In this special episode of World Review Kate Mossman hosts a conversation between the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the Icelandic musician Björk Guðmundsdóttir. They have collaborated in the past (on Björk’s 2019 Cornucopia tour) but had never met till now – albeit virtually.

In a wide-ranging conversation they discuss Thunberg’s new anthology The Climate Book, an epic guide to achievable climate action, and Björk’s latest album, Fossora (a made-up word meaning “she who digs”), a meditation on the Earth from a “matriarchal” perspective. They also talk about generational differences, the Arctic melt, fame, greenwashing, disappointing politicians, musical influences and how the UK looks from where they are.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Helsinki are joined by Alix Kroeger, a freelance journalist in Kyiv and the former international managing editor of the New Statesman.

Central Kyiv was attacked by Russia this week. As Alix reports, this was the first time the capital has been attacked since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The team discuss the devastation wrought by the strikes, the response from the city’s residents, and what it signals about Vladimir Putin’s willingness to raise the stakes after Russia’s recent setbacks.

Next, they head to Olkiluoto Island in Finland, where amid the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion, the country has opened Europe’s largest nuclear reactor and the world’s first permanent disposal site for nuclear waste. They discuss Ido’s recent visit to the site, the process for the disposal of the spent fuel, and the controversies that surround it. 

Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks why the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) group is reducing oil exports now, in apparent support of Russian interests.

Further reading:

Alix Kroeger reports Russia's war returns to Kyiv

Ido Vock writes Russian strikes on Ukraine's cities are an implicit nuclear threat.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie Stallard, the New Statesman's senior editor, China and global affairs, presents a special series of the New Statesman's World Review podcast on China's past, present and future under Xi Jinping, as the Chinese leader prepares to embark on an unprecedented third term in power.

This episode looks at what the next five years under Xi might hold for China as he reasserts the Communist Party’s role at home and adopts an increasingly assertive posture abroad, as well as whether he plans to nominate a successor and hand over power.

Katie is joined by Minxin Pei, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California and editor of the China Leadership Monitor; and Diana Fu, associate professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and the author of Mobilizing Without the Masses: Control and Contention in China. She is also joined by the former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, now president of the Asia Society and the author, most recently, of The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinping’s China.

Further reading:

Are the US and China destined for war over Taiwan? 

Xinjiang: a region of suspicion and subjugation. 

Nixon in China: the complicated legacy of the week that changed the world 

Dangerous skies over the South China Sea

China doesn’t just want to be part of the global order – it wants to shape it 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of the National Congress that begins on 16 October in Beijing, where Xi is likely to secure a third five-year term in power in China, Katie Stallard speaks to the author and political scientist Jeremy Wallace about whether you can trust what China says about its economy. 

They discuss how GDP data can be manipulated, the impact of Covid-19 on the country, and what we should be looking for to get an idea of the state of the Chinese economy.

You can also catch up with Katie Stallard’s three-part series on China Under Xi.

If you have a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskus

Read more: 

The downfall of Evergrande foreshadows a difficult decade for China – and for Xi Jinping

“Control your soul’s desire for freedom”: Shanghai’s dystopian Covid regime

As China stumbles, the West must ask: what if its rise is not inevitable?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States and its allies are trying to gauge how, exactly, Vladimir Putin might use the nuclear weapons he’s threatened to deploy in his war in Ukraine, if he were to take that dire step. Meanwhile, North Korea has conducted six missile tests in two weeks.

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC, Katie Stallard in Scotland’s Black Isle, and Ido Vock in Helsinki discuss what Russia’s use of a nuclear weapon could involve, and how Ukraine, the US and their allies might respond.

Then, they turn to North Korea. What is the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, working towards? And what do his plans mean for the security of South Korea and Japan?

The team also answers a listener’s question on what all of this could mean for Iran’s nuclear deal, in this week’s You Ask Us.

If you have a question for the international team, fill out our new You Ask Us web form.

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.

Further reading:

Emily Tamkin on what could happen if Russia used nuclear weapons?

Katie Stallard asks what is the meaning of North Korea's nuclear opportunism.

Megan Gibson on how Mahsa Amini's death set Iran on fire.

Ido Vock on how the Nord Stream pipeline "sabotage" shows the weakness of Europe's critical infrastructure.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie Stallard, the New Statesman’s senior editor, China and global affairs, presents a special series of the NS’s World Review podcast, explaining China’s past, present and future under Xi Jinping, as the Chinese leader prepares to embark on a third term in power.

This week’s episode looks at how Xi consolidated power during his first decade in charge: how he subdued his rivals, cracked down on Chinese civil society and began to flex China’s growing military strength.

Katie is joined by Manoj Kewalramani, chair of the Indo-Pacific research programme and China studies fellow at the Takshashila Institution, a leading Indian public policy education centre, and the author of Smokeless War: China’s Quest for Geopolitical Dominance, as well as Diana Fu, associate professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and the author of Mobilizing Without the Masses: Control and Contention in China. Katie also speaks to Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California San Diego and the author of Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise. 

Further reading:

The betrayal of Hong Kong. 

Xinjiang: a region of suspicion and subjugation.  

China doesn’t just want to be part of the global order, it wants to shape it.  

Dangerous skies over the South China Sea.  

How Peng Shuai exposed the limits of China’s power. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the Italian election victory of the post-fascist Giorgia Meloni and her Fratelli d'Italia party last weekend, many have asked what relationship it has with the country's fascist past. To discuss this, Jeremy Cliffe is joined by the historian David Broder, Europe editor at Jacobin and the author of the forthcoming book Mussolini's Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary Italy.

Their conversation covers the emergence of the Italian Social Movement in the postwar years, Meloni's early years in politics in the 1990s, the relationship between post-fascism and Silvio Berlusconi's governments, and the Fratelli d'Italia party today.

Listeners can pre-order Mussolini's Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary Italy and get 20 per cent off using the discount code "BRODER20".

Read more:

Jeremy on the meaning and making of Giorgia Meloni.

Jeremy on the Italian election results.

David Broder on what the European right wants.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Giorgia Meloni’s post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party claimed victory in the Italian election on Sunday 25 September. Meloni is now on the verge of becoming the country’s first female prime minister.

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC is joined by Jeremy Cliffe and Ido Vock in Berlin to discuss what Meloni can be expected to usher in for Italy and for Europe more broadly. They also talk about the blurred line between the centre right and the far right, and Meloni’s plans to redesign the constitution in favour of a more presidential system.

Next, the team turns to Ukraine, where Vladimir Putin’s four illegal referendums aimed at annexing occupied regions of the country have been passed. They discuss what happens next, as well as whether Russia sabotaged its own Nord Stream pipelines.

In You Ask Us, a listener asks whether Jair Bolsonaro will concede in Brazil’s presidential election next month.

Further reading:

Jeremy writes Giorgia Meloni's post-fascist party triumphs in the Italian election.

Phil Clarke-Hill asks what is at stake in Brazil's presidential election?

Jeremy on the making and meaning of Giorgia Meloni.

Ido writes the Nord Stream pipeline "sabotage" shows the weakness of Europe's critical infrastructure.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie Stallard, the New Statesman's Senior Editor, China and Global Affairs, presents a special series of the New Statesman's World Review podcast on China's past, present and future under Xi Jinping, as the Chinese leader prepares to embark on an unprecedented third term in power.

This episode looks back at China's recent history, from the dictatorship of Mao Zedong to the country's extraordinary economic rise, and how Xi put China back on the path to one-man rule. Katie is joined by the University of Oxford historian and author Rana Mitter, as well as Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Centre at the University of California San Diego and author of Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise. 

Further reading: 

Nixon in China: the complicated legacy of the week that changed the world

China doesn’t just want to be part of the global order – it wants to shape it

Are the US and China destined for war over Taiwan?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leaves it short of allies, the country’s relationship with India has come into sharp focus. Emily Tamkin speaks to Raji Rajagopalan, the director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology (CSST) at the Observer Research Foundation, about India's balancing act between Russia and the West.

They discuss India’s foreign relations priorities; its relationship with China, and where Russia fits into that triumvirate; and how much support it might be willing to offer Russia as the conflict goes on.

Further reading:

The war in Ukraine has tipped the balance of power in Russia’s relationship with India.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.