Deep Dish on Global Affairs

While the world closely followed the fate of five privileged men who went missing aboard a Titanic-bound submersible, a fishing boat crowded with migrants traveling from Libya sank in Greek waters. This upped the number of migrants who have died trying to reach Europe by sea this year to nearly 2,000. Award-winning journalist Sally Hayden joins Deep Dish to shed light on the underreported crisis of migrant treatment, the heartbreaking stories of those traveling on the world’s deadliest migration route, and the inadequate news coverage and resources dedicated to this humanitarian issue.

Reading List:

• My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route, Sally Hayden, Melville House, March 29, 2022

• Ignoring the Humanity of Migrants Won’t Fix Migration Problems, Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, June 30, 2023

Haiti marks the two-year anniversary of President Jovenel Moïse's assassination. On Deep Dish, we unravel the intricate dynamics that make Haiti's path to stability so challenging. Haitian journalist Monique Clesca and the International Crisis Group’s Renata Segura offer their perspectives on the complexities of the situation and explore pathways on Haiti's struggle for a brighter future.

Why is the relationship between the West and the Global South failing and what can be done? Stimson Center’s Aude Darnal challenges the dominant focus on great power competition and highlights why this approach fails to foster meaningful, mutually beneficial relations. Discover why redefining this lens is essential for the United States, the Global South, and the world.

What role do international partners like the United States play in shaping Sudan’s transitional path forward? Deep Dish explores the need for a new approach to conflict resolution that prioritizes civilian interests, joined by Jacqueline Burns, former advisor to the US Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, and Peter Biar Ajak of the Belfer Center. They question traditional methods and uncover alternative strategies for constructive international engagement to secure a peaceful future for Sudan.

Reading List:

• The Violence in Sudan Is Partly Our Fault, Jacqueline Burns, New York Times, April 23, 2023 

Artificial intelligence raises increasingly grim concerns among experts. Are our digital spaces truly safe for democracy? On Deep Dish, the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s Laura Rosenberger and Stanford University’s Jacob Helberg discuss digital interference, misinformation, and data privacy within the lens of geopolitics. [This episode originally aired August 13, 2020]

Reading List:

Nearly one in every four children worldwide is affected by malnutrition. Roger Thurow, senior fellow and author of The First 1,000 Days, joins Deep Dish to explore the impact of good nutrition for mothers and children. He provides ten-year updates on the communities in India, Uganda, and Guatemala featured in his book, explores the importance of good nutrition on growth and development, and considers the vital question: what might a child have accomplished for all of us were they not malnourished and stunted in their first 1,000 days?  

This episode is brought to you by the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America.

Netflix’s hit show "The Diplomat" brings real-world diplomacy to the spotlight. On Deep Dish, Executive Producer of Madam Secretary David Grae and career diplomat Maryum Saifee examine the show’s portrayal of diplomats, the importance of sharing these stories in pop culture, and the significance of the State Department finally going to Hollywood.

While the West focuses on Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the stakes look very different inside Kyiv. Fresh from a visit to the capitol city, Council President Ivo Daalder joins former Ukrainian diplomat Iuliia Osmolovska to share Ukrainians’ focus on the long term: integration with the West, consequences of the war, and what comes after.

Since its launch three years ago, The Continent has become the most widely distributed newspaper in Africa. Issued via WhatsApp, The Continent tells stories “by Africans, for Africans,” and reveals just how different African news looks when the people living it are the ones writing the stories. Editor-in-Chief Simon Allison joins us on Deep Dish to talk about shaping this new outlet, and Brian discusses what he learned during his month-long trip to Africa, including what US news consumers often don’t hear.

The ICC has dubbed Vladimir Putin personally responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine. While the world focuses on Putin’s prospects, Deep Dish dives into the underlying issue: accountability, justice, and protection of the most vulnerable victims of war. Experts Nathaniel Raymond and Kathryn Sikkink unpack the tragic reality of child abductions during times of conflict, how the indictments might affect these Ukrainian children, and whether this could truly deter child abductions in future war crimes. 

Reading List:

• Russia's Systematic Program for the Re-Education and Adoption of Ukrainian Children, Humanitarian Research Lab, Yale School of Public Health, February 14, 2023

• Evidence for Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century, Kathryn Sikkink, Princeton University Press, March 5, 2019

• The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions are Changing World Politics, Kathryn Sikkink, W. W. Norton & Company, September 26, 2011

Deep Dish is back after a brief break with a new theme song and some exciting news: occasional host Lizzy Shackelford is joining as an official co-host. To celebrate, Brian and Lizzy talk to each other and give you a chance to get to know them more personally. From what led them to a career grappling with global affairs to their hobbies and interests, we're exploring it all. Tune in to meet the hosts who bring you Deep Dish each week and get ready for a few surprises along the way!

On Deep Dish, we’re revisiting our conversation about the world of espionage and the secrets of intelligence gathering with Amy Zegart, author of Spies, Lies, and Algorithms. As new technology continues to disrupt all aspects of our lives, Zegart explains how these innovations are changing espionage and why spy myths perpetuated by Hollywood often get in the way of understanding threats.

[This episode originally aired: March 24, 2022]

Related Content:  

• Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence, Amy Zegart, Princeton University Press, February 1, 2022 

• Senate Intelligence Hearing on Worldwide Threats, PBS NewsHour, March 8, 2023 

• National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, Final Report, March 19, 2021

Since Mahsa Amini’s death in Iranian custody last September, protesters—many women and Gen Z activists—have demanded greater freedom, including an end to the mandatory hijab. Narges Bajoghli of Johns Hopkins University and women of the Iranian diaspora join Deep Dish to explore Iran’s ongoing protests, their significance for the global women's movement, and the push for gender equality.

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s recent moves to undermine the country’s National Electoral Institute have sparked massive pro-democracy protests and stoked fears that the country is backsliding into authoritarianism. On Deep Dish, Denise Dresser, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, and Guillermo Trejo, Notre Dame and Kellogg Institue, discuss Mexico’s future and why everyone should care that the country’s elites are weakening and dismantling democratic systems. 

Reading List:

• Mexico’s Dying Democracy, Denise Dresser, Foreign Affairs, October 21, 2022 

• Mexico’s Illiberal Democratic Trap, Guillermo Trejo, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 17, 2021 

One year ago, Russia launched its brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but perhaps the greatest surprise has been the emergence of one of the most significant wartime leaders of the 21st century. How did Volodymyr Zelensky become the guiding force we know today? On Deep Dish, Olga Onuch, author of “The Zelensky Effect,” dives into the story of the ordinary Ukrainian who rose to command the global stage.    

Reading List:

• The Zelensky Effect, Olga Onuch and Henry E. Hale, Oxford University Press, March 1, 2023