Wake

U.S. stock market keep on hitting record highs. New technology promises to make us more connected, as medical breakthroughs raise hopes of better, longer lives. And yet by most accounts global wealth is as concentrated as ever. the psychological downsides of technology get more press than their benefits and expensive new drugs offer cures only if you can afford them. Something isn’t working. This week on Wake we’re looking at the promise and the limitations of 'impact investing, a new way to steer global capital toward social good. This week's expert panel features: Morgan Simon, author of the new book, “Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change.” Michael Jacobs, director of the Commission on Economic Justice at the Institute for Public Policy Research in the United Kingdom. If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded October 18, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly last month he said Israel’s global standing has never been higher: “After 70 years, the world is embracing Israel, and Israel is embracing the world.” Netanyahu said relations with the US are at new highs, and that in the past year he’d visited six continents to improve Israel’s diplomatic ties. Relations with Egypt are on the mend, and there’s even talk of secret diplomatic channels opening with Saudi Arabia. This week on Wake we’re looking at the state of Israel’s foreign relations and exploring the true impact of what some have called Netanyahu’s global “charm offensive.”  This week's expert panel features: Chuck Freilich, former Israeli deputy national security advisor and senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center. Ben Caspit, columnist and author of the new book, “The Netanyahu Years,” If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmediane

Earlier this month, Facebook said it was handing over information about suspicious advertising purchases made on its network by Russian companies and individuals. The disclosure raises questions about whether the world’s largest social networks were used to influence the 2016 election. This week on “Wake” we’re going on a world tour of internet regulation, looking at how countries, including ours, are trying to balance competing interests of national security, privacy and free speech. Is such a balance even possible when internet and information companies like Facebook wield so much power? To help us answer that question are: Natasha Tusikov, Assistant Professor at York University and author of "Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet" Alan McQuinn, research analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded September 29, 2017.  H

From Hurricanes Irma to Jose to Maria, an active atlantic storm season has ravaged wide swaths of the Caribbean. The storms themselves receive wall-to-wall media coverage, but when they pass, the story of reconstruction quickly drops from the front page, and post-storm assessments become the stuff of academics and city planners, not the public at large. And yet, climate scientists tell us the storms will get worse. Should we be using natural disasters as an entry point into a discussion about climate change and adaptation? To help us answer those questions are: Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Rachel Cleetus, lead economist and climate policy manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded September 22, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

In recent weeks, a military campaign by Myanmar’s Buddhist government in a remote corner of the country has displaced at least 400,000 people, most of them Rohingya Muslims. International observers are banned from visiting conflict areas, but there are reports of mass killings, perhaps an ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. What’s happening in Myanmar, and what can and should the international community do to intervene? To help us answer those questions are: Pierre Peron, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Myanmar Cindy Huang, senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded September 15, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

It might seem unthinkable, but history suggests war between rising and ruling powers is far from unusual. What does that mean for the U.S. and China?

When the Iranian nuclear deal was signed two years ago in the summer of 2015, President Obama hailed the deal as preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, as a victory for multilateral diplomacy. The deal is technically still in effect, but it’s under siege by President Trump, who’s eager to find evidence of Iranian non-compliance. Will the Iran deal survive President Trump? What happens to the U.S., to Iran if the deal implodes? To help us answer those questions are: Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council and author of “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy.” Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded August 4, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Read, watch or listen to the news and you’re likely hear about a sanctions threat. With military action often too costly or politically unpopular, the sanction looms as the tool of choice to respond to events in North Korea, Iran, Russia or Venezuela. So how did we get here? Why are American policymakers so in love with the sanction? What questions should the public be asking to understand the effect these sanctions have on US foreign policy? To help us answer those questions are: Richard Nephew, research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and former State Department Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy. Jonathan Kirshner, professor of International Political Economy at Cornell University, and author of “American Power After the Financial Crisis.” Zachary Selden, professor at the University of Florida and former international affairs analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us,

The Iraqi city of Mosul has been liberated from Islamic State control. Iraq’s Prime Minister walked through the rubble of the city streets and declared victory. But what’s next? Could another terror group spring up in the Islamic State’s place? Will Iraq’s Kurds be rewarded for their gallantry on the battlefield? Can Iraq’s government ever represent a country rife with sectarian division? And where does the U.S. fit in? To help us answer those questions are: Daniel Serwer, academic director of conflict management at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Celeste Ward Gventer, defense consultant and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for stability operations capabilities If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded July 29, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

This month, 122 nations finished work on a nuclear weapons ban treaty. The goal, to rid the planet of nuclear weapons. The Cold War is over, but states with nuclear weapons remain very attached to their 15,000 warheads. Is it time to do away with those weapons or at least rethink nuclear weapons policy? Is the new global treaty the right way to pursue denuclearization? To help us answer those questions are: Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Alexandra Bell, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Matthew Bunn, professor of practice at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and co-principal investigator at the Project on Managing the Atom If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded July 19, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

In Central Africa, East Africa and in war-torn Yemen, tens of millions of people are on the verge of starvation. If you thought modern agriculture and a global economy would prevent famine, think again. So what are we doing wrong? Why can’t we conquer famine? What can the U.S. and the world do to address the current crisis? To help us answer those questions are: Deepmala Mahla, South Sudan country director for Mercy Corps Ambassador Princeton N. Lyman, special advisor to the president of the United States Institute for Peace and former U.S. special envoy to South Sudan  Olivier Rubin, associate professor at Roskilde University and author of Contemporary Famine Analysis If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded July 13, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

After four years of talks, a brand new E.U.-Japan free trade deal is complete. With the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a US-EU trade deal on hold, and a protectionist U.S. President, what can we expect on the global free trade horizon? Is the rest of the world continuing to deal as the U.S. backs away? To help us answer those questions are: Iana Dreyer, founder and editor of Borderlex.EU, an online news outlet that focuses on EU trade policy Caroline Freund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics and a former World Bank, IMF and Federal Reserve official Joshua Meltzer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development Project and a former Australian trade representative to the U.S. If you enjoy this discussion, please follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send us an email to wake@talkmedianews.com. Recorded July 7, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

The Pentagon is said to be readying plans to send 4,000 new U.S. troops to Afghanistan, scaling up U.S. involvement there 16 years after the Afghan war began. But where is the public discourse about why the troops are needed? It’s even hard to tell what President Trump thinks – he’s told his generals they’re in charge of setting troop levels. What is the mission in Afghanistan? What can we learn from Trump’s approach to the war? To help us answer those questions are: Peter Viggo Jakobsen, Associate Professor in the Department of Strategy at the Royal Danish Defence College Rebecca Zimmerman, policy researcher at the RAND Corporation If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback? Shoot us an email at wake@talkmedianews.com Recorded June 28, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Earlier this year, an expert panel of the World Health Organization updated the Essential Medicines List, a collection of the most effective medicines used to treat the most prevalent health conditions. To save lives, extend life expectancies and raise billions out of poverty, these essential medicines need to be made available.   How well is the world doing in that quest? What about here in the U.S., and where does the principal of health access figure in the health reform push in Washington? To help us answer those questions are: Suzanne Hill, Director of the Essential Medicines and Health Products Department at the World Health Organization in Geneva Merith Basey, North American Executive Director of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines Peter Maybarduk, Director of the Access to Medicines Project at Public Citizen If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback? Shoot us an email at wake@talkmedianews.com Recorded June 22, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Part two of a two-part look at the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change. President Trump’s announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement sent a strong signal about his administration’s priorities; if climate change is occurring, it’s not urgent enough for the U.S. to get worked up about.  But reports from the front lines of ecology, public health, and humanitarian crises are loud and clear: climate change is not something we can wish away. Today we’ll hear from three experts about how climate change is impacting their work. And we’ll consider ways to address the challenges of an increasingly volatile climate. Our guests include: George Thurston, Director of the Program in Exposure Assessment and Human Health Effects at New York University’s Department of Environmental Medicine Sarah Henly-Shepard, a Senior Advisor for Climate Change and Resilience at Mercy Corps Jake Weltzin, ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Executive Director of the USA National Phe

Part one of a two-part look at the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change. The scientific consensus is that climate change will wreak havoc on the planet if unchecked. That’s why more than 190 countries signed on to the Paris Agreement. President Trump’s pullout from Paris is one sign the U.S. administration thinks it can dodge the issue of climate change and isolate itself from a changing planet. But other countries are taking the risk of climate change a lot more seriously. What do they know that the Trump administration does not, and how might that hurt America? Helping us consider those questions are: Frank Yu, Principal Consultant, Asia-Pacific Power & Renewables, Wood Mackenzie  Paul McConnell, Research Director, Global Trends Team, Wood Mackenzie Nate Aden, Research Fellow, World Resources Institute Samantha Gross, Fellow, Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback

There’s the Catholic Church, and then there’s the Holy See. A nation with diplomats in 183 countries — and they’re not sitting on their hands. From starting up talks between the U.S. and Cuba to trying to mediate the crisis in Venezuela, the Vatican diplomatic corps is as active as ever. What role can Vatican diplomacy play in the world? Could the Church’s diplomatic contributions be more useful now than ever? Helping us consider those questions are: Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Vatican Permanent Observer to the United Nations. Father Drew Christiansen, Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Global Human Development at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. Dr. Jodok Troy, visiting scholar, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University's Europe Center. If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback? Shoot us an email at wake@talkmedianews.com Recorded May 31, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas. Distributed by Talk Media News. 

Last weekend, President Trump visited Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip. King Salman welcomed Trump with a lavish reception. And when Trump gave a big speech on Islam, he lavished praise on Saudi Arabia for its anti-terror efforts and its promotion of equality. Trump’s main target, meanwhile, Iran.  Trump says Saudi Arabia and Iran, but does he mean Sunni and Shia? Is the U.S. taking sides in one of the world’s most contentious religious struggles? And if so, what might the consequences be? Dr. Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. Perry Cammack, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Middle East policy advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry. If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback? Shoot us an email at wake@talkmedianews.com Recorded May 26, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas. Distributed by Talk Media News. 

Venezuela has descended into chaos. Thousands have been marching in the streets for weeks to protest President Nicolás Maduro, whom them accuse of trampling the constitution, using every means necessary to cling to power. All the while, inflation, unemployment, curfews, rations and violence against protesters are making life in Venezuela miserable and dangerous. What is driving the crisis in Venezuela? Have we reached a tipping point? Helping us to consider those questions are: David Smidle, senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, specializing in Venezuela. Juan Nagel, professor of economics at Universidad de Los Andes – Santiago.  Kajsa Norman, journalist and author of 2017 book, “A Hero’s Curse: The Perpetual Liberation of Venezuela” If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback? Shoot us an email at wake@talkmedianews.com Recorded May 18, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas. Distributed by Talk Media News. 

Read up on solar energy prices and you’ll find a headline proclaiming record low rates for power generation. Renewable energy prices are becoming competitive with fossil fuels. On a given day, Germany generates most of its power from renewables. China is mass producing affordable solar panels, while American engineers and entrepreneurs dream up radical new technologies. How is cheap renewable energy changing the world? How could it reshape America? Helping us to consider those questions are: Ethan Zindler, head of the Americas division at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Mara Prentiss, professor of Physics at Harvard University and author of the 2015 book, “Energy Revolution: The Physics and the Promise of Efficient Technology.” If you enjoy the show, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Want to leave us feedback? Shoot us an email at wake@talkmedianews.com Recorded May 10, 2017.  Hosted by Luke Vargas. Distributed by Talk Media News.