Yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan. While these nations are assumed to be America’s chief geostrategic competitors, Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine has isolated its economy, degraded its military, and undermined its international standing. Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Wilson Center’s Lucian Kim join Deep Dish to discuss what the war in Ukraine has revealed about Russia’s global power and whether it can still be considered a great power. 

Last week power struggles between rival Shia groups erupted in deadly street battles that sparked fears of a renewed cycle of violence. Chatham House’s Renad Mansour joins Deep Dish and argues that the conventional view that Iraq’s political instability is driven by sectarian and ethnic divisions is wrong. Rather, the real cleavage is between a permanent political elite, across faith and ethnic divisions, who work together to divide up state resources to benefit themselves at the expense of the Iraqi people.  Like the show? Leave us a rating and review. 

Like Ukraine, the Western Balkans sit on a fault line between Russian and Western spheres of influence. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, political tensions have grown in the region, particularly in Bosnia and Kosovo. Many experts suspect Russia is exploiting ethnic divisions. The Economist’s Tim Judah and the Atlantic Council’s Ilva Tare join Deep Dish to examine Moscow's motives for fanning instability in one of Europe’s most fragile regions. Reading List: The Effects of the War in Ukraine on the Western Balkans, Tim Judah, IISS, August 2022 Interested in learning more about the key issues impacting the Western Balkans? Tune into the #BalkansDebrief podcast with host Ilva Tare.

While a 20-year war has ended, the Afghan people continue to suffer, now under a collapsed economy. International Crisis Group’s Laurel Miller and US Institute of Peace’s Andrew Watkins join Deep Dish guest host Elizabeth Shackelford to discuss how the international community's isolation of the Taliban has helped precipitate suffering in Afghanistan, and what can and should be done to help.   Like the show? Leave us a rating and review.

William Ruto has been declared winner of Kenya’s presidential election, after edging out longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga by a narrow margin. Odinga has refused to concede, will likely challenge the results in court, and his supporters took to the streets to protest in the election center. Uppsala University’s Kathleen Klaus and International Crisis Group’s Murithi Mutiga join Deep Dish guest host Elizabeth Shackelford to unpack election results, what it means for Kenya, the broader region, and democracy on the continent. Like the show? Leave us a rating and review.

Ukraine is home to millennia-old culture, including some of the holiest sites of the Orthodox faith. Now, facing a brutal artillery campaign and intentional cultural persecution by Russia, Ukraine’s identity is under attack. But Ukraine is not alone in having its heritage threatened by war, despite this being a war crime. Kyiv-based museum director Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and Jim Cuno, former President of the Getty Trust, join Deep Dish to help us understand why protecting cultural heritage in Ukraine, and in other conflicts is so important, and what the international community can do to help.  Reading List: Inheritance, Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Ukraine Crisis Media Center, March 16, 2022  Protecting Cultural Heritage in Ukraine and Beyond, James Cuno and Thomas G. Weiss, Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2022  Cultural Heritage and Mass Atrocities, Edited by James Cuno and Thomas G. Weiss, Getty Publications, September 20, 2022  How the War Changed a Kyiv Museum’s View of Its Past, Jason Farago, New York Times, August 10, 2022 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial Taiwan trip came amid increasingly harsh warnings of retaliations from Beijing and escalating US-China tensions. Nonresident Senior Fellow Paul Heer joins Deep Dish to argue the importance of engagement with China as a necessary component of US foreign policy. If we do not pursue it, he says, we are missing opportunities for a more peaceful coexistence between both countries and the world.  Reading List: The Next Taiwan Strait Crisis Has Arrived, Paul Heer, The National Interest, August 2, 2022  Engagement With China Has Not Failed, Paul Heer, The National Interest, July 14, 2022  Understanding U.S.-China Strategic Competition, Paul Heer, The National Interest, October 20, 2020

Two weeks ago, Sri Lankans stormed the residence of the President and Prime Minister, following months of protests against corruption and worsening economic conditions. Saddled with billions of dollars of foreign debt and facing the lingering economic effects of the pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine, Sri Lankans face rampant inflation and dire shortages of fuel, foods, and medicines. Dialogue Advisory Group’s Ram Manikkalingam joins Deep Dish to explore how this island nation, whose economy was once held up as a success story in South Asia, has come apart, and what this experience reveals about the pressures faced by other nations across the Global South.  Like the show? Leave us a rating and review!

In recent years, the United States has accounted for nearly three-quarters of the world’s mass shootings and forty-six percent of all private gun ownership worldwide — more than 10 times its share of the global population. University of Sydney Professor Phillip Alpers joins a special live edition of Deep Dish to discuss how other nations have tried to prevent mass shootings and firearm homicides, how successful those attempts have been, and what the US can learn from other countries’ approaches to gun violence.  Like the show? Leave us a rating and review. Reading List: Firearm Registration, Gun Owner Licensing and the Right to Possess Firearms - Global Comparisons, Philip Alpers, GunPolicy.org, July 16, 2022 

Joe Biden is currently on his first trip to the Middle East as President, which will include a controversial meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah”, but with gas prices punishing American consumers, and Russia and China court Riyadh, Biden’s tone and policy toward the Kingdom has rapidly evolved. Council on Foreign Relations’ Martin Indyk and Democracy for the Arab World Now’s Sarah Leah Whitson join Deep Dish to discuss the human rights, energy, and geopolitical dimensions of the US–Saudi relationship.  Like the show? Leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. Reading List: The Case for a New U.S.-Saudi Strategic Compact, Steven A. Cook and Martin S. Indyk, Council on Foreign Relations, June 2022  America’s Middle East ‘Withdrawal’ Breathes Its Last Breath, Sarah Leah Whitson, The American Prospect, June 24, 2022