How the US is Justifying the Iran War to the UN

Stopping Ebola Requires Multilateralism. America’s Retreat Is Making That Harder

An Ebola outbreak is spiraling in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — and one of the clearest lessons from past outbreaks is that Ebola requires multilateralism: countries working together through existing institutions like the United Nations and the World Health Organization to contain the disease, support frontline health workers, share information, and prevent cross-border spread. But the Trump administration’s retreat from the global health architecture built for precisely this kind of emergency has made that task harder. In this episode of To Save Us From Hell, Mark Leon Goldberg and Anjali Dayal discuss how American attacks on the WHO and other key nodes of our global defenses against disease outbreaks have made this particular Ebola outbreak more difficult to contain than it ought to be. Later in the show, they discuss the newest entrant in the race for UN Secretary-General — and whether we can expect more candidates to throw their hats in the ring. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globaldispatches.org/subscribe [https://www.globaldispatches.org/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Inside the Flawed Push at the Security Council to Reopen Hormuz

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org [https://www.globaldispatches.org?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] The Security Council is weighing yet another U.S.-backed resolution on the Strait of Hormuz that is probably doomed from the start. In this first segment, Anjali and Mark explain the flawed logic behind this latest effort to return the Strait to its status quo ante bellum. Then, Mark discusses what he learned covering the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treat…

Let the Race for UN Secretary General Begin!

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the four candidates for UN Secretary-General made their case at the UN General Assembly. Across twelve hours spanning two days, they took questions from UN member states and civil society groups eager to learn more about their priorities, proclivities, and leadership styles should they become the next UN Secretary-General on January 1, 2027. It was a marathon — and my To Save Us From Hell co-host Anjali Dayal and I watched it all! In today’s episode, we tell you what we learned. To kick things off, we explain how the process for selecting a UN Secretary-General works — and how these hearings fit into it. We then break down what we heard from each of the candidates: Michelle Bachelet, Rafael Grossi, Rebeca Grynspan, and Macky Sall, bringing you the key highlights and takeaways. Consider this your curtain-raiser for a year of public campaigning and backroom dealmaking that will result in the selection of the next UN Secretary-General in the coming months. This episode is free for all and can also be found later today on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/global-dispatches-world-news-that-matters/id593535863], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7i8AYUeJqhBSHCYLqlzA8C], and wherever you listen. The selection of the next Secretary General is a major story in international diplomacy and I plan on covering it to the finish line — whenever that may be (but hopefully before January 1!) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globaldispatches.org/subscribe [https://www.globaldispatches.org/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The UN Has a Plan to Open Hormuz (Two of Them, Actually.)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org [https://www.globaldispatches.org?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] The war in the Middle East has claimed its first UN casualties: three Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon were killed in under 24 hours. With Israel intent on occupying the same part of southern Lebanon that UN peacekeepers are meant to patrol, can the peacekeeping mission even continue? Meanwhile, in New York, a Secretary-General-led diplomatic effort t…

How the US is Justifying the Iran War to the UN

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org [https://www.globaldispatches.org?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] One of the fundamental precepts of the United Nations Charter is that waging war against another UN member state is simply not permitted. It’s illegal. There are, however, some narrow exceptions — and here the United States is playing a game of legal legerdemain. In the first segment of our show, we break down the formal legal justification the Trump administration invoked at the United Nations to defend its bombing campaign against Iran. Does it hold up? And more importantly, how do other countries view this retroactive justification for America and Israel’s war of choice? We also discuss a potential UN diplomatic intervention in the Strait of Hormuz that is gaining some traction, modeled on one of the UN’s successes during the Russia-Ukraine war. After the fold, and for paying subscribers, we examine why the United States is standing virtually alone at the Commission on the Status of Women, casting lone “no” votes on a host of measures intended to promote gender equality. Finally, we discuss the newest entrant in the race to replace António Guterres as secretary-general, Virginia Gamba, and how her nomination may shake up the race. https://www.globaldispatches.org/40PercentOff [https://www.globaldispatches.org/40PercentOff]