GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The GZERO World Podcast heads to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum this week for a look at transatlantic relations and how President Trump’s second term is reshaping the global order. Uncertainty and tensions were high this week as Trump doubled down on his desire to control Greenland—before announcing a deal with NATO over the Danish territory’s future and walking back tariff threats. Ian Bremmer spoke with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on the sidelines of Davos to discuss the future of the transatlantic relationship, Arctic security, the war in Ukraine and why, despite so many geopol...

It’s been a year since President Trump returned to office, this time with fewer constraints, a better understanding of how government works, and a much more muscular view of US foreign policy. This week on the GZERO World Podcast, Harvard’s Stephen Walt joins Ian Bremmer to help answer a simple question with complicated answers: what kind of presidency is he building this time around?Over the past year, we’ve seen a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a rewriting of America's role in the world. There’s been a retreat from multilateral institutions, targeting of long...

Ian Bremmer unpacks the fallout from the Trump administration’s dramatic operation in Caracas that captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the US to face federal charges. The raid was a stark demonstration of American power, and few are mourning the fall of a leader whose rule helped collapse Venezuela and drive millions to flee. But even with Maduro gone, the hard questions start immediately: who governs now, how long does the US stay involved, and how quickly could “stability” turn into something far messier?First, Bremmer speaks with Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, who say...

With the global order under increasing strain, 2026 is shaping up to be a tipping point for geopolitics. From political upheaval in the United States to widening conflicts abroad, the risks facing governments, markets, and societies are converging faster—and more forcefully—than at any time in recent memory.To break it all down, journalist Julia Chatterley moderated a wide-ranging conversation with Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, and a panel of Eurasia Group experts, to examine the findings of their newly-released Top Risks of 2026 report.One theme dominates the discussion: the United Stat...

This week, instead of zooming in on a single conflict, the GZERO World Podcast looks back on 2025 and takes stock of a world increasingly defined by conflict. Ian Bremmer sits down with CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward and Comfort Ero, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group to look at some of the biggest crises of 2025–-both the headline making wars and the ones the world overlooked.Gaza and Ukraine captured the world’s attention this year. But at the same time, around 60 other armed conflicts and struggles have been raging around the world. It’s the...

At a moment when Americans can’t agree on much of anything, one unlikely institution still commands broad trust: Wikipedia. Ian Bremmer sits down with Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales to ask why the crowdsourced encyclopedia remains one of the most visited and relied-upon sites in the world, even as trust in media, government, and tech companies continues to collapse.That trust, Wales argues, comes from Wikipedia’s decentralized model and its refusal to speak with a single authoritative voice on contested issues. “We don’t try to answer the question or take a side,” Wales says. “What we do is des...

Computer scientist and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast to talk about artificial intelligence, the technology transforming our society faster than anything humans have ever built. The question is: how fast is too fast? Hinton is known as the “Godfather of AI.” He helped build the neural networks that made today’s generative AI tools possible and that work earned him the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics. But recently, he’s turned from a tech evangelist to a whistleblower, warning that the technology he helped create will displace millions of jobs and eventually destroy humanity...

The US is ramping up pressure on Venezuela, with the USS Gerald R. Ford deployed to the region, CIA covert operations approved by the White House, and strikes on suspected narco‑trafficking vessels attributed to Caracas. Many analysts now see regime change as the ultimate goal. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer and former US Ambassador James Story game out what a US intervention in Venezuela might look like—and more importantly, how the US would manage the aftermath.Story points out that while removing Nicolás Maduro may sound feasible, rebuilding Venezuela’s institutions, economy and social fa...

As populations grow and communities evolve, transportation authorities and urban infrastructure are seeking ways to modernize.In this episode of “Local to global: The power of small business,” host JJ Ramberg sits down with Chapin Flynn, Senior Vice President of Transit and Urban Mobility at Mastercard, and Mark Langmead, Director of Revenue & Compass Operations at TransLink in Vancouver, to explore how cities are making transit easier, faster, and more seamless for riders–an approach known as frictionless urban mobility.They discuss how innovations like contactless tap-and-go technologies are reducing dwell time, speeding up boarding, and produc...

In 1929, unchecked speculation and economic hype helped fuel the worst financial crash in modern history. Nearly a century later, New York Times journalist and CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin sees troubling parallels. On the GZERO World podcast, he joins Ian Bremmer to talk about his new book, "1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation," and whether today’s economy is headed for another cliff.Sorkin warns that behind today’s AI boom and market exuberance lies an undercurrent of fragility—historic debt levels, shaky private credit markets, and investors chasing returns...

What can the US learn from the benefits–and perils–of China’s quest to engineer the future? Tech analyst and author Dan Wang joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss his new book "Breakneck," China’s infrastructure boom, and the future of the US-China relationship. Over the last two decades, China has transformed into what Wang calls an “engineering state,” marshaling near unlimited resources to build almost anything–roads, bridges, entire cities overnight. That investment has created astounding growth, but also domestic challenges and soaring debt. It’s also led to a stubborn belief within the Chinese gove...

US President Donald Trump has been piling the pressure on Russia and Venezuela in recent weeks. He placed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil firms and bolstered the country’s military presence around Venezuela – while continuing to bomb ships coming off Venezuela’s shores. But what exactly are Trump’s goals? And can he achieve them? And how are Russia and Venezuela, two of the largest oil producers in the world, responding? GZERO's Zac Weisz and Riley Callanan discuss. Hosts: Zac Weisz, Riley Callanan  Subscribe to the GZERO World w...

This is normally where you’ll find extended versions of Ian Bremmer's interviews from the public television show, but today we're bringing you something a little different. Ian just returned from Tokyo, Japan where he delivered his annual State of the World address to packed audience of diplomats, business leaders, and opinion makers from around the world.Each year, this speech is a chance to take stock of where things stand geopolitically, and today the picture is more uncertain than ever. We’re not just facing new conflicts and crises. We’re facing a deeper transformation of the gl...

Can we align AI with society’s best interests? Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss the risks to humanity and society as tech firms ignore safety and prioritize speed in the race to build more and more powerful AI models. AI is the most powerful technology humanity has ever built. It can cure disease, reinvent education, unlock scientific discovery. But there is a danger to rolling out new technologies en masse to society without understanding the possible risks. The tradeoff between AI’s risks and potential rewa...

Public disgust with Washington is growing as the government shutdown continues, with both Democrats and Republicans seemingly unwilling to compromise. Is the American political system broken beyond repair? Former GOP fundraiser and chief of staff for Mitch McConnell, Steven Law, joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss the state of America’s political parties ahead of a pivotal midterm election year.While Congress seems more polarized and divided than ever, Law believes that the American public writ large wants leaders who are constructive and unifying, even as they’re prosecuting a strong agenda. But exac...

Investing in health and science research isn’t just about curing diseases. It has huge impacts across society, from creating jobs to driving economic growth to boosting national competitiveness. Study shows that every $ invested in the life sciences industry generates $3 in GDP globally, whereas every job created in the life sciences industry generates five in the global economy. Life sciences are one of the most powerful engines of prosperity, yet many governments still underestimate their economic return.In this episode of The Ripple Effect: Investing in Life Sciences, host Dan Riskin speaks with Patrick Horber, President of Nov...

Militarily, Israel is dominant. Diplomatically, it’s more isolated than ever.This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his fourth trip to the White House since President Trump returned to office, standing beside him to unveil what Trump called a “landmark” Gaza peace proposal. But behind the bold language is a growing distance between Israel and the world. Gaza has been devastated, Hamas is on its heels, and yet, the cost to Israel’s global standing continues to rise.Former US diplomat and Middle East peace negotiator Aaron David Miller joins Ian to unpack the unco...

Imagine an economy where products are designed to be reused, repaired, and regenerated instead of ending up as waste. That’s the circular economy, a model that redefines recycling and transforms how small businesses operate.In this episode of Local to Global: The power of small business, host JJ Ramberg sits down with Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mastercard, and Rachel McShane, Chief Financial Officer at Depop, to discuss the scale of the circular economy, why circular practices boost both sustainability and profitability, and where the industry is headed next.From Depop’s sustainable fash...

The war in Ukraine has entered a dangerous new phase, with Russia sending bigger, more powerful drone attacks across the border nearly every day. Gone are the tanks, columns of troops, and heavy artillery from the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Now, tens of thousands of drones swarm Ukraine’s skies at any given moment. Christopher Miller, chief Ukraine correspondent at the Financial Times, joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss the war’s evolution from a conventional land invasion into a high-tech war of attrition dominated by drones. Artificial intelligence, drones, all types of unm...

Wars are raging, tensions are rising, and trust in global institutions is collapsing. From Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan, the world is on fire—and the one institution meant to keep the peace is facing a historic financial crisis.On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres about the UN’s role in an era of war, division, and dwindling support. With the US cutting funding and other major powers following suit, the UN is preparing to slash its budget by 15%—even as demand for peacekeeping and aid hits record highs.<...