In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde hosts Jamie Fly (President, Radio Free Europe) to discuss Radio Free Europe’s work providing free and independent media in countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. Jamie talks about overcoming interference by governments that seek to prevent the delivery of news, as well as addressing technological barriers to reaching rural areas. Dan and Jamie also discuss covering Covid-19 in Iran, troll farm attacks on journalists, and the weaponization of “fake news.”

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan speaks with Andrew Natsios, former USAID administrator and current director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. During the conversation, Andrew talks about his past experiences confronting epidemics while at USAID, and highlights the work currently being done at the Bush School’s Pandemic and Biosecurity Policy program. Dan and Andrew explore the political and economic realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the duo touch on issues related to the role of the Chinese government during the outbreak and the operational capacity of the WHO. Andrew also analyzes how Covid-19 is going to bring about economic and social change to our society, including worldwide consumer behavior. Please listen to the full podcast to learn more about what the future holds for Covid-19 in the United States and the developing world.

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde talks to Richard Fontaine (President/CEO for the Center for New American Security) about the need to create a new Atlantic charter for the post-coronavirus era. Richard talks about the importance of globalization in a post-pandemic world and utilizing this unique moment of global collaboration as an opportunity to envision the future for the world, the U.S., and its allies. Dan and Richard also discuss keeping democracies free from foreign influence, competing in an era of strategic competition, and the importance of continued U.S. leadership in multilateral institutions. To read more about this topic, you can find Richard's article, "We Need an Atlantic Charter for the Post-coronavirus Era," here.

In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde sits down with General James Cowan (CEO of the Halo Trust) to discuss the continuing devastation caused by landmines, and the work of the Halo Trust, the oldest and largest humanitarian landmine clearance organization in the world. General Cowan describes the history of landmines and the Halo Trust’s work in areas such as Colombia, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. Dan and General Cowan talk about the macroeconomic effect of landmine removal in boosting local economies in areas such as agriculture and tourism. General Cowan also discusses everything from Princess Diana’s role in landmine removal advocacy to the way landmines impact elephant migration in Angola.

In this episode, Dan is joined by Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla, head of the Latin American and Caribbean Program at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). During their conversation, the duo discuss the importance of regional development banks (RDBs)—in particular, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)—at a time when three of the four RDBs' presidencies are up for grabs in 2020. They examine Diaz-Bonilla's book, A Long and Winding Road: The Creation of the Inter-American Development Bank, written in 2011. Díaz-Bonilla first traces the history of the IADB and explains why the institution has had consistent backing from both Latin American countries and the United States. He then argues that the IADB needs to demonstrate a greater interest in various issues, including drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, access to education, youth employment, and inequality; and expand its partnerships with other international development organizations.

The Power Africa Initiative was launched by the Obama administration in 2013 and was housed under USAID. The Initiative brings together technical and legal experts from 12 different federal government agencies and over 130 civil society and private sector partners. Today, it has closed over 126 transactions in the region, commissioned and operationalized 56 power plants, enabled the production of over 10,000 MW of power, adding nearly 15 million new connections and giving electricity to 68 million new people in the continent.

In this episode, Dan sits down with Andrew Herscowitz (former Coordinator of Power Africa) and Paul Weisenfeld (Vice President of RTI International) to discuss the Power Africa initiative, the East Africa energy project, and the future of electrification in Africa. Andrew and Paul describe how leveraging tools of U.S. agencies like USAID and EXIM Bank can create successful public-private partnerships and the role of multilateral banks in Power Africa projects. They also discuss successful electrification projects in Africa from solar power in rural Senegal to wind projects in Kenya.

This is the first in a series of three episodes on Energy, Innovation, and Development that has been produced thanks to the generous support from RTI International.

In this episode, Dan is joined by Ali Siddiqui, Pakistan’s Ambassador for foreign investment, to discuss the future of Pakistan and U.S.-Pakistan relations. They examine how Pakistan went from being a close U.S. ally and “one of the potential Asian tigers” in the 1950s, to being largely associated with the legacy of the war in Afghanistan. Ambassador Siddiqui discusses the efforts that Pakistan has been making in rebranding itself and explains that the story of Pakistan is one of culture, music, art, ancient civilizations, literature, business, and opportunities. He highlights that the strengthening of Pakistan’s relationship with China should serve as a wake-up call to the United States. If the U.S. takes a proactive approach, there is huge opportunity for the U.S. boost its ties with Pakistan.

In this episode, Erol Yayboke, deputy director and senior fellow of the Project on Prosperity and Development at CSIS, sits in for Dan Runde to talk with Jennifer Spies, product manager for Google’s Next Billion Users (NBU) initiative. They discuss the NBU project and the role of internet access in bringing emerging economies into a new age of technology development. They also reflect upon how the usage of technology has changed and will continue to change through innovations like machine-learning which tailors products to serve local community needs. Jennifer also describes how to create free and open internet access through partnerships with local stakeholders, governments, and the private sector.

On the 25th anniversary of the Western Newly Independent States Enterprise Fund, Dan is joined by Jaroslawa Johnson (Western NIS Enterprise Fund president and CEO), and Dennis Johnson (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund). Dan, Jaroslawa, and Dennis discuss the history and accomplishments of Western NIS Enterprise Funds, the evolution of the economies of Ukraine and Moldova, and the role of enterprise funds in Ukraine and Moldova’s development future. Jaroslawa describes how WNISEF investments shifted from a focus on agriculture to a wide variety of investments from ice cream and mortgage banks in Ukraine to breweries and banks in Moldova.

In this episode, Dan is joined by Michael Leifman and Marco Annunziata, cohosts of M4Edge, a podcast that analyzes how technology impacts global economies. Dan and his guests discuss the ways that new technologies are going to evolve in developing countries, and how governments can support these efforts. The speakers highlight which technologies they think offer the most potential for economic growth and lifting people out of poverty. They also observe how many countries are unable to introduce new technologies because they do not have the regulatory policies in place to support technologies such as driverless cars. Lastly, they analyze concerns over how new technologies could be used with the military and security sector. Please listen to the full podcast to hear more.