The Final Service

When Joe Biden takes office, he’ll face challenges like no other president before him. From the pandemic, to our fragile democracy, a world in transition, and challenges exacerbated by climate change, the Biden Administration will have to approach  foreign policy very carefully. On this episode, co-host Ray Suarez talks with Washington Post columnist Ishaan Tharoor about these challenges and how the Biden Administration might tackle them.

Guests: 

Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post Columnist

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Pulitzer Prize- winning historian Anne Applebaum is worried about authoritarianism in the US. Since the election, world leaders have congratulated President-Elect Biden on his decisive victory, and yet, President Trump has not conceded. He’s gone on a rampage to discredit the results and put his loyalists in charge. Applebaum joins producer Teresa Cotsirilos on the podcast to talk about the nature of authoritarianism and how fascist leaders come to power. Democracy is fragile and sometimes, she says, the best way to push back against populist authoritarianism is to not answer it directly.

Guest: 

Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, author of  Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and staff writer at The Atlantic

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This year, the US is on track to spend $4 trillion on healthcare -- more than any other nation. Yet our healthcare system is famous for its dysfunction. What are we getting for our money? And how does our system stack up against those in other countries? This week, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel joins co-host Ray Suarez to compare different healthcare systems around the world. Then, producer Teresa Cotsirilos and Radio New Zealand’s Indira Stewart explain how Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern managed to nearly eradicate the coronavirus from New Zealand and return the country to some sense of normalcy.

Guests: 

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania and author of Which Country Has The World’s Best Healthcare System?

Indira Stewart, Radio New Zealand

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On October 25, an overwhelming majority of Chileans voted to throw out their constitution, written during Augusto Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship. It started as a student protest at a high school and grew into a national movement. Now, the streets of Santiago are filled with jubilant celebration, music and fireworks. But soon, the hard work of writing the new charter will begin. Daniel Alarcón discusses his reporting from Chile with Ray Suarez. 

Featuring:

Daniel Alarcón, contributing writer at The New Yorker and Executive Producer of Radio Ambulante. 

Ray Suarez, co-host of WorldAffairs & Washington reporter for Euronews

Reading Material: 

Chile at the Barricades, by Daniel Alarcón, The New Yorker

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Fraudulent elections can lead to long term voter apathy and erode democratic institutions. Sometimes, they can fuel widespread protests, and in some countries, revolution. On this episode of the podcast, we examine how a rigged election in Belarus is fueling a democratic uprising. Election observer and University of Missouri political scientist Mary Stegmaier is our guide.

Featuring: 

Mary Stegmaier,  Vice Provost for International Programs and Director of the International Center at the University of Missouri

Teresa Cotsirilos, WorldAffairs producer

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to WorldAffairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.​

Voter suppression. Allegations of fraud. Political violence. The whole world is watching the United States’ presidential election, and it feels like democracy itself is on the line. Political scientist and election observer Susan Hyde explains how politicians steal elections, what international observers can do to help, and what happens when voters demand a fair process.

Featuring: 

Susan Hyde, professor of political science at UC Berkeley

Teresa Cotsirilos, WorldAffairs producer

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to WorldAffairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.​

As tensions intensify between President Trump and Xi Jinping, China is pursuing its global ambitions through the “Belt and Road Initiative,” a massive global infrastructure project. In her new podcast, former NPR Beijing correspondent Mary Kay Magistad partners with local journalists on five continents to investigate the initiative’s impact. She joins journalist Shuang Li to explain how China tightens its hold on communities by building roads and pipelines around the world.

Guest: 

Mary Kay Magistad, Creator & Host, “On China’s New Silk Road” and former East Asia correspondent for NPR, & for PRX's The World

Shuang Li, Journalist and documentary filmmaker

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The US economy is floundering. Unemployment remains high and Congress is squabbling over a badly needed stimulus package. Meanwhile, China’s gotten its pandemic under control—and its economy is surging. In this episode, we look at China’s economic rise to power. Wall Street Journal correspondent Lingling Wei and her editor, Bob Davis, explain how US-China trade disputes are fueling a new Cold War.

Guests: 

Lingling Wei, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal and co-author of "Superpower Showdown"

Bob Davis, Senior editor at The Wall Street Journal and co-author of "Superpower Showdown"

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Former CIA Director John O. Brennan worked at the agency under six different presidents, but he says he never served one quite like Donald Trump. In this episode, he talks with co-host Ray Suarez about Russian interference in US elections, America’s role in the global community, and what it’s really like to work at the CIA.

Guest: 

John Brennan, Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency

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Since the attacks on September 11th, 2001, many Americans associate terrorism with the Middle East. But since 2001, more Americans have actually been killed by domestic terrorists than by any international groups. According to the Department of Homeland Security, white supremacists pose the deadliest terror threat to the United States, and a growing number of homegrown militia groups are mobilizing across the US. In this episode, we talk with former FBI agent Michael German, who argues that structural racism blinded the agency to the threat of white supremacy.

Guests: 

Michael German, Brennan Center for Justice at NYC Law School and former FBI agent

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