Carnegie Council Podcasts

Cyprus is the latest European state to need a bailout from the Troika of the EU, the IMF, and the ECB. But this time, individual depositors are being asked to pick up part of the tab. Should taxpayers have to bear the burden if banks fail?

A new book claiming that bonobos can feel empathy suggests that morality be biological. If this is the case, what purpose does religion serve? Is it still a useful tool for moral guidance or can we get all our answers from science?

"What strikes me about the world today is that it's a world of 7 billion people who are more connected than ever before, and yet the divides are huge. We see growing inequality both within countries and between countries. I'm not sure that we can continue like this and be socially cohesive."

Ian Morris demonstrates that social development can be measured across thousands of years. Based on past trends, what can we expect in the future? For one thing, the pace of change has accelerated. Morris predicts that the 21st century is going to be a "race between shifts in the balance of power, a transformation of humanity, and catastrophe."

"For me, leadership is also feminine. I always say that the men who have feminine values are part of the criteria for me to look for in leadership. It is that touch, that caring, giving, solidarity. Those are things that for me are very fundamental in leadership."

A recent nuclear test and renewed threats from North Korea has led to new sanctions from the UN Security Council. Does this mean that China's patience with North Korea has finally run out? Or will humanitarian and geopolitical concerns keep the two allied?

In this inspiring talk about her extraordinary life so far, Mary Robinson tells us of her early years and how she became president of Ireland, even though the odds were 100-1; her work as a champion of human rights, especially those of women; and about her current work as president of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice.

"The whole moral equation has become incredibly difficult, whether in terms of space or in terms of time. The moral community is now spread out across the world. Consequences are now long-term and not short-term. All in all, we have not yet evolved moralities that can really solve these problems."

"Most people, once they become more and more aware, they are in a better position to demand better policies in their own country and they are more likely to get engaged in other ways as well."

Mining harms the environment irreversibly, yet this is often ignored, and mining is on the increase, often without clear ecological or economic development benefits. "We're still using the model created at the end of the 19th century, but in a very different period, where the resources are increasingly scarce and the economy has changed dramatically."