GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

To fix our broken international political system, we need a crisis. For instance, a pandemic, climate catastrophe, Big Tech having too much power, or a Russia invasion of Ukraine. But it must be a crisis that's so destructive it forces us to respond fast, and together — like World War II. That's the crisis that created the international system we have today, and kept the peace until now. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer talks to Anne-Marie Slaughter, former US State Department official and now CEO of New America, and political scientist and Harvard professor Stephen Walt about the war and other crises.   Slaughter and Walt debate key issues such as the tough choices NATO faces on expanding to more countries but not Ukraine or other former Soviet republics, what we learned from the pandemic, and whether there are still reasons for hope in our current gloomy political environment. "If you're going to use a crisis effectively for change, you have to be able to have the right time horizon, the right group of countries, and a very specific set of goals," says Slaughter, who thinks we do have the ability to address many of the problems affecting the Global South: the most powerful countries are now all over the world. Many voices of people who need to be at the table — civic groups, CEOs, women, people of color — are not being heard. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

As record inflation meets rising interest rates, we’re examining the role of the US Federal Reserve in protecting the economy from recession in the coming months. 15 years ago the world faced the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression, brought on by a perfect storm of risky lending, mortgage defaults, and failures of financial institutions. In January 2008, the Fed made significant cuts to interest rates to stimulate the economy. Those rates have stayed historically low since then, but that’s rapidly changing. The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series from GZERO brought to you by Citi Private Bank, examines the moves the Fed is making right now and how they will impact the economy and your bottom line as an investor. Our program features Steven Wieting, Chief Investment Strategist and Chief Economist at Citi Global Wealth Investments; and Robert Kahn, Director of Geoeconomics at Eurasia Group. Lucy Eve, Senior Strategist of Geoeconomics at Eurasia Group, moderates the discussion.   Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Michael McFaul knows a thing or two about Russia and Putin from his days as the former US ambassador in Moscow. As Putin's Victory Day speech illustrated, Russia hasn't moved on much since 1945, McFaul tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. But if the West goes too far, there's a much bigger risk: World War III. McFaul says that Putin signaled in his nothing-burger speech that Russia is ready to gobble up another chunk of Ukraine in the Donbas region, and explains why that gives Ukraine a stronger hand at the negotiating table.   McFaul also explains why the US needs to change up its sanctions game and debunks the overwhelming support for the war claimed by the Kremlin. He says he talks to Russians almost every day, and what he's hearing is that there are no winners inside Russia, where the war has hurt Putin politically. Even the oligarchs are unhappy: "There is not a single economic actor in Russia [who] thinks this is good." Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Cybercrime is a rapidly growing threat, and one that will require a global effort to combat. But could some of the same measures taken to fight criminals online lead to human rights abuses and a curtailing of freedom? As the United Nations debates a new and expansive cybercrime treaty first proposed by Russia, we’re examining the details of the plan, how feasible it would be to find consensus, and what potential dangers await if the treaty is misused by authoritarian governments. Our participants for this fifth and final episode of “Patching the System” are: Amy Hogan-Burney, General Manager, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit Ali Wyne, Eurasia Group Senior Analyst (Moderator) This special podcast series from GZERO Media is produced in partnership with Microsoft as part of the award-winning Global Stage series. “Patching the System” highlights the work of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from over 150 global technology companies dedicated to creating a safer cyber world for all of us. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Nearly half of the world's population currently lives in areas that face water scarcity for at least one month out of every year, and more than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. This basic human need is too often at risk for communities around the globe, creating grave public health and security crises. The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series from GZERO brought to you by Citi Private Bank, examines the growing problem of both physical and economic water scarcity, and its potential to cause further humanitarian and security threats. Moderated by Mikaela McQuade, Director of Energy, Climate, and Resources at Eurasia Group, this episode features Harlin Singh, Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Citi Global Wealth and Franck Gbaguidi, Senior Analyst of Energy, Climate, & Resources at Eurasia Group. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Not much has gone right for Vladimir Putin since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Ian Bremmer speaks to political scientist and author Ivan Krastev, who believes Putin has the autocrat's curse: his back is against the wall because he can't be perceived as weak. Krastev unpacks many of Putin's problems, including his expectations about the "special operation" and how badly he misread Ukrainians.   Why did Putin miscalculate so deeply? Krastev offers three explanations: Putin never accepted that the Soviet Union collapsed because communism did; he thought the West was in such decline that he'd get away with the invasion; and a sense that time is running out, because the 70-year-old Putin wants to fix all of Russia's problems in his lifetime.   But how does the Russian leader feel about the war so far? Krastev believes he's definitely not happy with what's going on, but views himself as fighting a longer and more consequential battle with the West. Krastev, who is known for his recent book, "After Europe," also talks about Putin's fears about Russia's future and its shrinking demographics, noting that no one in Russia is even allowed to discuss "life after Putin." Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

The concept of mercenaries, hired soldiers and specialists working privately to fight a nation’s battles, is nearly as old as war itself. In our fourth episode of “Patching the System,” we’re discussing the threat cyber mercenaries pose to individuals, governments, and the private sector. We’ll examine how spyware used to track criminal and terrorist activity around the world has been abused by bad actors in cyberspace who are hacking and spying on activists, journalists, and even government officials. And we’ll talk about what’s being done to stop it. Our participants are: John Scott-Railton, Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School David Agranovich, Director of Global Threat Disruption at Meta. Ali Wyne, Eurasia Group Senior Analyst (moderator) GZERO’s special podcast series “Patching the System,” produced in partnership with Microsoft as part of the award-winning Global Stage series, highlights the work of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from over 150 global technology companies dedicated to creating a safer cyber world for all of us. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

The Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia have created a perfect storm that will lead to a global food supply crisis, Ertharin Cousin, former head of the UN World Food Programme, tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. Russia and Ukraine account for almost a third of the world's wheat exports. All nations could be affected since these are global commodities, but developing countries that rely on those imports are most at risk. The disruptions could double the amount of people that went hungry during the pandemic, and since agriculture is a seasonal business, the worst may be yet to come.   Many low-income nations will also struggle because they can't afford subsidies to feed their people. The conflict has put the international community in a tough spot between causing hunger and punishing Russia, says Cousin, who now serves as CEO of a non-profit organization, Food Systems for the Future. She recommends the West offer developing countries financial support to deal with the food crisis since "we need to realize we're not the only game in town"; China may also see this an opportunity to build alliances by offering help. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Last year the US economy grew 5.7%, the biggest growth rate in decades, yet at the beginning of 2022 fewer than 1 in 5 Americans thought it was strong. And as the world confronts the converging crises of pandemic and war in Ukraine, inflation and skyrocketing prices are further contributing to feelings of financial insecurity. The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series from GZERO brought to you by Citi Private Bank, takes an honest look at why there is still reason for optimism, and what we can expect from US and global markets in the year ahead. Moderated by Shari Friedman, Managing Director of Climate and Sustainability at Eurasia Group, this episode features David Bailin, Chief Investment Officer and Global Head of Investments at Citi Global Wealth and Robert Kahn, Director of Global Macroeconomics at Eurasia Group. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Two years after the discovery of one of the largest cyber attacks in history, we’re looking at the current state of security for both software and hardware supply chains. In early 2020, a group of hackers broke into a software system built and managed by the Texas-based company SolarWinds. The malware they installed was eventually downloaded by thousands of SolarWinds customers, including both private companies and government agencies like the US State Department. SolarWinds has since said the number of clients actually hacked was far lower. What lessons were learned, and how vulnerable are information and communication technology supply chains today? In the third episode of Patching the System, a GZERO podcast produced as part of the Global Stage partnership with Microsoft, we’re examining that question with two top experts in the field. Our participants are: Gaus Rajnovic, cybersecurity manager at Panasonic Europe Charles Carmakal, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Mandiant Ali Wyne, Eurasia Group Senior Analyst (moderator) Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.