The CGD Podcast

CGD's David Evans and Rachel Glennerster speak with Kwame Akyeampong, professor at the Open University, about his book Reconceptualising the Learning Crisis in Africa. Together they discuss where the book and the evidence consensus agree and diverge: the framing of the learning crisis, measuring student outcomes, the language of instruction, the potential of accelerated learning programs, the role of teachers, and more.

CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with Princeton's Seema Jayachandran about how gender inequality can manifest differently in different regions, why GDP and labor access don't necessarily align, and what the research shows about how to increase women's access to jobs.

CGD's Sam Attridge and Nancy Lee speak with British International Investment CEO Leslie Maasdorp about balancing national interests with development mandates, setting reachable targets, and strategies for mobilization and prioritization.

CGD Board Chair Mohamed A. El-Erian speaks with renowned journalist Judy Woodruff about the Middle East War's impacts on low- and middle-income countries, including how governments can best respond to shocks, implications for the global economy, and what to watch for in the months ahead.

CGD's David Evans speaks with Dipak Naker of the Coalition for Good Schools and CGD's Gabriela Smarrelli on what the data shows about school violence (and what data is missing), how to conduct such research accurately and safely, and effective strategies for changing attitudes and practices around the world.

CGD's Clemence Landers, Liliana Rojas-Suarez, and Catherine Pattillo look at how the Iran war compares to recent shocks like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, how governments are responding—from fuel subsidies to rationing and currency interventions—and where the pressure is most acute, including in import-dependent economies in Southeast Asia and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with colleague Kehinde Ajayi and Imran Matin of BRAC University's Institute for Governance and Development about why child marriage persists and what evidence tells us about how to reduce it. They discuss how the drivers vary across contexts, and what policies have been shown to work, including education investments, empowerment programs for adolescent girls, and cash transfers designed to delay marriage.

Venezuela has experienced one of the deepest economic collapses in modern history. CGD's David Evans, Dany Bahar, and Liliana Rojas-Suarez examine how Venezuela reached this point, the conditions that need to be in place for a credible economic recovery, the role of oil and debt restructuring, and how the country can realistically chart a path out of poverty and back toward stability and growth.

CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with Seth Berkley, former CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, about lessons from COVID-19 and how they should shape future vaccine development and delivery.

In this episode, I speak with Ian Mitchell, the lead author of the 2025 Commitment to Development Index (CDI), about what this year's results reveal. We discuss why many countries have slipped in their overall contributions to global development, where progress is emerging, and how the CDI can guide smarter, more coherent policymaking across trade, migration, climate, technology, and development finance at a time of increasingly constrained budgets. Ian also reflects on the major trends shaping this year's index and urges policymakers and advocates to look beyond aid when thinking about how to drive real impact for the world's poorest countries.