Global Connections Television Podcast

John R. Wilmoth is the Director of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division at the UN.  The Population Division has a myriad of excellent reports, studies and conferences, many of which can be viewed at: www.un.org/development/desa/pd/  Health is a human right and a centerpiece of sustainable development, recognized in various United Nations commitments, including the outcome of the International Conference...

Dr. Desmond Dinan is a professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government and holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European Public Policy at George Mason University.   His most recent book is,” A Concise History of the European Union.” The EU concept grew out of WW2, but the EU was relaunched in the 1990s to deal with monetary issues, the end of the Cold War, globalization, and the unification of Germany.    Putin’s ...

Jerry Glenn, a futurist, serves as the executive director of the Millennium Project, and authors an annual publication, “State of the Future.” He was the executive director of the American Council for the United Nations University and was deputy director of Partnership for Productivity International. The State of the Future 20.0 Report is the most comprehensive and largest document covering 15 global challenges that affect the worl...

Mark D. Walker, a Returned U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer from Guatemala, is an award-winning writer and President of Million Mile Walker. His new book is “The Guatemala Reader: Extraordinary Lives & Amazing Stories”.  Today we are focusing on the important soft power vs. hard power concepts that are under intense discussion.  Soft power, as opposed to hard power, is an example of how international overseas groups interact to make ...

Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher is a Connecticut complex litigation judge and former lawyer, legislator and lobbyist. He is the author of “The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce it.”    President Trump has consistently tried to delegitimize the courts, which is weakening our democracy and deteriorating the Rule of Law.    For decades, the international community has looked to the US to promote democracy...

Michael Albertus is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Albertus is the author of five books. His newest book, Land Power: Who Has It, Who Doesn't, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies, tells the story of how land came to be power within human societies, how it shapes power, and how its allocation determines the major social ills that societies grapple with. The Great Reshuffle   determines ...

Dr Phil Williams is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught from January 1990 to April 2022.  In the first part of his career, at Aberdeen University, Southampton University, and Chatham House, he wrote books on Crisis Management, The Senate and US Troops in Europe, During the last 30 years his research has focused primarily on transnational organized crime, His most recent book is “The Mediterranean Con...

Morten Bøås (PhD) is a Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. He works on violent conflict, insurgencies, and fragile states in Africa and the Middle East. From 2020 to 2023 Bøås was the Principal Investigator of the EU Horizon 2020 funded Project PREVEX – Preventing violent extremism in the Balkans and the MENA: Strengthening resilience in enabling environments. His latest book is “Resisting Radica...

Tony Payan, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. His most recent book is, “U.S.-Mexico Relations: Structuring Alternative Futures.”  The US-Mexico relationship is very complicated in the areas of climate, migration, security and trade. Mexico is the US’s largest trading partner with trade at almost $850 billion a year.  Candidate Donald T...

Felix Dodds has been a leading thinker in the area of global governance and sustainable development for thirty years. He is now an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina.  Felix chaired the UN conference in 2011 that put forward the first set of indicative Sustainable Development Goals. He set up the Water and Climate Coalition at the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). He attended the COP...

Dr. William Marcy, a lecturer at Buffalo State University, has authored two books: “The Politics of Cocaine,” and his most recent “Narcostates.” He highlights the scope of the Narcostates and the significance of the Central American crisis in expanding the cocaine trade in North America. Mexico’s permanent campaign against narcotics trafficking on Mexican cartels was directly affected after the Mexican economic crisis, the Zapatist...

Dr. Michael Cairo is a Professor of Political Science and the Program Director of International Affairs at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky His most recent book is  “American Presidents and Israeli Settlements since 1967.” 

 American Presidents and Israeli Settlements since 1967Tracing presidential administrations since Lyndon B. Johnson, this book argues that the Trump administration's p...

Since the October 7, 2023...

Steve Schlesinger, Fellow at the Century Foundation in New York City, authored "Act of Creation: Founding of the United Nations," and is an expert on the UN and international issues. Over the past 8 decades the UN has expanded its mandate and development programs to reduce conflicts, combat diseases and climate change, develop maritime and aviation safety, move ships, mail and weather information worldwide. We have not ex...

Michelle Gladieux, a communication expert, debate coach, executive coach, and author of “Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges" trains leaders in almost every industry to experience more impactful interactions and presentations. Four personality types consist of: 1) Driver, a highly assertive person; 2) Analyst, great at details; 3) Amiable means flexibility; 4) Expressive style, one who...

Dr. Frank N. von Hippel, Senior Research Physicist and Professor of Public and International Affairs emeritus of the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University’s forthcoming book is, “Ending the Nuclear Arms Race – A physicist’s quest.”  The world has 9 nuclear states and over 10,000 nuclear weapons. The Doomsday Clock sponsored by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists is now 90-seconds before striking midnight.  Do...

Skyler Badenoch, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, is Executive Director for the Hope for Haiti organization. Hope for Haiti is a developmental organization focusing on poverty alleviation with an emphasis on women and children.  It has 150-full time staff working on education, health care, clean water, and economic development programs in the southern region.   Haiti, the size of Maryland, shares the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola...

Dr. Justin Quinn Olmstead is a historian for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  His most recent book “From Nuclear Weapons to Global Security: 75 Years of Research and Development at Sandia National Laboratories.”  Dr. Robert Oppenheimer helped launch the Sandia Labs, which is an engineering laboratory for the nation’s nuclear deterrence. President Harry Truman was directly involved in setting up the Lab, whe...

Craig Storti, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, is an author and a trainer/consultant in the field of intercultural communications and cross-cultural adaptation. Eight of his books are on intercultural topics, while the two most recent—Why Travel Matters and especially The Hunt for Mount Everest—are for general audiences. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, which offered a unique experience that was crucial in promoting the ...

SRSG Pramila Patten, originally from Mauritius, was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Her office was established by Security Council Resolution 1888 and introduced by Hillary Clinton. USG Patten succeeded Margot Wallström and Zainab Bangura, both of whom have been guests on Global Connections Tel...