CSIS Americas Deputy Director, Maggie Seminario, guest hosts this week's Building the Future episode on Gender Equity and Financial Inclusion. In this episode, we talk with Mia Mitchell (from the U.S. Department of State) and Sonja Kelly (from the Women's World Banking) to understand the barriers we face to enabling inclusive access to finance to women around the world while discussing the various opportunities that the U.S. government has in overcoming such hurdles. This is the second part of t...
Jun 23, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Ambassador Javier Rupérez, former Spanish Ambassador to the United States for the second part of their conversation. They begin by discussing the diminishing role of Christian Democratic Parties within Europe. They then shift into the importance of NATO, the differing views on China and Russia within Europe, and the cooperation needed in dealing with the competitors’ rising power. They then discuss Covid-19 and their views on the increased...
Jun 16, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan is joined by Ambassador Javier Rupérez, former Spanish Ambassador to the United States. They begin by discussing Rupérez's experiences growing up under the Franco regime and his initial political experiences in organizations that opposed the dictator. After university, Rupérez joined the Spanish foreign service where he was exposed to the international system. Rupérez then describes his involvement in Spain's successful democratic transition. Once Spain became a democracy, h...
Jun 09, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode Dan is joined by Dr. Bill Steiger, former Chief of Staff at USAID. Previously, Dr. Steiger was successively Managing Director and Chief Program Officer at Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon and worked as a Senior Advisor at the Global Fund. He was also Special Assistant for International Affairs to the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush Administration. Dan and Dr. Steiger begin their conversation by discussing how Dr. Steiger began his long-term career in public ser...
Jun 02, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan's colleague and long-time friend John Simon guest hosts this week's episode to talk about how the developing world can develop and adopt a functional, reliable, and secure digital ID. Achieving universal financial inclusion requires a reliable and inclusive identification document –– a digital one, given the modern world. John, who was the former US Ambassador to the African Union, sits down with Kate Wilson (CEO of the Digital Impact Alliance) and Paul Lekas (who is with the National Securi...
May 26, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan speaks with his colleague and director of the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project, Jonathan E. Hillman, who is the author of a new book on the Belt and Road Initiative, The Emperor's New Road: China and the Project of the Century. This conversation comes at an interesting time as the United States is mapping out its own infrastructure investment needs. Jon and Dan have worked closely on the issue of increasing influence of the People’s Republic of China in global infrastructure d...
May 19, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode Dan speaks with Nicolás Massot, a politician, who currently serves on the Board of Directors of Banco Ciudad, the third largest bank in Argentina. Nicolás was also the former majority leader of Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies, the youngest leader in the Chamber’s history, and is a member of Republican Proposal, one of the most prominent parties in Argentina. In addition, he had a leading role in the Argentinian presidential campaign in 2015. The two begin their conversation by ta...
May 12, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan speaks with Jack Hamilton who is the Hopkins P. Breazeale Professor at Louisiana State University for the Manship School of Mass Communication and a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. Jack and Dan begin this podcast by discussing Jack’s most recent book Manipulating the Masses: Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of American Propaganda.” They talk about why Jack chose to write the book and the ways in which he conducted its necessary historical research. Jac...
May 05, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde sits down with Dr. Diana Negroponte who is a current Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. Dan and Dr. Negroponte begin their conversation by discussing her new book, Master Negotiator: the Role of James A. Baker, III at the End of the Cold War. They talk about why Dr. Negroponte wrote the book and in particular, how she decided to write about his legacy during the end of the Cold War. Dan and Dr. Negroponte discuss Baker’s open-mindedness, intellect, and determination, ...
Apr 28, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde is joined by Paul O’Brien. When this episode was recorded, Paul was the Vice President of OXFAM America and on secondment to OXFAM International to co-lead the Global Corona Virus Advocacy Task Force. He has since been hired as the Executive Director at Amnesty International USA. Dan and Paul start off their conversation by talking about Paul’s recent book Power Switch- How We Can Reverse Extreme Inequality. Dan and Paul go on to discuss why and how power switches occu...
Apr 21, 2021•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde is joined by Michael Jarvis, Executive Director of the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, a donor collaborative working to expand the impact and scale of transparency, accountability, and participation interventions. Dan and Michael kick-off their conversation by talking about the importance of transparency and accountability at both the national and sub-national levels in a variety of sectors. They also discuss the role that Covid-19 has played in the global ...
Apr 07, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde is joined by Christos Makridis, a Digital Fellow with the Initiative on the Digital Economy at MIT and a Research Assistant Professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Dan and Christos sit down to discuss Christos’ article, “New Research Shows Religious Liberty Drives Human Flourishing — And Why This Matters Now More Than Ever.” They explore the concept of religious liberty and its two central components, the first being the freedom to c...
Mar 24, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to discuss the ITU’s critical role in increasing access to global digital connectivity. Dan and Doreen first provide an overview of the history of the ITU and outline the specific mandates of the BDT and other bureaus. They go on to discuss the ITU’s targeted work and how the BDT aims to connect the...
Mar 10, 2021•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Leo Li, the Director of the Content Lab at the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). They discuss how Taiwan’s creative industries have adapted in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the increasing importance of 5G and digital technology, and potential avenues of collaboration between Taiwan and Latin American countries who are working to build their creative sectors.
Feb 24, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Gloria Steele, Acting Administrator for USAID, to discuss the future of global development strategies in the Indo-Pacific region. Dan and Gloria start off by discussing Gloria’s time spent in the Philippines and the specific challenges the country continues to face in its development trajectory. They focus on the future of U.S. development assistance to countries in Asia and the ways in which overall growth can be made more inclusive...
Feb 10, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Digital authoritarianism presents overlapping and expanding challenges within autocracies and democracies. In the past year, CSIS produced a policy brief that examined this ever-evolving challenge and determined a new, strategic approach to confront authoritarian actors who seek to use digital tools to subvert human rights and democratic principles. How does this strategy - which is grounded in fundamental principles and framed around promoting resilience while building affirmative alternatives ...
Jan 27, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan speaks with Ambassador Bob Zoellick, an American public official who most recently served as the 11th President of the World Bank. He is the author of a fascinating new book, America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy. In the tradition of the 1994 Diplomacy (by Henry Kissinger), this book was written to bring a practitioner’s perspective on history and to describe the lessons Ambassador Zoellick learned while navigating Washington’s circles while in...
Jan 13, 2021•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Romina Bandura, Senior Fellow on the Project on Prosperity at CSIS, to discuss the new PPD report Sustainable Infrastructure in the Amazon. Dan and Romina discuss how better governance in the Amazon can improve the security conditions, as well as opportunities for the U.S. private sector and bilateral agencies like USAID and the DFC to play a role in the sustainable development of the Amazon. They also discuss how a potential Peru an...
Dec 16, 2020•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Nicole Aandahl, the Director of the Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Program at the CSIS, to discuss diversity and inclusion in the international affairs and foreign policy community. The podcast examines the state of diversity and inclusion in international affairs following the Cold War, identifies how the United States should leverage its uniquely diverse population for global innovation and leadership, and emphas...
Dec 02, 2020•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan speaks with Sergio de la Peña, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs and a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army. The pair discuss Sergio’s immigrant background and his path through the ranks of the U.S. military and government, which included assignments in Venezuela and Chile. They also tackle some of the factors currently destabilizing de la Peña’s old stomping ground, including the refugee flows from Venezuela, ...
Nov 11, 2020•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Tomás Serebrisky, Principal Economic Adviser at the Inter-American Development Bank’s Infrastructure and Energy Department, speaks with Dan about his recent book, From Structures to Services: The Path to Better Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean. The pair cover the growing need to prioritize service provision in Latin America, and how Covid-19 has impacted this need. Tomás also provides his recommendations on how to change policymakers’ mind...
Oct 28, 2020•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a special Spanish-language crossover episode with the CSIS podcast 35 West, Dan sits down with María Eugenia Vidal, the former Governor of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. They discuss how she got her start in politics, as well as key policy issues she prioritized during her time as governor, including crime reduction and poverty. They also discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in key sectors, such as education. Cómo Reducir el Crimen y la Pobreza: Un...
Oct 14, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Joshua Eisenman, author of Red China’s Green Revolution and Assistant Professor at the Keogh School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame, sits down with Dan Runde to talk about the specifics of China’s development narrative, and how the country leverages this narrative to advance its strategic objectives in the rest of the world. The two also discuss where the U.S. fits in within this dynamic, and how it should frame its own role in the developing world going f...
Oct 01, 2020•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined once again by Dr. Jonathan Ward, author of China’s Vision for the World, to discuss how China’s relationship with the rest of the world has changed in the last 18 months. This time around, the pair analyze the growing recognition of China’s ambitions in U.S. society and foreign policy, as well as China’s increasing willingness to push regional boundaries and embrace the use of force, whether on the border with India, in Hong Kong, or el...
Sep 16, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ambassador Nestor Forster Jr., Ambassador of Brazil to the U.S., sits down with Dan Runde to discuss the history of the U.S.-Brazil relationship and avenues for potential future collaboration. They address environmental conservation and protection, space collaboration, and the budding Brazilian creative economy. The Ambassador and Dan also discuss Covid-19 and how the pandemic has affected trade patterns in the region.
Sep 02, 2020•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan is joined by Dr. Weifeng Zhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. They discuss Dr. Zhong’s work in developing the open source Policy Change Index (PCI) project, which leverages machine learning to analyze vast quantities of propaganda and predict Chinese policy changes. The two focus on PCI-China and PCI-Crackdown, two China specific PCI applications, discuss what might be next for China in the coming twenty year...
Aug 19, 2020•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Representative Joe Wilson (SC-2), Chairman of National Security & Foreign Affairs Task Force at the Republican Study Committee, to discuss the recent RSC National Security Strategy. The duo review the positive role America has had in the world since World War II, examine current relationships and perceptions of the U.S. abroad, and delve into concrete foreign policy measures to counter today’s most persistent threats to the liberal, ...
Aug 05, 2020•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde speaks with Ambassador Bárcena, the first female Ambassador from Mexico to the United States. Their discussion touches upon President AMLO’s response to Covid-19, the future of Mexico – U.S. trade relations, and the significance of Mexico’s recently announced feminist foreign policy.
Jul 09, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde speaks with Dalibor Rohac, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the new book, In Defense of Globalism. During their conversation, Mr. Rohac repudiates the recent push for isolationism in the name of national sovereignty and instead makes the case for maintaining and improving the multilateral system. The duo discuss how global institutions such as the WTO, UN, and WHO act as force multipliers of a Western system of globalization that prio...
Jun 24, 2020•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dan Runde speaks to Jene Thomas, Mission Director for USAID Peru, about the strength of the middle class when it comes to economic growth, the conservation of the Amazon, and the U.S. government counternarcotics strategy in Peru.
Jun 11, 2020•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
