Altamar Podcast - Navigating the High Seas of Global Politics

Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and constructive critic of crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, was brutally murdered on October 2 in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul. This egregious attack on a thoughtful voice of reason has devastated us at Altamar, as we were lucky enough to have Jamal on as a guest in February to discuss the new crown prince and Saudi Arabia's future under him. We're re-releasing our interview with Jamal as tribute to a man who so deeply cared for his country, and who wanted nothing more than to see it go down the right path.

As scandal roils the Church, what does this all mean for the future of Pope Francis? And for the future of Catholicism? Vaticanologist Jimmy Burns joins this week to discuss.

As migration flows grow around the world, is a negative impact on politics an inevitability? Or have we just convinced ourselves that it is? Andrew Selee and María Peña join this week to discuss.

With the world in upheaval, how are we to respond to the most global challenge of them all? Featuring special guests Amy Harder and Giulio Boccaletti.

Mexico’s soon-to-be president has been called a Marxist, a pragmatist, a Mexican Trump, and a Mexican Chávez. So who really is Andrés Manuel López Obrador? And what kind of president will he be? Mark Feierstein and Carlos Bravo Regidor join this week to discuss.

Trump isn’t only buddying up to our enemies—he’s also alienating our friends, and in the process making the Atlantic wider by the day. Edward Luce and Nathalie Tocci join this week to discuss the extent of the damage and what we can expect for the future of the transatlantic relationship.

Nothing brings the world together like World Cup season…right? Ahead of Russia 2018, this week's episode brings a deep dive into soccer, politics, and the politics of soccer, with special guests Roger Cohen of The New York Times, and Nick Sprague of Braskem and love.futbol.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative now spans nearly every continent, and countries are eagerly lining up for a share of the trillions of dollars Beijing is doling out. But is there more to this infrastructure plan than meets the eye? Featuring NYU Shanghai professors Rodrigo Zeidan and Ivan Rasmussen.

Narendra Modi came into office on big promises, and four years later, he’s got more failures than successes under his belt. But the big question is: do Indian voters even care? Sadanand Dhume joins this week to discuss what’s gone right in Modi’s first term, what’s gone wrong, where he stands today, and where he might stand during elections next year.

With Viktor Orbán stronger than ever, Hungary’s leader offers a clearly replicable recipe for building an autocracy out of a democracy. Cas Mudde, an expert on populism and the mechanics of the far right, joins this week to discuss.

The face of warfare is changing, and Moscow is embracing it full-throttle. With the digital age giving Putin's Russia a wealth of new ways to pursue longstanding objectives, how is the West to respond? At the same time, are we overestimating the Kremlin's sophistication? The Carnegie Endowment's Andrew Weiss joins this week to discuss.

As Trump announces new tariffs, could this shift toward protectionism spark a wave of inward-looking trade policy around the world? Or could we see precisely the opposite happen? Peter and Muni talk to Andrés Velasco, Chile’s former finance minister, to get a sense of the danger, and to discuss strategies for making free trade politically popular.

Syria's civil war has long ceased to be civil. The last two months have been a gut-wrenching reminder of how internationalized this conflict has become. As regional and world powers become more deeply entrenched, is there any way out of this tinderbox? Peter and Muni discuss with Joyce Karam, the Washington correspondent for Al-Hayat and The National, who's been following this war since its inception.

A massive anti-corruption investigation has taken down some of Brazil’s most powerful people, including former president Lula, who’s still polling first in this October’s general election. What will become of his candidacy? What has allowed Brazil’s judiciary to become so effective? And is this all as positive as it seems from the outside? Political risk analyst Andrea Murta and legal scholar Diego Werneck Arguelhes join this week for a deep dive into the scandal that has captivated the world.

Mohammed bin Salman has flung Saudi Arabia onto a new path. Some say he’s just what the country needs to kick its sclerotic economy into gear. Others say he’s a despot further polarizing an already unstable region. Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and Princeton University professor of Near Eastern studies Bernard Haykel join this week to dissect the competing narratives.