Around the World with Dhruva Jaishankar and Rachel Rizzo

S2 Ep. 16 - Iran-U.S. MoU, Starmer Resigns, India-U.S. Ties

In this week’s episode of Around the World, hosts Dhruva Jaishankar and Rachel Rizzo unpack the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the Trump administration and Iran, examining what it signals for U.S.-Iran negotiations, regional dynamics, and the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. They also discuss the political upheaval in the United Kingdom following PM Keir Starmer’s resignation, exploring the economic, political, and structural forces behind Britain’s latest leadership crisis. Finally, drawing on their participation in last week’s India-U.S. Forum in New Delhi, they reflect on the state of the U.S.-India partnership and its areas of growing cooperation as well as the challenges that continue to shape the bilateral relationship. Image: Vincent Wei, via Pexels [https://www.pexels.com/photo/street-in-united-kingdom-8332179/]

S2 Ep. 15 - AI Breakthroughs, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown

In this week’s episode of Around the World, hosts Dhruva Jaishankar and Rachel Rizzo discuss ongoing developments in the Middle East conflict, focusing on recent military escalations, ceasefire efforts, and the broader economic and political implications of the conflict for the United States, Europe, and the Global South. They also examine the growing geopolitical significance of artificial intelligence, highlighting how frontier AI systems are reshaping national security and economic competitiveness, while raising questions about international cooperation and the challenge of governing rapidly advancing technologies. Image: dee karen, via Shutterstock [https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ai-concept-controlling-technology-tools-artificial-2578648931]

S2 Ep. 14 - Ebola Outbreak, Rubio at Quad and NATO, India-Africa Ties

In this week’s episode of Around the World, Veda Vaidyanathan, Fellow in Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, joins hosts Dhruva Jaishankar and Rachel Rizzo to break down the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda — highlighting its implications for health governance and evolving India-Africa ties, as well as the recent cancellation of the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit. The hosts also recap U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trips to Europe and India, assessing the outcomes of the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting and key developments in U.S.-India relations. Image: © European Union, 2026, CC BY 4.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0], via Wikimedia Commons [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P056106-58554.jpg]

S2 Ep. 13 - Trump-Xi Summit in China, Europe’s Security Dilemmas

In this week’s episode of Around the World, hosts Dhruva Jaishankar and Rachel Rizzo unpack the high-stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, outlining what each side is hoping to secure amid rising tensions over tariffs, critical minerals, Taiwan, and the conflict in Iran. The episode then turns to Europe’s mounting security dilemmas, from the future of NATO to the growing push for a more self-sufficient European defense strategy. Image: The White House, Public Domain, via WhiteHouse.gov [https://www.whitehouse.gov/gallery/president-donald-trump-participates-in-a-bilateral-meeting-with-chinese-president-xi-jinping/]

S2 Ep. 12 - Africa’s Economic Opportunities, EU Aid to Ukraine

In this week’s episode of Around the World, Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, President and CEO of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), joins hosts Dhruva Jaishankar and Rachel Rizzo to discuss Africa’s shifting economic landscape, from declining global aid and greater domestic resource mobilization to expanding opportunities with non-traditional partners. They also recap recent developments in Ukraine, including the European Union’s latest aid package and what it signals for the trajectory of the war with Russia. Image: Divaris Shirichena, via Unsplash [https://unsplash.com/photos/lettuce-grows-in-rows-on-a-beautiful-farm-xZqfw-VXnYE]