The World Next Week

Important provisions of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could expire due to partisan divisions, threatening a widely successful initiative; libraries take part in U.S. Banned Books Week in the face of a rising censorship movement; Slovakia holds an early parliamentary election amid concerns that pro-Russia parties will gain power; and Chinese President Xi Jinping and Syrian President ​​Bashar al-Assad announce a partnership.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Michelle Gavin, “PEPFAR at Twenty,” CFR.org

“Let Freedom Read Day,” BannedBooksWeek.org

Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow, “How Much Aid Has the U.S. Sent Ukraine? Here Are Six Charts,” CFR.org

More Perfect, WNYC Studios

The Coldest Cast in Laramie, Serial Productions

The Rewatchables, The Ringer

Peter Wehner, “The Republican Betrayal of PEPFAR,” The Atlantic

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/pepfar-reauthorization-struggle-banned-books-week-slovakia-democracy-test-and-more 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with U.S. President Joe Biden and members of Congress to ensure continued U.S. military aid amid Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia; the Spanish parliament attempts to choose a prime minister, with both Alberto Núñez Feijóo and serving President Pedro Sánchez reliant on smaller fringe parties to secure a majority; the United Nations observes the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons despite the continuing global prevalence of nuclear weapons; and relations between Canada and India are frayed after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of ordering the death of prominent Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/zelenskyy-washington-spain-tries-form-government-un-spotlights-nuclear-weapons-and-more 

One year after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police prompted widespread domestic protests, the Islamic Republic appears to have rebounded while keeping a prominent international profile; the United Nations General Assembly begins its high-level debate week with leaders gathering to attend major summits on Sustainable Development Goals and climate challenges; and Cuba arrests Russian recruiters looking for more fighters.

Mentioned on the Podcast

“Who Runs the World?... Not Women,” Why It Matters

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/anniversary-mahsa-aminis-death-un-summits-climate-and-development-russia-recruits-cubans 

Leaders of major global economies meet in New Delhi, India for the annual Group of Twenty (G20) summit to solve the most pressing economic challenges; on September 11th, Chile marks fifty years since General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte’s military coup and the United States observes the twenty-second anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks; a possible meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin troubles national security experts; and the European Union struggles with a surge in asylum applications.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Jack Devine, “What Really Happened in Chile,” Foreign Affairs

Pablo Larraín, El Conde

Francisco O. Mora, “Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Coup D’état in Chile,” U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States

Scott Snyder, “The Perils of a Renewed North Korea-Russia Relationship,” CFR.org

The 9/11 Commission Report [PDF], The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/indias-g20-summit-911-chile-and-us-kim-jong-un-and-putin-draw-closer-and-more 

Southeast Asian leaders meet in Jakarta, Indonesia for the forty-third Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, working to improve the bloc’s cooperation with external partners; Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly known as AMLO, begins the last year of his six-year term; new COVID-19 variants drive a spike in U.S. cases and hospitalizations; and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s visit to Beijing spurs renewed interest in U.S.-China trade.

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/asean-summit-amlos-final-year-covid-19-variants-emerge-and-more 

Major technology companies rush to comply with the European Union (EU) Digital Services Act, which makes online platforms responsible for moderating harmful content; questions mount about the Russian private military company Wagner Group after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is reportedly killed in a plane crash; the Taliban enters its third year in power since the U.S. military evacuated from Afghanistan; and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visits Saudi Arabia as the former rival countries to normalize relations.

Mentioned on the Podcast

“Israeli-Saudi Peace Deal, With Steven A. Cook,” The President’s Inbox

Tatiana Stanovaya, “Putin’s Age of Chaos,” Foreign Affairs

U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol meet at Camp David to try to strengthen security cooperation against North Korea and coordinate China policies; Ecuador holds a snap election amid political violence; South Africa hosts the fifteenth summit of BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with the goal of expanding the group’s geopolitical influence; and Niger’s crisis worsens as the military junta vows to prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Mohamed Bazoum, “President of Niger: My Country Is Under Attack and I’ve Been Taken Hostage,” Washington Post

Hanna Foreman, Mireya Solís, and Andrew Yeo, “America’s Window of Opportunity in Asia,” Foreign Affairs

Scott A. Snyder, “The Trilateral Summit at Camp David: Institutionalizing U.S.-Japan-South Korea Coordination,” CFR.org

Scott A. Snyder and Sheila A. Smith, “Media Briefing: U.S.-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit,” CFR.org

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/us-japan-south-korea-summit-ecuadors-snap-election-brics-leaders-meet-and-more 

In this special episode of The World Next Week, Rosa Brooks, the Scott K. Ginsburg Chair in Law and Policy and professor at Georgetown University Law Center, joins Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins to discuss the books they recommend reading, the books they’re looking forward to reading, and other entertainment they’re enjoying this summer.

Mentioned on the Podcast

Carla’s Picks

Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph And Tragedy Of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Caitlin Doughty, From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”

Bob’s Picks

Konstantin Paustovsky, translated by Douglas Smith, The Story of a Life

Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

“Jonathan GPT Swift on Jonathan Swift,” Conversations with Tyler

Rosa’s Picks

Alex Mar, Seventy Times Seven: A True Story Of Murder And Mercy

George Black, Empire of Shadows: The Epic Story of Yellowstone

John Linson and Taylor Sheridan, “Yellowstone”

Additional Books, Podcasts, Shows, and Games Mentioned on the Podcast

John Adams, Doctor Atomic

Edward Berger, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Tyler Cowen, “Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide”

Joan Didion, The White Album

Craig Mazin, “The Last of Us”

Pong

Sam Shaw, “Manhattan”

Frank Spotnitz, “The Man in the High Castle”

Fred Zinnemann, “From Here to Eternity”

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/twnw-special-what-read-summer-2023 

This episode first aired: July 6, 2023

A Russian court will deliver the final verdict for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s trial on “extremism” charges; eight South American heads of state meet in Belém, Brazil to try to strengthen a common policy for Amazon Rainforest protection; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for judiciary reform intensifies; and protesters in Niger direct their anger towards France. 

Mentioned on the Podcast

Mariel Ferragamo, “The Niger Coup Could Threaten the Entire Sahel,“ CFR.org

Bryan Harris, “Brazil to Launch ‘Most Ambitious’ Green Transition Package,” Financial Times

Yaniv Kubovich, "Israeli Army Retroactively Cancels Call-ups of Reservists Who Refused to Report for Duty," Haaretz

Dov Lieber, “Israeli Reservists Start Missing Duty, Threatening Military Unity and Readiness,” Wall Street Journal

Recommended Reading

Diana Roy, “Can Amazon Countries Save the Rain Forest?,” CFR.org  

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Australia to wrap up a visit aimed at boosting security ties and offsetting Chinese influence; the Colombian government and guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) agree to implement a cease-fire; the formation of a newly elected Thai government remains in limbo as differing factions disagree on who can stand for prime minister; and China’s government removes former Foreign Minister Qin Gang after only seven months of service. 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/blinken-visits-south-pacific-colombia-eln-cease-fire-thailands-political-face-and-more