Are we at a series of global tipping points? Radio 4 explores the paradigm shifts that are taking place across the globe, from the arrival of the post-truth society to the potential departure of globalisation, taking in shifting demographic sands, the backlash against the political elite and pivot of power to the East along the way.
Are we at a series of global tipping points? Radio 4 explores the paradigm shifts that are taking place across the globe, from the arrival of the post-truth society to the potential departure of globalisation, taking in shifting demographic sands, the backlash against the political elite and pivot of power to the East along the way.
Ukrainian author Oksana Zabuzhko on processing the turbulent world through her work
Jim O'Neill asks if new challenges mean an end to the era of globalisation. As chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Lord O'Neill was seen as one of the high priests of globalisation - coining the term BRICs to describe the economic rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Now, many see the UK's vote to leave the EU, alongside the election of Donald Trump as indications that the world is turning away from globalisation. A stalling in the increase in global trade is seen as another significant indicator. Lord O'Neill believes that globalisation can be a positive force, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. But can this economic engine take care of those left behind by rapid, wrenching change? Producer: Helen Grady.
This is bonus material from interviews recorded for the New World Series. The economist Jim O’Neill talks to the left-wing thinker Paul Mason about globalisation, neoliberalism and how people across the political spectrum can unite to defend interconnectedness.
This is bonus material from interviews recorded for the New World Series. The economist Jim O’Neill talks with his old boss, the former Conservative Chancellor, George Osborne, about the roots and policy responses to the current backlash against globalisation.
The economist Jim O’Neill talks to the President of the International Rescue Committee and former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband about the roots and risks of ‘de-globalisation’. This is bonus material from interviews recorded for the New World Series.
The economist Jim O’Neill talks with the president of the World Bank, Dr Jim Yong Kim, about globalisation’s winners and losers and how world leaders can ensure its benefits are more evenly spread. This is bonus material from interviews recorded for the New World Series.
How is population change transforming our world? Think of a python swallowing a pig: a big bulge makes its way slowly down the snake from the head end to the other end. That's a bit like what's happened to the UK demographically. The baby boom generation - which has changed Britain politically, culturally and economically - is now retiring. That means a large bulge of pensioners with big implications for the generations that come behind them. Other advanced economies face a similar challenge and emerging economies - most notably China - will be dealing with an ageing bulge themselves soon. But in Africa, the bulge is at the other end. A very young generation is about to make its way through the snake. Former government minister David Willetts, now executive chair of the Resolution Foundation, wrestles with this python of population change. What will these challenges of both ageing and very young populations mean for the world? What are the implications for future migration patterns, for geopolitics and for global economic growth? This programme is part of a special week of programmes for the first week of 2017, examining major forces which are changing the world around us. Producer: Rob Walker.
Cuban performance artist Tania Bruguera on 'artivism' in a changing world
Dayanita Singh uses her photography to construct stories of a changing India.
John Harris examines the international rise of anti-elitist or 'populist' politics, what is motivating the anger of voters, and what might happen next.
The novelist and playwright on the changing politics of the US, Germany and Austria.
Gideon Rachman examines the challenge the rise of China poses to American global power, and explores a new pattern of international tensions.
Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran on how she chronicles the turbulent world through her work.
Are we really living in a post-truth world? It has been an extraordinary year for the concept of veracity. Brexit. Trump. Experts have taken a beating, facts have apparently taken second place to emotion and feeling. And what about truth? It seems like fewer and fewer people, whether voters or politicians, care what’s true anymore. Step forward the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of 2016: "post-truth". Is this just shorthand to help liberals make sense of a world they don't like? Or does it mark something more meaningful? Are we really no longer interested in truth or is our toxic political climate clouding our ability to agree on what the facts are? In a series of special programmes as 2017 begins, Radio 4 examines inflection points in the world around us. In the first programme, Jo Fidgen explores how our brains process facts when they become polluted by politics. Producer: Gemma Newby
