Policy Forum Pod

Of the world’s population of more than 7.3 billion people, almost 900 million go to bed hungry. By 2050, there will be at least 2 billion extra mouths to feed. How can we step up our efforts to end world hunger, while also ensuring we’re ready for the food challenges of the 21st century?On this week’s podcast, we hear from Asit K Biswas, one of the world's leading experts on water and environmental management, about why we must look outside the box on food security.Professor Asit Biswas is one of the world’s leading authorities on water and environmental management, and currently the Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy in Singapore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent survey has found that the overwhelming majority of Australians believe the dream of home ownership will be out of reach for future generations. But just how big a problem is housing affordability in Australia? Does the country really face a housing shortage, or are there other factors at play?On this week’s podcast, we ask experts Ben Phillips and Cukkoo Joseph all our burning questions about housing affordability, as well as a few of yours. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first industrial revolution saw the rise of the steam engine. The second saw electricity and mass production, while the third led us to computers, the Internet, and the arrival of the Digital Age. Many say we’re now entering the fourth industrial revolution, where robotics, big data, and artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the nature of work in the 21st century.What will this change mean for the Asian region – currently the world’s most dynamic economy? In this week’s podcast, we chat with two economists from the Asian Development Bank about the 2018 Development Outlook report, and hear forecasts for growth for Asia and the Pacific as technology starts to change the future of work.Our two guests from the Asian Development Bank are Valerie Mercer-Blackman, Senior Economist at the Economics Research and Regional Cooperation department, and Ananya Basu - Principal Economist from the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Department.We also talk to Dr Liz Allen about the new Citizen Social Scientists event series, and tackle some of your comments and questions.You can read more about the Citizen Social Scientists event here: http://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/events/what-evidence-post-truth-societyWant to follow Dr Liz Allen on Twitter? She's @DrDemography and you can find her centre as @WhatAustThinks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What comes to mind when you think of Iceland? Maybe you think of a tiny population, sub-zero temperatures, and dramatic Arctic landscapes. Maybe, if you cast your mind back a few years, you think of Icelandic banks collapsing amidst the Global Financial Crisis, or mass protests following the Panama Papers scandal.But what might not come to mind is the role Iceland is playing in some very big global debates. These are debates on the turn away from establishment politics, on impending environmental crises, on global inequality, and on the need for new economic models for the 21st Century.In this episode, we talk to Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir, Professor of Sustainability Science at the University of Iceland, and member of Iceland's Pirate Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fears of artificial intelligence taking over the world may still be the stuff of science fiction. However, advances in automation are already having an effect on people and causing unemployment. Could taxing robots be the key to helping workers replaced by robots? On this Policy Forum Pod, we chat to Professor Roberta Mann about the benefits and challenges of automation taxation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world has just celebrated International Women's Day for 2018. This week we're taking a look at an important part of the movement for gender equality – the issue of violence against women. We're talking with Professor Sally Engle Merry about international efforts to measure violence against women, whether the Sustainable Development Goals are giving momentum to the issue or complicating it still further, and whether the #MeToo movement marks a turning point in tackling gender-based violence. Listen to the podcast here:Professor Sally Engle Merry is Silver Professor of Anthropology at New York University and is also a Faculty Director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the New York University School of Law. She is the author of 16 books and special journal issues looking at issues of international law, human rights, and gender violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Terry Waite is the co-founder of Hostage UK, an organisation that provides support to those taken hostage and their families. But Waite is perhaps better known for his own, terrible, experience being taken hostage. In 1987, while working as a hostage negotiator for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Waite travelled to Lebanon to negotiate the release of hostages there. While in Beirut, he was captured himself and spent almost five years in captivity, four of which were in solitary confinement. In the new Policy Forum Pod, he talks about his experience and how being held captive has freed him to see the world in a new way. To find out more about Hostage UK visit: http://hostageuk.org/ To read Helen Sullivan’s piece on empathy in public policy discussed in this podcast, go to: https://www.policyforum.net/world-needs-now-empathy-integrity-expertise/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this Policy Forum Pod, we chat with Jeni Klugman, a lead author of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index, and discuss what insights this new global ranking can provide to policymakers in building a more just, inclusive and secure world for women. Dr Jeni Klugman is a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government’s Women in Public Policy program at Harvard University, and Managing Director at the Georgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security. Her previous positions include Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank, and director and lead author of three global Human Development Reports published by the United Nations Development Programme. The full report of the 2017-18 Women, Peace and Security Index can be found here: https://giwps.georgetown.edu/the-index/chapters/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grand corruption costs the global economy countless billions every year, but is the world doing enough to tackle the issue? On the new Policy Forum Pod, we talk to the senior US judge leading the charge for an international anti-corruption court. Mark L Wolf is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and someone with a long track record of tackling corruption. In a distinguished career, he has served as the Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the US after the Watergate scandal, and in 1984 won the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award for exceptional success in prosecuting public corruption in Massachusetts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The words 'politics' and 'ethics' might be a bit jarring to read together in the same sentence. And yet, many politicians are in fact guided by a desire to make a positive impact in the world. So for those in the business of politics and policy, how can we best focus our efforts so we can be most effective in ‘doing good’? And what of the ethics of individuals in positions of immense political power, like the US President? On this week’s Policy Forum Pod, world-famous philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer discusses political ethics, Trump’s America, and the obligations of nation-states. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.