The Oxford Union

Secretary Ryan McCarthy is the current US Secretary of the Army, serving, de facto, since 2017. Having served in Afghanistan as a US Army Ranger, he has since worked as a professional staff member on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as a special assistant to former United States Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, and at defence company Lockheed Martin.

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean diplomat and politician, who served as the eight Secretary-General of the United Nations from 2007 until 2016. Elected in 2006 to succeed Kofi Annan, his key achievements include the negotiation of early stages of peace in Darfur, the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the signing of the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2015. Alongside this, he pursued an agenda of bureaucratic reform and transparency within the UN, and oversaw the creation of UN Women. He has since co-founded the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, and has served as President and Chair of the Global Green Growth Institute, a treaty-based international organisation for sustainable development.

The COVID-19 crisis has pushed health policy to the forefront of government agendas, for the first time in generations. With the race for a vaccine underway across the world, lockdowns easing, and international organisations at breaking point, where does international health policy go from here? What lessons must be learned from the crisis? Joining us to answer these questions are Dr Leana Wen, Prof. David Baltimore and Prof. Lawrence Gostin.

CONTENT WARNING: This podcast contains references to sexual violence and assault.Christina Lamb is the chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times, and a war reporter who has covered conflicts in nations including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She is the recipient of multiple awards for her reporting, including several British Press Awards, an OBE, and the European Prix Bayeux-Calvados for war correspondents. She joins us to discuss her latest book, Our Bodies, Their Battlefield, which addresses the use of rape as a weapon of war.

Vonn is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer, and winner of four World Cup overall championships. She is America's most successful ski racer and is considered one of the world's greatest skiers. By the time of her retirement in 2019 due to injury, she was the winner of 82 world cup races - a women's skiing record.

Aoki is an American DJ, record producer, and music executive. He is known for both his personal projects and his collaborations, including with will.i.am, BTS, and Backstreet Boys. His debut album, Wonderland, was nominated for a Grammy in 2013. He is the founder of the Steve Aoki Char- itable Fund, which raises money for humanitarian causes around the world.

Stiglitz is an American economist, public policy analyst, and professor at Columbia University. Stiglitz was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1995 to 1997, and Chief Economist of the World Bank from 1997 to 2000.  A supporter of Georgist public finance theory and critic of the management of globalisation, laissez-faire economics, and international institutions, Stiglitz received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, will the world of work ever return to normal? Is it time for businesses to come to terms with remote working, and the permanent digitisation of the workplace? And with the advent of automation, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, what exactly are humans at risk of losing to machines? We are joined by Prof. William Kerr, Prof. Nancy Rothbard and Prof. Kate Kellogg.

Franklin is an American former competitive swimmer, and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She has been named World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year, and has won 27 medals in international competition. She previously held the world record in the 200-metre backstroke, and for the most World Aquatics Championships medals in women's swimming. One of America’s most successful swimmers, she retired in 2019 due to injury.

Dr Swaminathan is a renowned Indian clinical scientist and paediatrician, currently serving as Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation, having previously served as Deputy Director-General of Programmes. She was previously the Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research. In her role at WHO, she has been at the forefront of the organisation's response to the COVID-19 crisis, and joins us today for a discussion of the WHO’s International Health Regulation, the criticisms it has faced, and the future of public health.