President Putin has demanded the West take his nuclear threats seriously and North Korea is rumored to preparing to undertake a nuclear test in the coming days. On Deep Dish , South Korean and Ukrainian citizens share what it is like to live under the looming shadow of possible nuclear warfare and Ankit Panda discusses whether the nuclear taboo is likely to be broken and how the world should respond.
President Putin mobilized over 300,000 military reservists to buttress Russia’s battered forces, prompting protests and an exodus of Russians to neighboring countries. On Deep Dish , recently fled Russian social media personalities share their perspective on the darkening political climate in their homeland. And independent journalist and filmmaker Mikhail Fishman and Moscow Times ’ Leyla Latypova discuss how Russia’s reversals on the battlefield are transforming the nation's politics and societ...
Iran has entered its 12th day of protests following the death of #MahsaAmini in morality police custody. On Deep Dish , women in the Iranian diaspora share firsthand the severity of what is transpiring, and Narges Bajoghli of Johns Hopkins University unpacks why these demonstrations are different and strike at the core of Iran’s regime.
While Putin overreaches in his war on Ukraine, tensions are flaring in the former Soviet territories along present-day Russia’s southern border. The most immediate danger comes from two conflicts that escalated this month— between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus and between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, both clashes leading to hundreds being killed. Eurasianet ’s Joshua Kucera and University of Oxford’s Madeleine Reeves join Deep Dish to explore the erupting violence and whet...
Yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan. While these nations are assumed to be America’s chief geostrategic competitors, Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine has isolated its economy, degraded its military, and undermined its international standing. Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Wilson Center’s Lucian Kim join Deep Dish to discuss what the war in Ukraine has revealed about Russia’s global power and whether it can still...
Last week power struggles between rival Shia groups erupted in deadly street battles that sparked fears of a renewed cycle of violence. Chatham House’s Renad Mansour joins Deep Dish and argues that the conventional view that Iraq’s political instability is driven by sectarian and ethnic divisions is wrong. Rather, the real cleavage is between a permanent political elite, across faith and ethnic divisions, who work together to divide up state resources to benefit themselves at the expense of the ...
Like Ukraine, the Western Balkans sit on a fault line between Russian and Western spheres of influence. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, political tensions have grown in the region, particularly in Bosnia and Kosovo. Many experts suspect Russia is exploiting ethnic divisions. The Economist’ s Tim Judah and the Atlantic Council’s Ilva Tare join Deep Dish to examine Moscow's motives for fanning instability in one of Europe’s most fragile regions. Reading List: The Effects of the War in Ukraine ...
While a 20-year war has ended, the Afghan people continue to suffer, now under a collapsed economy. International Crisis Group’s Laurel Miller and US Institute of Peace’s Andrew Watkins join Deep Dish guest host Elizabeth Shackelford to discuss how the international community's isolation of the Taliban has helped precipitate suffering in Afghanistan, and what can and should be done to help. Like the show? Leave us a rating and review.
William Ruto has been declared winner of Kenya’s presidential election, after edging out longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga by a narrow margin. Odinga has refused to concede, will likely challenge the results in court, and his supporters took to the streets to protest in the election center. Uppsala University’s Kathleen Klaus and International Crisis Group’s Murithi Mutiga join Deep Dish guest host Elizabeth Shackelford to unpack election results, what it means for Kenya, the broader regio...
Ukraine is home to millennia-old culture, including some of the holiest sites of the Orthodox faith. Now, facing a brutal artillery campaign and intentional cultural persecution by Russia, Ukraine’s identity is under attack. But Ukraine is not alone in having its heritage threatened by war, despite this being a war crime. Kyiv-based museum director Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and Jim Cuno, former President of the Getty Trust, join Deep Dish to help us understand why protecting cultural heritage in Uk...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial Taiwan trip came amid increasingly harsh warnings of retaliations from Beijing and escalating US-China tensions. Nonresident Senior Fellow Paul Heer joins Deep Dish to argue the importance of engagement with China as a necessary component of US foreign policy. If we do not pursue it, he says, we are missing opportunities for a more peaceful coexistence between both countries and the world. Reading List: The Next Taiwan Strait Crisis Has Arrived , Paul H...
Two weeks ago, Sri Lankans stormed the residence of the President and Prime Minister, following months of protests against corruption and worsening economic conditions. Saddled with billions of dollars of foreign debt and facing the lingering economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine, Sri Lankans face rampant inflation and dire shortages of fuel, foods, and medicines. Dialogue Advisory Group’s Ram Manikkalingam joins Deep Dish to explore how this island nation, whose economy w...
In recent years, the United States has accounted for nearly three-quarters of the world’s mass shootings and forty-six percent of all private gun ownership worldwide — more than 10 times its share of the global population. University of Sydney Professor Phillip Alpers joins a special live edition of Deep Dish to discuss how other nations have tried to prevent mass shootings and firearm homicides, how successful those attempts have been, and what the US can learn from other countries’ approaches ...
Joe Biden is currently on his first trip to the Middle East as President, which will include a controversial meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah”, but with gas prices punishing American consumers, and Russia and China court Riyadh, Biden’s tone and policy toward the Kingdom has rapidly evolved. Council on Foreign Relations’ Martin Indyk and Democracy for the Arab World Now’s Sarah Leah Whitson join Deep Dish to ...
Recent US Supreme Court rulings on abortion, religion in school, gun control, and climate regulation will have far-reaching implications for Americans. How does the role that the Supreme Court plays in US democracy compare to Supreme Courts in other democracies? Constitutional law experts Daniel Brinks and Tom Ginsburg join Deep Dish to explore the uniqueness of the US Supreme Court and what we can learn from the functioning of the judicial branch of other nations’ governments. Like the show? Le...
As global institutions focused on research, innovation, and ideas, universities have historically been closely tied to geopolitical power. Today, America’s world-leading universities face growing competition, particularly from China, with far-reaching implications. Chronicle of Higher Education senior writer Karin Fischer and Harvard Business School professor and author William Kirby join Deep Dish to discuss how America's universities achieved their global preeminence, why this is now threatene...
What does Russia's war in Ukraine reveal about competing theories of foreign policy thought? The Council’s Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and James Goldgeier, visiting scholar at Stanford University, to debate the war, and what might happen next, from the perspectives of liberal internationalism, the predominant foreign policy doctrine which champions cooperation, and realism, a doctrine that views competition and...
Mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been in the headlines recently for their alleged role in war crimes in Ukraine. But the Kremlin-linked paramilitary group has been active in Africa for several years, where it provides a wide range of services to governments across the continent. For this week's Deep Dish , the Council’s Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Federica Saini Fasanotti of the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan to discuss how Wagner’s growing footprint in Afric...
With richly fertile soil and easy access to international markets, Ukraine has been called the breadbasket of Europe. Following Russia’s invasion, the country’s grain exports have plummeted, leading to worldwide food price increases of 23 percent and hundreds of thousands facing starvation in the Middle East and Africa. As a global hunger crisis soars, food security experts Ertharin Cousin and Teresa Welsh join Deep Dish to dissect the root causes of modern food insecurity and analyze actions we...
Last week, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi met with ten Pacific nations to propose a sweeping trade and security agreement. China's intensifying diplomacy in the Pacific demonstrates the region’s growing geostrategic importance. China experts Patrick Cronin and Bonnie Glaser join Deep Dish to discuss China’s strategy in the Pacific, and how the US should respond. We'd love to know your thoughts about the show! Leave us a review. Reading: The Pacific Islands Matter for America/America Matters fo...
If the United States overturns Roe vs. Wade later this year, it would be a stark policy shift 50 years after the landmark Supreme Court decision on women’s rights. The World Health Organization’s Bela Ganatra and the Center for Reproductive Rights’ Katherine Mayall join Deep Dish to look at global trends on reproductive rights and how the US compares.
This week Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians out of their second largest city, Kharkiv, a triumph that most military analysts would have considered unthinkable two months ago. With Putin’s concerns about his legacy, experts believe we could be heading into a dangerous stalemate. Former National Security Council official Fiona Hill joins Deep Dish to analyze Putin’s motivation for the war, his plans, and what is at stake for the world. Like the show? Leave us a rating and review wherever you ge...
This week political dynasty heir and TikTok star Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. brought his corrupt family back to power in the Philippines 36 years after his father was ousted in a public revolution. The Washington Post’s Regine Cabato joins Deep Dish to explain how Filipinos lost faith in democracy, why disinformation works so well in the Philippines, and whether the new administration will bring the country closer to China or the United States. We'd love to know your thoughts about the show!...
Russian state TV aired a chilling propaganda video showing nuclear destruction in the United Kingdom this week, echoing bluster from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on nuclear escalation over Ukraine. Former US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, who negotiated the New START treaty with Russia, joins Deep Dish to explain how Russia’s actions have altered conversations on arms control and why it’s still critical for the United States and R...
China’s latest economic data show the lowest GDP growth expectation in 30 years, rising unemployment, and slowing industrial production in part due to strict COVID-19 lockdowns. Victor Shih joins Deep Dish to explain how inflation and the war in Ukraine will compound this decline, what it means for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping’s leadership, and whether Xi’s demand for China to match the United States’ growth in 2022 is possible. Don't forget to leave us a review!...
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan falsely blamed a United States-led conspiracy for his removal from office last week, feeding anti-American sentiment among his supporters. Brookings’ Madiha Afzal returns to Deep Dish to unpack the ways Pakistan’s political instability interacts with geopolitical competition involving China, Russia, and the United States, and explains why it’s time for the United States to rethink its troubled relationship with the nuclear-armed power. Like the show? L...
In response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the European Union hopes to decrease its dependence on Russian energy by two-thirds within a year. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies’ James Henderson joins Deep Dish to look at Europe’s options, how to achieve them, likely effects on energy markets and global politics, and implications for green energy and climate change. Like this episode? Leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Shocking images and accounts emerged from Bucha over the weekend, providing more evidence of Russian atrocities in their war on Ukraine. Forty-one countries, including the United States, have now referred Russia to the International Criminal Court for prosecution. Karen Alter and Rebecca Hamilton join Deep Dish to look at the system for prosecuting war crimes, its record of success and limitations, as well as the politics behind who gets prosecuted and why. Like the show? Leave us a review!...
India’s choice to remain neutral on the Ukraine war aligns with their historic foreign policy choices and current security interests, Tanvi Mandan and Srinath Raghavan argue. They join Deep Dish host Brian Hanson to explain the long-term relationship between Delhi and Moscow, why the United States shouldn’t pressure India to choose sides, and where China fits in India’s calculations. Don't forget to leave us a rating and review!
New technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and social media have transformed the intelligence community and given the United States’ adversaries new tools to observe and influence global politics. The Hoover Institution’s Amy Zegart joins Deep Dish to discuss her new book Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence and why she warns that, faced with these looming threats, the US is losing its intelligence advantage. Like this episode? Leave...
