The Global Podcast

The conflict surfacing in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray is intensifying as the government in Addis Ababa respond to local TPLF (Tigray Party Liberation Force) endeavours to secure autonomy with a military response. With an information blackout and muddle communication, understanding what is going on is a challenge. Even more so is how this conflict can threaten both the unity of the country and the diplomatic dynamics in the African horn. William Davison, Senior Analyst at International Crises Group speaks with us on The Global Podcast to understand what is going on as well as the implications for diplomacy in the region and development in Ethiopia. 

Despite the harking of some foreign policy wonks on the end of globalisation, the greater interconnectedness of global affairs and business beckons to differ. And with a great connected world, even during a pandemic, means greater need for diplomacy. On this episode, we discuss the new diplomacy and emergence of diplomatic divisions in both businesses and tech.

With consistent discussion on the impact of COVID 19 on the global economy and geopolitics, we forget about the impact of those who work with the most vulnerable. On this episode, we speak with Katie Rickard of Impact Initiatives to discuss the situation on the ground, the gravity of the pandemic and the affect it is having on an already fragile humanitarian situation globally.

The Global Podcast will be on a summer break until mid-September. In the meantime, revisit past episodes while we work on bringing you amazing new ones.

The arrival of COVID-19 has led to global economic crisis with the halt of the global economy. But while leaders are focusing on economic stimulus packages, a recent report shows that they should be focusing on a more sustainable solution - green stimulus. We speak with UK Sustainability Expert Richard Smith to discuss more about this potential for both a sustainable economy and environment.

Lebanon is on the verge of bursting. With an ineffective government, high inflation, overwhelming numbers of refugees from both Syria and Palestine, as weak as dwindling opportunities for its youth, the Lebanese people have been protesting since late last year for change. But with COVID19 now added to the mix, Lebanon is now on the verge of complete collapse and burst, taking a toll on its most vulnerable populations. We are joined by Halim Shebaya, Interim Executive Director of the Arab Association of Constitutional Law and Christophe Martin, the Head of Delegation at the International Community of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon to discuss more about both the political and economic explosion in the country and the effect it is having on the most vulnerable of the Lebanese community.  

Italy and Greece both have relatively weak economies prior to being hit by the COVID-19 health pandemic. News coverage of the virus plaguing Italy was rampid, but while Italy struggled to keep it at bay, Greece managed to contain the virus relatively swiftly. But with shutdowns and low tourism this summer, what will Italy and Greece look like post-COVID19? We speak to former Milan Correspondent for The Economist Alexandra Fattal and Nick Malkoutzis of MarcoPolis to discuss this further.

The COVID-19 virus has plunged the world into a high level of uncertainty and without a doubt, many developing countries are feeling that brunt. With The Economist having hailed this the African decade and many looking to the promises of Frontier Markets as “the next big thing”, what are their outlooks in a post-coronavirus world now that a deep recession is likely? Joining us to discuss more are Gavin Serkins (Managing Editor of New Markets Media and Intelligence), Andres Alma (Congressional Candidate and Professor of Law at Universidad APEC in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Michael Nderitu (Chief Risk Officer at AZA in Kenya) to discuss the African, Latin American and Frontier Market perspective.

In February of 2020, the USA had 3.5% unemployment in the entire country - a 50 year low. But then came COVID-19 and 20.6 million job losses. This has left many wondering - what happened to the plentiful jobs of Trump? Truth be told, they were plentiful - just not sustainable. On this episode, we explore how COVID-19 revealed a critical in sustainable jobs in the USA and what this could mean for its economic future.

While COVID 19 has been primarily ravaging Western and Developed Nations such as China, Italy and the USA, the developing world has not been immune to the coronavirus - or COVID 19 - either In fact, many experts fear it will be worst in Africa, Asia and Latin America due to the poor medical infrastructure and general social dynamics. But as the weeks progress, the reality has been different than what the media is portraying. But what are the repercussions of COVID 19 in this part of the world? Whether on its economy and socio cultural dynamics that will cause it to suffer more than what the virus can do? We speak with Dr Theodora Pepera (a British-Ghanaian OBGYN based in Accra), Dr Ryan Lloyd  of Centre College in the USA who specialised in Latin American affairs, and Lauren Anders Brown (award winning humanitarian film maker) to discuss COVID 19 in Africa, Latin America and the vulnerable communities in the refugee camps around the world to discuss the reality on the ground.