The World as We Hear it

FP’s podcasts covered a lot of ground this year. But one topic we kept coming back to was war: in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere. That is no coincidence. The number of armed conflicts roiling countries around the world in recent years is higher than it has been in decades. Covering these long-running wars poses particular challenges. How do you get at the truth when local journalists are targeted and foreign media is banned—as is the case in Gaza? And how do you convey the urgency of a war like the one in Ukraine, which will soon enter its third year?

On our flagship podcast, Foreign Policy Live, we tracked the ebb and flow of these wars through interviews with analysts and officials. But in other shows, we tackled deeper questions about conflict. We devoted Season 4 of The Negotiators to the war in Afghanistan and a question that still haunts U.S. policymakers: How did mediators fail for 20 years to clinch a genuine peace agreement and stabilize Kabul? Another show we produced, with the help of our news team, looked back at the 1994 Rwandan genocide—and traced the story and a national hero who became a jailed dissident.

As the year comes to an end, we asked our podcast producers at Foreign Policy which episodes they loved most. Here is their list.

1. The Trap

After Hotel Rwanda, Part 1

If you saw the movie Hotel Rwanda, you know the first part of this story. Paul Rusesabagina was a hotel manager in Kigali during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He saved hundreds of people by sheltering them in his hotel and keeping gunmen out. That’s where the Hollywood version ends. But in the years that followed, Rusesabagina became a Rwandan exile and a sharp critic of the Paul Kagame regime. In 2020, he was lured from his home in Texas and imprisoned in Kigali. Rusesabagina describes the ordeal in this first episode of the podcast.

2. Secret Talks

The Negotiators, Season 4, Episode 2

The United States conducted quiet talks with the Taliban off and on during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, hoping to reach an agreement that would bring stability to Kabul. But the negotiations stumbled over matters large and small. In this episode, former BBC reporter Andrew North, who covered the war for years, describes the conundrum that U.S. President Barack Obama faced during his tenure. Wanting to negotiate from a position of strength, Obama approved a troop surge. But once the U.S. military position improved, the incentive for negotiations seemed to decline.

3. Can Reality TV Get More Women Into Political Office?

The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, Season 5, Episode  1

Over seven seasons, this FP podcast has covered the challenges African women face both inside and outside the home. On this episode, we hear from a contestant on a reality TV show in Kenya, where women compete on leadership skills for the prize of being deemed most fit to serve as the country’s president. Her story points to changes underway for women in Kenya—but also to the ways some gender-related problems are systemic.

4. Should Israel and the United States Attack Iran’s Nuclear Program Now?

Counterpoint, Season 1, Episode 2

The cascade of dramatic events in the Middle East since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, includes major wars in Gaza and Lebanon, a collapsed regime in Syria, and a significant weakening of Iran. Now, analysts are wondering whether Israel and the United States will seize the opportunity to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites. On FP’s new debate show, Counterpoint, one expert makes the case for a military assault—while another warns of disastrous consequences.

5. Tensions With Marine Protected Areas

The Catch, Season 4, Episode 4

The Catch focuses on fishing communities around the world that face environmental shifts and are sometimes struggling to adapt. On this episode, we hear from a reporter in South Africa about tensions between local communities and environmentalists over plans to expand designated marine protected areas. The expansion would theoretically help increase fishing stocks, but local fishers are skeptical.