World Review from the New Statesman

The New Statesman’s environment and sustainability editor, Philippa Nuttall, speaks to the leading climate change diplomat Christiana Figueres. They discuss whether Cop26 went far enough, what it will take to turn the pledges into action, and what role the fossil fuel industry should have, if any, in the transition to a carbon-zero world. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk  Further reading: Protests, nature protection and plant-based meat: ten climate and environment predictions for 2022 The emotional journey of Alok Sharma: how climate action got personal for the Cop26 president  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Statesman international team look back at their most significant moments of 2021, including the 6th January storming of the US capitol, the Belarus border crisis and Cop26. Then Emily Tamkin in Washington DC, Ido Vock in Paris and Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin make their predictions for 2022, looking ahead to elections in Hungary and France as well as what could be a challenging year for China.Further Reading:Emily Tamkin’s seven predictions for the world in 2022.Ido Vock's four questions ahead of France's 2022 presidential election.Jeremy Cliffe’s ten crucial questions about the world in 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode of World Review, Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin and Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC return to their predictions for the stories they thought would dominate in 2021. The trajectory of the pandemic, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, continued tensions between India and China and the rogue regime in Belarus; did we see it coming? Further reading: World Review: what happened in Washington, DC – and 2021 predictions. Emily Tamkin: crystal ball or shattered glass. Did her predictions hold up? Jeremy Cliffe: ten predictions for 2021 – how did they turn out? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Tamkin, the US editor of the New Statesman, interviews Mukulika Banerjee about her new book Cultivating Democracy: Politics and Citizenship in Agrarian India. They discuss the farmers' protests that eventually led to a government U-turn in India, the history of Indian rural politics and the health of democracy in the subcontinent. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk Further reading: India reveres its democracy, but the room for dissent is shrinkingClaims of conspiracy behind India’s farmers’ protests carry a warning for the worldHow a farmers’ protest in India evolved into a mass movement that refuses to fadeHow India’s farmers’ protests went global Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A massive build-up of Russian troops and military infrastructure on the Ukrainian border has the US and Nato worried that President Vladimir Putin may be planning an imminent new invasion of the country. Jeremy Cliffe and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC to discuss the escalating crisis and the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Meanwhile, Chile’s presidential election heads to a runoff. The tight race between far-right José Antonio Kast and left-wing Gabriel Boric has been characterised as a battle of two extremes. The team discuss the election and the polarised political landscape in Latin America. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks whether the foreign or economic ministry is more valuable for the German Greens in their efforts to shape foreign policy. Further reading: Bruno Maçães on if Vladimir Putin is preparing for war. Ido Vock on how Russia’s military build-up at the border with Ukraine is testing the West’s resolve. Jeremy Cliffe on whether Covid-19 will mean another lost decade for Latin America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a new Covid variant causes concern about the effectiveness and global equity of vaccine programmes, is the project to deliver vaccines to the Global South working?New Statesman reporter Harry Clarke-Ezzidio interviews Aurélia Nguyen, the managing director of Covax, an organisation set up to ensure fair access to Covid vaccines. They discuss criticism of the current vaccination programme, whether richer countries are hoarding vaccines, and why the world needs to cooperate to defeat the pandemic. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.Further reading:International coronavirus vaccine tracker: how many people have been vaccinated? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US Supreme Court is to decide on a case that directly challenges Roe vs Wade, the 1973 ruling that guarantees the right to an abortion. Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC and Megan Gibson in London discuss the fight for reproductive rights, not just in the US but across the world. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a video call of "strong measures" that could be applied to Moscow, amid fears that Russian troops amassing on the border with Ukraine could lead to an invasion. The team discuss the limits of US power, and what the growing tensions mean. In You Ask US, a listener wonders how upset China is about diplomatic boycotts of the forthcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. Further reading: Emily Tamkin on a dark day for abortion rights in the US. Megan Gibson on the US boycotting the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Bruno Maçães on whether Vladimir Putin is preparing for war. Emily Tamkin on whether America’s toolbox for Russia is empty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin presents a special series from the New Statesman's World Review podcast on the German election and its aftermath.In this final episode, he reviews Germany's new centre-left coalition government and the incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz. What is the government's politics? What are its policy priorities at home and abroad? Who are its most important personalities? And where could the difficulties lie?To discuss all this he is joined by Jana Puglierin, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.Read Jeremy's essay on Angela Merkel's legacy here and his profile of incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Gibson, our Senior Editor, International, speaks to the Turkish journalist and author Ece Temelkuran.They discuss Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism – and the lessons the political situation holds for other democracies – as well as the country’s spiralling economic crisis and what chance a united opposition might have to defeat the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.  Further Reading:With Turkey in crisis, Erdoğan leans into chaosErdoğan rising: the making of an autocrat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 26 November Omicron was declared a Covid-19 variant of concern by the World Health Organisation. With Omicron now detected in more than 20 countries, governments across the world are acting to limit its spread. Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC, Alix Kroeger in London and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss the politics of travel bans and vaccine inequity. On 24 November, at least 27 people died trying to reach the UK by boat, in the biggest recorded single loss of migrants' lives in the English Channel. Ido speaks about reporting from Calais, where migrants remain undeterred from making the treacherous journey.  Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks if Éric Zemmour has a realistic chance of reaching the French presidential election run-off or if he is more likely to split the far-right vote and lead to a more moderate candidate. Further reading: Ido Vock on why travel bans won’t defeat Omicron Laura Spinney on the global race to contain Omicron Ido Vock, a dispatch: migrants in Calais are still determined to cross the Channel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.