Episodes
As the World Economic Forum convenes the 'Annual Meeting of the New Champions' in China, this expert helps us better understand how the Asian powerhouse sees its place in the world. With Markus Herrmann, the Swiss-Chinese co-founder of the China Macro Group consultancy. Links: Annual Meeting of the New Champions - Next Frontiers for Growth, 25–27 June 2024: wef.ch/amnc24 Centre for Regions, Trade and Geopolitics: https://centres.weforum.org/centre-for-regions-trade-and-geopolitics/ ...
Published 06/20/24
Published 06/20/24
The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment). It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps over time since its inception in 2006. Forum Managing Director Saadia Zahidi talks us through the main finding of the Global Gender Gap Report...
Published 06/18/24
Climate 'tipping points' are the dangerous phenomena that could suddenly make climate change even worse than it is already: melting ice sheets that could change ocean currents, thawing permafrost that releases vast amounts of methane, or rainforests turning into dry savannah - events that could completely destabilise the global environment and would be hard or impossible to reverse. But, according to a growing number of climate scientists, there is also the prospect of ‘positive tipping...
Published 06/06/24
Artificial intelligence has the potential to massively improve human health: from developing new drugs to providing more accurate diagnoses and helping people who live with severe disabilities. But AI also has the potential, if used wrongly or governed badly, to make life worse for people dealing with health problems. In this episode, we hear from people on the front lines of the technology. Speakers: Victor Pineda, president and founder of the Victor Pineda Foundation/World ENABLED ...
Published 05/29/24
With the pandemic well behind us, international travel has bounced back. The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index, a major survey of the state of the sector, gives a clear picture of how things look around the world. Maksim Soshkim, who leads much of the Forum’s work on the issue tells us the headlines, and Jacqueline Gifford, Editor-in-Chief of Travel + Leisure magazine, gives her take on the state of the travel scene. One of the key areas the TTDI looks at is...
Published 05/21/24
The Netflix documentary 'The Tinder Swindler' is a mind-boggling case of so-called 'romance fraud' in which a charming, handsome - and apparently very rich - man meets women on a dating app - gets them to fall in love with him - and then cons them out of lots of money. Cecilie Fjellhøy is the Norwegian woman at the centre of the documentary whose life was torn apart by the actions of a conman. A survivor of romance fraud on a grand scale, she now advocates for the rights of, and support for,...
Published 05/16/24
'Spatial computing', 'blended reality', 'the metaverse'. For those of us who still use screens and keyboards to access the digital world, those phrases might not mean very much. But many experts believe the '2D' internet will soon be a thing of the past, and we will all be, one way or another, in a 3D metaverse. With Apple's Vision Pro headset renewing interest in virtual reality, we speak to two proponents of the metaverse who see both huge opportunities and significant risks. Guests:...
Published 05/09/24
Mining is an industry that many of us probably rarely think about, but one that provides the raw materials for so many of the things we use, not least the modern technologies such as smart phones and electric vehicles that require certain minerals that are not always in abundant supply. The International Energy Agency predicts that the demand for minerals will double by 2040. So how can we meet that demand in the most energy efficient and sustainable way? UpLink, the open innovation...
Published 04/29/24
What are the new technologies that can help us reach net zero? And how do we bring them to scale fast enough? World Economic Forum Managing Director Jeremy Jurgens joins us to talk about the Advanced Energy Solutions community, and we hear from three of its members, from widely different sectors and geographies, implementing the energy solutions of tomorrow. Guests: Ann Mettler, Vice President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy VK Samudrala, President, Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Maarten...
Published 04/25/24
In a polarised world, with the most powerful nations and the UN unable to prevent or end many wars, could the so-called 'middle powers' step up? This week's two guests, both members of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Geopolitics, think so, and say those countries might even consider setting up an 'M-10' of middle powers seeking to resolve conflicts and other problems. This podcast is published ahead of the World Economic Forum's Special Meeting on Global Collaboration,...
Published 04/18/24
“Climate Capitalism is an antidote to the dominant narrative that because we’ve ignored the climate crisis for so long, it will soon be too late. While it’s true that we’ve not done enough yet, we’re nowhere close to being too late.” So says Akshat Rathi, Bloomberg’s senior climate reporter and host of the podcast Zero, in his new book Climate Capitalism, which looks at ways business and industry and finance can make, and in some cases are making, real progress on climate change. Mentioned...
Published 04/09/24
For half a century, Nile Rodgers has been making hit records that have touched people's hearts around the world. The creative force behind disco pioneers Chic, and some of the best known songs of David Bowie, Madonna and Beyoncé, tells us the definition of an artist: someone whose work "speaks to the souls of a million strangers". But what if generative AI can make music that's just as good? Is AI a threat or a blessing to art and human expression? We also hear from the head of the...
Published 04/04/24
Theatre director Jude Kelly founded the Women of the World (WOW) Festival almost two decades ago to spur conversations about women, men and feminism. WOW is now a global phenomenon, but does the rise of online misogyny pose a threat to progress on gender equality. Jude Kelly, who spoke to Radio Davos on World Women's Day 2024, says why it is vital to include men in the conversations about an issue that affects us all. Links: WOW Foundation: https://thewowfoundation.com/ Gender Gap Report:...
Published 03/28/24
A year ago in Davos, energy - particularly the disruption to supply and prices caused by the war in Ukraine - was a top issue at the Forum's Annual Meeting and on Radio Davos we invited two experts in to set out the top lines of the energy discussion. Roberto Bocca, who heads up energy at the World Economic Forum, and John Defterios, a business professor and former CNN journalist, return this year, as war is an even bigger issue. They also discuss the 'energy transition', especially how that...
Published 03/21/24
What's in store for 2024? Ian Bremmer's political risk consultancy predicts an 'annus horribilis' but Exponential View's Azeem Azhar says we are in an 'incredible decade'. So is the state of the world 'glass half empty, or half full'? And in an uncertain world, Oxford University's Rachel Botsman, tells why trust is so vital, and how it can be re-built, or rather, re-earned. Guests: Ian Bremmer: https://www.eurasiagroup.net/people/IBremmer Rachel Botsman: https://rachelbotsman.com/ Azeem...
Published 03/14/24
The UNHCR, cares for 114 million refugees and displaced people worldwide. Filippo Grandi, the head of the United Nations refugee agency, says that number could double in a decade if the world cannot find ways to stop war. Mentioned in this episode: Refugee Employment Alliance: https://www.weforum.org/projects/the-refugee-employment-and-employability-initiative/ Read more: From fleeing war to finding work: companies aim to help refugees find jobs Catch up on all the action from Davos at ...
Published 03/07/24
If 2023 was the year we all got familiar with generative AI, is 2024 the year when governments will act on the governance of this powerful technology? At Davos 2024 we spoke to these experts, from the industry and civil society: Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO, Center for Democracy & Technology Aidan Gomez, Co-founder and CEO of Cohere Anna Makanju, Vice President of Global Affairs, OpenAI Catch up on all the action from Davos at wef.ch/wef24 and across social media using the hashtag...
Published 02/29/24
Technology is revolutionizing global commerce and investment, and digitalizing the trade ecosystem holds the potential to increase trade by nearly $9 trillion by 2026 within the G7 alone. On the eve of the World Trade Organisation's 13th Ministerial Conference, MC13 (26-29 February, 2024) in Abu Dhabi, we speak to the event's host, UAE Minister of State for Trade Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi about MC13 and the TradeTech initiative that the UAE is pursuing with the World Economic Forum. We also...
Published 02/20/24
"This is going to be the most transformational moment, not just in technology, but in culture and politics of all of our lifetimes." Three AI pioneers, all of them in Time's Top-100 most influential people in AI, share their views on the past, present and future of this transformational technology. Guests: Aidan Gomez, Co-Founder and CEO, Cohere Mustafa Suleyman, Co-Founder and CEO, Inflection AI Yann LeCun, Chief AI Scientist, Meta World Economic Forum's AI Governance...
Published 02/15/24
In an episode recorded before the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, we hear from two private-sector companies involved in the distribution of food, about how they manage to operate in a war zone like Yemen, which has been in a state of civil war since 2015. Guests: Mohamed Nabil Hayel Saeed, Senior Strategic Advisor, HSA Niels Hougaard, Managing Director, Tetra Pak Arabia Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: YouTube: - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts Radio Davos...
Published 02/08/24
What do social media content creators make of Davos? We speak to three YouTubers - with a collective audience in the millions - who were given full access to the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2024 to ask who they met and what stories they would be telling. Featuring: Jacob Beautemps, @BreakingLab Adanna Steinacker, @houseofadanna Gohar Khan, @goharsguide Catch up on all the action from Davos at wef.ch/wef24 and across social media using the hashtag #WEF24. Check out all our...
Published 02/01/24
The World Economic Forum just held its Annual Meeting - but what impact will it have on the world beyond Davos? The people who lead the Forum's work throughout the year tackling the world's most important issues pick the highlights of the week that show how Davos 2024 will make a positive impact. And we hear clips from some of the most impactful discussions from the Congress Centre. Davos 2024 sessions featured in this episode: Opening Concert Technology in a Turbulent World Climate...
Published 01/25/24
What's Dwight from The Office doing in the metaverse? Actor Rainn Wilson joins us, in avatar form, to check out a virtual world created by the World Economic Forum that aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on the Arctic and the rest of the world. We also hear from Gail Whiteman, Professor of Sustainability at the University of Exeter Business School, and Executive Director of Arctic Basecamp on her hopes for action to stop the Earth reaching disastrous tipping points. And...
Published 01/15/24
As leading figures from government, business, academia and civil society head to Davos for the Annual Meeting 2024, what are the big global challenges they will be discussing? The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report sets out the biggest issues over the short and medium terms, based on a survey of more than 1,400 global risks experts, policy-makers and industry leaders. This year, the impact of artificial intelligence is felt throughout the report, with rising concern about...
Published 01/10/24