GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The relationship between Putin and Xi is a "marriage of convenience," journalist Melinda Liu tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. Russia's war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader.   Liu, who has been Newsweek's Beijing bureau chief for decades, believes that Xi is likely as isolated and surrounded by sycophants as Putin, which makes predicting what he'll do next very hard. Chinese coverage of the war hasn’t been consistent, and neither is China’s historical relationships with Ukraine and Russia.     She also explains why Xi's biggest problem right now is not Putin, but rather China's zero-COVID policy, which now has 26 million people under lockdown on Shanghai. China is facing a challenge they never saw coming — and that "hits right to the soul."   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.

Confidence in democracy is declining in the West at the same time authoritarian leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping have become more transparent about their demands and lack of respect for democracy, says Johns Hopkins University professor Yascha Mounk, author of a new book, "The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure."   On the GZERO World podcast, Mounk tells Ian Bremmer we're in a new era of naked power politics, illustrated by the way Putin is transforming Russia into a repressive regime. Putin believes the West is decadent while he views himself as a strong leader with traditional values. Meanwhile, the biggest challenges ahead for democracies like the US are racial disparities in wealth, tribalism, and extreme partisanship.  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.

Billions of watches, refrigerators, and even light bulbs around the world are network-connected, collecting and sharing your data. Smart device manufacturing could be a $500 billion business by 2028. But this new world of products brings new privacy and security concerns for consumers and institutions alike. In the second episode of Patching the System, a GZERO podcast produced as part of the Global Stage partnership with Microsoft, we’re examining the proliferation of “smart” devices and the potential risks they pose. We’ll also hear what the Cybersecurity Tech Accord is doing about this important issue. Our participants are: Vince Jesaitis, Senior Director of Government Affairs at Arm; Beau Woods, Cyber Safety Advocate for I Am the Cavalry; 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.

Renewing the Iran nuclear deal is more urgent than ever for the Biden administration. Iran is closer to getting the bomb, with the breakout time to enrich enough uranium for a single nuclear weapon reportedly less than two weeks. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks to Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, who says the odds of reaching an agreement in the short term are 50/50.   There are domestic political risks for Biden either way, but a new deal would significantly delay Iran’s ability to enrich enough uranium for a weapon. It's also now clear that the real effect of pulling out of the deal in 2018 was that it boosted Iran's nuclear program. Vaez also digs into Israel's strategic interest in a deal, which they have long opposed, and Russia's role in the negotiations with Iran.   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 ripple effects of Russia’s war with Ukraine are spreading well beyond Ukraine's borders. And one country watching very closely is Finland. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer talks to former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb, who explains why his country has moved from neutrality to an open embrace of NATO. He believes Putin will ultimately fail at the three things he's trying to accomplish: annex Ukraine; push back NATO's borders to where they were during the Cold War; and prevent Finland and Sweden from joining the alliance.  Stubb — who once helped broker Russia's 2008 cease-fire with Georgia — believes Putin has backed himself into a corner and won't back down on Ukraine. Ten years from now, Stubb anticipates a Russia that will be as isolated as North Korea is today.  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.

Cyberattacks in Ukraine are the latest example of how cyberspace is increasingly a theater of conflict around the world. As part of the Global Stage series, a partnership between Microsoft and GZERO Media, the 5-part podcast “Patching the System” will explore the biggest cyber risks and challenges for governments, corporations, and consumers alike. Through the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from more than 150 technology companies, private sector tech leaders are working to create solutions and foster greater cyber resilience. Our first episode defines the threat landscape and the role tech companies can play in improving “cyber hygiene” and security overall. The conversation features: Tom Burt, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President for Customer Security and Trust Annalaura Gallo, Head of the Secretariat of The Cybersecurity Tech Accord 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.

As Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Pakistan's PM Imran Khan, one of Vladimir Putin’s few friends, visited Moscow. But his trip did not go down well in the US.  With Washington ready to downgrade its relationship with Islamabad, Khan is looking to form new friendships to protect Pakistan's strategic interests. In this episode of the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer talks to Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Hina Khar about Pakistan’s future, Afghanistan, and India.   Who bears responsibility for the Afghan humanitarian crisis? Military interventions, Khar says, cast a “deep shadow on the entire democratic value system.” She argues that the best way to help end Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is to talk to the Taliban.   Pakistan's former top diplomat also says it's time for her country to take a step back from the global stage to focus on its mounting domestic challenges and concentrate on issues like reducing Pakistan's huge dependence on foreign aid and moves in Kashmir. Khar asserts that India is also endangering regional politics as a member of the Quad.  Listen to Ian’s interview with Hina Khar. 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.

John Kerry, former US Secretary of State and current climate czar, pushed back against the idea that this will be "the century of the authoritarian" in a GZERO World interview with Ian Bremmer at the Munich Security Conference (before the invasion of Ukraine). If China and Russia have been on a sort of authoritarian honeymoon because they think America is declining, "that is a very serious misconception,” he said, because "Americans will unite and come together" if threatened. Meanwhile, both China and Russia face a looming demographic crunch.  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.

At the 2022 Munich Security Conference, world leaders are gathering again for the first time in two years at a moment of unprecedented crisis. At the time of this GZERO World Podcast interview, Russia’s 150,000 plus troops have yet to cross the Ukrainian border, but Western officials warn that an invasion could happen at any moment. Ian Bremmer is joined by former CIA director and retired four-star general David Petraeus—who’s taken part in a couple of invasions himself—to talk about this critical moment in world history. Things look grim, no doubt, but when it comes to the state of NATO today, Petraeus says that there is a silver lining. 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.

What keeps Ray Dalio, one of America’s most successful investors, up at night? Three things: spiraling debt, a weakening dollar and a rising China. China is closing the gap on US economic dominance as its geopolitical influence grows, Dalio tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast.   The US economy is negatively impacted not only by its debt but also by the widening wealth gap among Americans, and these all play into Beijing's plans to surpass the US as a global superpower, says Dalio, author of Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order” and founder of the world’s largest hedge fund. Does this mean investors should bet on China over the 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.