Why It Matters

Tumultuous events have rocked the last four years: the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe’s largest land war in eighty years, and an escalating Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Iran-backed forces. On top of that, the United States faces an intensifying geopolitical struggle with China and Russia. Now, U.S. President Joe Biden is running out of time to secure his legacy while the transition to a second Donald Trump administration comes sharply into focus. The U.S. president-elect has been quickly nominating leaders to his cabinet and receiving calls from foreign leaders. Why It Matters sits down with the hosts of The World Next Week to talk about what the United States–and a closely watching world–should expect in the weeks and months to come as incoming President Trump takes office.   Featured Guests:   Robert McMahon (Managing Editor, CFR) Carla Anne Robbins (Senior Fellow, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/why-world-next-week-matters 

For most of our history, the realm of international relations was dominated by nation-states. They waged wars and signed treaties through the framework of governance. But today, more so than ever before, tech titans are acting as unilateral decision-makers, upsetting the balance and structure of global power around the world.   Featured Guests: Rana Foroohar (Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor, Financial Times; Global Economic Analyst, CNN) Adam Segal (Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/new-tech-world-order

With the rise of social media, influencers around the world have increasingly taken on the role of newscaster without a traditional media organization behind them. Some say it has democratized journalism, but with the rise of misinformation, influencers who capture massive audiences online also run the risk of spreading false or even harmful information. How much have influencers altered the media landscape?   Featured Guests:   Nic Newman (Senior Research Associate, Reuters Institute) Michael Spikes (Lecturer and Director of Teach for Chicago Journalism Program, Northwestern University) Renee DiResta (Technical Research Manager, Stanford Internet Observatory)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/world-under-influence 

The United States national debt is rising to levels not seen since World War II. Many economists say Washington is on an unsustainable track, but no one knows when it will pass the point of crisis. What is at risk if U.S. debt continues to grow?   Featured Guests: Maya MacGuineas (President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget) Roger W. Ferguson Jr. (Steven A. Tananbaum Distinguished Fellow for International Economics, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/whos-afraid-national-debt 

The world is watching the U.S. presidential contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris with intense interest. Few countries are tracking the race more closely than Germany, Europe's biggest economy and a founding member of the NATO alliance. Its experiences provide insights into how this election is reverberating globally.   Featured Guests: Liana Fix (Fellow for Europe, CFR)  Stefan Kornelius (Foreign Editor, Süddeutsche Zeitung)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/why-world-obsessed-us-election-ask-germany 

West Africa is losing many of its best and brightest. Across the region, doctors, lawyers, and engineers are leaving, depriving some of the world’s youngest countries of the minds they need to develop sustainably. At the same time, coups have rocked the nearby Sahel, threatening to create a corrosive cycle of instability. Can West Africa quell the tide of emigration?   Featured Guests: Aanu Adeoye (West Africa correspondent, Financial Times) Ebenezer Obadare (Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/can-west-africa-curb-its-brain-drain 

In the past thirty years, sixty countries have expanded access to abortion care as an underpinning of maternal health. The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade made the United States the fourth country ever to decrease access to abortion—and the world took notice. Some countries have since reinforced protections for abortion care, while others have moved to further restrict it.   Featured Guests: Onikepe Owolabi (Director of International Research, Guttmacher Institute) Patty Skuster (Reproductive Health Law Policy Researcher and Consultant, University of Pennsylvania)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/global-abortion-access-after-roe

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular man in India. On track to be elected for a third term, he has boosted the country’s global standing and propelled strong economic growth while consolidating power and galvanizing majoritarian support for his Hindu nationalist agenda—all while growing closer to the United States. How could Hindu nationalism reshape India?   Ashok Swain (Head of Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University) Hartosh Singh Bal (Executive Editor, The Caravan)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/india-modi-and-hindu-nationalism   

A free and independent press is at the core of many democracies. But threats to the safety of journalists abound worldwide, and the rise of generative artificial intelligence has raised concerns about the future of media. At the same time, more people have access to high quality news now than perhaps ever before. Where does all this leave the state of the current media climate? In this episode, Host Gabrielle Sierra and Foreign Affairs Editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan talk about the future of journalism, and whether political polarization presents a challenge to nonpartisan publishing.   Dan Kurtz-Phelan (Executive Editor, Foreign Affairs)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/publishing-polarized-world   

A little over a week ago, Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory for the first time in history. And while the United States and Israel shot down almost all of the missiles and drones, the attack remains unprecedented. Since the release of this episode, Israel has launched a relatively moderate counter strike, and tensions appear to be cooling. But the Middle East might still be on the brink of a wider war. Host Dan Kurtz-Phelan and guests Suzanne Maloney and Ali Vaez discuss the consequences of deteriorating Iran-Israel dynamics and more in this Foreign Affairs Interview episode.   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit Foreign Affairs at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/can-israel-and-iran-step-back-brink 

Thirty years ago, Rwanda’s government began a campaign to eradicate the country’s largest minority group. In just one hundred days in 1994, roving militias killed around eight hundred thousand people. Would-be killers were incited to violence by the radio, which encouraged extremists to take to the streets with machetes. The United Nations stood by amid the bloodshed, and many foreign governments, including the United States, declined to intervene before it was too late. What got in the way of humanitarian intervention? And as violent conflict now rages at a clip unseen since then, can the international community learn from the mistakes of its past?   Featured Guests: Claude Gatebuke (Executive Director, African Great Lakes Action Network) David Scheffer (Senior Fellow for International Law and Criminal Justice, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/remembering-rwandan-genocide   

Many Americans are losing faith in the benefits of internationalism. But whether it’s wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, worsening extreme weather as a result of climate change, or the trade-offs of globalization, events abroad are increasingly having a local impact. At the same time,  more state and local officials in the United States are becoming involved in global affairs, conducting their own form of diplomacy on international issues and driving investment home. What role should the United States play in the world economy? And how do states and cities fit in?   Read about the RealEcon Initiative.   Featured Guests: Matthew P. Goodman, Distinguished Fellow for Global Economic Policy and Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies Nina Hachigian, U.S. Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/local-leaders-global-economy   

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real. And the truth about them is often hidden from the public, for reasons related to national security. That secrecy has fed conspiracy theories about the possibility of alien life on Earth, creating a stigma around the legitimate scientific search for life on other planets. Why are UFOs considered a defense concern? And does a defense framing of UFOs inhibit scientific research?   Featured Guests Philippe Ailleris (Copernicus Programme Project Controller, European Space Agency) Shane Harris (Intelligence Correspondent, Washington Post) Kai-Uwe Schrogl (President, International Institute of Space Law)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/ufos-close-encounters-national-security-kind

Every January, CFR’s annual Preventive Priorities Survey analyzes the conflicts most likely to occur in the year ahead and measures their potential impact. For the first time, the survey predicts that this year/in 2024 the United States will contend not only with a slew of global threats, but also a high risk of upheaval within its own borders. Is the country prepared for the eruption of election-related instability at home while wars continue to rage abroad?   Featured Guest:  Paul B. Stares (General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/2024-whats-worst-could-happen

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are again at war. The most recent iteration of the conflict, which erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, has stoked public debate throughout the world. In the United States, heated debates about the issue have played out at universities, in boardrooms, and on social media. Thus far, the U.S. government has strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself, sending warships and high-ranking officials to the region, but concerns are mounting about the civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. U.S. support for Israel is not new, but it has grown increasingly controversial, particularly among young people. Still, experts are skeptical that shifting U.S. public opinion of Israel and the Palestinian territories will influence the war’s trajectory.   Featured Guest: Steven A. Cook (Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/understanding-us-role-israel-hamas-war  

Billions of people will take to the polls next year, marking the world’s largest-ever electoral field. But this historic scale is not the only thing that will make 2024 unique. As new threats like deep fakes become cheaper and more widespread, these upcoming elections could serve as a test run for democracy in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. What risks does AI pose to elections next year? And will a surge in AI-powered disinformation change the nature of democratic elections?   Featured Guests: Kat Duffy (Senior Fellow for Digital and Cyberspace Policy) Yoel Roth (Technology Policy Fellow, University of California, Berkeley)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/year-ai-and-elections

The United States and India have a long and complex history. In recent years, the two democracies have grown closer, linked by their shared concern about the rise of China. But the relationship has also been marked by a number of challenges. Just last week, U.S. authorities foiled a plot by an Indian national to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil. Is the United States thinking about India the right way? And do the two countries share the same goals with regard to China? In this week's podcast takeover, host Dan Kurtz-Phelan and guest Ashley J. Tellis discuss all this and more in this Foreign Affairs Interview episode.   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit Foreign Affairs at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/will-india-take-americas-side-against-china 

International trade has shaped the world for much of the past century. Countries benefited from the global flow of goods, and the world became richer and safer. At the same time, many Americans lost their jobs to cheaper overseas competitors. Now, a series of compounding challenges, including great power competition and climate change, have led U.S. officials to rethink trade policy. What's next for international trade? And can the United States retain the benefits of trade while protecting critical supply chains and fighting climate change?   Featured Guests: Jennifer Hillman (Senior Fellow for Trade and International Political Economy) Inu Manak (Fellow for Trade Policy) Edward Alden (Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/turning-point-global-trade

Over the past few years, a new threat has emerged as a leading cause of death in the United States: fentanyl. Yet even as the drug wreaks havoc on Americans lives, preventing its flow into the United States is complicated, partially because of the supply’s overseas origins, which is often China. What is China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis?   Featured Guests: Tom Bollyky (​​Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development, and Director of the Global Health Program) Zongyuan Zoe Liu (Maurice R. Greenberg Fellow for China Studies)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/americas-fentanyl-epidemic-china-connection

Russia has caused unprecedented damage in Ukraine. And with no diplomatic end in sight to the conflict, many Ukrainians are wondering when, if ever, they will be able to go back to their homes. According to many experts, the answer is actually sooner rather than later. Can reconstruction begin before a war ends? Who pays, and where should world leaders begin?   Featured Guests:  Sam Greene (Director of the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Professor of Russian Politics, King's College London) Phillip Zelikow (White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us as https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/case-rebuilding-ukraine