One of the biggest names in music talks about AI and human soul. The victim of the 'Tinder Swindler' highlights a multi-billion dollar cyber crime. And leaders from business and civil society share life-changing advice. In 2024, some of the brightest minds spoke to the World Economic Forum's podcasts Radio Davos and Meet the Leader. In this 'Best O…

UN negotiations that were supposed to produce global rules on plastics have stalled, with no agreement on the scope of the treaty seen as vital to curb ocean pollution and other problems. Clemence Schmid, director of the Global Plastics Action Partnership at the World Economic Forum, gives her readout from the "INC-5" in Busan, South Korean, and sa…

Space is back! No longer the reserve of a couple of superpowers, an increasing number of countries are getting involved, and the private sector is playing a greater role than ever. On this episode, NASA Chief Economist Alexander MacDonald talks about plans to return to the Moon, and Pascale Ehrenfreund, president of the Committee on Space Research,…

What are 'elastocalorics' or 'reconfigurable intelligent surfaces'? In a few years' time these emerging technologies may have transformed the way we heat and cool our homes, and how we transmit ever greater amounts of data. They are among the technological innovations identified in the World Economic Forum's annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies repo…

Wars, trade tensions and elections around the world are testing humanity's ability to tackle climate change. Two experts from the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on the Future of Geopolitics look at the diplomacy and real-world reality of climate change politics and economics, with a particular focus on the global South. This episode i…

"The global economy - it's a complicated picture, in the sense that it's doing better than we expected just six months ago but it's doing much worse than what it was doing six years ago." World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill gives his assessment of the 'glass half-full' global economy. And as the World Economic Forum publishes the latest editio…

A new, critically acclaimed documentary follows the fortunes of online investors, including one who made - and lost - $3 million in cryptocurrency. The director of This Is Not Financial Advice hopes his movie will help people understand the risks and potential benefits of investing, and how they can educate themselves. Co-host: Meagan Andrews, Lead…

As investors pour money into companies developing or deploying artificial intelligence, what are the steps they should be taking to ensure that AI is safe and responsible? The Responsible AI Playbook for Investors published by the World Economic Forum and pension fund CPP Investments, sets out real-world examples of how investors can - and must - u…

How can cities - with ever growing populations - tackle air deadly pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Breathe Cities is a global network of cities sharing data, expertise and experience to do just that. Guest: Jaime Pumarejo, Executive Director of Breathe Cities. Links: Breathe Cities: https://breathecities.org/ GAEA - Giving to Amplify…

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 …

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 …

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 Exet…

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 gener…

Going green - in energy, agriculture, industry and elsewhere - will have costs and benefits, so how can we ensure the poorest don't pay the price or miss out on the opportunities? A new report from the World Economic Forum has defined six 'archetype' countries and looks at the differing challenges across the globe, and what policymakers need to kno…

Incubated at the World Economic Forum, the Global Impact Coalition (GIC) is an organisation that pools the resources of major chemicals companies to develop ways of making their industry more sustainable. We hear from Charlie Tan, CEO of the GIC, and from two technical experts at the GIC's Research and Development Hub at Netherlands-based research …

As populists are on the rise in many countries, how should the moderates respond? We hear from Yair Zivan, the author of a new book called "The Centre Must Hold", who argues that centrism is more than just the mid-point between two extremes, and can be a radical force for good. Links: “The Centre Must Hold: Why Centrism is the Answer to Extremism a…

Climate change is an extremely serious issue, but can comedy help us cope with - and communicate about - it? We hear from the University of Colorado, Boulder where students can take a course in ‘climate comedy’ that ends in them performing on stage in a comedy club. And we unpack the power of cartoons from the World Economic Forum’s climate ‘cartoo…

What’s the health condition that affects us all, but is often seen as an add-on for healthcare - and how much is this neglect costing the economy? Oral diseases affect half the world's population and, according to a new report, have knock-on costs to the economy worth $710 billion every year. Marko Vujicic of the American Dental Association joins u…

Deglobalization, reglobalization, decoupling, de-risking, reshoring friend-shoring, export bans, tariffs and sanctions - is global trade going into reverse, or simply into a new phase? As the World Economic Forum hosts the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China, we ask an expert about the state of global trade and where it might be heading. G…

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 J…

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…

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 woul…

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 …

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…

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 l…

'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 rene…

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 m…

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…

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 …

“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 Capi…

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 gener…

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 …

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 pro…

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-bu…

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-employabilit…

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, Vi…

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 …

"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 Mu…

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, Ma…

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…

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 di…

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 Ex…

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-…

Radio Davos is a podcast that is as wide-ranging and thought-provoking as the work of the World Economic Forum itself. Rather than being restricted to any one topic, each week it focuses on a particular issue of global importance, such as macro-economics, the environment, technology, health, social inequalities and much more - always seeking soluti…

As 2023 draws to a close and the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting approaches, we look at an issue that will be on everyone’s lips in Davos: artificial intelligence. Cathy Li, head of AI at the Forum tells us about the work of the AI Governance Alliance, which has brought stakeholders together to seek the best way for humans to oversee the rapi…

If you’re a ‘digital native’ - someone who can’t remember a world before the internet - you might feel you have a good idea of the role technology will play in your life and perhaps in that of future generations. But journalism professor Jeff Jarvis, author of a history of another transformative technology from more than five centuries ago - the pr…

Plastics pollution is a very visible, global environmental and health challenge, and last year the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) launched a process to draft a global treaty aimed at solving the problem. Earlier this week, delegations from all over the world met in Nairobi to work on the first full draft of a treaty that could set bindi…

When Professor Tom Crowther published research into the massive potential of trees to absorb more carbon than previously thought, he helped spur the Trillion Trees movement to plant, restore and conserve forests. But it also caused massive debate. As he publishes updated research, Crowther tells Radio Davos that growing trees must increase biodiver…

The concept of 'value based health care' - where patient outcomes are monitored and health care services are funded on the basis of the quality of care, rather than the quantity of procedures - has been around for a couple of decades, but has yet to become the norm. This podcast explores the potential benefits of a shift from 'volume' to 'value', t…

This week we’re celebrating 100 episodes of our sister podcast Meet the Leader. Every week, Linda Lacina interviews leaders - of major companies, organisations, or what we might call ‘thought leaders' in the fields of academia or campaign groups. If you want to know what makes these individuals tick, and what lessons we might learn from their exper…