In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Vladyslav Rashkovan, Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, IMF, who is representing Ukraine and fourteen other states on the IMF Executive Board. Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Rashkovan served as Deputy Governor and a Member of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the strategy for the Ukrainian banking sector reforms and a turnaround transformation project within the National Bank of Ukraine. Dan and Mr. Rashkova discuss a possible future Reconstruction Plan in Ukraine and how it will be executed.

This week, CSIS research associate and friend of the pod, Sundar Ramanujam, takes over from Dan to host Mahfuz Sadique, Chief Communications Officer of bKash - a Bangladesh-based digital payments service provider that is rapidly changing how the financial sector engages with the Bangladeshi society. Sundar asks Mahfuz: is there a "secret recipe" which other developing countries can use to replicate bKash's success? Listen to the episode to find out his reply.

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Bennett Freeman and Allison Gill from the Cotton Campaign, a coalition of human rights NGOs, independent trade unions, brand associations, responsible investors, and academics, united to end forced labor in cotton production. Bennett and Allison share key elements to the Cotton Campaigns' success, and the critical steps necessary to fight against forced and child labor in countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Co-Director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University, Arizona Centennial Professor of International Affairs at Arizona State, and renowned author Dr. Ethan Kapstein. Dr. Kapstein has had an esteemed career at the OECD and has published books across all vectors of global affairs, from U.S. foreign policy to democracy, the AIDs crisis, national security, and more. This episode will feature a discussion on Dr. Kapstein's latest book, Exporting Capitalism: Private Enterprise and US Foreign Policy, which explores America’s attempts to promote international development by exporting private enterprise.

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Global Environment & Technology Foundation's CEO and founding member Monica Ellis to discuss today’s most pressing challenges to global water security. Monica emphasizes water as a foundational issue that intersects with other development challenges such as climate change, COVID-19, women’s empowerment, and conflict – including Afghanistan and Ukraine. The two also consider the need for heightened investment and the role of the private sector in advancing the water agenda.

Dan is out this week. But Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Director and Senior Fellow for CSIS Africa, guest hosts to discusses the digital revolution in Africa with Togo’s Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation, Cina Lawson, and Better Than Cash Alliance’s Lead of Africa Policy and Partnerships, Nshuti Mbabazi. Cina shares the innovative digital strategies Togo employed to alleviate the poverty exacerbated by Covid-19, including how they used AI and partnered with UC Berkeley and Innovations for Poverty Action. Meanwhile, Nshuti stresses the importance of financial inclusion, public-private partnerships, and the hopeful prospects of Africa’s further digital innovation in upcoming years.

In this episode of Building the Future, Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian joins Dan Runde to discuss women’s economic empowerment, opportunity, and inclusion. Mary shares insights from her new book There’s Nothing Micro About a Billion Women, which talks about women's financial inclusion and the different opportunities for empowerment and economic growth. FinTech, the actions of policymakers, financial institutions, and consumers all make a difference in facilitating gender-inclusive finance.

In this episode of Building the Future, Nazak Nikakhtar, former Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis at the Department of Commerce, joins Dan Runde to discuss her journey from her family's migration from Iran to the U.S. and how she lived the American dream to become a civil and public servant. As a key national security expert, Nazak forecasts the economic tools the U.S. should employ in an era of great power competition and how the U.S. could approach an economic distancing from China and Russia.

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Eddy Acevedo, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President of the Wilson Center. Eddy shares insights from his recent National Review article “America Must Prioritize Trade Policy in its Global Competition with China.” The two talk about the importance of trade in the context of national security and address the common misconceptions of trade.

On this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Dr. Douglas Johnston. President Emeritus and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD). Dr. Johnston pioneered the discourse on religion, conflict, and peacebuilding, which he details in his new book Mountain Tops and Mai Tais: Scaling the Heights Toward a Higher Calling. In the wake of heightened secularism in the West, Dan and Douglas discuss today’s challenges to religion and statecraft, along with Douglas’s work reforming Pakistan’s madrasas.