Bill Browder was a prominent foreign investor in Russia until he was banned by President Vladimir Putin. In a gripping interview with Ray Suarez, Browder recounts a hunt for missing money that led him to discover a corruption and conspiracy plot involving Putin’s inner circle. Browder breaks down the Russian government’s lethal response, the landmark Magnitsky Act, and what Putin’s past can teach us about what he might do next - in Ukraine and beyond. But first, we revisit a brief excerpt from Ray's 2021 interview with prominent Putin critic, Fiona Hill. In it, she warns us that the big mistake people often make is, "underestimating Russia and underestimating somebody like Vladimir Putin." Ray's interview with Bill Browder was recorded as part of a live event at the Aspen Institute on July 12, 2022. Guests: Bill Browder, financier and author of Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath Host(s): Ray Suarez
Financial experts are warning that the global economy could be headed toward recession. At the same time, the pandemic, war and displacement, and the climate crisis have left many people concerned about keeping a roof over their heads. In this week’s episode, sponsored in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we take on the global housing crisis – its roots, its demands, and how we can solve it. Ray Suarez digs deeper into two homegrown, people-powered housing initiatives for urban and rural communities across South Asia. Then, Ray is joined by Lydia Stazen, the executive director of the Ruff Institute of Global Homelesssness, to discuss how small-scale local programs can be scaled internationally to eliminate street homelessness on every continent. Guests: Adithya Jain, co-founder and CEO of Tvasta Construction Yasmeen Lari, Karachi-based architect David Ireland, CEO of World Habitat Lydia Stazen, executive director of the Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness Host: Ray Suarez
In 1971, the United States was at a crossroads: The economy was stagnating, inflation was high and Americans were starting to feel like they were losing their competitive edge. Sound familiar? In the second episode of our two-part series on inflation, we return to a conversation between NPR’s Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley and Jeffrey Garten, an influential economist who served in multiple presidential administrations. They explore Nixon’s consequential decision to abandon the gold standard, how this move created the modern global economy, and what this can tell us about inflation and fears of a recession. Guest: Jeffrey E Garten, Dean Emeritus, Yale School of Management, former Undersecretary of Commerce, and author of Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy Hosts: Philip Yun, host of World Affairs Scott Horsley, NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent
Inflation in the U.S. has reached its highest point since 1981. In developing nations, the problem is even worse. The UN says thirty-seven nations are in need of food, but can't afford it, triggering fears of food riots. So what makes prices for necessary things – like food and fuel – so volatile? This week, we revisit a conversation with filmmaker Rupert Russell about his book and film, “Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World.” Russell connects the dots between the cost of bread and oil to political upheaval around the world, and he explains why price swings by market players cause famine, conflict and crisis. Guests: Rupert Russell, author and director of Price Wars: How The Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World Hosts: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.
Diversity has often been seen as the United States’ defining strength, but today some Americans see it as a threat. And this isn’t new. Throughout history, differences of religion, ethnicity, and origin have driven states around the world to war, violence, and extreme division. However, German-American political scientist Yascha Mounk says this isn’t the only path. On this week’s episode, Mounk joins Ray to discuss his new book, “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart And How They Can Endure,” which challenges the assumptions of a modern pluralist society and imagines how diverse democracies might succeed in an increasingly polarized political landscape. Guest: Yascha Mounk, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, contributing editor at The Atlantic and author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure Host: Ray Suarez
In the second part of his interview with Ray, author Wajahat Ali discusses how the war on terror shaped attitudes towards Muslims in the United States, and how the Muslim-American political identity evolved in its aftermath. And despite his family’s American Dream being destroyed by US law enforcement, Ali manages to find optimism in a story of our country that is still being written. Guest: Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American Host: Ray Suarez, host of World Affairs
Even though writer and humorist Wajahat Ali was born and raised in Northern California to Pakistani parents, he gets told every day to "go back to where you came from.” Today, more than half of US citizens under 18 can trace their ancestry to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, yet many feel unwelcome in their own country. “The tragic history of America is that the rest of us have fought for a country and love a country when it doesn’t love us back,” Wajahat told Ray Suarez in a recent interview about his new memoir, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American. Wajahat takes readers on a journey to his childhood, figuring out the lines and boundaries of race and ethnicity on the fly, to an adulthood punctuated by the September 11 terrorist attacks, and an era of rising anxiety and suspicion of brown people of various origins in the years after. Through his personal stories, Ali manages to tackle the dangers of Islamophobia and white s...
From mass shootings in the United States to Vladimir Putin’s brazen invasion of Ukraine, it can feel like the world is in a constant state of turmoil. Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem has a prescription for learning to live in an “Age of Disasters.” In her new book, The Devil Never Sleeps, she explains how an international “architecture of preparedness” can help communities anticipate, assess, and manage urgent crises like gun violence and climate change. She talks with Ray Suarez about what global communities–and their leaders–can do to prepare before disaster strikes close to home. Guest: Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project and the Security and Global Health Project at Harvard University and author of The Devil Never Sleeps, Learning to Live in An Age of Disasters. Host: Ray Suarez Additional Reading: The Problem With 'Lone Wolf' Shooters Design Your Organization to Withstand Future Disasters How Leaders Prepare to Communicate in a Crisis
Ray Suarez sits down with Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Institute on Global Affairs and former US Ambassador to NATO, to discuss the alliance’s evolution, the Russian “wake-up call” that placed it back in the news, and the future–and feasibility–of trans-atlantic defense. To hear more from Ambassador Daalder, check out his weekly World Review podcast. Guests: Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Institute of Global Affairs Host: Ray Suarez
Apart from a distinct history and culture, Canadians have a vastly different political, legal and medical system from the United States. Yet there are times when the politics of the two North American neighbors move in rhythm. On today’s episode, Ray Suarez talks to Kelly Gordon, assistant professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, about the nuances of abortion access and abortion politics across our northern border. Guests: Kelly Gordon, assistant professor at McGill University Host: Ray Suarez