Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Anand Gopal's first book, "No Good Men Among the Living: America, The Taliban and The War through Afghan Eyes," was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. And deservedly so. This book is easily one of the best and most important foreign policy books of the last decade and certainly the most enlightening book written about the Afghan War. As its title suggests, Gopal offers a rarely seen perspective on the US-led intervention in Afghanistan by profiling individuals--both civilian and Taliban -- and by telling the story of shifting alliances in a region in southern Afghanistan. Gopal discusses how he went about reporting these amazing stories; what compelled him to travel to Afghanistan on a whim in 2008; and how his complexion both helps and complicates his reporting in Afghanistan and in the Middle East. I think you can tell I was so thrilled to speak with Anand. If you have not already done so, definitely read his book. You'll look at the Afghan war--and perhaps even interventionism--in a totally different way.

A panel of independent experts recently published an exhaustive and hotly awaited report on the future of UN Peacekeeping The panel was lead by Jose Ramos Horta, the Nobel Laureate and former president of East Timor--a country where peacekeeping played a key role in its turbulent early ears. The report was a pretty big deal in UN circles. Its release provides a good inflection point to discuss UN peacekeeping, the big challenges it faces, and how current trends in global security are going to force the UN to adapt. My guest today, Richard Gowan, is a columnist at World Politics review and an editor of the Global Peace Operations review. He is one of my favorite UN pundits and I am thrilled to have him back on the podcast to discuss this new report and all things UN Peacekeeping. UN and peacekeeping nerds will love this one. This episode is sponsored by World Politics Review, which provides uncompromising analysis of critical global trends to give policy makers, business people, and academics the context they need to have the confidence they want. The good people at World Politics Review are offering Global Dispatches Podcast listeners a two week free trial and then a 50% discount on an annual subscription. To redeem this offer go to about.worldpoliticsreview.com/dispatches.

Stephen Morrison is the Senior Vice President and Director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He's had a long and fascinating career working on development, human rights and health issues around the world. His PhD work focused on the political economy of countries that bordered apartheid South Africa and spend much of the 1980s and 1990s working on African issues in Congress and for the clinton administration. We discuss the origins of the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict, and his experiences working in the Horn of Africa during a pretty turbulent time. Later, he started USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives and served in Bosnia during the height of the civil war, where he had a few very close calls... Enjoy!

The UN Charter turns 70 years old on June 26. This is the founding treaty that created the United Nations and in this episode you will learn the fascinating and legitimately entertaining history of that document and of the 1945 San Francisco Conference that produced it. Ban Ki Moon and a number of international dignitaries are visiting San Francisco this week to commemorate the occasion, so I caught up with the writer Stephen Schlesinger, author of Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations who tells some great stories about the ideas, inspirations and personalities that created the document we now know as the United Nations Charter. This conversation is in part a historiography of the UN Charter and a history of the San Francisco Conference. You’ll learn the odd reason why San Francisco was picked to host the conference; hear the curious etymology of the term “The United Nations”; and learn some of the big drama that unfolded as delegates tried to put the final touches on the charter. At one point, you’ll even picture Winston Churchill in the buff (it’s an important part of the story. Trust me!) UN nerds, history aficionados and international affairs enthusiasts will love this episode.

Paula Dobriansky served as Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs for pretty much the entire George W Bush administration. Prior to that she served in the Bush 41, Reagan and Carter administrations in various foriegn policy capacities. And prior to that she was a Sovietologist studying at Harvard. She's now back at Harvard, and reflects on her time in government. We kick off with a discussion about the situation in Ukraine and then have a longer discussion about some fun highlights of her long career.

Earlier this month, the African Union held a summit in South Africa. Among the attendees was Omar al Bashir, the president of Sudan. This was somewhat surprising because Bashir is wanted on charges of war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Court. And South Africa, as a member of the ICC, is treaty bound to arrest fugitives like Bashir. But South African authorities did not arrest him. So a local human rights group pressed their case in a South African court, which issued an injunction ordering Bashir to stay put pending the resolution of the case. That's when things got weird. With the complicity of the South African government Bashir was allowed to escape the country. He's now back in Sudan. And on the line with me to discuss what exactly happened and what the consequences might be for the ICC and its relationship with African governments is Mark Kersten. He's the creator of the excellent Justice in Conflict blog and a researcher focusing on the ICC.

It was a year ago this week that the Iraqi city of Mosul--the second largest city in country--fell to ISIS. The loss of Mosul sparked a re-examination of US policy toward Iraq and ISIS. And just this week, the White House announced that it was sending over 400 military advisers to an Iraqi base that is on the front lines of the fight. On the line with me to discuss the evolution of US strategy to counter ISIS in Iraq is Dr. Steven Metz. He does a very good job articulating that the White House is betting on a strategy of containment--and that this is probably their best option even though they wont publicly admit as such. Metz describes what this strategy looks like; and identifies the big drawbacksof this strategy Metz is a columnist for World Politics Review, which is sponsoring this episode. The good people at World Politics Review are offering Global Dispatches Podcast listeners a two week free trial and then a 50% discount on an annual subscription. To redeem this offer go to about.worldpoliticsreview.com/dispatches.

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of islands situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean. You may have heard of the largest of these Islands, Diego Garcia, because it is home to a strategically important US military base. However, the story of how this base came to being is rather sordid. And the plight of the thousands of inhabitents who were expelled from their homeland to make room for this base is utterly tragic. Today's episode is a little different than what you may be used to from a typical monday episode of Global Dispatches Podcast. I have two guests today--each bringing a different perspective to one vastly overlooked affront to human rights that has been ongoing for the last 50 years. I first speak with David Vine an associate professor at American University and author of a book about the Chagossian exile called Island of Shame. We discuss the history of Diego Garcia, why the US military considers the base is so strategically important, and what's become of the Chagossian population since their expulsion. Next I speak with Olivier Bancoult, who at the age of 4 was banished from his homeland. Like many Chagossians, he now lives in Mauritius. He tells me his life story and we have an absolutely fascinating and somewhat tragic conversation about how a people who have been banished from their homeland adapt and find ways to preserve their cultural heritage.

What's the relationship between air conditioning, air temperature and income levels? In other words, at what income level and in what climate zones do people opt to purchase A/C? The answer to these questions could have a profound implication on the quality of life of people in the developing world and also seriously strain fragile energy grids and contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. But the question was not seriously studied...until now. On the line is Lucas Davis who is co-author with his University of California colleague Paul Gertler of a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that examines the relationship between climate, income and air conditioning in Mexico. What they find is both fascinating on its own and also deeply consequential to discussions about international development and climate change in other warm and rapidly developing countries (think India, which is currently in the midst of a heatwave). This is a very interesting study of a niche topic with exceedingly profound implications--all of which are discussed in this episode!

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is a journalist and fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who in April published the book Ashley's War, which tells the story of a group of female soldiers who accompanied special forces during missions in Afghanistan. In this conversation, Mark and Gayle discuss how these units were created and take a deep dive into the history of the role of women in the US military. Gayle has had a very interesting career as a journalist and as an MBA who studied entrepreneurship in the developing world. We discuss some of her big scoops and how she became so attracted to Afghanistan. Enjoy! This was an interesting conversation. As always, feel free to send me an email via GlobalDispatchesPodcast.com or hit me up on twitter with your suggestions of people to interview or topics to cover.