Global Development Institute podcast

In this episode, we chat with five recent graduates about their time with the SEED Changemakers programme. Participants include:Laura AcostaIfe AgboolaPatrick CaskieEddie GrovesThando MatheAs well as chatting about their reasons for becoming Changemakers, participants describe their reasons for supporting social enterprise One World Together, the skills they learned as students, and their experiences of navigating a tough graduate jobs market. A must-listen for current and prospective students!We covered a lot of initiatives and topics during the course of the interview, so we've provided some relevant links below:One World TogetherSEED Changemakers programmeWe Don't Do CharityGoonjAlumni Podcast: Navigating Development Careers in the Twenty-First Century Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim is joined by Dr Alex Moyem Kombat, Head of Research and Policy of the Ghana Revenue Authority and two GDI PGRs, Anifat Ibrahim and Mohammed Damba to discuss domestic revenue mobilisation in Ghana and in West Africa. Taxation is crucial to development as it provides states with the necessary funding to provide citizens with public services, such as healthcare and education. Currently, Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio is around 13%, just short of the African average of 15%, but far from the OECD average of over 30%. Listen to learn about what are some of Ghana’s biggest challenges in collecting taxes and how these resonate with broader development concerns in the West Africa region. Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this latest episode from the Sustainable Forest Transition Project, Prof Johan Oldekop (GDI) speaks to Sarah Castle (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Matt Fagan (University of Maryland Baltimore County). Johan, Sarah and Matt talk about their research and how data can shape forest landscapes and the way we interact with them. More from Sarah: Article in One EarthBringing Satellites Down to EarthPolitics of PixelsRobust Evaluation of Carbon CreditsCARE Principles for Indigenous Data GovernanceFAIR Principles for data stewardshipMore from Matt: Matt's Paper in Nature Ecology and EvolutionAlphaEarth Foundations Model and it’s relatives“Planting at all costs: Can trees save the planet? (In French)”Rhett Butler's (Mongabay Editor) Blog Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

Welcome to a new mini-pod series from the Global Development Institute’s Research for Transformation Lab. Based at the University of Manchester, the Lab is an initiative where we explore all things research impact. This episode was recorded in November 2025 during Transformation Lab week, a series of face to face sessions designed to initiate a critically engaged conversation around research impact and the idea of research for transformation. In this episode, our GDI colleague Uma Kothari, Professor of migration and postcolonial studies, explores the role of stories and storytelling in research and research impact.   Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, we catch up with two of GDI's second-year PhD students, Blanche de Moidrey and Kalani Foster, to discuss how their research projects relate to the broad themes of indigeneity and knowledge production. We touch on topics including how to grapple with one's positionality as a researcher, the complex political dimensions of indigeneity as a concept, and the ways in which their projects overlap and diverge. We also discussed Blanche's motivations for setting up a website for her writing, which you can find here: Blanche de Moidrey/ Stewards of the LandYou can also read Blanche's latest article on the GDI blog: Origins of the Human-Nature Separation in Western Thought - Global Development Institute BlogFind out more about the project with which Kalani is involved - Just Earth Observation for Conservation - on the project website: About the Just Earth Observation for Conservation project Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

Listen to a discussion between Dr Osman Ouattara and two of our current PhD researchers, Mahtab Uddin and Matilda Kabutey-Ongor. In this episode they discuss their own research and the new pathway for development economics at GDI. Learn more here: https://blog.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/gdi...Or here: https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/stud... Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, Dr Natalie Cunningham, Senior Lecturer in Leadership for Development at GDI, speaks to three UoM alumni about their experiences navigating the contemporary development and humanitarian landscape. Contributors include Stephanie Lord (Head of Global Emergency at the Danish Refugee Council), Shamilah Perumal (Minister for Economic Affairs in the High Commission of Malaysia in New Delhi), and Anna Spethman (Lecturer and Volunteer Manager at the University of Nebraska, Omaha). This episode is published as part of our initiative exploring the ways in which global crises are impacting the GDI alumni community. If you're a former GDI student keen to share your story, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch with louisa.hann@manchester.ac.uk for further information.  Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

A conversation with Gindo Tampubolon, GDI's Reader in Global Health, to discuss his research on global healthy ageing and his work as a lead expert for the World Health Organization's Life Course & Healthy Ageing expert group as part of the UN's Decade of Healthy Ageing Initiative. Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, we speak to GDI alumnus and research fellow Luis Eduardo Pérez Murcia about his recent open access book, A Long Journey Home: Losing and Remaking Home Following Conflict and Displacement. The book examines the experiences of those whose sense of home has been disrupted by decades of conflict and violence, highlighting the profound feelings of loss and the enduring struggle of living without a home. Luis Eduardo discusses his findings in depth, including various ways in which home is conceptualised, lost, and remade in the lives of displaced people.  Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, Rory Horner speaks with Elisa Gambino about her latest paper 'Flexible embeddedness: how Chinese lead firms internationalise in Africa' with Costanza Franceschini.The ‘rise of the South’, and particularly that of China, has promoted lively debates around the centrality of Southern firms in shaping the contours of twenty first century economic globalisation. This paper contributes to these debates by examining the internationalisation of Chinese lead firms.  Find out more about the Global Development Institute:WebsiteBlogBlueSky LinkedIn FacebookInstagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters