World Review from the New Statesman24 Nov 2022

What’s the cost of Qatar’s World Cup?

The Qatar World Cup, which began on Sunday 20 November, has been marred in controversy, from the country’s oppression of LGBT+ people and women to a last-minute decision to ban sales of beer inside stadiums. Thousands of migrant workers are believed to have died during construction of the stadiums, and others employed as security guards appear to be paid as little as 35p an hour. Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa, who is paid about £2.6m this year, defended the tournament in a rant in which he said he feels “like a migrant worker”.

Ido Vock in Berlin, Megan Gibson in London and Katie Stallard in Washignton DC discuss Fifa’s defence and the attempt by some politicians to “keep politics out of sport”, how individual teams have and have not shown real moral courage, and the power of sport to affect political change.

Next, Megan reports on her trip to Brussels, where she interviewed Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-general. The team discuss his unwavering support for Ukraine, the prospect for negotiations and the state of the Western alliance.

Then, in You Ask Us, a listener asks what role the Wagner Group plays in Russia’s war effort.

If you have a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskus

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer: visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to learn more

Read more:

Katie on what the World Cup tells us about power.

Megan on why Iran’s brave act of defiance puts England to shame.

Megan interviews Jens Stoltenberg.

Katie asks if Volodymyr Zelenksy is losing the support of the West in Ukraine.

Ido on the brutal methods of Russia’s Wagner group.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(294)

Losing Gaza

“We cannot know what sort of human beings will emerge from this.” Following Hamas’s deadly attack on 7 October 2023, Israel’s military response has been described as “inevitable”. Eleven months on, th...

9 Sep 202441min

Susan Neiman: "It's not about being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, but pro-human rights"

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has now passed the 100 day mark. On the 14 January Alona Ferber attended the Jewish Labour Movement conference, which happened to take place on the 100th day o...

22 Jan 202416min

How will elections shape the world in 2024?

In 2024 countries with more than 4 billion people will be sending their citizens to the polls. The US, Russia, and India to name a few; this is set to be the biggest election year in history. In this ...

8 Jan 202428min

What does it mean to be Jewish and on the left today?

Earlier this month we published a magazine with the cover ‘Being Jewish Now’. At this time of crisis in the Middle East, with divisions over the Gaza war and rising anti-Semitism, we asked a group of ...

16 Des 202358min

Iran's interest in Israel, with former ambassador John Jenkins

Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah – all of whom operate out of Beirut’s southern suburbs – have coordinated their positions in various ways for years in pursuit of what they see as the greater good.John Jenki...

18 Nov 202328min

NEW: Will the Israel Gaza war spread to the wider Middle East?

**NEW EPISODE**As Israel prepares a ground attack on Gaza, Katie Stallard is joined by Alona Ferber and Professor Lina Khatib to explore the wider geo-political situation in the Middle East - includin...

17 Okt 202327min

A message to World Review listeners

Listen to Katie Stallard and Megan Gibson's discussion on Russia's war on the future here: https://shows.acast.com/newstatesman/episodes/russias-war-on-the-future-conversation Download the app:iOS: ht...

21 Aug 20231min

World Review is on hiatus

We won't be releasing regular World Review episodes any more. Interviews about the biggest foreign affairs stories will now be included as part of a rotation of interviews on the New Statesman podcast...

8 Jun 202346s