DiscoverThe World
The World
Claim Ownership

The World

Author: PRX

Subscribed: 5,661Played: 479,805
Share

Description


Host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories that remind us just how small our planet really is.


106 Episodes
Reverse
Rafik Hariri was a charismatic Lebanese prime minister who oversaw an era of relative economic and political stability until his assassination. Amal Mudallali was Rafik Hariri’s foreign policy adviser and more recently a permanent representative to the UN for Lebanon, who spoke about Hariri's legacy and the opportunity Lebanon is now confronted with. Also,  Australia has passed tough anti-hate laws, with mandatory jail time for giving the Nazi salute in public. It's part of an effort to combat a wave of anti-semitism in the country.Also, as controversy continues around South Korea's impeached president, a look at the anti-feminist platform that brought him to power, and the state of feminism in South Korea today. And, Chile’s biggest carnival is kicking off at full speed on Friday. As many as 150,000 people have traveled to the northern Chilean town of Arica to participate. Our reporter takes us there.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have signaled a dramatic shift in the US approach to Russia, Ukraine, and the NATO alliance. Where does that leave Europe? Also, the latest craze in cryptocurrency is using memes to bring attention to specific coins. They're called meme coins, and they're risky, because they're backed by nothing but internet attention. Now, one of the world's poorest countries has become the first to launch a national meme coin. The Central African Republic's president launched it on X, and it's been a wild ride ever since.  And, in Spain, the trial of former women's national team coach Luis Rubiales comes to an end; Rubiales is accused of sexual aggression for a victory kiss that player Jennifer Hermoso says was not consensual.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The civil war in Sudan has been raging for nearly two years and has displaced an estimated 12 million people. Now, there are reports that the breakaway military faction, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has stormed the Zamzam Refugee Camp in North Darfur, Sudan's largest displacement camp. We hear from an expert who has been monitoring the situation on the ground. Denmark is dismantling immigrant neighborhoods where the government says residents — mostly people from the Middle East — don’t share “Danish values.” A law that came into effect six years ago paved the way for the government to kick folks out of public housing, and then entice people who do have Danish values to move in. That is to say: white Danes. The project is sparking vocal criticism throughout Europe. Also, a balancing act in the city of Kyoto: how to preserve the city's spiritual heritage while still benefiting from the heavy tourism it draws. And, Ukrainian journalist and Wall Street Journal correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov stops by The World to discuss his recent novel, as well as the current situation in Ukraine.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
US President Donald Trump meets with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House as Trump's plan to forcibly remove Palestinians in Gaza to Jordan and Egypt is met with regional and global condemnation. Also, the “Vote-o-Mat” helps German voters navigate candidates ahead of parliamentary elections. And, the movie “Emilia Pérez”, which has received 13 Oscar nominations has been mired in controversy and has become unpopular in Mexico. Plus, scientists say the shape of the Earth’s core may be changing shape.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
An AI summit in Paris brings together world leaders, scientists and tech executives to discuss the groundbreaking impact of artificial intelligence, with EU nations and India playing “catch-up” to the US and China. Also, Senegal renames its streets that were named after French colonial figures to those of prominent Senegalese. And, Israeli police arrest two Palestinian bookstore owners in occupied East Jerusalem, with Arab and Jewish supporters protesting their detention in front of a Jerusalem court. Plus, conservationists build "sloth bridges" in Costa Rica to keep the animals safe.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Voters in Ecuador will head to the polls for general elections this weekend. The next president will face the enormous task of dismantling well-funded and powerful organized crime groups in the country as well as restoring trust in government and fix an economy in crisis. Also, the Trump administration is using military planes to deport migrants to Latin America, and regional leaders are expressing concerns about how they're being treated. And, a close relative of one of the recently-released Israeli hostages tells us her family's story. Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Advancing the human rights of LGBTQ people around the world was part of the Biden administration's policy agenda. The point person for that effort was Jessica Stern, a US special envoy. She left the job with the changing of the guard at the White House, and President Donald Trump is not expected to fill the position. On Thursday, in her first interview since stepping down, Stern reflects on her time advancing LGBTQ rights on the global stage. Also, it's been the warmest winter that anyone can remember in Russia. That might sound nice, but for many Russian communities, melting ice and thawing temperatures have caused real problems. And, Japan experiences more earthquakes than any country. So, how has its nationwide transit system remained so remarkably safe?Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Negotiations for the phase two of the ceasefire deal for Gaza are underway. The vision for this phase has been for Hamas and Israel to work out details surrounding the release of the remaining hostages, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. But controversy surrounding comments from US President Donald Trump during Tuesday's visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only increases the difficulty of this diplomatic challenge.Also, what justice for past crimes might look like in post-Assad Syria. And, Thailand cut off access to power and internet for jungle compounds in Myanmar where phone and text scammers work day and night.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Panama has become the first Latin American nation to pull out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It’s also weighing whether to cancel its contract with the Hong Kong-based company that operates near the Panama Canal. An adviser to the US Institute for Peace says that it's all part of the long rivalry between the US and China in Latin America. Also, Syria's new interim president is traveling to Turkey to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. There's a lot at stake for both countries. Turkey, which hosts more than 3 million Syrian refugees, wants a stable Syria next door. And Syria's new government is looking for support to help rebuild the war-torn nation. And, we meet the man considered to be the first English teacher in Japan. He staged a shipwreck to get into the country, despite the isolationist policies of the time.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Claudia Sheinbaum was able to postpone tariffs from the US for a month. In the meantime, Canada's Justin Trudeau has promised to impose tariffs of his own, urging Canadians to buy local. We look at how leaders from the US' closest neighbors are handling the new administration's trade moves. Also, a showdown in Toronto over bike lanes. The city built new infrastructure for cyclists during the pandemic. But the Ontario government wants to force Toronto to remove them. And, we have Groundhog Day here in the US. But other countries have their own traditional rituals around the dawn of springtime. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was declared the country’s transitional president on Wednesday. The former rebel leader addressed Syrians directly yesterday and called for justice and elections following a transitional period. Also, 10 days into President Donald Trump’s administration, the US southern border remains closed to asylum-seekers, and many are now considering ditching the American Dream to settle in Mexico instead. And, seven candidates are vying for a chance to be the next president of the International Olympic Committee. Plus, a three-tiered popcorn tax in India.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Argentina’s president reverses a law that established femicide as a crime. Also, a new report shows that the majority of young people in the UK would prefer to live in a dictatorship, and many of them also want the army to be in charge. And, the Israeli government has banned the UN's Palestinian aid agency, UNRWA, from operating in Israel land in East Jerusalem. Plus, Spanish guitarist Antonio Rey’s latest flamenco album is up for a Grammy Award in the Best Global Music Album category.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
A deadly stampede interrupts celebrations at a Hindu festival in northern India, leaving dozens of people dead. Kumbh Mela is the world’s largest religious gathering, where upwards of 400 million pilgrims gather at the confluence of two rivers for sacred rituals. Also, US-funded assistance programs across the globe are reeling after the Trump administration freezes most foreign aid. And, scientists discover a wealth of deep sea animal life surrounding a volcano beneath an ocean in the Arctic. Plus, Vietnam rings in its Lunar New Year celebrations with a song by ABBA. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mexico has started constructing giant tent shelters in border towns where people deported by the US can get food, temporary housing, medical care and free bus rides back to their hometowns. The program is called  "Mexico embraces you" — and although it's intended for Mexican deportees, the country's President Claudia Sheinbaum says her government will consider sheltering migrants from other nations, too. Also, Serbia's prime minister says he'll step down following weeks of protests against government corruption. And, a decade after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission stopped investigating crimes against humanity committed under apartheid, some South African families are suing the government for not taking up their cases as promised.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Royalty, heads of state and dignitaries from more than 50 countries gathered in southern Poland today to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Also, a solid gold helmet on loan from Romania was stolen in a dramatic museum heist in the Netherlands. And, the US has frozen nearly all foreign aid while the Trump administration reviews where the aid should go. Plus, Rema's is hoping to take home his first Grammy after his second studio album "Heis" topped the charts in his home country of Nigeria.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
In the days since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, people in Gaza have begun returning to the neighborhoods they'd fled — only to find total devastation. Also, how Canada is preparing for US tariffs, from the highest levels of government to the individual Canadian household. And, the latest on an oil spill in Russia, that's been called the worst environmental catastrophe of the 21st century.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Syria's economy under the previous government was tightly managed by former President Bashar al-Assad, his family and close associates. But now, Syria's new government is looking to introduce economic reform to further liberalize Syria's economy, which remains heavily sanctioned by the US and Europe. Also, in most cities, transit systems are government-run. But in Japan, that’s not the case. The network of trains, subways and buses considered among the best on earth is run by private companies. We take a peek at how it works. And, around the globe, thousands of refugees are stranded since President Donald Trump paused the US resettlement program in a series of executive orders; a look at how that pipeline works, and how it's been disrupted.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
On the campaign trail, US President Donald Trump promised to end wars, worldwide, starting in Ukraine. As his administration's Cabinet takes shape, we'll look at his appointees' records to get a deeper understanding of the Trump administration's approach to that conflict. Also, three new laws passed by Iraq’s parliament could effectively legalize child marriage, according to critics. And, what the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change will mean for the globe going forward.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Israel's military is conducting raids in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Israel is seeking to flush out armed Palestinian factions in the area. This comes as some 90 Palestinians prisoners were released from Israeli prisons following a ceasefire deal in Gaza with Hamas. Also, Denmark has announced plans to rethink a parenting competency test that has earned heavy criticism for using Danish cultural norms to measure fitness in Greenland's Inuit communities. Human rights groups have long expressed concerns that bias baked into the test can lead to children being unjustly removed from Indigenous families. Also, what it would mean globally, for the US to withdraw from the World Health Organization — and what that process would actually look like. And, the US Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app would no longer be used to admit migrants. We hear from people who'd been relying on the app to get into the US legally.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
President Donald Trump laid out foreign policy promises, goals and predictions during his swearing-in ceremony as he assumes another term in office. Also, the UN says 630 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the start of the ceasefire deal over the weekend between Israel and Hamas. And, the Ankole cattle of western Uganda are now considered an endangered breed as farmers switch to other imports such as Holsteins. Plus, remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s universal message against oppression.Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
loading
Comments (10)

Kathryn Ragsdale

This is a reminder of why the Vichy government was allowed to stand.

Apr 23rd
Reply

roberto cano

the hell is up with the sound over the guy talking on 21:50 lol.

Nov 30th
Reply (1)

Eli Gerzon

Seriously? No mention of the US orchestrating a coup against the democratically elected prime minister Mosadegh in 1953?

Oct 7th
Reply

Weather or Not

great discussion about me.... well the political side 9f me. But what about Mr. Singh of the NDP....It has been a third option for over a half a century. Maybe this our moment to ultimately confront racism!

Sep 22nd
Reply (1)

Bruna Diniz

indigenous womans and girls

Jun 5th
Reply

Andrea D

I really appreciate this show but am not sure what to make of all the audio glitches.. can't tell if it's just quickly edited for time or what...

Sep 5th
Reply (2)