Tallberg Foundation Podcast

2020 will be remembered as the Pandemic Year when a deadly pathogen somehow moved from bat to human—and the rest is history still being written. Six out of 10 infectious diseases are zoonotic: everything from COVID and the other coronaviruses to rabies, West Nile, even the plague. Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka has a better idea, she believes that zoonotic disease is controllable by simultaneously working to improve the health of humans and animals, at the points where they meet. Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is a winner of the 2022 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Globbal Leadership Prize. This episode was originally published on December 17, 2020

Europe is in a bad place: the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, inflation, looming recession, political and social tensions—the list seems endless. Over the last several decades, the relationship between France and Germany has been central to Europe's progress and regardless of who’s been in power in Berlin or Paris, that relationship has always been made to work. Now, however, those countries are obviously out of sync. Their leaders lack a shared vision of where Europe should go or how to get there. The question is how Europe can recover if the French and Germans can't figure out how to work together. Can this marriage be saved? Laure Mandeville, a senior reporter at Le Figaro with considerable expertise in French, European and Russian politics and Friedbert Pflüger, a former German parliamentarian and state secretary for defense joined Tällberg’s Alan Stoga for this conversation about Europe through the lens of France and Germany. It was originally recorded during a recent Tällberg Foundation webinar and li

Europe is under considerable stress from the Ukraine war, on top of longstanding tensions between northern and southern countries over economics and western and eastern countries over cultural and social issues. Arguably, Europe in general (and the EU in particular) is a mess. The question is whether these forces will combine in ways that could produce less Europe or more Europe in the coming years. In this podcast, Anna Palacio, former Spanish Foreign Minister, and Jakob Hallgren, an experienced Swedish diplomat who now heads the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, join host Alan Stoga to discuss how Europe might get from where it is to where its citizens need it to be. Their conversation was recorded during a Tällberg Foundation webinar on October 27.

After the Pinochet years, Chile evolved into one of the most successful countries in the Americas in terms of the health of its democracy. All of that came to a screeching halt in 2019 when protests escalated into widespread violence. Chile was suddenly at a revolutionary moment. However, instead of a civil war, the Chileans launched an inclusive political process to write a new constitution. Fast forward to September of this year, the new constitution was overwhelmingly rejected in a national referendum. What happened and what happens next? What lessons can others learn from Chile's efforts to reimagine its democracy? Isabel Aninat, Dean of the Law School of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, in Chile has been a keen observer of the constitution-writing process and of Chilean politics. She is fundamentally optimistic that Chilean democracy is headed in a good direction. What do you think?

Rapidly accelerating climate change is uniquely modern — but climate change is not. Can indigenous people who understand nature differently than most of us teach us how to cope with today’s terrifying challenges? “There’s no bigger thing to do than undoing the damages of the past century to survive this century. And what I mean by that is that if we are able to untangle and address some of the social and environmental damages that have happened, I think humanity and our communities will have a fighting chance.” Tero Mustonen is a climate scholar who combines indigenous knowledge with academic research. He is also a leader of the SnowChange Cooperative and is currently the head of his town of Selkie in North Karelia, Finland. Listen to his insights on how to promote positive change on a damaged planet. This episode was originally published on September 23, 2021.

We live in a world of converging crises. We can forget about that new normal thing we hoped would emerge as the pandemic receded: No normal is the new normal. But life goes on. We need to make decisions about a future that is blurry at best. Imagine that you're a CEO of a big company. How do you cope with a world that seems to be spinning off its axis? Our guests are in the business of thinking about converging crises and trying to help corporate executives cope with them. Tom Armstrong is president of Madison River Group, which specializes in advising on climate change and Earth systems outcomes. Diane Osgood is a sustainability strategist with deep practical experience in the real world. How do they help corporate leaders not only peer around the corner, but formulate strategies that make sense in our changing world?

What does Putin want? How far will he go in his efforts to subjugate Ukraine? Does he have limits? By the time historians can answer those questions, it will be too late. Meanwhile, one of the best places to find answers might be in a recently published biography, entitled PUTIN by Philip Short. Short is a British journalist with a long career as a foreign correspondent and an accomplished author. Listen to Short discuss how Putin looks at the world, what turned him away from a partnership with the West, and the risk that his war could go nuclear. What do you think?

We live in an era of accelerating, disruptive climate change. This isn’t about the random bad storm, but about systemic, dramatic shifts in climate. Change is everywhere, with catastrophic consequences that every credible forecast says will worsen. But how can we understand the reality of those changes? What’s likely to happen next, and what can we do about it? To look for answers we recently organized a conversation among Ugandan veterinarian Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Colombian Amazon expert and a friend of its indigenous people Francisco Hildebrand, and Finnish fisherman, scientist and village head man Tero Mustonen. All are deeply knowledgeable about the realities of their ecosystems, and even more deeply committed to finding solutions to the challenges thrown up by the changing climate. Our discussion was moderated by Maarten Koets. This episode was originally published on May 26, 2022,

Mexico is on the one hand a country that is chronically beset by drug cartels, violence, femicide, corruption, poverty, and political shenanigans. On the other hand, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s president, commands approval ratings of around 60% and almost half of all Mexicans say their country is on the right path. And more than two-thirds of Mexicans expect life to be better for them and their children five years from now. Mexicans, not known for being optimists, apparently are optimistic. Why? Jorge Castañeda is a leading Mexican academic and author, as well as a former foreign minister and an expert on foreign policy; indeed, he is one of his country’s best known, most incisive commentators on all things political. He thinks Mexico is in trouble. What do you think?

We live in a complicated, conflicted world. Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine. US and European efforts to punish Russian aggression. China's growing geopolitical and military assertiveness. What about India? Today it's the world's sixth largest economy and famously, the world's largest democracy. But it aims higher. Prime Minister Modi recently declared that the country must accelerate its growth and development However, rapid economic growth might be the easy part compared to figuring out how to live with an aggressive China. When Chinese leaders intone their mantra of “Asia for the Asians” they don’t seem to be offering co-leadership to Delhi or anyone else. It seems inevitable that India and China will butt heads again, as both countries become stronger. C Raja Mohan, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi, has a deep understanding of India’s foreign policy challenges. Listen as he explains how India can cope with a dangerous world and a dangerous neighbor.

At a time when autocrats are rampaging and our democracies are weakening, the need for citizens to defend their rights has never been greater. But, does speaking truth to power matter in the real world? While we celebrate the bravery and eloquence of those who stand up to injustice and overweening authority, too often the bad guys seem to win. What would it take to change that outcome? The Tällberg Foundation recently hosted a conversation among three of the good “guys:” Kenyan poet Sitawa Namwalie, Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam, and American human rights lawyer Jared Genser. Their discussion was hosted in Vamvakou, Greece by the Vamvakou Revival and SNF (the Stavros Niarchos Foundation). Listen as they discuss the reality in the trenches of the fight for human rights. This episode was originally published on May 19, 2022.

“For the first time in human history, we face a planetary emergency.” Those words were written by Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Scientists tend to be sober, measured in their assessments and with a preference for others to draw the big picture conclusions. So, when an earth scientist as distinguished and accomplished as Rockström writes that “Human pressures on earth have reached dangerously high levels” which could imperil humanity’s survival, we should listen. Are you listening? If so, what do you think? And, more importantly, what are you going to do? This episode was originally published on June 23, 2022

At least one in nine of the almost eight billion people who live on earth are undernourished. As the 18th century economist Robert Malthus forecast, we seem on a path where the planet can’t produce enough food for the projected 10 billion people who will be alive in 2050. Climate change and wars will only make the global food situation more precarious. Is large scale famine inevitable? David Kaplan, a global leader in the new field of cellular agriculture, doesn’t think so. He believes the steaks and fish fillets that he and other scientists are literally growing in their labs can eventually feed a hungry world. What do you think?

One of the ironies of the 21st century is that even though everyone on the planet seems to have a cell phone and to be actively connected to social media, too many people seem voiceless or, at least, don’t think their voices are heard. What’s going on? Who is voiceless, and why? Is the problem that too many are voiceless or that too many are not listening? Maybe unanswerable, but we asked some people to try. Listen to the conversation among Baiqu Gonkar, a Tibetan activist working at the intersection of technology, art and social good; Francis Hildebrand, a Colombian environmentalist working to sustain the Amazon; and Mike Niconchuk, an applied neuroscientist working with conflict-affected populations particularly in the Middle East. Diane Osgood, social impact strategist, moderated the discussion. This episode was originally published on June 2, 2022

Our world has become a weird combination of dangerous, existential challenges and of almost magical, potential solutions. Which is it going to be? Are we doomed or can we save ourselves? Can innovations be transformed into practical realities at the necessary speed and scale, and in ways that allow mankind to flourish?  Scott Cohen believes the answer is a resounding, “Yes!!” He co-founded New Lab, an American based initiative to bring together entrepreneurs, engineers, and inventors to solve some of the world's biggest challenges. And “solve” doesn’t mean someday: it means now. Listen as he discusses how he and his colleagues at New Lab are doing exactly that.

We live in the age of the refugee. Arguably, no country in the West has been more welcoming to refugees over the years than Sweden has. Progressive, secular, social democratic, Swedes have worked hard to integrate migrants into their society, to help refugees create new lives in their new home country. How then do you explain what happened last month during Easter when Stockholm, Malmö and other cities were racked by riots and violent clashes between police and mostly Muslim young men? Lars Åberg, one of his country's leading journalists and a prolific author, has thought and written about these questions for years. Listen as he explains what Sweden has done right, but also what it has done wrong. This episode was originally published on May 5, 2022.

Joel Kotkin, Executive Director of the Urban Reform Institute, recently published an essay on democracy’s demise. Donald Trump is not the villain of the piece. Rather, he argues that the withering of democratic process and institutions reflects the deeper transformation of our societies: the emergence of a ruling technocracy; the use of the pandemic and the environmental crisis to constrain individual rights; the growing distance between the governing and the governed. All of it made worse by the mind-boggling concentration of economic wealth.

Do you care about the future of the oceans? Seventy percent of the earth is covered by water. If we want a livable planet, we need livable oceans. Can we save the oceans? If failure is not an option—and it should not be—who needs to do what? Oceanographers Sylvia Earle from the United States and Asha de Vos from Sri Lanka talked about water, the oceans, threats, and solutions. Both are explorers, educators, and activists and both are winners of the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize.

At the recent NATO summit in Madrid, US President Joe Biden made a joint appearance with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Biden said, “I want to particularly thank you for what you did putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden, and all the incredible work you’re doing to try to get the grain out of Ukraine and Russia. I mean, you’re doing a great job….it’s in large part because of your leadership. Thank you. I really mean it.” Leadership? Really? What Biden calls leadership, Michael Sahlin, former Swedish diplomat with deep experience in Turkey, thinks is more like a cat landing on its feet after falling out a window. Listen as Sahlin discusses Erdogan’s amazing resilience—but without resorting to the “L word.

The whole world really is watching Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Except for audiences in Russia itself, that is. Among the many thousands of Russians reportedly fleeing their country are scores of Russia’s best journalists who have (understandably) given up the good fight. However, at least one has not: Yevgenia Albats. When the government stopped her from publishing and ended her radio show, she found ways to keep talking to her Russian audiences. At great personal peril, Yevgenia tells it like it is—to the Russians who depend on her and to us, who need her. Published the first time on March 24, 2022.