Deep Dish on Global Affairs

As global institutions focused on research, innovation, and ideas, universities have historically been closely tied to geopolitical power. Today, America's world-leading universities face growing competition, particularly from China, with far-reaching implications. Chronicle of Higher Education senior writer Karin Fischer and Harvard Business School professor and author William Kirby join Deep Dish to discuss how America's universities achieved their global preeminence, why this is now threatened, and how they might respond. Like the show? Leave us a rating and review! Reading List: Latitudes, Karin Fischer, The Chronicle of Higher Education Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China, William C. Kirby, Harvard University Press

What does Russia's war in Ukraine reveal about competing theories of foreign policy thought? The Council's Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and James Goldgeier, visiting scholar at Stanford University, to debate the war, and what might happen next, from the perspectives of liberal internationalism, the predominant foreign policy doctrine which champions cooperation, and realism, a doctrine that views competition and conflict as inevitable. Like the show? Leave us a rating and review.

Mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been in the headlines recently for their alleged role in war crimes in Ukraine. But the Kremlin-linked paramilitary group has been active in Africa for several years, where it provides a wide range of services to governments across the continent. For this week's Deep Dish, the Council's Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Federica Saini Fasanotti of the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan to discuss how Wagner's growing footprint in Africa supports Russia's strategic and commercial interests. Reading List: Russia's Wagner Group in Africa: Influence, commercial concessions, rights violations, and counterinsurgency failure, Federica Saini Fasanotti, Brookings Institution To Beat Russian Influence in Africa, the West Must Offer Something Better, Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune Like the show? Leave us a rating and review.

With richly fertile soil and easy access to international markets, Ukraine has been called the breadbasket of Europe. Following Russia's invasion, the country's grain exports have plummeted, leading to worldwide food price increases of 23 percent and hundreds of thousands facing starvation in the Middle East and Africa. As a global hunger crisis soars, food security experts Ertharin Cousin and Teresa Welsh join Deep Dish to dissect the root causes of modern food insecurity and analyze actions we must take to protect the world's most vulnerable populations. Join the Council's upcoming virtual Event on June 23: Global Food Security Symposium 2022 Interested in learning more about transforming the global food system? Sign up for Devex Dish's newsletter here.

Last week, China's foreign minister Wang Yi met with ten Pacific nations to propose a sweeping trade and security agreement. China's intensifying diplomacy in the Pacific demonstrates the region's growing geostrategic importance. China experts Patrick Cronin and Bonnie Glaser join Deep Dish to discuss China's strategy in the Pacific, and how the US should respond. We'd love to know your thoughts about the show! Leave us a review. Reading: The Pacific Islands Matter for America/America Matters for the Pacific Islands, East-West Center

If the United States overturns Roe vs. Wade later this year, it would be a stark policy shift 50 years after the landmark Supreme Court decision on women's rights. The World Health Organization's Bela Ganatra and the Center for Reproductive Rights' Katherine Mayall join Deep Dish to look at global trends on reproductive rights and how the US compares.

This week Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians out of their second largest city, Kharkiv, a triumph that most military analysts would have considered unthinkable two months ago. With Putin's concerns about his legacy, experts believe we could be heading into a dangerous stalemate. Former National Security Council official Fiona Hill joins Deep Dish to analyze Putin's motivation for the war, his plans, and what is at stake for the world. Like the show? Leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. Prefer to watch instead? https://bit.ly/3NoxCUf

This week political dynasty heir and TikTok star Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. brought his corrupt family back to power in the Philippines 36 years after his father was ousted in a public revolution. The Washington Post's Regine Cabato joins Deep Dish to explain how Filipinos lost faith in democracy, why disinformation works so well in the Philippines, and whether the new administration will bring the country closer to China or the United States. We'd love to know your thoughts about the show! Leave us a review.

Russian state TV aired a chilling propaganda video showing nuclear destruction in the United Kingdom this week, echoing bluster from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on nuclear escalation over Ukraine. Former US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, who negotiated the New START treaty with Russia, joins Deep Dish to explain how Russia's actions have altered conversations on arms control and why it's still critical for the United States and Russia to work together to prevent nuclear war. Like the show? Leave us a review!

China's latest economic data show the lowest GDP growth expectation in 30 years, rising unemployment, and slowing industrial production in part due to strict COVID-19 lockdowns. Victor Shih joins Deep Dish to explain how inflation and the war in Ukraine will compound this decline, what it means for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping's leadership, and whether Xi's demand for China to match the United States' growth in 2022 is possible. Don't forget to leave us a review!