CSIS Podcasts

In this episode of Building the Future, Romina Bandura is joined by Chris Burns, Chief Digital Development Officer for USAID and the Director of the Technology Division, to discuss USAID’s work on digital development and dive deeper into USAID’s 10-year Digital Strategy for 2024-2034.

Bound together by geography, commerce, and cultural ties, the Caribbean region is often referred to as the United States “third border.” For this reason, the security challenges that impact the Caribbean should also be front-of-mind for the United States, especially as Caribbean countries face rising levels of violence and instability, fueled by the drug trade. Growing criminal violence, endemic corruption, and the growth of illicit industries present not just a public safety challenge, they increasingly threaten the very sovereignty and stability of Caribbean governments.In this episode, Christopher Hernandez-Roy sits down with Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, Senior Associate with the CSIS Americas Program. Together, they discuss his book Challenged Sovereignty: The Impact of Drugs, Crime, Terrorism, and Cyber Threats in the Caribbean. They discuss longstanding security issues facing Caribbean countries from drug and arms trafficking, as well as emergent challenges like cybercrime and terrorism.

Dr. Jerome Adams authored his 2023 memoire, Crisis and Chaos: Lessons from the Front Lines of the War Against COVID-19. In it, he reflects on his upbringing in southern Maryland and the acute “hurting” among many citizens, rural and poor, dissatisfied with the status quo. Profoundly impactful to his tenure as Indiana State Health Commissioner was managing the opioid, Hepatitis C, and HIV outbreaks in Scott County, IN. As U.S. Surgeon General, he carried forward his enduring commitment to the overdose reversal drug, naloxone. During Covid, politics and toxic partisanship severely hampered the US response. “We keep playing whack-a-mole.” Upgraded communications were urgently needed. The attacks from within the Trump White House upon Dr. Fauci were paralleled by attacks on public health officials at state and local levels. Give a listen to learn more. 

Greg and Elina unpack the latest political developments in Thailand with Pongkwan “PK” Sawasdipakdi. Japhet and Lauren cover the latest: from Alice Guo’s arrest to Pope Francis’ region-wide visit.

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by David Hoffman, Senior Advisor with the China Center for Economics & Business at The Conference Board The Conference Board, and non-resident Senior Associate with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS. They discuss China’s economy, political economy, and evolving business environment.

Since its inception in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) brings together an annual cohort of established African youth leaders for an immersive six-week leadership program at U.S. colleges and universities. The fellowship culminates in a summit where participants network and engage in high-level workshops.  MWF is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, designed to empower and connect the continent’s mst promising leaders. The Mandela Washington Fellows bring their leadership, expertise, and passion to this highly selective fellowship with interests ranging from environmentalism to gender equity to sustainable development and the creative arts. In this episode of Into Africa, Mvemba is joined by three distinguished MWF alumni who share their experiences and insights from the fellowship, as well as their professional journeys. Sarah Funmilayo Kuponiyi, founder and CEO of Alora Reusable Pads in Nigeria, advocates for menstrual hygiene and gender empowerment. Tefetso Nicolus Kele, a lawyer from Lesotho, focuses on sustainable finance, international trade, and investment law. Pape Mamadou Camara, a communications specialist from Senegal, is passionate about the arts and the transformative power of hip hop as well as fighting desertification in Africa through the “Green Wall”.

An off-chance encounter as an intern transformed Funmi’s life several years later when someone she networked with early in her career thought of her down the line and offered her a job. Funmi Oludaiye, Managing Director (Global Head of Engineering) at Goldman Sachs, discusses how she advanced her career in STEM through hard work, mentorship, and relationship building.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Isabelle Werenfels, a senior fellow in the Middle East and Africa Division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. Together, they discuss how North African states are asserting their newly found leverage over European states, and how European states are changing the ways they approach North Africa. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Leah Hickert to discuss how strategic competition is evolving in North Africa and what it means for Western interests in the region.Transcript, "Isabelle Werenfels: North Africa's Relationship with Europe," CSIS, September 3, 2024.

A short, spoken-word summary from CSIS’s Max Bergmann on his report with Cy McGeady, Otto Svendsen, Mathias Zacarias, and Ignacio Urbasos, Power Plays: Europe’s Response to the Energy Crisis.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick joins us to discuss recent Sino-Russian activities and what they mean for the overall China-Russia relationship. Dr. Wishnick analyzes the May 2024 Xi-Putin meeting in Beijing, noting that the joint statement the two countries released had significant areas of continuity and some areas of change compared to 2023. She then analyzes the meeting between the two leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and the nearly half a dozen military exercises the two countries engaged in in July and August 2024. Dr. Wishnick emphasizes that the recent surge of China-Russia military exercises are meant to signal China-Russia political and strategic coordination, with some scheduled in advance as part of their normal annual exercise plans and others scheduled in response to U.S. activities. Finally, Dr. Wishnick shares her predictions for developments within Sino-Russian relations in the coming months. Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick is a Senior Research Scientist in the China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Division at CNA. She was a Professor of Political Science at Montclair State University from 2005-2024 and the Coordinator of MSU’s Asian Studies Undergraduate Minor from 2010-2019. Since 2002, she has been a research scholar at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute. She previously taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international relations, Chinese politics, and Chinese foreign policy at Barnard College, Columbia College, and SIPA. Dr. Wishnick has dual regional expertise on China and Russia and is an expert on Chinese foreign policy, Sino-Russian relations, Northeast Asian and Central Asian security, and Arctic geopolitics.  She received a PhD in Political Science from Columbia University, an MA in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University, and a BA from Barnard College. She speaks Mandarin, Russian, and French.