World Review from the New Statesman

Alix Kroeger in London speaks to the BBC’s world affairs editor John Simpson after his recent visit to Afghanistan.They talk about how life under the Taliban compares with the last time the regime was in power, where the country is getting aid from, and how the rest of the world should engage with Afghanistan.If you have a You Ask Us question for the New Statesman international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukFurther reading:As sanctions bite, Afghanistan edges towards famineAfghanistan shows the American dream of remaking the world is overCan G20 leaders keep their promise to prevent economic collapse in Afghanistan?Afghanistan is on the brink of humanitarian disaster – and the West is culpable Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted after fatally shooting two men and wounding another during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. Megan Gibson in London and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by Sarah Manavis in London to discuss what the case means for questions of racial justice and for firearms rights. Meanwhile, new restrictions to curb surging Covid-19 cases across Europe have led to violent protests. With Austria making vaccinations mandatory and other EU countries set to follow suit, the team examine what might be in store for Europe this winter. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks if China underestimated the reaction to Peng Shuai's disappearance.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk Jeremy Cliffe on the fourth Covid wave crashing over Europe Sarah Manavis on the disappearance of Peng ShuaiJessie Lau on why tennis star Peng Shuai’s #MeToo allegation is such a threat to China’s leadersLouise Perry on why the Kyle Rittenhouse case shows terrible things happen when the state is absent  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe Correspondent Ido Vock speaks to Belarus opposition leader and democracy activist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an exclusive interview for World Review. They discuss the migrant crisis on EU’s border, why the EU needs to impose tougher sanctions on Lukashenko and how she manages to keep in touch with Belarusians from exile in Lithuania. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukFurther reading:Dispatch: Migrants freeze as Belarus pursues its cold war with the EUAutocrats around the world are watching to see how the West responds to Belarus’s air piracy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Six years after terror attacks killed 130 people and injured more than 400 across Paris, the biggest criminal trial in French history is under way. The nine-month trial is being welcomed as a truth commission: a forum to address personal and national trauma, as well as the socio-political context of the attacks. Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC, Megan Gibson in London, and Philippa Nuttall in Brussels ask how the trial is shaping the French national psyche.Meanwhile, a “disappointing” deal has been struck at the Cop26 climate summit. It has been denounced by some as a “monumental failure”, with developed nations blaming India and China for weakening more ambitious pledges on coal. The team discuss the future of Cop and our collective responsibility to meet targets. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what Russia wants in Ukraine.If you have a question on any topic of world news for our international team that you would like answered in You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk. Further reading: Katherine Cowles on how the memory of the Paris attacks is shaping France’s national psyche. Philippa Nuttall on the good, the bad and the ugly: what did Cop26 achieve? Paul Mason writes how the West must confront Russia and Belarus to avert catastrophe. Ido Vock on Russia’s military build-up on the border with Ukraine is testing the West’s resolve. Emily Tamkin with Fiona Hill: “US democracy is on a precipice right now.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC interviews Samir Saran, the president of the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank based in New Delhi. They discuss India-US relations, how Washington wants closer ties with New Delhi and whether that enthusiasm is matched on the Indian side. If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk Further reading: Samir Saran on India-US relationsNarendra Modi will talk up India’s green energy at Cop26, but how far will he go in ending fossil fuels? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing a political crisis that some fear could lead to conflict. The Bosnian-Serb member of the country’s tripartite presidency Milorad Dodik has announced that Republika Srpska will withdraw from the military and other shared state institutions, which many see as a prelude to secession and a merger with Serbia. Jeremy Cliffe and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC to discuss whether this concerning situation is symptomatic of the West’s reluctance to intervene in central and eastern Europe more generally. Meanwhile in the US, will the passing of Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill – claimed to be a “monumental step forward” – be enough to shake electoral defeats and a polling slump?Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what is the current state of the French centre-right? If you have a question on any topic of world news for our international team that you would like answered in You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.Further readingEmily Tamkin on Joe Biden and the spectre of Donald Trump. Jeremy Cliffe on whether Bosnia could be the next victim of the West’s weakness and polarisation. Ido Vock on the failure of centre-right candidates to find their voice in the French election debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Gibson interviews Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law.They discuss his new book, Freedom: How We Lose It and How We Fight Back.They talk about the speed of the impact of Hong Kong’s National Security Law, how safe and stable western democracies really are and whether he could ever return to Hong Kong.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukFurther Reading:Nathan Law: From Poland to the UK, “freedom is under threat”One year on from China’s national security crackdown, Hong Kong is a changed placeRadosław Sikorski: “Poland is on the path of Hungary and Russia” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

World leaders from over 100 countries have descended on Glasgow for the climate summit. Cop26 is billed by host Boris Johnson as the ‘last chance’ to limit global warming to 1.5C. Are headline-grabbing pledges to reduce methane emissions and end deforestation realistic? Emily Tamkin in Washington and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by New Statesman environment and sustainability editor Philippa Nuttall and executive politics editor Tim Ross directly from Cop26. Meanwhile, Belarus’s dictator Alexander Lukashenko stands accused of orchestrating massive illegal migration into Poland, precipitating a humanitarian crisis on the EU’s eastern border. Ido Vock speaks about his reporting from the Polish border on the unforgiving conditions facing migrants as winter sets in. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what the Virginia governor’s race means for Joe Biden. If you have a question on any topic of world news for our international team for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk Further reading Ido Vock at Poland’s border where migrants freeze as Belarus pursues its cold war with the EU Emily Tamkin on what a Republican win in Virginia means for Joe Biden Tim Ross on Britannia Chained: why the legacy of Brexit threatens Boris Johnson’s Global Britain Philippa Nuttall on whether we can trust world leaders’ pledges to end deforestation? Lyndee Prickett on how far Modi will go in ending fossil fuels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of our new Monday interview episodes, International Editor Jeremy Cliffe interviews author, and geopolitical researcher Parag Khanna, the author of the new book Move: How Mass Migration Will Reshape the World.They talk about the countries that are embracing migration, those that are having a harder time and how pressures such as climate change and ageing populations might transform where people live, and the tensions that could cause.If you have a question on any topic of world news for our international team for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukFurther reading:Degrees of separation: why Cop26 is so importantThe massive challenge of climate action in oil-dependent IraqFears about climate migration are being used to build up borders Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Sunday the UN climate summit Cop26 begins. World leaders will meet in Glasgow to try to agree new ways to solve the climate crisis. They must arrive ready to turn ambitious slogans into action, but who will deliver and who will pay the costs if they don’t? Emily Tamkin in Washington and Alix Kroeger in London are joined by Philippa Nuttall in Brussels to discuss whether Cop26 will achieve the outcomes that the world needs. Against the backdrop of surging Covid cases in southeastern Europe, they examine the relationship between vaccine scepticism and authoritarianism. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks about US relations with Iraq in the light of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk. Further reading: Philippa Nuttall on the price of the planet: who will step up at Cop26? Ido Vock on whether Belarus is using migrants to wage “hybrid warfare” on the EU India Bourke on whether China’s climate envoy can make a difference at Cop26 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.