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Latest Episodes:

The state of multilateralism: crisis or renaissance? Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Historian Alanna O'Malley explores how Global South actors have shaped the United Nations, arguing we should view today's challenges as an opportunity for a UN 'renaissance' rather than a collapse. She highlights invisible histories, multi-alignment strategies, regional and minilateral developments, and the need for Charter reform, greater legitimacy, accountability and public engagement to renew multilateralism.

Professor O'Malley reflects from a historical point of view on the upcoming process of selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General highlighting the importance that broad global perspective and public traction need to play and urges recognizing the UN as a flexible, multipurpose institution that must be retooled and better resourced to protect sovereignty, human rights and equal representation.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

https://www.eur.nl/en/people/alanna-sylver-omalley

Where to listen to this episode

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://youtu.be/kjatLR9EjHY

Content

Guest: Professor Dr. Alanna O'Malley

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

AIxMultilateralism: Can AI Predict A Crisis? with Dr. Martin Waehlisch Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the Commons, our space at the UN Library & Archives Geneva for sharing knowledge on multilateralism. In this series, we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.

In this episode we ask: can AI help us better predict, respond to, and recover from crises? We’re joined by Dr. Martin Waehlisch, Associate Professor of Transformative Technologies, Innovation and Global Affairs at the University of Birmingham. He’s also part of the Research Team of the Crisis Computing Project, a global community of scholars and practitioners who are driven to put computation to better use.
He shares:

what drives his teaching today on transformative technologies, and why he prefers the term “computational global affairs” to “international affairs” in today’s world
what exactly crisis computing means, and the kinds of crises he hopes that AI can help us to address, from complex climate prediction to public participation in decision-making
the potential of crisis computing at the local, regional and multilateral level, and his thoughts on how crisis computing can be addressed as part of the UN’s Global Dialogue on AI and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, both established by the UN General Assembly in 2025, and
what is still missing in the global debate when it comes to how we use AI individually and collectively.

Resources mentioned:

The Crisis Computing Project: https://crisiscomputing.org/

The Peace and Security Data Hub : https://psdata.un.org/

The Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF’d): https://crafd.io/ and the Humanitarian Data Exchange: https://data.humdata.org/

Production:

Guest: Dr. Martin Waehlisch
Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien

Podcast Music credits:
Sequence: https://uppbeat.io/track/img/sequence
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence
License code: 6ZFT9GJWASPTQZL0
Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva
#AI #Multilateralism #CrisisComputing #CrisisResponse

Open Science: How Sharing Knowledge Can Save the Planet Jan 31, 2026

Show notes

In this episode we speak with Jean-Claude Burgelman about what open science means, why it accelerates innovation, and why we need it now.

Jean-Claude Burgelman discusses practical benefits for businesses and NGOs, barriers like paywalled publishing and academic incentives, and the urgent need to make publicly funded data usable.

Jean-Claude argues for multilateral infrastructure—a global open science cloud—and a new social contract for science, drawing on insights from this year's Frontiers Science House at Davos.

The episode closes with a call to rethink institutions and governance so open science can drive faster, fairer solutions to global challenges.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

Frontiers Planet Prize: https://www.frontiersplanetprize.org/

Where to listen to this episode

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://youtu.be/QBWMVpmW3pI

Content

Guest: Jean-Claude Burgelman

Hosts: Amy Smith and Wouter Schallier

Production and editing: UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

AIxMultilateralism: Public AI - The New Multilateralism? with Jacob Taylor & Joshua Tan Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.
Today, the majority of AI development and deployment is controlled by a small number of powerful firms. If this path continues, the next generation of digital infrastructure underpinning our societies will be privately owned and unaccountable to the public interest.
Is there another way, one where where AI serves the common good? In this episode, Jacob Taylor (Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development and a 2025 Public AI Fellow) and Joshua Tan (Co-Founder and Research Director at Metagov) make the case for Public AI: shared, open AI infrastructure (much like highways, electricity grids, and public broadcasting), that is publicly responsible and harnessed to solve collective problems.
Drawing on their article Public AI is the New Multilateralism and Metagov's Public AI White Paper, they argue that building public AI infrastructure can become a new form of multilateralism, where states, academia and civil society co‑create accessible, accountable AI systems that can be shared and re-purposed to meet a range of local, regional and global needs. They share real‑world examples of Public AI already emerging, explain why middle powers have the strongest incentives to lead Public AI, and outline an “Airbus for AI” model to close capability gaps, reduce the world's dependency on a few private platforms, and solve cross‑border problems.

Resources mentioned:

The Public AI Inference Utility - publicai.co
Public AI - https://publicai.network/

Production:

Guests: Jacob Taylor and Joshua Tan
Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien
Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

U Thant: Peacemaker Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

Our final episode of the year invites listeners into the life and legacy of U Thant, the longest‑serving Secretary‑General of the United Nations and a quiet architect of peace during some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War.

Drawing on the perspective of historian Thant Myint‑U, his grandson, the conversation revisits
U Thant’s role in crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Congo, showing how his calm, principled diplomacy helped steer the world away from catastrophe.

Grounded in Buddhist ethics and a deep belief in multilateral cooperation, U Thant’s leadership connected decolonization, social justice, and environmental concern long before these agendas were widely recognized on the global stage. Through archival stories and family memories, the episode explores how his example can inform efforts today to organize peace and renew trust in international institutions, as we reimagine the UN’s potential in a fractured world.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

Myint-U, T. (2025). Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World. W. W. Norton & Company.

https://www.thantmyintu.com/peacemaker

Where to listen to this episode

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://youtu.be/UJRXUC80BSc

Content

Guest: Dr. Thant Myint-U

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

League of Minds: How Interwar Intellectual Cooperation Shaped Cultural and Political Relations Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

On the launch of the latest publication in the UN Historical Series, published by the UN Library & Archives Geneva, this episode of The Next Page explores the history of intellectual cooperation around the League of Nations, tracing the creation of the International Committee in Geneva and the Paris-based International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation.

Guest speakers Dr. Martin Grandjean, University of Lausanne, and Professor Daniel Laqua, University of Northumbria, discuss the Institute’s ambitions, institutional rivalries with Geneva, questions on elitism, inclusivity and the nature of the project, and examples of initiatives—from textbook debates and student exchanges to heritage and scientific cooperation—that helped shape cultural diplomacy and paved the way for later multilateral efforts like UNESCO.

Resources. Ask an Archivist! Ask a Librarian!

Grandjean, M. and Laqua D. (eds). Intellectual Cooperation at the League of Nations: Shaping Cultural and Political Relations. UN Historical Series.

Where to listen to this episode

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://youtu.be/554QVVqJaew

Content

Guests: Dr. Martin Grandjean (University of Lausanne) and Professor Daniel Laqua (University of Northumbria)

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

AIxMultilateralism: AI Empire or Global Commons? Why Inclusive Governance Matters, with Dr. Rachel Adams Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.
AI has the dual potential to transform our world for the better, while also deepening serious inequalities. In this episode we speak to Dr. Rachel Adams, Founder and CEO of the Global Center on AI Governance and author of The New Empire of AI: The Future of Global Inequality. She shares why Africa-led and Majority World-led research and policy are essential for equitable AI governance that's grounded in the realities of people everywhere.
She reflects on:

why the work of the Center's flagship Global Index on Responsible AI and its African Observatory on Responsible AI are bringing much-needed research and evidence to ensure AI governance is fair and inclusive.
her thoughts on the UN General Assembly's 2025 resolutions to establish an International Scientific Panel on AI and a Global Dialogue on AI Governance, urging true inclusion of diverse voices, indigenous perspectives, and public input
why we need to treat AI infrastructure as an AI Global Commons
and, the power of local-language AI and public literacy in ensuring we harness the most transformative aspects of AI for our world.

Resources mentioned:

The Global Center on AI Governance
The Center's Global Index on Responsible AI
The Center's African Observatory on Responsible AI, and its research series Africa and the Big Debates on AI

Production:

Guest: Dr. Rachel Adams
Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien
Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

What's hope got to do with it? Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we host Associate Professor Disa Sauter from the University of Amsterdam, and Edward Mishaud from The Beyond Lab at UN Geneva, to explore affective science and the role of hope in driving individual and collective sustainability action. They explain active versus passive hope, how different emotions shape decision-making, and why hopeful, solution-focused communication matters for sustainable development.

The conversation highlights practical pathways for bringing emotion research into multilateral spaces, the secret of storytelling as a tool to cultivate hope, and real-world examples of collective impact. Listeners learn how hope can mobilize agency, bridge individual and collective action, and inform better policy, negotiations and outreach.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

The Beyond Lab: https://www.thebeyondlab.org/

The International Day of Hope: https://www.un.org/en/observances/hope-day

https://www.thebeyondlab.org/article/international-day-of-hope-2025

Brosch, T., & Sauter, D. (2023). Emotions and the climate crisis: A research agenda for an affective sustainability science. Emotion Review, 15(4), 253–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/17540739231193741

McKibben, B. (2025). Here comes the sun: A last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization. W.W. Norton & Company.

Where to listen to this episode

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://youtu.be/WZrWb0NbbRY

Content

Guests: Disa Sauter, University of Amsterdam

Edward Mishaud, UN Geneva Beyond Lab

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

AIxMultilateralism: Why Diplomats Must Understand AI, with Dr. Jérôme Duberry Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.
What does it mean to be AI literate, especially for the world’s diplomats leading negotiations on behalf of their countries? We’re joined by Dr. Jérôme Duberry, Senior Lecturer of International and Development Studies, Co-Director of Executive Education and the Head of the Tech Hub at the Geneva Graduate Institute. There, his research includes AI literacy across society, including among diplomats, and why this is critical to understanding the impact and potential of these technologies in our world.
Jérôme shares what AI literacy means for diplomats, and why both a technical and societal understanding of these technologies is critical for mitigating the risks of exclusion of many parts of society in AI development and deployment. He also shares the importance of culturally sensitive and accessible AI training, and the role of science and technology diplomacy to ensure all countries can participate fairly in AI governance.

Resources mentioned:
- The ITU AI Skills Coalition: https://aiforgood.itu.int/ai-skills-coalition/
- AI 2027 report, from the AI Futures Project: https://ai-2027.com/
- Elements of AI, a series of free online courses created by MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki: https://www.elementsofai.com/

Content

Guest: Dr. Jérôme Duberry

Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien

Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Nature Knows No Borders: Inside the Convention on Migratory Species Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), discusses the Convention’s first State of the World’s Migratory Species report, the urgent threats facing migratory animals, and the need for international cooperation and ecological connectivity to protect them.

The conversation covers key findings from the report, main threats such as habitat loss and over-exploitation, successful cross-border conservation efforts, and practical ways governments, communities, scientists and industry can work together to safeguard migratory species.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

State of the World's Migratory Species Report:

https://www.cms.int/publication/state-worlds-migratory-species

Central Asian Mammals Initiative: https://cami.cms.int/about-cami

Where to listen to this episode