In August, Ukrainian troops swept into Russia's Kursk region, and seized over 500 square miles of Russian territory. It’s the first time that Russia has been invaded since World War II.

In Moscow, President Putin has relied on aid from China, Iran, and North Korea, but some analysts believe that his most consequential support may come from a second Trump term. They argue the Russian leader is biding his time till the 2024 US Presidential election.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky is still waiting on answers from current US President Joe Biden on the use of long-range missiles on Russian targets. Can the Ukrainian military hold its ground until the November election, and what does President Zelensky need to secure a victory? The Guardian's Luke Harding joins Ray Suarez to share what he’s seeing on the battlefield.

Guest:  

Luke Harding, foreign correspondent for The Guardian

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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

Immigrants to America have always faced resistance, and have always—over time—assimilated and become vital parts of America. But in a political era of “America First'', what does it mean to be an immigrant in the 21st century? And who decides who is “American” enough?

Ray Suarez has criss-crossed the country to speak to new Americans from all corners of the globe, and to record their stories for his new book. He shares what he learned while reporting and writing We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century, with veteran journalist Shereen Marisol Meraji.

Learn more about Shereen’s new podcast, How I Get It Done.

Guest:

Ray Suarez, host, On Shifting Ground

Host: 

Shereen Marisol Meraji, assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism

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

In May, Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, presented a sprawling “road map” for regulating artificial intelligence. But tech experts have called the plan “pathetic”, and many critics believe Washington is out of touch. And California’s legislature will soon vote on a plan that would put guardrails on the biggest AI players.

This week, we're airing our special election episode from June about why AI may be the big bad “X Factor” of the upcoming presidential election.

First, we’ll hear from Josh Lawson, Director of AI and Democracy at the Aspen Institute. Then, US Congressman Ted Lieu and Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder of Robust AI and Geometric AI, join Ray Suarez to talk about the future of AI, and whether it can be regulated in time.

Guests:

Josh Lawson, Director of AI and Democracy at the Aspen Institute

US Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA 36th District)

Dr. Gary Marcus, Founder of Robust AI and Geometric AI

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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

Earlier this century, reports indicated a little alcohol might even improve health. Moderation was the watchword. Those reports have been overtaken by a new generation of research which indicates the healthy amount of alcohol is no alcohol. But alcoholic beverages are deeply embedded in the brain. So if it’s so bad for us, why can’t we quit drinking?

Ray speaks with New York Times health reporter Roni Rabin about a new UK study that concludes that drinking is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, regardless of underlying health and socioeconomic status.

Guest:

Roni Rabin, health reporter, The New York Times

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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

For the most part, the world has gone back to normal. We’re getting on planes… going to concerts… but many Americans haven’t changed their pandemic drinking habits. And this increased consumption trend is especially high for older Americans.

In 2020, alcohol accounted for more than 11,000 deaths among those 65 and up – that’s an 18 percent increase from the previous year – and many of those cases went untreated. 

Ray speaks with Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, to get to the bottom of why Baby Boomers are drinking so much.

Guest:

Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University

Host:

Ray Suarez

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

President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, and in the few weeks since, Vice President Kamala Harris has garnered enough delegates to become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Biden had trailed Trump in virtually every poll, but Harris has rallied the hopes of her party, as her momentum continues to upend the race.

This week, in our latest special election series, why party conventions matter, what to expect at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and how The Lincoln Project and Kamala Harris are taunting Trump.

Stuart Stevens, former chief Republican strategist and author of Conspiracy to End America, joins Ray Suarez to discuss the state of the presidential race, and to make predictions for the final 75 days.

Guests:

Stuart Stevens, Senior Advisor, The Lincoln Project

Host: 

Ray Suarez

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

Ecuadorian journalist Jorge Imbaquingo says that his country used to be, “an island of peace.” But now it’s caught in the middle of Latin America’s bloodiest drug war.

In our last episode, we heard about Ecuador’s historic vote to stop oil extraction in the Amazon. Today, we’ll hear about why its President, Daniel Noboa, nixed those plans to fund his war against the country’s drug cartels.

First, producer Mateo Schimpf and El Diario del Comercio reporter Jorge Imbaquingo share why Ecuador has become a target for Latin America’s drug cartels. Then writer Jon Lee Anderson talks with Ray Suarez about his recent New Yorker profile of Daniel Noboa, and why the young leader is standing up to the narcos.

Guests:

Jorge Imbaquingo, politics reporter, El Diario del Comercio

Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer, The New Yorker

Mateo Schimpf, producer, On Shifting Ground 

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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

Last August, Ecuador passed a historic referendum that was more than a decade in the making. Oil accounts for roughly a third of the country’s exports, but Ecuadorians voted to stop extraction at a major production site deep in the Amazon. Since the vote, Ecuador’s “Keep It in the Ground” movement has hit some speed bumps. 

In collaboration with our sister program, Climate One, why curbing climate emissions has economic consequences for rural Ecuadorians. 

Guests:

Kevin Koenig, Climate, Energy, and Extractive Industry Director, Amazon Watch

Kimberley Brown, freelance journalist

Mateo Schimpf, producer, On Shifting Ground

Host:

Ray Suarez



Ariana Brocious, co-host, Climate One

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

Ray Suarez sits down with Dr. Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA, to examine Biden’s foreign policy legacy… and how country's around the world are preparing for a new US President in 2025.

Guest:  

Dr. Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA

Host: 

Ray Suarez

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

A few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the US Congress, and he showed no signal that his government is open to a ceasefire with Hamas. President Biden had hoped to broker an Israeli-Hamas peace deal before leaving office, but an attack from Hezbollah in the Golan Heights—and Israel's military response—could dash any remaining hope for a deal in Gaza.

Ray Suarez sits down with Mairav Zonszein, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group, to Israel’s military may be at odds with Netanyahu and why the Israeli Prime Minister is going all-in on a Trump Presidency.

Guest:

Mairav Zonszein, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group

Host:  

Ray Suarez

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

Donald Trump’s anti-establishment message has galvanized tech leaders across the US, including in former Democratic Party stronghold, Silicon Valley.

In the second half of our election special, we’ll hear from This American Life’s Zoe Chace about what happened when Michigan Republicans took his advice and actually tried to buck the system. Then, WIRED’s Steven Levy joins Ray Suarez to talk about why big tech and “little tech” are throwing their weight behind Trump’s presidential bid.

You can hear Zoe's latest reporting from the Republican National Convention on This American Life.

Guests:

Zoe Chace, Producer, This American Life

Steven Levy, Journalist and Editor, WIRED

Mateo Schimpf, Producer, On Shifting Ground

Host:

Ray Suarez

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