The global backlash on gender rights | Rethinking Humanitarianism

The backlash against women’s and LGBTQI+ rights is growing – part of an organised movement that goes beyond one country or one president.

But there are also ways to push back, says Saskia Brechenmacher, senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The UN’s 20th-century diplomacy for 21st-century problems | Rethinking Humanitarianism podcast

This week's episode of Rethinking Humanitarianism has historian Thant Myint-U on how the UN got sidetracked from multilateralism, where it must focus, and why the next secretary-general pick is crucial.

The UN and the crisis of liberalism | Rethinking Humanitarianism

The global rise in illiberalism has locked the United Nations and humanitarianism itself in a seismic shift. The big focus is on dramatic funding cuts to international aid: The US is traditionally the biggest contributor by volume to foreign aid, and the humanitarian impacts have been deadly. For example, a study published in The Lancet projects that the cuts could lead to 14 million deaths in the next five years. But just talking about money may miss the point. What does this mean for the future of humanitarianism and the UN? What does a better way forward look like? And what are the first steps to get there? Goldberg and Dayal, hosts of the UN-focused podcast To Save Us From Hell, help unpack these and other questions.