Worldly

Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about President Joe Biden’s announcement that all remaining US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that launched the war. They discuss what the US withdrawal means for the near-term future of Afghanistan, why Biden finally made the tough call that his predecessors couldn’t (or wouldn’t), and what that decision tells us about how Biden sees the future of US military engagement abroad.

References:

Here’s Alex’s Vox story on Biden’s announcement to withdraw all US troops by September 11.

Alex interviewed experts making the best case for and against an Afghanistan withdrawal.

Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal speech is on the White House’s website.

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security ranked Afghanistan as the second-worst country for women.

The BBC reports that the Taliban is already claiming it won the war.

The Wall Street Journal reported how the US is looking to other countries to base its counterterrorism forces.

Here’s the story by the Daily Beast’s Spencer Ackerman on how Biden defended the war on terrorism.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down the royal drama that has roiled the normally quiet kingdom of Jordan this week: The king has accused his half-brother, the former crown prince, of a vague conspiracy against the crown and has put him under house arrest. The Worldly crew lays out what we actually know about what happened, what led to this family tension spilling out into the open, what political instability in Jordan could mean for the broader Middle East, and whether the Biden administration is betraying its stated commitment to defend democracy and human rights by unequivocally backing the king in this dispute. Also, Zack sings.

References:

Alex wrote Vox’s explainer on the royal family feud.

This is the audio of Prince Hamzah and the Jordanian general talking that Jenn mentioned.

The New York Times has a good piece on the roots of the King Abdullah and Prince Hamzah split.

You can watch Hamzah’s self-filmed video sent to the BBC, well, on the BBC.

The White House had a readout of President Biden’s call with Abdullah.

Biden told Abdullah to “stay strong.”

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Alex, and returning guest Jen Kirby talk about the potential for a “bloodbath” in Myanmar. Since the military deposed the democratic government in a February 1 coup, pro-democracy protesters and armed ethnic groups have risen up against the junta. They’ve been met with extreme violence, leading to more than 500 dead and concerns from experts that a broader civil war is coming. The Worldly crew explains how this horrible situation came to be, what may come next, and what — if anything — the international community can do to stop a Syria-like crisis.

References:

The Associated Press has a good story on the air campaign against the Karen ethnic group.

Reuters describes the struggle of pro-democracy protesters and ethnic groups against Myanmar’s military junta.

Some experts think Myanmar is on the verge of becoming a “failed state,” per CNBC.

The RAND think tank has a long study on how insurgencies end.

Expert Ashley South has a report on the Karen and their long conflict against Myanmar’s government.

Here’s the Mother Jones interview with a pro-democracy protester Zack mentioned.

And here’s Vox’s explainer on the Myanmar coup.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a very special Worldly episode, Zack, Jenn, and Alex answer YOUR questions! From the many great listener questions sent in over the last several weeks, the gang picked four to answer in this week’s episode: What is “the Quad” and how does it fit into geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific; what’s driving migration to the US from Central America; why Imperial Japan’s use of Korean forced labor and “comfort women” in the 1930s and ’40s continues to complicate relations between Japan and South Korea today; and how to go about explaining world affairs topics to folks who don’t have a deep background in these subjects.

References:

Alex wrote an explainer on “the Quad.”

Vox has a piece on the hurricane’s effects in Central America.

Here’s Jen Kirby’s story about a better US policy for the Golden Triangle.

This is the Washington Post analysis on the situation at the border.

Deutsche Welle has a smart explainer on the forced labor issue on the Korean Peninsula.

The Asahi Shimbun has a report on the Japanese firms facing a wartime damages suit.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the raft of problems stymying Europe’s vaccine rollout, which has been slower and messier than expected, given some of the earlier successes the continent had controlling infection rates. They talk about why some countries decided to pause administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and how the EU’s decision to negotiate for vaccines as a bloc, rather than as individual countries, slowed down the rollout and exacerbated tensions between some of the wealthier and less-wealthy countries in the bloc. They also discuss what all of this turmoil might mean for the future of the EU as a political institution.

References:

Politico Europe has a great piece on how the EU fell behind on vaccines.

Yes, Germany was let off the hook after it tried to make a side vaccine deal.

The Washington Post noted that the EU pays less than the US for vaccines.

Here’s the survey showing Europe is the most vaccine-skeptical region of the world.

The New York Times reported politics may have played a bigger role in the AstraZeneca vaccine freeze than science.

This is the Science magazine piece Jenn mentioned about the blood clots.

The Washington Post reported that Europe may be headed into a third coronavirus wave.

The Atlantic has a smart piece on France’s vaccine skepticism.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the huge news out of Brazil this week, where a judge annulled the corruption conviction of the country’s former leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, opening the door for him to possibly run for president in 2022. The gang talks about what Lula was accused of, the debate about whether the case was fairly prosecuted, why Lula is revered by many of the country’s poor but loathed by its conservative elites, and how his return to the political scene could set the stage for a fiery election contest against the country’s current president, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

References:

Two Vox videos, one on Operation Car Wash and the other on Bolsonaro’s rise, provide great context.

Back when it happened, Zack explained Operation Car Wash for Vox.

Here’s Lula’s recent interview with The Ink where he discusses his, uh, vigor.

The Intercept Brazil showed Sergio Moro’s connections to the prosecution during Operation Car Wash.

Voice of America offered a good rundown of the case against Lula.

Reuters covered Lula’s “stump speech” that has many speculating about his 2022 plans.

Bolsonaro’s messaging on Covid-19 has been disastrous, BBC News reported.

The stats Jenn cited about Lula’s approval rating after he left office came from El País.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex debate whether the US should continue to treat Saudi Arabia as a close partner given its atrocious human rights abuses and the declining US dependence on Middle Eastern oil. In the second half of the show, Jenn interviews Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) about his proposed strategy for a new US approach to the Persian Gulf.

References:

Read Sen. Murphy’s Foreign Affairs piece on a new Middle East strategy

Read Alex’s profile about Sen. Murphy’s foreign policy views.

Alex also wrote about how Biden didn’t follow through on his promise to punish MBS.

CNN reported that the Biden administration never considered sanctioning MBS.

In 2018 Alex conducted an interview with an expert on why the US wouldn’t end its relationship with Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi murder.

You can read America’s intelligence report on the Khashoggi murder.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down why the Biden administration hasn’t yet reentered the Iran nuclear deal. They explain that the process of rejoining is more complicated than it might seem, but that it’s still likely the deal will come back eventually. They then debate the pros and cons of rejoining the accord and how well the Obama foreign policy team — many of whom have joined the Biden administration — handled the pact. One point of agreement: The Trump administration’s Iran policy failed.

References:

Alex wrote about the impending US-Iran talks over the nuclear deal.

And he also wrote about Colin Kahl’s under-threat confirmation.

Foreign Policy asks if Biden took too long to reengage Iran.

Jenn noted a Politico magazine story detailing how the Obama administration let a Hezbollah criminal enterprise proceed to help strike the 2015 deal.

Al Jazeera reported on then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 12 demands on Iran. He achieved none of them.

Vox has a great visual explainer on the Iran deal.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down one of the DC foreign policy world’s hottest new catchphrases: “great power competition.” It’s the idea that international politics in the 21st century will be dominated by a struggle for influence between the US, China, and (to a lesser extent) Russia. The gang talks about what the concept actually means and whether it’s a useful framework for understanding international politics today and in the future.

References:

Dan Nexon’s Foreign Affairs article inspired the Worldly crew to record this episode.

The Atlantic had an excellent piece explaining how “great power competition” became a DC buzzword.

The National Interest had an op-ed detailing why great power competition could be a problem.

Matthew Kroenig wrote in Foreign Policy on how the US should outline goals for its competition with China.

The Congressional Research Service has a comprehensive report on what “great power competition” has meant in recent years.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the huge farmers’ protests in India. They explain the very real policy debate over new agricultural reform laws that sparked the protests, and how that debate has now been obscured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist politics, international celebrity activism, and online trolls. Oh, and they talk about Rihanna. Yes, that Rihanna.

References:

Vox’s Jariel Arvin explains the Indian farmers’ protest.

And he also writes about why India’s government is mad at Rihanna.

Plus, Vox has a smart video on the protests.

The India Forum has an excellent deep dive into India’s three farming reforms.

Scientific American lays out the environmental problems with farming in India.

The New Yorker in 2019 had an excellent feature on Modi’s Hindu nationalism.

The Times of India looks into the rise of internet trolls.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us:

Vox.com 

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices