Carnegie Council Podcasts

Speaking on the very day of the nuclear framework, Ambassador Mousavian explains why he believes the agreement is positive progress for both sides. And in a candid and forthright discussion with the audience, he explains the Iranian perspective on Israel, the U.S.-Israel relationship, ISIS, and also the workings of the Iranian government.

What's it like to live in a disputed, militarized border region with a tangled history? In this fascinating podcast, Carnegie New Leader Suchitra Vijayan discusses two such places: Arunachal Pradesh, which lies along the Tibet/India border, and the much fought-over Kashmir. She also talks about her 2009 trip across Sudan.

Thanks to new technologies for extracting oil and natural gas, such as hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), the United States is now the biggest producer of energy in the world. What do plummeting energy prices mean for sellers and consumers around the world--and what will be the likely consequences for climate change?

One hundred years after the First World War, boundaries established after the armistice at the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" still shape many of today's conflicts, from ISIS's invasion of Mosul to Boko Haram's kidnapping of schoolgirls. What lessons have we learned from WWI? Just as important, what have we still not learned?

In this podcast, Zach Dorfman introduces the spring 2015 issue of "Ethics & International Affairs." Topics include a symposium on imagining a "Drone Accountability Regime"; Liberia, Ebola, and the "Cult of Bankable Projects"; moral and political responsibility in world politics; and space, drones, and just war.

In this stirring, information-filled talk on the Kurdish people, David Phillips recounts centuries of abuse and repression against the world's "largest stateless people." But he also illuminates the vitality of today's Kurds, who are "pro-Western and secular" and have proven to be America's most capable regional partners in the fight against ISIS.

Dmitri Trenin, director of Carnegie Endowment's Moscow Center, served in the Soviet and Russian military for two decades and understands both the Russian and U.S. points of view. He warns that U.S.-Russia relations are heading for a new version of the Cold War, and also discusses the Russian economy and its relations with China and other countries.

"Like other radical insurgencies, Boko Haram is fueled by poor governance, political marginalization, and its region's deepening impoverishment," says former Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell. "However, it is also shaped by specifically Nigerian circumstances and factors." This talk helps us understand Boko Haram's roots, ideology, and goals.

This month on "Impact," we're taking a close look at a huge issue--legacy. In this case, we're examining how it relates to contemporary philanthropy and the social sector in general. Specifically, we examine the $37-billion Gates Foundation's dual legacy in promoting global health, and in shaping the social sector at large.

"What's been amazing is that across Africa there is a movement where people are adopting technologies and leapfrogging some of the developmental stages that you'd have to go through," says Eddie Mandhry.