World Review from the New Statesman

Australia has a new prime minister, but how much of an impact did climate change have on the defeat of Scott Morrison?Environment and sustainability editor Philippa Nuttall joins Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard to discuss Labor’s election win. Plus, with Covid spreading rapidly in North Korea, is there any sign the regime will accept international help? And after at least 19 children and two teachers were killed in an elementary school in Uvalde in Texas, they answer a listener’s question on whether the US will ever attempt to introduce gun control. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.  Further Reading:Australia’s Scott Morrison shows that danger lies in the hollow politics of the status quoNorth Korea’s Covid-19 catastropheThe forgotten nuclear threat of North KoreaThe Texas school shooting won’t change the US’s deadly gun lawsListen to The Future of Media, Explained – from the Press Gazette Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As millions of Ukrainians flee from the Russian invasion of their country, could those seeking refuge be vulnerable to exploitation?Alix Kroeger speaks to Suzanne Hoff, international coordinator at La Strada International, a European NGO that campaigns against human trafficking, about the organisation's new report on the dangers facing Ukrainian refugees.They talk about the different forms exploitation can take, the worries around unvetted help offered through social media, and what governments and agencies can do to protect Ukrainians.Further reading: Refugees caught in the UK's Homes for Ukraine scheme feel powerless amid delays and red tape. The EU’s welcome for Ukrainian refugees could be a model for asylum reform. Russia’s Black Sea blockade is a problem for the whole world. Courage and camaraderie on the borders as refugees flee the fighting in Ukraine.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday (14 May) by a white nationalist appears to have shown the real consequences of the racist “great replacement theory”. Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC, Megan Gibson in London and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss how this far-right conspiracy theory evolved from being a fringe notion in France to entering mainstream political discourse in the US, and the worrying frequency of racist shootings. Sweden and Finland, meanwhile, have formally applied to join the Nato military alliance, confirming a radical transformation of Europe’s security landscape since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The team discuss the application and the global response, including Turkey’s objections. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what is the significance of Emmanuel Macron, the French president, appointing Élisabeth Borne to be his prime minister.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading: Sarah Manavis writes attacks like the Buffalo shooting have become numbingly inevitable. Adam Tooze on the second coming of Nato. Ido Vock reports for only the second time, France has a female prime minister. Megan Gibson writes Sweden’s decision to join Nato isn’t just about security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thus far, international concern for the Chinese Uyghur ethnic minority has been focused on their persecution within China itself. But the reach of the Chinese government's campaign against them extends to countries around the world.Katie Stallard is joined by Bradley Jardine, a research director at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and a global fellow at the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the US. They discuss his new publication, Great Wall of Steel: China’s Global Campaign to Suppress the Uyghurs, which documents China’s pursuit and harassment of Uyghurs in at least 44 countries.Katie and Jardine cover the global scale of China's campaign, as well as the complex toolkit used to target, harass, detain and extradite individuals, which includes the exploitation of the global policing organisation, Interpol. They also suggest actions that Western governments should be taking in response.Further reading:Bradley Jardine on how China's repression of Uyghur's extends far beyond its own borders.Anoosh Chakelian interviews the Uyghur poet Fatimah Abdulghafur Seyyah about her family’s devastating persecution.Rian Thum and Musapir on how historic Uyghur culture is under existential threat.Katie Stallard on suspicion and subjugation in Xinjiang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, son of the Philippines’ former dictator, who was ousted in 1986, won a decisive victory in the presidential election on Monday 9 May, according to unofficial results. Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC discuss what the Marcos dynasty’s return to power will mean for the country, as well as its relations with China.Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine observed Victory Day on the anniversary of Germany’s defeat in the Second World War. Katie and Emily discuss the competing narratives of the countries’ leaders, and the latest on Russia’s war.Then in a special You Ask Us our producer, Adrian Bradley, reports from Turin, where Eurovision 2022 is being held, to answer a listener’s question on how the song contest can be reconciled with all the turmoil and violence in Europe right now.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading:Adrian Bradley explains Ukraine’s 2022 Eurovision songIdo Vock writes that Vladimir Putin has little to celebrate at his Victory Day parade.Katie Stallard on Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky’s contrasting visions of the future.Katie Stallard on the Marcos dynasty’s return to power in the Philippines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Korea’s new president Yoon Suk-yeol takes office on Tuesday 10th May. Emily Tamkin speaks to Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor at Kings College London and author of Shrimp to Wale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop, about the challenges facing this political outsider.They discuss relations with North Korea after Kim Jong Un conducted another weapons test ahead of his inauguration, his promise to take a more combative stance against China, and how far his appeal to the “anti-feminist” movement during his election campaign will translate to policy.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastofferFurther reading:South Korea’s new president weaponises anti-feminism to win election.The forgotten nuclear threat of North Korea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A leaked draft decision suggests the US Supreme Court is about to repeal Roe vs Wade, threatening abortion rights across the United States. Emily Tamkin is joined by Katie Stallard and Rachel Cunliffe to discuss what this ruling could mean, how dangerous a moment this is for women, and how the decision is reverberating across the world.Plus, after Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sparked a row with Israel by suggesting that Hitler was of Jewish descent, they discuss the role that Russia's revisionist history of the Second World War plays in selling the invasion of Ukraine to the Russian public.And in You Ask Us, they answer a listener's question on whether Russia will formally declare war with Ukraine on its Victory Day holiday on 9 May.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading:The threat to abortion is just the beginning of the assault on individual rights in AmericaGoodbye, Roe vs Wade?Overturning Roe vs Wade blurs church and stateWhy a murder charge in Texas heralds a frightening new phase in the fight for abortionHow the world’s dictators rewrite the past to control the future Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, the way the Russian regime is attempting to retell its own history is crucial to Vladimir Putin’s hold on power at home. Katie Stallard talks to Emily Tamkin about how authoritarian regimes manipulate history, what the parallels are between Russia, China and North Korea, and how the Kremlin has twisted the past in its attempt to justify the invasion of Ukraine. Katie’s new book, Dancing on Bones: History and Power in China, Russia and North Korea is available now.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstateman.co.uk.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer. Further reading: The truth about Vladimir Putin's “denazification” of Ukraine fantasy.How Putin has substituted his own interests for those of the Russian state. Putin’s power vertical and the pathologies of authoritarian rule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emmanuel Macron has defeated Marine Le Pen to be re-elected as president of France. Emily Tamkin in Washington DC, Ido Vock in Paris and the New Statesman’s associate business editor Emma Haslett in London discuss the response in Europe, Macron’s relationship with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the future of the far-right in France.Then they move to Twitter, which Elon Musk is set to purchase for $44bn. They discuss the potential reasons for the deal and how the self-described “free speech absolutist” might change the platform.Then, in You Ask Us a listener asks whether Russia is going to invade Moldova.Further reading:Will Dunn writes that Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover is about controlling attention.Emily Tamkin asks whether we are prepared for Donald Trump to return to Twitter.Jeremy Cliffe reports that Emmanuel Macron promises humility in victory.Ido Vock on accusations that Russia is orchestrating attacks in Moldovan breakaway region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 With populist movements gaining ground in Europe, the New Statesman's international managing editor Alix Kroeger speaks to the journalist and political scientist Yascha Mounk. They discuss how populists play on divisions in society, why some of the ways in which the left tries to fight back can make the problem worse, and how to make diverse democracies more stable. Monk's book The Great Experiment is available in book shops now. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading:Right-wing populism is a bigger threat to the West than “woke ideology”What does Europe’s right want? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.