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Introduction
Over the last several decades, governments have collectively pledged to slow global warming. But despite intensified diplomacy, the world is already facing the consequences of climate…
Show Notes
In this special episode of The World Next Week, James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon are joined by CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Carla Anne Robbins to discuss the books they’ve recently loved, the books they’re looking forward to reading, and the books they’re reading for fun.
Read more about Jim, Bob, and Carla’s picks on Jim’s blog, The Water’s Edge.
Jim’s Picks
Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975 by Max Hastings
President's of War by Michael Beschloss
A Legacy of Spies: A Novel by John le Carré
Bob’s Picks
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz
This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality by Peter Pomerantsev
Carla’s Picks
Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century by George Packer
The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un by Anna Fifield
Berlin Noir: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem by Philip Kerr
Havana Gold: The Havana Quartet by Leonardo Padura
Blinken Visits China, May Day Stirs Workers’ Rights Concerns, the U.S. Resumes Ukraine Aid, and More
Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps his second visit to China as tensions mount over Beijing’s military support of Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing threats in the South China Sea; International Workers’ Day on May 1 comes at a time of revived labor activism over wages and inequality; and U.S. President Joe Biden approves a $61 billion foreign aid package providing critical military assistance to Ukraine, potentially improving the situation on the ground in the war with Russia.
Concerns grow over the widening Middle East conflict after Iran launches three hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel; European Union (EU) leaders discuss how to bolster aid to Ukraine amid an uptick in Russian attacks and the situation unfolding in the Middle East; India kicks off the world’s largest democratic election—spanning more than forty-four days—where the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win again; and warming water temperatures cause a mass bleaching of coral reefs.
Congress returns from recess and grapples with contentious agenda items, including reauthorization of a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a Ukraine aid package; Sudan enters a second year of civil war with more than half of the country’s population in need of aid and millions more displaced; and Ecuadorian police breach international law by raiding the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.