The Final Service

Latest Episodes:

The Day After Tomorrow in Palestine-Israel: A Tale of Two Peace Activists Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

As the war on Gaza continues with no end in sight, two peace activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli – are already charting a non-violent path forward. Ray Suarez sits down with Luxembourg Peace Prize laureates, Ali Abu Awwad, founding leader of the Taghyeer (Change) Palestinian National Nonviolence movement, and Dr. Gershon Baskin, the Middle East director of the International Communities Organization, to learn why they maintain hope for a peaceful, two-state solution.

Ali Abu Awwad was just awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace. Learn more.

Guests:

Ali Abu Awwad, Palestinian peace activist and founder of the Taghyeer (Change) Palestinian National Nonviolence Movement

Gershon Baskin, Israeli peace activist and the Middle East Director of the International Communities Organisation

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In the People, Planet, Profit Equation, Who Leads the Energy Transition? Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

The APEC Multistakeholder Forum (AMF), organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs, was the first of its kind to feature Indigenous perspectives on what a ‘just transition’ away from fossil fuels should look like. Maui Solomon, Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust, and Raylene Whitford, Director of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board, join Ray Suarez to explain how Indigenous representation and inclusion means putting people and the planet above profit.

Guests:

Maui Solomon, Indigenous rights activist and Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust

Raylene Whitford, Director of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Decolonizing Energy: Indigenous Led Climate Action Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

What does a ‘just’ transition away from fossil fuels actually mean for Indigenous communities? At the APEC Multistakeholder Forum (AMF), organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs, Ray Suarez sat down with Chéri A. Smith, a renewable energy expert and Mi’kmaq descendant. They discussed how the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy is working to combat energy poverty, bring solar to Indigenous communities and secure Native people a seat at the clean energy development table.

Guest:

Chéri A. Smith, founder, president and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

US State Department’s Mallory Stewart on Controlling Nuclear Escalation Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

It’s been 78 years since a nuclear weapon was last used in war. Since then, the number of countries with a nuclear arsenal has increased from one… to nine. For the US government, two of the greatest nuclear threats are China and Russia – two superpowers that are escalating their nuclear capacity. US State Department nuclear expert, Mallory Stewart, shares how serious these threats are to the US.

Guest:

Mallory Stewart, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability.

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

I'll See Your Deterrence, And Raise You... Nuclear Annihilation Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

Former president Dwight Eisenhower described nuclear war as “unwinnable, unsurvivable and unthinkable.” But what changes when the use of a nuclear weapon now seems thinkable, and maybe… inevitable?

Ray Suarez sits down with Shannon E. French, Director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, and Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, to unpack why talk of nuclear annihilation is now being so casually thrown around by world leaders.

Guests:

Shannon E. French, Director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence and a tenured professor in the philosophy department at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland

Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists and Associate Researcher with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Weapons of Mass Destruction program

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Kofi Annan’s Masterclass on Peace and Power Sharing Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who died in 2018, was one of the most famous diplomats of his time. In today’s episode, we're sharing an Foreign Policy Magazine's TheNegotiators about Annan’s mediation of a Kenyan political crisis in 2008—which stands out as one of his most impressive acts of diplomacy.

What we can learn about the nuances of negotiating?

Guest:

Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General for the Global Centre for Pluralism

Hosts:

Ray Suarez

Jenn Williams

Producer:

Laura Rosbrow-Telem

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Biden and Xi Walk into a Room… Will They Continue to Play Nice? Nov 18, 2023

Show notes

During APEC, President Xi Jinping reminded world leaders that China is “open for business.” So what does the next era of US-China relations look like? Ivan Kanapathy, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, joins Ray Suarez to unpack the stakes of the Biden-Xi sideline talks, and just how far the two leaders will go to reestablish ties.

Guest:

Ivan Kanapathy, Senior Associate, Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic & International Studies

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The Covert War on LGBT+ Rights Nov 15, 2023

Show notes

While the past year has seen major gains for LGBT+ rights, politicians around the world are increasingly using the community as scapegoats. Julie Dorf, Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality, joins Ray Suarez to explain how a transnational network of American Christians is targeting LGBT+ rights at home… and abroad.

Guest:

Julie Dorf, Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

How American Radicalism Inspired the Most Homophobic Law on Earth Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

This year, Uganda enacted one of the harshest anti-LGBT+ laws in the world, making homosexuality punishable by death. Ugandan Human Rights activist Dr. Frank Mugisha joins Ray Suarez to share how American Christian evangelicals radicalized the East African country, and how the fight for human rights has turned deadly.

Guest:

Dr. Frank Mugisha, Ugandan LGBT advocate and Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Beyond Oil and Uncle Sam: MBS's Decade of Bold Reforms Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

Can economic power-brokering overcome decades of repression and human rights abuses? Karen Elliott House has covered Saudi Arabia for over four decades, and the Pulitzer-Prize reporter joins Ray Suarez to share her take on Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s vision for his country’s future.

Guest:

Karen Elliott House, Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

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