July 2025 Favourite Podcasts

In this thought-provoking joint episode of AI and You and the London Futurists Podcast, hosts Peter Scott, David Wood, and Calum Chace dive deep into the rise of AI agents—systems that perceive, decide, and act autonomously in the real world. They explore how these agents, from simple task-automators to complex, goal-driven entities, could reshape industries, employment, and societal dynamics.

The conversation also touches on existential risks, the pace of AI development, and the ethical dilemmas ahead. With insights from leading futurists, this episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about AI’s transformative—and unpredictable—future.

The Global Dispatches Podcast host, Mark Leon Goldberg, is joined by Mark Weisbrot of the Center of Economic Policy Research to examine the key finding of the groundbreaking new study published in the British medical journal The Lancet Global Health on the effects of international sanctions on age-specific mortality.

The study found that unilateral economic sanctions lead to approximately 564,000 excess deaths worldwide each year. Up to half of these deaths are children. While sanctions are often touted as an alternative to military force, this research shows they can devastate public health, cause severe food and medicine shortages, and drive mortality rates to levels comparable to those seen in armed conflicts. In fact, the findings suggest that sanctions are about as deadly as military conflicts around the world each year.

In this insightful episode of the Trialogue Podcast, host Peter Slezkine engages with Sunjoy Joshi, Chairman of India’s Observer Research Foundation (ORF), to unpack India’s evolving role in a multipolar world. Joshi, drawing on India’s ancient civilizational ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ("the world is one family"), explains how India navigates complex relationships with the U.S., China, Russia, and its South Asian neighbors with strategic pragmatism.

Joshi’s analysis offers a rare glimpse into India’s delicate balancing act—embracing partnerships without surrendering independence. A must-listen for anyone interested in the future of global power dynamics.

In this episode of the CSIS ChinaPower Podcast, Ms. Mona Yacoubian and Mr. Tuvia Gering join the conversation to unpack the latest escalation between Israel and Iran and explore how China is navigating this evolving conflict.

Ms. Yacoubian outlines how Israeli strikes were timed around a perceived window of Iranian vulnerability and rising concerns over Iran’s nuclear enrichment levels. Mr. Gering describes a significant paradigm shift in Israeli security doctrine after October 7, and the belief that Iranian threats, both nuclear and conventional, have necessitated preemptive action, especially with the current Trump administration’s backing. Ms. Yacoubian highlights the limited material support to Iran from Russia, North Korea, and China, and noted China’s preference to prioritize regional economic ties over military entanglement. Mr. Gering delves into the mixed Chinese domestic debates on Iran and explores unconfirmed reports of potential Chinese arms transfers to Iran. Finally, they assess what these developments may mean for China’s long-term role in Middle East security, including the possibility of a new security architecture that could include both Israel and Iran, and how Iran’s strategic calculations may shift amid growing isolation.