmented world of competing orders where states are unable to address shared global crises and challenges such as pandemics, cross-border crime, climate tragedies, and armed conflict. With this, it concludes by recognising the importance of agency as well as political imagination in navigating the crisis-ridden ordering moment of the international system. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students in global order studies and governance, geopolitics, regional studies, foreign policy analysis as well as more broadly to international relations and security, political history, human geography, and policymakers. Julie Yu-Wen Chen is Professor of Chinese Studies and Asian studies coordinator at the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki (Finland). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia), Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland), Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland), Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) and Centre for South Asian Democracy, University of Oslo (Norway). We aim to produce timely, topical and well-edited discussions of new research and developments about Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

This week U.S. President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak about how to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. This episode explores recent space-related developments in Israel, Iran, and more generally the rest of the Middle-Eastern region. Laura Winter speaks with Lawrence Rubin, co-director of the Georgia Tech DC Program and an associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

Are we living in an era of competing international orders? A new book, entitled Competing Visions for International Order: Challenges for a Shared Direction in an Age of Global Contestation (Routledge, 2025) edited by Ville Sinkkonen, Veera Laine, Matti Puranen addresses the ultimate question. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Ville Sinkkonen (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defense University and University of Helsinki), and Bart Gaens (Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the International Centre for Defense and Security) about the ambition of this new book and several key takeaways concerning particularly the US, China, and India from this book. The book's analysis also offers normative prescriptions on how to avoid a tragic race to the bottom – a fragmented world of competing orders where states are unable to address shared global crises and challenges such as pandemics, cross-border crime, climate tragedies, and armed conflict. With this, it concludes by recognising the importance of agency as well as political imagination in navigating the crisis-ridden ordering moment of the international system. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students in global order studies and governance, geopolitics, regional studies, foreign policy analysis as well as more broadly to international relations and security, political history, human geography, and policymakers. Julie Yu-Wen Chen is Professor of Chinese Studies and Asian studies coordinator at the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki (Finland). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia), Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland), Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland), Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) and Centre for South Asian Democracy, University of Oslo (Norway). We aim to produce timely, topical and well-edited discussions of new research and developments about Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Mike joins I-Chung Lai, President of The Prospect Foundation. Prior to current role, he held several prominent positions within Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, serving as Executive Director of the DPP Mission to the United States and as the Director General of the Department of International Affairs. They discuss the PLA's increasing operational abilities and Taiwan's potential response to counter a blockade, how Taipei is interpreting the evolution of Chinese foreign policy towards Taiwan and the purge of Chinese general Zhang Youxia, Taipei's assessment of U.S. foreign policy and posture in the Indo-Pacific, and much more.

At the heart of cybersecurity lies a paradox: Cooperation makes conflict possible. In Age of Deception (Cornell University Press 2025), Jon R. Lindsay shows that widespread trust in cyberspace enables espionage and subversion. While such acts of secret statecraft have long been part of global politics, digital systems have dramatically expanded their scope and scale. Yet success in secret statecraft hinges less on sophisticated technology than on political context. To make sense of this, Lindsay offers a general theory of intelligence performance—the analogue to military performance in battle—that explains why spies and hackers alike depend on clandestine organizations and vulnerable institutions. Through cases spanning codebreaking at Bletchley Park during WWII to the weaponization of pagers by Israel in 2024, he traces both continuity and change in secret statecraft. Along the way, he explains why popular assumptions about cyber warfare are profoundly misleading. Offense does not simply dominate defense, for example, because the same digital complexity that expands opportunities for deception also creates potential for self-deception and counter-deception. Provocative and persuasive, Age of Deception offers crucial insights into the future of secret statecraft in cyberspace and beyond. Our guest is Jon R. Lindsay, an Associate Professor at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

--{ "Robo-Roaches and New Age Coaches"}-- Kevin Warsh, nominee for Chairman of the Federal Reserve - Robert Lauder, Kevin's father-in-law and head of the World Jewish Congress - Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury - Waking Up - The Trap - Aliens, Paranormal - Fake Reality. Adolf Hitler, Ancient Tyrants, Powerful Families - Institutions, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Council on Foreign Relations. Cecil Rhodes, Boer War, Raids - British East India Company - Anglo-American Establishment. Queen Elizabeth I - Standards of Living - Ancient Rome, Minoans, Harappans - Brytish Empire, Commonwealth, Parliament - Outer Space, Channelers, New Age Movement - Madame Blavatsky, Anne Besant, Alice Bailey, Theosophy, Mysticism - Discrediting Intelligence - Westminster Abbey: Tesserated (Checkerboard) Floor, Tombs, Obelisks in "Christian" Church. North American Integration, Unification - Montreal, Napoleonic Code - Egypt, Eye of Ra - Skinner, Behaviourism, Alteration of Environment - Genetic Enhancement - "Inferior Types", "Junk Genes" - Self-help Groups, Books - Scientific Crutches, Assurance, Insurance. MI5, MI6, Creation of Modern Mythology for Public - Aleister Crowley, OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis) - H.G. Wells. "New World Order", Hinduism - American Eugenics Society, "Perfect Specimens", Rockefeller, I.G. Farben. National and International Socialism - Trotsky, Perpetual Revolution.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Mark Wildes, founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience, about Modern Orthodox outreach.In this episode we discuss:Why aren't more aspiring rabbis attracted to kiruv? How can we help people make the transition from outreach programs to the “real world”?How can we make the case for Shabbos for the masses? Tune in to hear a conversation about the “non-professional kiruv” of the Modern Orthodox community.Interview begins at 22:45.Rabbi Mark Wildes was ordained from Yeshiva University, but before becoming a rabbi, he received a JD from the Cardozo School of Law and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University. Since founding MJE 20 years ago, Rabbi Wildes has become one of America's most inspirational and dynamic Jewish educators. He lives with his wife Jill and their children Yosef, Ezra, Judah and Avigayil on the Upper West Side where they maintain a warm and welcoming home for all.References:Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life by Charlie KirkThe Lonely Man of Faith by Joseph B. SoloveitchikThis Is My God by Herman Wouk“Is Modern Orthodox Kiruv Possible?” by Steven GotlibFor more 18Forty:NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/joinCALL: (212) 582-1840EMAIL: info@18forty.orgWEBSITE: 18forty.orgIG: @18fortyX: @18_fortyWhatsApp: join hereBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.