Tallberg Foundation Podcast

The Taliban victory in Afghanistan and the abrupt U.S. withdrawal are the most dramatic evidence of a profound realignment in the politics of the Middle East. How are these developments seen in Iran? What kind of Middle East do the leaders, including president Ebrahim Raisi, want and what are they prepared to do to get it? Listen as Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University, describes his view of what happens when the U.S. loses a war.

Can Bolsonaro bully his way into reelection? Will the country’s democratic institutions be so damaged by him that Brazil’s future stability could be at risk? Most importantly, what do the Brazilian people want? Sergio Amaral has a long career as a top Brazilian diplomat, presidential policy advisor, and consultant to some of São Paulo’s global companies and has an insider's perspective on how his country actually works. Listen as he discusses the future of Brazilian democracy.

Cyber insecurity is a reality of life in the digital age. We all worry about being hacked, about losing personal or corporate secrets. But what happens when nations do it? Is that war? Who makes the rules of cyber warfare? Are there already cyber powers? Marcus Willet has spent decades thinking about such questions at the UK Government Communications Headquarters, and at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies. Listen as he discusses the risks and challenges facing us in the digital age

2021 may go down in history as the year of the Great Awakening. Can we really innovate our way out of the mess? Are we smart enough to translate discoveries into tangible benefits for people? And, can we do so faster than pathogens mutate, accumulated emissions change weather or draughts destroy land? Livio Valenti sits at the intersection of cutting-edge science and the demand for innovative solutions in healthcare, biotech, and material sciences. Listen as he discusses why he thinks we can do this.

The world is a mess: climate change in real time, the pandemic, widespread social and political unrest, high pitch geopolitical tensions. In the midst of this firestorm, people are suffering. Climate migrants need to escape fires, hurricanes and floods. Families flee wars and oppression. Where do they go and who will take them? Lawyers Becca Heller and Kristine Rembach are in the business of finding answers, one refugee or migrant at a time.

The 20th century ended when the Berlin Wall fell and the collapse of the Soviet Union. If you've come of age since then, the struggles of The Cold War are the stuff of history books. German millennials who are starting to come to power in society look at the world differently than their predecessors. How will this change the country? What does it mean for Europe and Germany's role in the world? Ulrike Franke, senior policy fellow at ECFR, is a German millennial who has thought about these questions.

Neuroscientists today know more about how the brain works than ever before; unlocking the brain's potential could transform our world. But it could also be abused, with nightmarish consequences.  Dr. Rafael Yuste works at the forefront of neuroscience, based at Columbia University. His pioneering work has led him to become a champion for protecting individual neuro-identity and neurorights. In that initiative, he is joined by Jared Genser, a leading international human rights lawyer

What does China—or, China’s leadership and the Chinese Communist Party— want from the rest of the world? Jonathan Ward, an American who is rapidly becoming one of that country's leading China experts, thinks they want victory. Dr. Ward, who has lived and worked in China and has a deep affinity for the Chinese people, recently published a new provocative book, China's Vision of Victory. Listen as he shares his perspective on the issue that could literally change the course of history.

As we in the West become more conscious of inequalities that have been part of our societal fabric for a long time, we're becoming less sure of our identities. If art is a window on the soul of a nation, what does ours look like? Who do we think we are in the sense of identity? What's our mood? Of course, these are questions without answers or, at least, unique answers. Shirin Neshat, an acclaimed Iranian visual artist, and Jonathan Burnham at HarperCollins, discuss our evolving zeitgeist.

By any measure, Latin American democracy is in trouble. From Mexico to Argentina there has been an accelerating erosion of representative democracy. Is the witches’ brew of the pandemic, underperforming economies, weak rule of law, and structural inequalities more than democracy can bear? Eduardo Amadeo, Argentine economist and politician; Sergio Guzman, Colombian political risk analyst and commentator; Patricio Navia, Chilean political scientist and academic have some answers.

Increased poverty and malnutrition; greater inequality; damaged and depleted health care systems; rising social and political tensions. But is this a crisis or opportunity? This week’s guests are dedicated to trying to make the world the kind of place it could and should be. Vidhya Ramalingam is a recognized expert on the use of technology to disrupt violent extremism online. Sarah Durieux focuses on mobilizing citizens online, to help them achieve policies they care about.

Lithuania is a frontline state in the growing confrontation—some think it is already war—between East and West. Dalia Bankauskaitė, a security expert at Vilnius University, and Marius Laurinavičius an analyst at the Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis, are both in that camp. They insist that Russia’s hostility, partly exercised through its puppet Belarus, is aimed not just at Lithuania, but at Europe and the U.S. Is this what war in the 21st century feels like? What do Putin and Lukashenko wan

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.

Is the Middle East going through a realignment as significant as after World War I or since Israel was created in 1948? New realities are emerging: peace among key Arab countries and Israel and growing confidence that local leaders can best produce peace, prosperity and security in the region. Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates long-serving ambassador to the U.S. s and also a key player in the process of creating this new Middle East, discusses the future of the Middle East.

By any measure, Latin American democracy is in trouble. From Mexico to Argentina there has been an accelerating erosion of representative democracy. Is the witches’ brew of the pandemic, underperforming economies, weak rule of law, and structural inequalities more than democracy can bear? Eduardo Amadeo, Argentine economist and politician; Sergio Guzman, Colombian political risk analyst and commentator; Patricio Navia, Chilean political scientist and academic have some answers.

Agriculture as it is practiced today—industrial scale ranching and farming—is already a huge contributor to the accelerating pace of climate change. Is there a better alternative? Can we produce enough food to meet humanity's growing needs and wants, without further environmental damage? Our guest this week has positive answers to those questions. Didier Toubia is co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, a company that grows steaks from cow cells. Real steaks—without the downsides of factory farming.

How is Africa doing? In one sense, that's a nonsensical question to ask about 55 countries and almost 1.4 billion people, but even dumb questions can sometimes have smart answers. In this episode, Michela Wrong, who has spent nearly three decades writing about Africa, as a journalist and author, talks about the people, the politics, and the day-to-day realities. Her book, Do Not Disturb, takes a deep dive into President Kagame’s Rwanda which can be read as a window into Africa’s present and its futur

In this special episode, you will meet two Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership prize winners. Listen as two prize recipients and friends, scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur Fio Omenetto and social innovator and entrepreneur Bright Simons, discuss how great leaders can change everything.

“Youth is the hope of our future.” When it comes to governance, is that a good thing in a world where there is a growing body of evidence that youth's satisfaction with democracy is declining in many countries? This episode is part of Tällberg Foundation's exploration of the future of democracy. Listen as Cristóbal Marín Rojas and Julien Richard, discuss the challenges of making democracy work. Both are students at the Paris School for International Affairs at Sciences Po.

The Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize named in honor of Jan Eliasson, one of the most accomplished global diplomats of our era. In this special episode, Jan and Alan Stoga, chairman of the Tällberg Foundation discuss how great leaders can change everything. What can you do? Take Jan’s call to action seriously and nominate someone who deserves to be honored at tallbergprize.org Music: "Without You" by Oxime © 2021. Permissions granted courtesy of Oxime Audio https://www.oxime-audio.com