America Abroad

By PRI

What's America Abroad about?

America Abroad is an award-winning documentary radio program distributed by The World from PRX (PRI) and broadcast on public radio stations nationwide. Each month, we take an in-depth look at one critical issue in international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

America Abroad episodes:

12.17.2018
Outer strife, inner peace: Lessons from the Dalai Lama
The United States Institute of Peace brought 27 global youth leaders to Dharamsala, India, this fall so they could attend leadership workshops, network together, and receive mentorship from the 14th Dalai Lama.
12.17.2018
Stories From The Backchannel: Negotiating with US adversaries Iran and North Korea
Ambassador Wendy Sherman discusses her unlikely career, which began as an advocate for women's issues before going into politics and eventually landing at the State Department as the lead negotiator for the Iran Nuclear Deal.
12.11.2018
Stories From The Backchannel: How should the world prepare for a future with autonomous weapons?
Since 1984 there have been five Terminator movies. Another is slated to come out next year. Over that time, what was once pure science fiction has become more and more plausible.
12.04.2018
Stories From The Backchannel: When Middle East peace almost happened
When Bill Clinton took over as president in 1992, his then-Middle East adviser Martin Indyk told him he had a chance to partner with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to secure peace treaties with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians.
09.04.2018
Combating Extremist Ideology Since 9/11
It's been 17 years since 9/11, and 14 years since the 9/11 Commission released its recommendations on how to prevent future attacks. While much of the focus has been on military solutions, the commission also made recommendations on how to...
07.11.2018
Stories from The Backchannel: Unavoidable Russia
Stories from the Backchannel is a new podcast that examines the stories behind some of America's most important national security moments.
06.29.2018
Backlash: Europe’s far right and muslim migration
"[Populist leaders who] are willing to vilify other people based on their religion and ethnicity are probably not particularly respectful of democratic institutions."
06.05.2018
Iraq's next steps
In May, Iraqis voted in the first parliamentary elections since ISIS was defeated in their country. The winner? An anti-American Shiite cleric's political bloc.
05.01.2018
Sowing Chaos: Russia's Disinformation Wars
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used the media to undermine foreign powers. Now, Russia is at it again. And while the goals are the same, the methods have changed.
04.04.2018
Syria and fragile states
"We feel terrible about what is going on in Syria, but we don't want to get really deeply engaged. So we do just enough to make the situation worse without doing enough to make it better.”
03.06.2018
Islam and the cosmos
While Europe was in the Dark Ages, scientific discovery was blooming in the Islamic world. Now, centuries later, some Muslim countries are making new investments in space exploration.
02.06.2018
Document Leaks: The consequences of revealing secrets
Massive document leaks have led to the fall of world leaders and to new anti-corruption laws. But some leaks have put lives in danger. So what's the limit to the public’s right to know?
12.07.2017
Brinkmanship: US-North Korea relations
North Korean missiles can now reach major US cities. The Trump administration promises to "utterly destroy" the Kim regime if there's a war. So, what will it take to ease tensions between the two nuclear powers? This episode features a...
11.06.2017
Made in America: Trade policy in the Trump era
"You could make an argument that trade was the biggest issue that put Donald Trump in the Oval Office. I mean the states that he won the election in were places that lost the highest percentage of jobs to import...
10.04.2017
Bioethics in Islam
Abortion. Right to die. Stem cell research. Modern bioethical issues confront an ancient religion.
09.05.2017
After Paris: Global approaches to climate change [UPDATED]
Superstorms like Harvey and Irma are increasingly common — a result of global warming, say climate scientists. Yet President Donald Trump intends to pull the US out of the Paris agreement, a historic international pact to reduce carbon emissions. But...
08.01.2017
Trump, Duterte, and the future of US-Philippine relations
Filipino President Duterte’s war on drugs has killed over 7,000 people. But not only has the White House failed to condemn Duterte's tactics; President Trump has praised them. This hour: stories about the drug war, the history of US-Philippine relations,...
07.03.2017
Warrior diplomats: A look into US special operations
"We don't crave the combat so much as we crave hard things to conquer," said one Green Beret.
06.05.2017
Beyond the Border: The future of US-Mexico relations
Much of President Donald Trump’s populist support comes from people who are deeply worried about globalization and immigration. But Trump’s pro-border wall, anti-NAFTA stance has strained US- Mexico relations. Can the two nations find common ground and work past the...
05.02.2017
After Paris: Global approaches to climate change
It’s been a year and a half since 195 countries signed a historic climate change agreement in Paris. Now, cleaner energy policies are being implemented across the globe. But the agreement alone won’t be enough to reach emissions goals.
04.04.2017
Trump's approach to the Middle East
As the Trump administration begins ironing out its strategy in the Middle East, America Abroad examines what may lie ahead regarding Israel, Syria, Iran, and the fight against ISIS.
02.08.2017
US Asia policy under Trump: A Honolulu-Tokyo town hall
President Trump's declarations on Asia have caused much uncertainty in the region. To better understand the hopes, fears, and concerns on both sides of the Pacific, America Abroad convened a bi-national town hall bringing together audiences and experts in both...
12.14.2016
US-Russia Relations in the Trump Era
In this hour of America Abroad, we look at the state of the US relationship with Russia. We explore Russia's use of cyberspace and propaganda, Vladimir Putin's domestic political strategy and how it shapes Russia's foreign policy, and Russia's relationship...
11.01.2016
Fighting Zika and Future Epidemics
"I think the US has to do a lot of thinking about what type of assets it's willing to put forward not on an ad hoc basis but something that the entire global community can rely upon on a continuous...
10.06.2016
America’s bond with Israel — its history and its current challenges
"Public Opinion about Israel in America is similar to what physicists say about the universe, it’s expanding and contracting at the same time." (Michael Oren, Israel's former ambassador to the US)
09.07.2016
US foreign policy and the next president: Through the eyes of the world
America Abroad collaborates with The Takeaway for an international town hall in front of live audiences in New York, Berlin and Cairo. A New York-based panel discusses topics including from international trade and the economy, the threat of terrorism and...
07.07.2016
Espionage in the Age of Terror
“What was unreasonable at 8 o'clock in the morning on September 11 may have been quite reasonable by 2 o'clock in the afternoon given the changed circumstances in which the country found itself.” (Michael Hayden, former former director of the...
06.07.2016
Africa's fight against Islamic extremism
“This message of extremism is alien. It's alien to their culture, it's alien to their communities, it's alien for their future," said ambassador Phillip Carter, former deputy to the commander for civil military engagements, United States Africa Command).
05.02.2016
Civil Resistance: The Power of the People
You get this feeling of sweeping non-violent movements today, in part because the knowledge is sweeping of how to fight without violence, and the fact that there may be better results as a consequence of that." (Mary King, author of...
04.05.2016
Tibet
The Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday has been a cause for celebration, but also consternation for Tibetans at home and in the diaspora. Now, as he grows older, doubt hovers in the air as to who will carry on the struggle...
03.01.2016
Online Data, Information, & Privacy
The fight between Apple and the FBI over whether an iPhone should be unlocked to better solve the San Bernardino shooting, underscores a larger international debate over the trade-offs between national security and individual privacy rights.
02.03.2016
Fighting ISIS At Home & Abroad
The latest attacks in the Middle East, Paris and San Bernardino have proven the fight against ISIS is not limited to a country or even a region — it's a fight against an ideology.
12.01.2015
How Drones Are Reshaping the World
In this hour-long program, we look at how drones are revolutionizing the skies, and how this technology has so quickly moved from science fiction to ubiquitous reality.
11.03.2015
Understanding Europe's Refugee Crisis: An International Town Hall
The ongoing war in Syria has led to the worst refugee crisis since World War II. And now, many of those refugees are heading for Europe. 700,000 have made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean so far and another 100,000...
10.06.2015
Searching for Religious Common Ground
As conflict intensifies throughout the Middle East and around the world, it's more important than ever to foster greater understanding between religions. Europe's refugee crisis and globalization more generally has lead us to an increasingly pluralistic society in which we...
09.01.2015
Examining the Nuclear Deal With Iran
Soon, Congress will vote on one of the most important and hotly contested foreign policy agreements in decades. The Iran Nuclear Deal will have a major impact on America's national security and the future stability of the Middle East, and...
07.06.2015
Poaching and Terrorism: The Race to Protect Wildlife and National Security
The illicit wildlife trade is now worth up to $20 billion a year. That's double what it was just a few years ago — worth far more than the weapons trade and approaching the rate of human smuggling. This has...
06.02.2015
Countering Violent Extremism: An International Town Hall
05.05.2015
Understanding Islamic Feminism
04.04.2015
Burma at the Crossroads
This fall, Burma is scheduled to hold an historic presidential election. But with ongoing persecution of ethnic minorities and many other human rights issues, many wonder if it is ready for true reform.
03.02.2015
Saving Innocence: The Global Fight to End Child Marriage
Each year, 15 million girls are forced into marriage, many of them before they turn 15. How can the practice be stopped?
02.04.2015
America and Cuba: After the Thaw
President Obama's announcement to begin normalizing relations with Cuba marks the most significant change in US policy toward the island nation in a half century. But as America looks to make it easier to travel to the country and establish...
11.03.2014
Global Girls' Education: Breaking Down Barriers
The numbers are staggering. Worldwide, 58 million primary school-age children are not in school. More than half of these children are girls, and 75 percent of them live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
10.07.2014
The Keystone XL Pipeline: An International Town Hall
The Keystone XL pipeline has been a controversial project in both the United States and Canada. On this edition of America Abroad, audiences in Lincoln, Nebraska and Calgary, Canada engaged in a cross border discussion about how the oil sands...
08.08.2014
When water scarcity leads to conflict
AK-47s, grenades, water? Earth's most precious resource doesn't fire bullets or explode but it is guarded, hoarded, and stolen in a way that ignites political tensions on a local level and an international scale. This month, we travel to Sub...
07.03.2014
Global Water Scarcity: Combating Drought
06.06.2014
The Power of Art in a Changing Middle East
Film, music and art are often the best ways to capture the will and the mood of the people in times of turmoil. Art sometimes has the power to move millions where politics fails. So in this program we attempt...
05.19.2014
The Consequences of Shrinking America's Military
As America draws down troops from Afghanistan, cuts back on military spending and the size of its military, many worry that America’s leadership in the world and ability to protect its allies is eroding. On this edition of...

What's America Abroad about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

America Abroad episodes:

Outer strife, inner peace: Lessons from the Dalai Lama

Stories From The Backchannel: Negotiating with US adversaries Iran and North Korea

Stories From The Backchannel: How should the world prepare for a future with autonomous weapons?

Stories From The Backchannel: When Middle East peace almost happened

Combating Extremist Ideology Since 9/11

Stories from The Backchannel: Unavoidable Russia

Backlash: Europe’s far right and muslim migration

Iraq's next steps

Sowing Chaos: Russia's Disinformation Wars

Syria and fragile states

Islam and the cosmos

Document Leaks: The consequences of revealing secrets

Brinkmanship: US-North Korea relations

Made in America: Trade policy in the Trump era

Bioethics in Islam

After Paris: Global approaches to climate change [UPDATED]

Trump, Duterte, and the future of US-Philippine relations

Warrior diplomats: A look into US special operations

Beyond the Border: The future of US-Mexico relations

After Paris: Global approaches to climate change

Trump's approach to the Middle East

US Asia policy under Trump: A Honolulu-Tokyo town hall

US-Russia Relations in the Trump Era

Fighting Zika and Future Epidemics

America’s bond with Israel — its history and its current challenges

US foreign policy and the next president: Through the eyes of the world

Espionage in the Age of Terror

Africa's fight against Islamic extremism

Civil Resistance: The Power of the People

Tibet

Online Data, Information, & Privacy

Fighting ISIS At Home & Abroad

How Drones Are Reshaping the World

Understanding Europe's Refugee Crisis: An International Town Hall

Searching for Religious Common Ground

Examining the Nuclear Deal With Iran

Poaching and Terrorism: The Race to Protect Wildlife and National Security

Countering Violent Extremism: An International Town Hall

Understanding Islamic Feminism

Burma at the Crossroads

Saving Innocence: The Global Fight to End Child Marriage

America and Cuba: After the Thaw

Global Girls' Education: Breaking Down Barriers

The Keystone XL Pipeline: An International Town Hall

When water scarcity leads to conflict

Global Water Scarcity: Combating Drought

The Power of Art in a Changing Middle East

The Consequences of Shrinking America's Military