New Year’s Special: 2020 Hindsight

At the start of the new year, the Why It Matters team takes a look at some of the best interview segments that didn’t make it into the episodes. 

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Host
  • Gabrielle Sierra
    Director, Podcasting
Credits

Asher Ross - Supervising Producer

Markus Zakaria - Audio Producer and Sound Designer

Rafaela Siewert - Associate Podcast Producer

Episode Guests
  • Alexandra Bell
    Senior Policy Director, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation
  • Richard K. Betts
    Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies
  • Elizabeth C. Economy
    Senior Fellow for China Studies
  • Stewart M. Patrick
    James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • Paul Scharre
    Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security
  • Megan Smith
    Chief Executive Officer, Shift7
  • Abigail Stowe-Thurston
    Program Coordinator, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation

Show Notes

The interviews for Why It Matters last about an hour, but they are eventually cut down to five or ten minutes. As a result, a lot of great material doesn’t make it in. This episode features the most fascinating clips that were too good to leave behind. 

 

To learn more about these clips, check out the other episodes and their show notes. 

 

The Big Red Button 

China Doesn’t Want Your Trash

STEMinism

Space Jam

Space

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real. And the truth about them is often hidden from the public, for reasons related to national security. That secrecy has fed conspiracy theories about the possibility of alien life on Earth, creating a stigma around the legitimate scientific search for life on other planets. Why are UFOs considered a defense concern? And does a defense framing of UFOs inhibit scientific research?

Center for Preventive Action

Every January, CFR’s annual Preventive Priorities Survey analyzes the conflicts most likely to occur in the year ahead and measures their potential impact. For the first time, the survey anticipates that this year, 2024, the United States will contend not only with a slew of global threats, but also a high risk of upheaval within its own borders. Is the country prepared for the eruption of election-related instability at home while wars continue to rage abroad?

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Billions of people will take to the polls next year, marking the world’s largest-ever electoral field. But this historic scale is not the only thing that will make 2024 unique. As new threats like deep fakes become cheaper and more widespread, these upcoming elections could serve as a test run for democracy in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. What risks does AI pose to elections next year? And will a surge in AI-powered disinformation change the nature of democratic elections?

Top Stories on CFR

Indonesia

Prabowo Subianto was named the winner of the Indonesian presidential election. But it is unclear which version of Prabowo—the more moderate candidate from the campaign trail or the self-styled strongman—will govern Indonesia.

Russia

The mass casualty theater attack in Moscow was a reminder that affiliates of the Islamic State have reorganized and infiltrated even powerful states.

India

With India's development continuing to gain steam, one of the biggest challenges will be to avoid the mistake that others have made when they failed to recognize their newly acquired global systemic influence and adapt accordingly. Both China and Big Tech show that it is never too early to start managing one's own rise.