Public Affairs

Overview

Public Affairs hosted speakers who are prominent people in the world of international affairs, from acclaimed authors, to Nobel laureates, to high-ranking UN officials.

CREDIT: Gusta Johnson

NOV 7, 2014 Podcast

A Conversation with General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

In this candid and thoughtful conversation, General Dempsey tackles the difficult questions, from ISIS to Ebola to cyber threats. And throughout, he stresses the importance ...

OCT 29, 2014 Podcast

If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities

In the face of the most perilous challenges of our time, from terrorism to climate change, nation-states seem paralyzed. Can cities and the mayors who ...

The Shifts and the Shocks: What We

OCT 23, 2014 Podcast

The Shifts and the Shocks: What We've Learned--and Have Still to Learn--From the Financial Crisis

Why did the 2008 financial crisis occur? What should it teach us about modern economies and economics? Martin Wolf does a masterly job of untangling this ...

Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy

OCT 15, 2014 Podcast

Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy

What are the requirements for a liberal democracy? It's not just voting, says Fukuyama. It needs a distinction between public and private interest; rule of ...

Destroyed tank and mosque in Azaz, Syria via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-161912165/stock-photo-azaz-syria-august-a-destroyed-tank-in-front-of-a-similarly-ruined-mosque.html">Shutterstock</a>

SEP 29, 2014 Podcast

Foreign Fighters in Syria

How is ISIS structured? Why are young Muslims from many countries going to Syria to join it? What is the nature and extent of the ...

SEP 19, 2014 Podcast

Climate Change and the Future of Humanity

Climate change is already here. The seas are rising, the glaciers are melting, and the atmosphere is warming. How can we work together to set ...

JUN 23, 2014 Podcast

Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East

How did the Arab Revolt and Lawrence of Arabia shape the Middle East? And how are Lawrence's actions of a century ago still being felt ...

The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move?

JUN 9, 2014 Podcast

The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move?

Today we create information in everything that we do, and there is no going back. But instead of seeing this as as a threat, we ...

The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union

JUN 6, 2014 Podcast

The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union

Serhii Plokhy presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union's final months, which places Ukraine at the center of the drama. And by providing ...

Sectarian Politics in the Gulf: From the Iraq War to the Arab Uprisings

JUN 1, 2014 Podcast

Sectarian Politics in the Gulf: From the Iraq War to the Arab Uprisings

It's tempting to see today's Middle East conflicts as the continuation of centuries-old sectarian divisions, but Frederick Wehrey cautions against it. "Sectarianism is really a ...