Carnegie Council Podcasts

Are there advantages to Trump being seen as an unpredictable "madman" when dealing with Asia, as Nixon was once described in relation to Vietnam? Or will it just make things worse? Devin Stewart discusses Trump's potential foreign policy approaches to Asia with former State Department official Daniel Markey.

From massive leaps in technology to ever-increasing globalization to the acceleration of climate change, workplace, politics, geopolitics, and ethics are all going through tectonic shifts. Why is this happening? Why was 2007 such a turning point and what's next? Thomas Friedman makes sense of it all, and offers hope going forward.

The world is entering a geopolitical recession, i.e. an unwinding of the old global order, says political scientist Ian Bremmer, in his grimmest forecast ever. Topics include the potential challenges from a Trump administration, President Obama's legacy of a more fractured world, human rights in the Middle East, and the fate of liberalism.

Stockholm is now the fastest growing capital in Europe, and Andreas Hatzigeorgiou brings a useful international perspective to his position as chief economist at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. In this wide-ranging conversation he discusses Stockholm's enormous success as a tech hub, Sweden's immigration policies, and much more.

November and December 2016 saw mass demonstrations in Jakarta, the largest protests in Indonesia's history. The demonstrators demanded that the city governor, an ethnic Chinese and a Christian, be prosecuted and then arrested for blasphemy against Islam. What are the forces behind these confrontations and what will be the consequences?

How will the Trump presidency affect women's rights, not only in the U.S. but around the world? Will the Sustainable Development Goals really succeed in improving women's health and reducing gender inequalities? Emotions run high on these issues. How can we find common ground? Don't miss this important discussion.

Despite all the challenges, right now is one of the most exciting moments for a new generation to redefine journalism, says Charles Sennott. The core goals of great journalism will never change--being there on the ground, giving voice to the voiceless--but the way we can push stories out through social media is extraordinary.

We often think that empathy, our capacity "to feel someone's pain," is the ultimate source of goodness. Nothing could be farther from the truth, argues psychology professor Paul Bloom. Scientific studies show that empathy is a capricious and irrational emotion that can cloud people's judgement and even lead to violence and cruelty.

The term effective altruism means that individuals should be sure to maximize the good they do, by donating to the most cost-effective charities, for example, rather than those that are simply emotionally satisfying. What are the promises and pitfalls of this approach? Find out more, with this thoughtful podcast.

Where are U.S.-China relations right now and where are they headed? "I don't think we should give up hope in some way forward. But it's very tough, especially given what we know of the personalities of the two leaders involved," says China expert Wasserstrom. Going beyond the headlines, he provides valuable background information and insights.