Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Today's episode is a crossover with Robert Wright's Nonzero Podcast. I have followed Bob's work for years—he is a thoughtful commentator, author, and podcaster. He asked me to come on his show to dis…

On Day One, Donald Trump froze nearly all U.S. foreign aid. On Day Eight, the State Department issued a stop-work order for USAID. This is causing massive ripple effects around the world.

USAID staff…

For the past two decades, Sri Lankan politics has been dominated by the Rajapaksa family, with two brothers more or less alternating between serving as president and prime minister from 2005 to 2022.…

In this special live recording of To Save Us From Hell, our sister podcast about the UN, co-host Anjali Dayal and I discuss the highlights (and lowlights) from the confirmation hearing for Donald Tru…

At long last, a ceasefire agreement has been reached in Gaza. The agreement, finalized in the closing days of the Biden administration, calls for the phased release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas …

Misinformation is rampant in conflict and war, and the extent to which people believe misinformation can often influence the trajectory of these conflicts. But when is misinformation actually believe…

Donald Trump's foreign policy team is taking shape. So for today's episiode, I wanted to give listeners a deeper understanding of some of the key players that will shape US foreign policy in the year…

A new year. A new United Nations. In this 2025 debut episode of To Save Us From Hell, Fordham University professor Anjali Dayal and I discuss what to expect in the year ahead at the United Nations. W…

Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration for a series that examines what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragil…

Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29th, at the age of 100.  Jimmy Carter's term in office coincided with some key events in international affairs, including the Iran hostage crisis and the Soviet …

Tjada D'Oyen McKenna is a veteran humanitarian official who now leads Mercy Corps, a major international NGO that provides relief in disaster zones, including Gaza and Syria. Since the outbreak of th…

Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration as part of a series that examines effective approaches to improving the well-being …

If Donald Trump actually follows through on many of his campaign promises to impose tariffs, it would thoroughly upend the rules-based system governing international trade. That system, which is part…

As a journalist who covers international humanitarian crises, I'm accustomed to seeing masses of refugees fleeing their homes for safer locations. But in Syria over the last several days, the reverse…

Joe Biden's final foreign trip as President was a long-promised visit to sub-Saharan Africa—Angola, to be precise. Biden had pledged to be the first President to visit Africa in nearly a decade, but …

Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration for a series that examines what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragil…

Listeners will no doubt remember the devastating Ebola outbreak of 2014–2016. More than 28,600 people were infected, and 11,325 people died across several countries in West Africa. One of the hardest…

Over the past few weeks, the situation in Haiti has gone from bad to worse. On November 10, the interim prime minister of Haiti, Gary Conille, was dismissed by the council that had appointed him in M…