Carnegie Council Podcasts

University of Hawaii's Professor Maxine Burkett discusses climate change from a legal perspective in this timely conversation. What are some strategies that island nations like Kiribati can pursue? How can we work to protect climate migrants? And, as the UN General Assembly meets in New York, what should international organizations be doing?

Can new developments in solar technology put the United States on track to produce 50 percent of its energy with renewables by 2030? What global citizen actions need to be undertaken to help reach this goal? Eban Goodstein, director of Bard Center for Environmental Policy, answers these questions and more in this hopeful and informative talk.

Despite progress over the last year, Donald Trump effectively ended the latest round of U.S.-Taliban negotiations with a tweet earlier this month. Will talks continue in a more understated way? Does this change anything on the ground in Afghanistan? And what is the Taliban doing in Moscow? Jonathan Cristol, author of "The United States and the Taliban before and after 9/11," discusses all this and more.

During the "Red Summer" of 1919 dozens of race riots flared up across the U.S., but the anti-African American violence in Chicago stood out because of scale and social and political significance. University of Chicago's Professor Adam Green details the causes, the tragic events, and the aftermath in this riveting discussion. How did the riot affect the city's development for decades to come? How does it tie into questions about democracy and the end of World War I?

Ahead of the Climate Strike rallies on September 20, Bard College's Brian Mateo discusses the Climate Reality Project, founded by Vice President Al Gore, and how it has informed his work regarding environmental activism and education. Why has Greta Thunberg's Climate Strike been so successful? How can protests turn into concrete policies?

In this timely talk, SIPA's Professor Michael Doyle details the Model International Mobility Convention, a "hypothetical ideal convention" developed to define a "comprehensive and coherent" set of regulations for the movement of people across borders. Why was it so important to account for tourists alongside refugees and migrant workers? How does this document represent a "realistic utopia"?

Chennai, one of India's largest cities, is facing an ongoing water crisis due to drought and mismanagement. Senior Fellow Kavitha Rajagopalan explains how it got to this point and gives some important background on the city and the state of Tamil Nadu. Is climate change to blame? How does it connect to Indian politics and culture? And, beyond water trucks and desalination, how can Chennai solve this existential problem?

As the 2020 election begins to come into focus, Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev details the foreign policy cleavages in the Democratic Party. Plus, referencing Nahal Toosi's recent article in "Politico," he discusses the worries that many in Europe have about a Trump reelection or a progressive candidate who also questions the status quo. What's the view from abroad on this turbulent time in American politics?

What role should ethics play in the U.S.-China trade war? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev looks at these economic tensions in the context of the Uyghur detention and the Hong Kong protests, different theories on integrating China into the world economy, and what it could mean to "lose" in this conflict. Is there a breaking point in terms of China's human rights policies? What's the view in Africa and Europe?

Mathias Risse, director of Harvard Kennedy School's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, discusses the many connections between artificial intelligence and human rights. From practical applications in the criminal justice system to unanswered philosophical questions about the nature of consciousness, how should we talk about the ethics of this ever-changing technology?