GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

While the world’s attention has focused on the Strait of Hormuz and the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran, another potentially transformative front has opened in Lebanon. Israeli attacks against the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah have left more than 4,000 people dead and displaced over a million. Now, a fragile ceasefire has raised a question diplomats have struggled with for decades: Can Hezbollah actually be disarmed? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks with Lebanese-born journalist and Middle East expert Kim Ghattas about Iran’s shrinking regional influence, Israel’s possible plans for a long-term buffer...

For more than four years, Russia has wagered that it can outlast Ukraine. The Kremlin has more troops, more resources, and a greater tolerance for casualties, betting that Kyiv—and its Western allies—will eventually lose the will to keep fighting. But that assumption is being tested. Ukraine is carrying out increasingly sophisticated strikes deep inside Russian territory, forcing Moscow to defend military bases, energy infrastructure, and even symbolic strongholds like Crimea. At the same time, NATO support has strengthened, Europe is expanding its defense cooperation with Kyiv, and President Donald Trump has struck a noticeably warmer tone...

Iran’s government emerged from the war with a powerful new story to tell: it withstood attacks from the United States and Israel, kept its grip on power, and gained fresh leverage in the region. But that is not how the conflict looks from inside the country. For ordinary Iranians, the conflict has brought more fear, deeper economic pain, and little sign that the political change many hoped for is any closer. The protest movement that shook the country has been pushed underground by a brutal crackdown, while the government uses internet restrictions to make it harder fo...

America turns 250 at a time when even celebrating the country can feel political. In the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with comedian and political commentator Bill Maher to discuss patriotism, polarization, and the arguments Americans are having over what their country represents. Maher argues that patriotism should not belong to US President Donald Trump or any one political party. Americans can confront the country’s failures, he says, without losing sight of the ideals and institutions that have helped drive progress: the rule of law, civil rights, scientific inquiry, and a sy...

What can Democrats learn from winning in America's ultimate swing state? On the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to discuss the future of the Democratic Party, the growing crisis of trust in American institutions, and the biggest challenges facing the country at home and abroad. The conversation spans a wide range of issues: the future of North American trade and USMCA, the economic impact of tariffs, the war in Iran, changing US policy toward Israel, and the challenge of regulating artificial intelligence without stifling innovation. Shapiro...

The World Cup descends on North America this week, bringing with it billions of viewers, billions of dollars, and no shortage of political controversy. But according World Cup Fever author Simon Kuper, none of that is new - the tournament has always reflected the world around it. On GZERO World, Kuper and Ian Bremmer discuss how national teams have become flashpoints in debates over immigration and identity, why FIFA remains one of the world's most powerful and least accountable organizations, how Iran's World Cup campaign could become a geopolitical spectacle, and what the tournament reveals about nationalism...

From birthright citizenship to the independence of federal agencies, the Supreme Court is poised to decide a series of cases that could redefine the balance of power in Washington. Yale legal scholar and New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer to assess what's at stake and whether the judiciary remains an effective check on presidential authority. Bazelon argues that Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship is unlikely to succeed, but says other pending cases involving the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission could significantly expand presidential control over agencies that Congress intentionally...

Operation Epic Fury may be over, but the Iran war is far from resolved. On this week's episode, American Enterprise Institute Kori Schake joins Ian Bremmer to discuss the conflict's global ripple effects.  With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to commercial shipping, the US finds itself in what Schake calls a Mexican standoff, unable to force Iran's hand without dramatic escalation, and unwilling to accept the humiliation of ceding control of one of the world's most critical waterways. Meanwhile, Washington's two biggest rivals are gaining ground. Russia is cashing in on higher oil prices at a m...

Ian Bremmer's guest this week is author and Bloomberg defense tech reporter Katrina Manson, who spent years reporting on Project Maven for her new book on the Pentagon's AI push. The program launched in 2017 with a narrow mandate: use machine learning to process drone footage. It has since expanded into something far more ambitious. Autonomous weapons, drone swarming technology, and AI-assisted targeting are now central to how the Pentagon talks about modern warfare. The tech rollout is fast, but not reliable. Algorithms fail when the battlefield changes. The targeting process is accelerating to the point...

Historian Michael Bustamante joins Ian Bremmer to discuss Cuba's economic freefall, Trump's end game, and the hopes of Cuban Americans. This week, Ian Bremmer sits down with University of Miami historian and Cuba expert Michael Bustamante to make sense of the US-Cuba standoff. Cuba is in its worst crisis in 30 years, with basic necessities like fuel, water and food in short supply. Between one and two million Cubans have left in the past five years, the largest exodus in the island's history. And the opposition is too weak, too scattered, and too decimated by exile...

North Korea has nuclear weapons, a succession plan hiding in plain sight, and a personality cult that has outlasted Stalin's and Mao's combined. Wall Street Journal's Beijing bureau chief Jonathan Cheng argues the world keeps misreading Pyongyang because it insists on reducing it to an authoritarian state. North Korea is also a religious society, built on a divine rule centered on a "god-king", Cheng argues. Kim Jong Un, third generation leader of the Kim dynasty was able to consolidate his power while developping the nuclear arsenal his father had succesfully created. Now, with the Iran...

Rising energy prices, higher inflation, and growing economic uncertainty — a Harvard economist says the fallout from the Iran war is already being felt. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Harvard economist and former IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to unpack how the conflict is rippling through the global economy. As oil and gas prices surge, inflation is climbing, adding new costs for households and businesses and putting pressure on growth worldwide. Gopinath explains that while the immediate hit to global growth may seem modest, the bigger concern is longer-term “structural dama...

Ian Bremmer sits down with Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and political scientist, to discuss Hungary's consequential upcoming election and what it means for the far right globally. For sixteen years, Viktor Orbán has dominated Hungarian politics, rewriting rules, consolidating power, and positioning himself as Europe's leading nationalist and Donald Trump's closest ally on the continent. But with parliamentary elections approaching on April 12th, his aura of invincibility is finally cracking. Opposition candidate Péter Magyar, a conservative former Orbán insider, is polling ahead by double digits, and the Trump administration is...

Ian Bremmer and Rahm Emanuel discuss the deepening conflict in the Middle East, US foreign policy under Trump, and the upcoming midterms. Rahm Emanuel argues that this is a war of choice, one President Trump made himself, not one driven by external pressures like Israel’s influence. While the Prime Minister of Israel has long pushed for military action, Emanuel stresses that the responsibility for war ultimately lies with the US president, not foreign actors. He also highlights how America’s fractured political system has complicated decision-making, making it harder for the US to act with a unif...

Ian Bremmer sits down with Thomas Wright, Brookings Institution fellow and former Senior Director at the US National Security Council, to unpack the deepening war in Iran and the divergent strategies shaping it. What are the possible outcomes for the widening conflict in Iran? What began as a dramatic opening strike has evolved into a far more complex war, with Washington, Jerusalem, and Tehran all pursuing different aims. Wright argues this isn’t simply about degrading military capability; it’s about competing endgames that may pull the region in unpredictable directions. As Wright explains, the Unit...

While Washington has become more hostile to globalization, Americans continue to buy foreign goods in record numbers. Lincicome notes that economic nationalism is “about an inch deep,” with support collapsing when Americans face higher prices for domestic products. The conversation also explores the impact of tariffs on businesses and consumers. Lincicome explains that if certain tariffs are ruled illegal, companies could seek refunds totaling up to $175 billion, potentially through litigation rather than administrative action. Krugman emphasizes that while policy debates grab headlines, public perception and midterm politics may ultimately matter more than the details of trade law or c...

Ian Bremmer sits down with Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace to examine Iran’s precarious position on the global stage and the forces shaping the country. At the heart of the discussion is the regime’s internal fragility. Sadjadpour explains that many inside Iran, including elements of the Revolutionary Guards, are “waiting for Ayatollah Khamenei to die.”  The conversation also explores Iran’s isolation in the international arena. While 90% of its oil goes to China at deep discounts, Sadjadpour points out that Chinese and Russian interests in Iran diverge sharply. Despite the pressures at home and ab...

From sweeping tariffs to threats of military action and withdrawal from international institutions, Trump has demonstrated a willingness to break with the United States' approach to international relations. When the US shifts from global order architect to challenger, what kind of system emerges, and how do other countries react? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with former US Trade Representative and Council on Foreign Relations President Michael Froman to discuss.Michael Froman tells Ian Bremmer that under Trump's second term, he’s been less surprised by a single policy shift than by how quickly ot...

As more small businesses move sales, payments, and customer relationships online, they unlock new opportunities, but they also become easier targets for cyber-criminals and other threat actors.In this episode of Local to global: The power of small business, host JJ Ramberg sits down with Shamina Singh, Founder & President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and Brian Cute, Interim CEO and Director of Capacity & Resilience at the Global Cyber Alliance, to explore what Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital economy reveals about the cybersecurity challenges facing micro, small and medium-sized businesses everywhere.Together, they unpack wh...

How does a small country like Singapore, strategically positioned between the US and China, navigate a world of growing uncertainty? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to unpack a global order in flux. For a small country at a global crossroads, managing the current geopolitical moment isn't an abstract concept. It is central to its survival. Despite "radical uncertainty," the city-state has continued to flourish as a global hub for finance, trade, and technology.From the sidelines of Davos, Bremmer and Shanmugaratnam look at the rapidly changing global or...