On Shifting Ground

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced millions to flee their homes. And for the Ukrainian civilians caught in the crossfire, war has become a way of life. 

This week, we talked to Ukrainians about the ways that the war unexpectedly changed their lives. Kateryna Lazarevych, an archivist at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv, shares how she’s working to improve her country, as if everyday were her last day on earth. Filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk takes us through her decision to leave Kyiv where her husband is fighting as a soldier in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces. And Alex Gerz, a Russian-Ukrainian student living in Germany, records his story from the road, where he provides humanitarian assistance and safe passage to those fleeing Ukraine with a ragtag army of volunteers. 

Guests:  

Kateryna Lazarevych, archivist at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv

Iryna Tsilyk, filmmaker and director of “The Earth is Blue as an Orange”

Alex Gerz, Russian-Ukrainian student based in Kassel, Germany

Host:  

Ray Suarez

Producers:

Andrew Stelzer, KALW producer

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Shortly before the end of his term in 2022, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged to end gender-based violence in his country by 2026. With two years left before the deadline, is Kenya still on track to fulfill the promises made to Kenyan women? And how is Kenyan media keeping the fight alive?

This week, we’re sharing an episode from Foreign Policy’s “Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women”, about how reality TV is helping women’s rights activists press the Kenyan government to uphold its pledge.

Guests:

Audrey Mugeni, the co-founder of Counting Dead Women Kenya

Anne Ireri, the executive director of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya

Hosts:  

Reena Ninan, founder of Good Trouble Productions

Laura Rosbrow-Telem, senior producer at Foreign Policy

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.

To leaders in Silicon Valley, artificial intelligence is just the latest innovation in a never-ending “make our lives better.” But can we trust them with our data… and our lives… if they can’t be held accountable?

Journalist Kara Swisher joins Ray Suarez to discuss her newest book, “Burn Book,” and the psyche of Silicon Valley’s biggest players.

Plus: Hear Kara Swisher discuss “Burn Book,” the inside story of Silicon valley and the biggest boom in wealth creation in history live at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs on Thursday, March 7. Register here.

Guest:  

Kara Swisher, author of “Burn Book,” and host of the podcast “On with Kara Swisher”

Host: 

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.

Most Americans are far more focused on “pocketbook issues” – like stretching an ever-inflating dollar – than what the country does overseas in their name. But this election cycle, calls for additional aid for overseas wars has put foreign policy on the ballot for voters.

In the second episode of our special election series, South Carolina voter Maryann Wright shares her thoughts on the role of American democracy at home… and its responsibility abroad. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State, and Nicholas Kristof, columnist at The New York Times, to see why international affairs will matter come November.

Guests:  

Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State

Nicholas Kristof, NY Times columnist

Maryann Wright, retired teacher and South Carolina voter

Phil Hemingway, former owner of Phil’s Repair, LLC and Iowa voter

Host:  

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.

Saturday marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And while foreign support may be dwindling, Ukrainian determination to win the war is not. But what’s at stake when war no longer feels like an emergency… but a way of life?

Ray Suarez sits down with Masha Gessen, staff writer for The New Yorker, to unpack the toll of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine’s freedoms… and democracy.

Guest:

Masha Gessen, Russian-American award-winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker 

Host(s):  

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.

Vladimir Putin set the world on edge when Russia invaded Ukraine. Two years later, international support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is becoming more precarious, and war weariness amongst the resistance — and their allies— has begun to set in. 

Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw joins Ray Suarez to explain how a besieged Ukraine may be Europe’s last line of defense against Putin.

Guest:  

Michael Bociurkiw, global affairs analyst and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center

Host:  

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.

On February 16, 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Alexei Navalny had died, and offered no further explanation. 

The cause of death hasn’t yet been reported, but since the news broke, world leaders have started speaking out against Vladimir Putin… and it brings a new round of scrutiny to the Russian dictator.

In May 2022, Ray sat down with documentarian Daniel Roher to chat 'Navalny,' his new film following the famed Russian opposition leader’s recovery from a Kremlin-sponsored assassination attempt and his ongoing search for justice. The film took home the Academy Award for best documentary last year.

To remember the life and political career of Alexei Navalny, we’re revisiting Ray’s conversation with Daniel Roher.

Guest:

Daniel Roher, documentary filmmaker and director of 'Navalny'

Host:

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.

Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel continues its massive retaliation against Hamas. And as violence spreads to Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, America’s global standing is taking a hit.

Ray Suarez sits down with Trita Parsi, Iran expert and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, to unpack how Biden’s unwavering support of Israel could cost him in the Middle East… and at home.

Guest:

Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Host: 

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.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established to aid Palestinian refugees, but it has become yet another flashpoint in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel has accused 12 out of the 13,000 UNRWA employees of taking part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli settlements. And as major donors like the United States, Germany and Britain have paused their funding, the aid agency may have to cease its life-saving operations for millions of Palestinians in Gaza by the end of February 2024. 

Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins Ray Suarez to address Israel’s allegations against UNRWA, and offers a critique of the Biden administration's unequivocal support of Israel, despite evidence that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians in Gaza.

Guest:

Kenneth Roth, Former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and author of “Righting Wrongs” 

Host: 

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.

Immigration has emerged as a major voter concern in the 2024 elections, and the challenge of securing America’s Southern border is once again a political flashpoint. But while the US debates immigration reform, tens of thousands of migrants have become pawns in a game that endangers their lives… 

Ray Suarez sits down with immigration attorney Mahsa Khanbabai to dive into what the broken visa process for Afghan refugees can teach us about immigration reform.

Guest:

Mahsa Khanbabai, immigration attorney at Khanbabi Immigration Law

Host:

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.

Immigrants in California are generally protected from federal deportation under sanctuary and safe haven laws, unless they've been incarcerated. And in 2022, after serving 25 years for murder, San Quentin State Prison parolee Phoeun You was turned over to ICE, and deported without warning. 

In this episode, Phoeun You tells “On Shifting Ground” senior producer Mateo Schimpf about coming to terms with surviving the Cambodian genocide, how he got caught up in the prison-to-deportation pipeline, and the hard choice he made to find freedom.

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.

Americans — from the largest urban centers to the smallest rural towns — are deeply pessimistic about the state of the nation. And on both sides of the political aisle, there seems to be a disconnect between what people want… and where they feel the country is headed. 

This week, we’re kicking off our special election series, and throughout the year we’ll deep-dive into the issues driving the 2024 Presidential Election. 

In this first episode, we’ll hear from Iowa voter Phil Hemingway about how he’s feeling about this contentious election year. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Dante Chinni, director of MSU J-School’s American Communities Project, to explore how to unite a divided country.

Guests: 

Phil Hemingway, owner, manager and automotive technician at Phil’s Repair, LLC

Dante Chinni, data and political journalist and director of the MSU J-School’s American Communities Project

Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic, Pulitzer-prize winning historian and author of “The Twilight of Democracy”

Ian Bremmer, a political scientist, author of “The Power of Crisis,” and professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Political Affairs

Host:  

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.

Elon Musk’s leadership at “X” (formerly Twitter) has been messy, and his disregard for user safeguards is part of a troubling trend in Silicon Valley. Revisiting the conversation from 2023, Ray Suarez sits down with NYU professor Dr. Scott Galloway to explore how Silicon Valley’s profit-chasing – and unchecked influence – is destroying American society… and our kids.

Guest:

Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business

Host:

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.

The 2024 US election season is officially underway, and experts are already bracing for the array of threats to free and fair elections that were made all too real the last time Americans elected a president. And this time, many are concerned that it’ll be even harder to combat fake election claims online and political violence.

Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros, co-founders of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab, join Ray Suarez to break down how our digital lives are destroying our mental health… and our democracy. 

Plus: check out our past conversation with Alexa Koenig on How Technology Fights – and Fuels – Misinformation to learn more about what UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Investigations Lab does.

Guests:

Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros, co-founders of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab and co-authors of “Graphic: Trauma and Meaning in our Online Lives”

Host:

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.

From accidental collateral damage deaths to targeted murders by the people in charge who don’t want them telling the truth, an unprecedented number of journalists are being killed while reporting. So what motivates reporters to keep filing stories despite the ever present threat of danger?

Sean Carberry, author of the memoir “Passport Stamps: Searching The World For A War To Call Home,” joins Ray Suarez to unpack the human costs of reporting from war zones.  

Guest:

Sean Carberry, Managing Editor of National Defense Magazine and author of the memoir “Passport Stamps: Searching the World For a War to Call Home”

Host:

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.

Reporting in war zones is an inherently dangerous job. Last year, 95 international media workers were killed while reporting, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. And as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza drag on, 2024 may be just as deadly. So how can we protect the journalists putting their lives on the line?

We revisit our conversation with CPJ’s Gulnoza Said on why the safety of journalists matters to the health of a free press. Then, Ann Simmons, Moscow Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal, joins Ray Suarez to give an update on the detention of American reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage by Russia. 

Guests:

Gulnoza Said, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator for The Committee to Protect Journalists

Ann Simmons, Moscow Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal

Host:  

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.

Hate crimes, gun violence, political polarization…. to New York Times’ columnist David Brooks, these are signs that America is undergoing a new epidemic: social isolation. He joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen,” and to unpack how we can rebuild trust and empathy “for the opposition”... by getting to know our neighbors.

Guest:

David Brooks, Op-Ed Columnist at The New York Times and author of “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen”

Host:  

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.

While many Baby Boomers have already left the workforce behind, almost half are considering coming out of retirement in search of a new purpose in life. Leading sociologist and business economist Mauro Guillén joins Ray Suarez to explain why the days of “OK Boomer” are coming to an end… and why the future of work will be “post-generational.”

Guest:

Mauro F. Guillén, Vice Dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and author of “The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Post Generational Society”

Host:

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.

Christmas is here, but for many Christians around the world, war has cast a shadow over this year’s festivities. To break with Russian orthodoxy and influence, Ukraine will officially observe Christmas on December 25, even as the terror of airstrikes taints the air. And in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Palestinian Christians have canceled all celebrations in solidarity with their countrymen under attack in Gaza.  

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Senior Pastor at The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, and Bohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor of Kyiv Post, join Ray Suarez to share what Christmas in wartime looks like, from Palestine to Ukraine.

Guests:

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Senior Pastor at The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, Palestine and Academic Dean at the Bethlehem Bible College

Bohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor at Kyiv Post

Host:

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.

From Putin’s costly war in Ukraine, to simmering tensions between the US and China, and renewed violence in the Middle East, this week, we’re looking back at the international news stories that defined 2023. Professor Jessica Chen Weiss, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute; Karim Elgendy, founder of the Carboun Initiative for Middle Eastern Sustainable Cities; and Luke Harding, foreign correspondent at The Guardian, join Ray Suarez to dissect this year’s most significant geopolitical shifts… and the foreign policy issues that will define 2024.

To dive deeper, check out these episodes: 

• China’s Dream of Global Dominance

• Why China and the US are Saber-Rattling Over Taiwan

• Is The Middle East Swiping Left on America?

• How the Palestinian Question Could Unravel Netanyahu’s “New Middle East”

• Two Dictators Walk Into a Bar: What We Learned From the Putin-Kim Summit

• Putin’s Prigozhin Trap, with Anne Applebaum

Guests:  

Jessica Chen Weiss, Michael J. Zak Professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute

Karim Elgendy, Urban sustainability and climate consultant, and founder of the Carboun Initiative for Middle Eastern Sustainable Cities

Luke Harding, foreign correspondent for The Guardian and author of Invasion

Host:

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.