Council of Councils
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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 the United States, the president has sole and unconstrained power to launch a first-strike nuclear attack. While the system is built to provide the president with as much expert advice as possible, consultation is not legally required, and some experts say that such an order could be executed in a matter of minutes.
Today, we unpack the president’s sole authority to launch, and its implications for national and global security. Is it wise to invest so much power in the hands of one person? What are the alternatives? Gabrielle Sierra explores a system that has been overlooked for years, as she sits down with three nuclear security experts.
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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.