Carnegie Council Audio Podcast

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Columbia’s Mark Lilla discusses his controversial book “The Once and Future Liberal” and how America can move forward in the Trump era. In this excerpt, Lilla explains the dire consequences of liberals playing identity politics, as he calls it, in the face of a dangerous and regressive Republican agenda and electoral strategy.

Hofstra University's Jess Holzer is focused on improving public health at the community level. But she teaches that good intentions alone are not enough to build an inclusive and succesful project. What are the tangible benefits of showing respect as a medical reseacher? And what's the connection between bioethics and biking on Long Island?

In a wide-ranging conversation, Emmy award-winning Vice News producer Josh Davis takes Devin Stewart behind the scenes of his in-depth documentaries, from the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville to daily life in North Korea.

What has led to the rise of far-right parties across Europe and how have they evolved over time? Is immigration really the main issue, or is there a more complex set of problems that vary from nation to nation? What are the ideological and practical connections between the far right and Russia? Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Marlene Laruelle is an expert on Europe, Russia, Eurasia, and Europe's far right. Don't miss her analysis.

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Sam Kass details his time as President Obama’s White House chef and senior policy advisor for nutrition and the links between climate change and how and what we eat. In this excerpt, Kass and journalist Roxana Saberi discuss an uncertain future for food policy in the United States under Trump.

Francis Wade, author of "The Enemy Within," a new book on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, explains the historical background to the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minority and gives a first-hand account of the terrible situation now. Has democracy been good for Burma? Will some Rohingya refugees become Islamic extremists?

There is disturbing evidence that China is weaponizing North Korea, and it's time that Washington started asking Beijing some pointed questions, says Gordon Chang. The fact is, the United States has overwhelming leverage over China--we just don't use it enough--and China has overwhelming leverage over North Korea. "These two points lead to one conclusion, and that is, we can, without the use of force, disarm North Korea."

How does climate change play into Xi Jinping's larger strategy for China's economy and its role on the global stage? Xi has a vision for addressing climate change and pollution; but how is it implemented in practice, especially in the hinterlands far from the rich coastal provinces? Elizabeth Economy is an expert on Chinese domestic and foreign policy, especially related to environmental matters. She explores these questions and more.

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Columbia's David Phillips discusses how Erdoğan's Turkey has turned from an important U.S. ally to a rogue regime. In this excerpt, Phillips asks pointed questions about the July 2016 coup, which led to Erdoğan cracking down and consolidating his power.

Duterte is part of an arc of populism in emerging market democracies such as Turkey and India, says author Haydarian, but unlike populist movements in developed economies, its main supporters are the rising middle class. This newly prosperous group demands better living conditions and is increasingly attracted to strongmen leaders like Duterte, "who promise overnight solutions to very complicated 21st-century problems."

Thucydides is not saying that the inevitable frictions between a rising power and a ruling one will always lead to war, says Allison. The danger is when "third-party actions become provocations to which one or the other feels obliged to react, to which the other primary actor feels obliged to respond, which then leads to a cascade, often dragging people where they do not want to go." Think North Korea.

Chernobyl is considered the greatest nuclear disaster of all time. But over decades America's Hanford plant and Russia's Mayak plant each issued almost four times the amount of radiation as Chernobyl. Historian Kate Brown explains that in the closed atomic cities serving these plutonium plants, "residents gave up their civil and biological rights for consumer rights." How does today's America mirror these segregated plutopias?

Representative democracy in the UK has been corrupted by the three B's, says Grayling: blackmail, bullying, and bribery. There are similar problems in the United States. To make things worse, covert persuasion tactics via social media are rampant. Yet we can still make representative democracy work, he says. We need transparency, breaking of the grip of the party machine, and control of the amount of money spent on elections.

Half a decade after Arabs across the Middle East poured into the streets to demand change, hopes for democracy have disappeared in a maelstrom of violence and renewed state repression. How did things go so wrong so quickly across a wide range of regimes? What role can and should the United States play? Don't miss this conversation with Steven Cook, an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy.

Hurricane Sandy was the catalyst that impelled Miranda Massie to quit her job as a civil rights lawyer and found the Climate Museum. "I think that climate change is THE equality and THE civil rights issue of the 21st century," she says. Why open this museum in New York and what does it hope to accomplish? Find out more in this interview that covers not only the multi-faceted impacts of climate change, but also what we can do about it.

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Microsoft Research’s danah boyd discusses the ethical and political implications of big data and artificial intelligence. In this excerpt, boyd explains to journalist Stephanie Sy some of the disturbing issues that arise when machine learning and algorithms are used in the criminal justice system.

"Though most of the literature you will read on the future of war certainly talks about war as between regular armies, as proper fights, now with drones or with autonomous vehicles or robots or whatever, or even painless--cyber and so on--yet actually the reality of war is as it has always been: it is vicious, and it is nasty, and it kills the wrong people, and it does so in considerable numbers."

Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal and Senior Fellow Devin Stewart discuss the challenges to liberalism, in the United States and on the international stage, and explain today's debates through a historical context. Have too many forgotten why and how the liberal order was put in place? Can liberals find solidarity in the face of adversity?

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Earth Institute executive director Steven Cohen offers hope for a sustainable future. In this excerpt, Cohen tells journalist Stephanie Sy that despite Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris agreement, the momentum is on the side of America's businesses, states, cities, and civil society.

How can we engage with Muslims around the world without really understanding what they believe? On studying the Qur'an, religious scholar Garry Wills found that many of our perceptions of Islam are false or distorted. Most surprisingly, Islam is a very inclusive religion, more so than Judaism or Christianity. What's more, the Qur'an gives women more property rights than early Christian women had. Don't miss this important talk.