For the first time in history, a nuclear power plant has become a military objective during a war. While previous military operations at the Iraqi Osirak reactor (1981), the Iranian Bushehr plant (1987) and the Slovenian Krško plant (1991) were somewhat ad hoc, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant continues to be contested between the parties…
Unprecedented challenge reveals a weakness in Russia’s centralized power structure The recent coup attempt in Russia, led by the Wagner Group, has shaken the country’s political landscape and led analysts to question the stability of President Vladimir Putin’s regime. The armed rebels’ incursion into Russian territory and their march on Moscow directly challenged Putin’s authority…
To introduce myself and express who I am worldwide is complicated because the world has many realities. To present mine, I have to tell a story that came before me that I inherited from my parents and my teachers. I come from one of the biggest favelas in Brazil, and you may have seen this…
To help me cope with my existential dread (and also provide incredible value to you, our listeners), Kerstin Leitner joined me on the podcast. Kerstin has 30 years of experience as a UN official, and she has lived in numerous places around the world, like Africa, China, and the United States. Today she lives in…
Today’s guest is Ipsita Chatterjee, a human geographer interested in the economic, cultural, and geopolitical impacts of globalization. Ipsita is also a prolific author, and her latest book “The Alt-Right Movement: Dissecting Racism, Patriarchy and Anti-immigrant Xenophobia” served as the basis of our discussion. To help me better understand this phenomenon, she took me through…
In the West, there are two different competing narratives about the war in Ukraine. The prevailing narrative is that it is a struggle between the “bad guys” and “good guys”. For many, Russia led by dictator Putin represents imperialism and is alone responsible for this unprovoked war, whereas Ukraine represents freedom and democracy as well…
My guest for the day was Eston McKeague, the president of the Young World Federalists and a member of the Board of Citizens for Global Solutions. Eston is a passionate world federalist and advocates for a youth-led movement to unite the world. We had a great conversation about his organization, the Young World Federalists, how…
More than support for the candidates, it seems that voters’ rejection of Bolsonaro or Lula will decide the presidential elections. A ‘country-continent’ with 215 million inhabitants, twice the size of the European Union and the leading power in Latin America. This is Brazil, a federal republic with a presidential system made up of 26 states…
Rizvina de Alwis joined us to give an inside view of the situation. Rizvina is a writer, a storyteller, and an advocate, and she’s worked with the UN in areas like gender equality, gender-based violence, and more. We talked about the recent history of Sri Lanka, how things got to the point they are now,…
Costa Rica is an exceptional country in a number of ways. It is a small nation in a region, Central America, torn by civil wars well into the 1980s, that abolished its army over 70 years ago and has lived in peace ever since. The country has achieved exceptionally high levels of human development despite…
