The Final Service – Details, episodes & analysis

One theme was consistent throughout this election year: the assertion that democracy was under threat. Throughout the year, Jonathan Rauch weighed in on whether democracy is waning, and how the Republican party could build a future without Trumpism.

Jonathan Rauch joins Ray Suarez to discuss Trump's reelection, and how he feels today about the health of our republic. 

This is our final episode of On Shifting Ground. Thank you for all your support over the years. We'll miss you.

Guest:

Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Center for Effective Public Management

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.

In less than three weeks, Donald Trump will be back in the White House, and we’re waiting to see what he will tackle on Day One. On the campaign trail, Trump promised he’d end the fighting in Ukraine on January 20th. The war is nearing its third anniversary, and there are few signs an end is in sight.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has recently signaled he’s ready to compromise, but can president-elect Trump deliver a deal after almost three years of war?

This week, Ray Suarez speaks with former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on the precarious future of Ukraine.

Guest:

Michael McFaul, Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

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.

Election Day is over, and the results are clear: former president Donald Trump resoundingly defeated vice president Kamala Harris. We don’t have all the data, but a majority of US counties swung towards the Republicans.

How did Trump gain new working class voters? And where does the Democratic Party go from here?

Dante Chinni, director of MSU J-School’s American Communities Project, Rahul Bali, politics reporter at WABE, and Katie Meyer, government editor and reporter at Spotlight PA, breakdown the results.

Guests:

Dante Chinni, data and political journalist and director of the MSU J-School’s American Communities Project

Rahul Bali, politics reporter at WABE

Katie Meyer, government editor and reporter at Spotlight PA

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.

While many Baby Boomers have already left the workforce behind, almost half are considering coming out of retirement in search of a new purpose in life. Leading sociologist and business economist Mauro Guillén joins Ray Suarez to explain why the days of “OK Boomer” are coming to an end… and why the future of work will be “post-generational.”

Guest:  

Mauro F. Guillén, Vice Dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and author of “The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Post Generational Society”

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 does Russia benefit from conflict in the Caucasus? And what role can the media play in building bridges of understanding? In this episode, we revisit our conversations with Russian-American journalist Simon Ostrovsky and independent Azeri journalist Arzu Geybulla on the roots of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict post-Soviet collapse, and the potential for future reconciliation.

Guests:

Simon Ostrovsky, PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent

Arzu Geybulla, Independent Azeri journalist and Founder of Azerbaijan Internet Watch

Hosts:  

Ray Suarez

Teresa Cotsirilos

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 late September, Azerbaijan wiped out the self-proclaimed, ethnically Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. The attacks prompted Armenia to finally join the International Criminal Court—despite warnings from Russia.

Ray Suarez speaks with human rights lawyer Sheila Paylan about what Armenia’s decision means for the country’s strained relations with Russia, and why Armenians are accusing Azerbaijan of war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Guest:

Sheila Paylan, International Lawyer and Human Rights & Gender Expert

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 United Kingdom recently passed a law which grants immunity for the violence of The Troubles – adding another wrinkle to the ongoing Brexit saga. Jude Webber, Ireland correspondent for The Financial Times, joins Ray Suarez to unpack how the precarious peace held together by the Good Friday agreement is at risk of unraveling. 

Guest:

Jude Webber, Ireland correspondent for The Financial Times

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.

April marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, bringing to an end decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” But the chaotic implementation of Brexit and a new Northern Ireland Troubles “reconciliation” law from the UK are threatening that historic peace deal.

From our friends at Foreign Policy’s “The Negotiators,” Jonathan Powell, a chief negotiator of the Good Friday agreement, shares what actually happened in the room. Find the show’s new season wherever you get your podcasts. 

Guest:

 Jonathan Powell, chief negotiator for the Good Friday Talks under UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

 Foreign Policy Production Team:  

Host: Jenn Williams | Executive producers: Amjad Atallah, Jigar Mehta, and Japhet Weeks | Lead producer: Laura Rosbrow-Telem | Managing Editor: Dan Ephron | Additional support from: Rob Sachs, Rosie Julin, and Maria Ximena Aragon

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.

If military cooperation with North Korea is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, why would Russia do it so publicly? And what’s in it for the Hermit Kingdom? Andrei Lankov, Director at NK News, joins Ray Suarez to explain why Kim Jong Un is solidifying relations with Russia… and not China.

Guest:

Andrei Lankov, Director at NK News and Professor at Kookmin University

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.

Russia is firing off more artillery shells than they can produce at home, forcing the Kremlin to shop around for a new supplier. Ray Suarez speaks with New York Times’ national security reporter Julian Barnes about Russia’s alleged arms deal with North Korea, and what it means for the war in Ukraine. 

Guest:

Julian Barnes, national security reporter for 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 World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.