
Carnegie Council Podcasts
Listen, learn, and reflect on the most critical issues at the intersection of ethics and international affairs. Subscribe for access to the latest interviews, events, and audio articles from Carnegie Council’s global community.
Latest episodes

May 18, 2022 • 1h 1min
America's Great-Power Opportunity, with Ali Wyne
As Russia's war in Ukraine deepens and China’s influence continues to grow, many observers say that the United States is entering an era of “great-power competition” with these two rivals. But, as Eurasia Group's Ali Wyne discusses with Doorstep co-hosts Nikolas Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin, this kind of framework could leave the U.S. defensive and reactive, and hinder efforts to renew itself, both at home and abroad. Can America seize its "great-power opportunity"? For more, please go to carnegieouncil.org.

May 10, 2022 • 1h 29min
Making Decisions When Values Conflict or Are Prioritized Differently, with Paul Root Wolpe
In this Artificial Intelligence & Equality podcast, Carnegie-Uehiro Fellow Wendell Wallach sits down with Emory University's Professor Paul Root Wolpe for a thought-provoking conversation about the truth of ethical decision-making, the challenge of regulating new technologies whose impact is uncertain, the intrinsically fragmenting nature of social media and AI, and the dilemmas of neuroscience and neuromarketing. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

May 9, 2022 • 1h 32min
Any Progress in Building Moral Machines? with Colin Allen
Much has been said about the inability of tech and AI developers to grapple with ethical theory and inherent tension. Similarly, philosophers are often criticized by AI engineers for not understanding the technology. Anja Kaspersen and Wendell Wallach, senior fellows and co-chairs of the Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative, sit down with University of Pittsburgh’sProfessor Colin Allen for a fascinating conversation. Wallach and Allen wrote Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong together more than a decade ago, and this conversation also features an assessment of how we have progressed in building AI systems capable of making moral decisions. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

May 6, 2022 • 47min
For Companies, Could China Be the Next Russia? with Perth Tolle
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the global financial backlash was swift and unprecedented: Dozens of financial institutions cut off their exposure to the Russian market for reasons that were at least partially ethical. These moves against Russia have led many to wonder if China—which is far more integrated into the global economy—could and should be the next target. In this podcast, Isaac Stone Fish and finance expert Perth Tolle discuss these issues and more. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

May 5, 2022 • 36min
The Doorstep: Can Putin Be Prosecuted for War Crimes? with NYU Law's Ryan Goodman
Ahead of a May 6 international conference in Lithuania on steps to create a tribunal to hold Russia accountable for alleged war crimes and genocide in Ukraine, NYU Law’s Professor Ryan Goodman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, joins Doorstep co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin to discuss the issues and challenges of prosecuting Putin and his top brass. With American public sentiment at an all-time high to see justice done, will this be a defining moment for the Biden/Harris administration on the global stage? For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

May 2, 2022 • 40min
C2GTalk: How has the governance of solar radiation modification progressed in recent years? with Oliver Morton
The debate around solar radiation modification has broadened in recent years, but there has not yet been significant progress on international mechanisms to govern it, says Economist senior editor Oliver Morton in this C2GTalk. He adds: "I don't want a world with solar geoengineering come what may, but I also don't want future generations to look back and say, 'I wish they’d thought about this just a bit more thoroughly.'" Oliver Morton previously worked at Nature and Wired and contributed to a range of other publications, including The New York Times and Science. He is the author of Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination and the Birth of a World; Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet; The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World; and The Moon: A History for the Future. Asteroid 10716 Olivermorton is named in his honor. This interview was recorded on February 10, 2022 and will be available with interpretation into 中文, Español, and Français. For more, including an edited transcript, please go to C2G's website.

Apr 27, 2022 • 1h 3min
The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology, with Amy Webb
The global pandemic and investments in mRNA COVID vaccines have accelerated worldwide interest in the field of synthetic biology—a field that unifies chemistry, biology, computer science, and engineering for the purpose of writing better biological code. In this podcast, Genesis Machine co-author Amy Webb and Senior Fellows Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin explore how these developments are leading to a new industrial revolution. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

Apr 26, 2022 • 1h 32min
The Promise & Peril of Brain Machine Interfaces, with Ricardo Chavarriaga
In this Artificial Intelligence & Equality podcast, Senior Fellow Anja Kaspersen talks with Dr. Ricardo Chavarriaga about the promise and peril of brain-machine interfaces and cognitive neural prosthetics. What are the ethical considerations and governance challenges in using computational tools to create models or enhance our brains? For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

Apr 21, 2022 • 34min
Global Ethics Review: Ukrainian Refugees & the International Response, with Michael W. Doyle
Since the Russian invasion began in late February, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes. In this Global Ethics Review podcast, Senior Fellow Michael Doyle discusses what this means on the ground in Eastern Europe, what governments are and should be doing to help, and how this refugee stream is different from ones that came before. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

Apr 20, 2022 • 30min
The Doorstep: Defining the Role of the U.S. on the Global Stage
Global war, inflation, and a COVID-19 resurgence--the Biden/Harris team has been put on defense for first two quarters of 2022. Policies are reactive, promises made a year ago tabled. This week, "Doorstep" co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin reflect on what has happened to the vaunted Biden/Harris "foreign policy for the middle class" and how midterm elections will up-end the narratives the administration expected to put in place. Where do we go from here? For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.