GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

• Taiwan's strategy for countering a Chinese invasion, with Bonny Lin of CSIS

  On this week’s GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Bonny Lin, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for a look at one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the world: the Taiwan Strait. China has been conducting drills around Taiwan for years, but since the current pro-independence president, William Lai, took office in 2024, Beijing has been staging near-daily military exercises near the island–larger, louder, and more aggressive than ever before.Lai has pledged to boost defense spending, strengthen ties with the US, and reduce Taiwan’s economic dependence on China. But Lai faces serious political headwinds at home. His party lost its majority in parliament, and he’ll have to navigate a deeply divided government to get anything done. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping says reunification with Taiwan is a national priority and has made it clear Beijing won’t hesitate to take the island by force if necessary. The stakes are global: A war in the Strait would reshape the world economy, drag in major powers, potentially triggering the deadliest military conflict in the Asia-Pacific since World War II. So how far can China push, and how long can Taiwan hold out, before a crisis becomes inevitable?Host: Ian BremmerGuest: Bonny Lin Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

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• Pope Leo XIV's historic opportunity, with Father James Martin

  Ian Bremmer sits down with Jesuit priest and bestselling author Father James Martin to discuss the unprecedented election of Pope Leo XIV—the first-ever (North) American Pope—and what his leadership could mean for the Catholic Church, American politics, and a divided, secular world. Known for his humility and spiritual depth, Pope Leo has a chance to bridge widening rifts within the Church. “There’s a lot of division and anger,” Martin says, “but Pope Leo has the opportunity to build bridges between progressives and traditionalists.”Martin highlights the Pope’s early statements on war and migration as signs that his moral leadership will extend beyond Church walls, rooted in a clear Gospel mandate: “When Jesus says, ‘When you welcome the stranger, you welcome me,’ that’s pretty clear.”The conversation also touches on Martin’s advocacy for LGBTQ Catholics, especially the trans community, who he says are “being treated like dirt,” and the enduring legacy of Pope Francis, whose compassion and global engagement still echo in the Vatican. “Francis showed us that the Church is a field hospital,” Martin says.Host: Ian Bremmer Guest: Father James Martin  Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

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• OpenAI whistleblower Daniel Kokotajlo on superintelligence and existential risk of AI

  How much could our relationship with technology change by 2027? In the last few years, new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek have transformed how we think about work, creativity, even intelligence itself. But tech experts are ringing alarm bells that powerful new AI systems that rival human intelligence are being developed faster than regulation, or even our understanding, can keep up with. Should we be worried? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer is joined by Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher and executive director of the AI Futures Project, to discuss AI 2027—a new report that forecasts AI’s progression, where tech companies race to beat each other to develop superintelligent AI systems, and the existential risks ahead if safety rails are ignored. AI 2027 reads like science fiction, but Kokotajlo’s team has direct knowledge of current research pipelines. Which is exactly why it’s so concerning. How will artificial intelligence transform our world and how do we avoid the most dystopian outcomes? What happens when the line between man and machine disappears altogether? Host: Ian BremmerGuest: Daniel Kokotajlo Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

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• Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen on why he went to El Salvador and what's next

  In the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen to unpack what he calls a constitutional crisis unfolding under the Trump administration. At the center of the conversation is the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father of three who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and remains imprisoned in a maximum-security facility known for human rights abuses. Van Hollen recently traveled to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia and pressure local authorities, telling Bremmer, “I asked [them] whether or not El Salvador had any independent basis for holding him. His answer was, ‘No… the Trump administration is paying us money to do so.’”The conversation also turns to broader concerns about America’s global posture. Van Hollen argues the administration has gutted the State Department and abandoned U.S. leadership abroad: “What we are witnessing is America in retreat. Our adversaries, like China, are all too happy to fill the vacuum.” He critiques Trump’s sweeping tariff policies as chaotic and harmful to small businesses, saying they’re driven more by political theater than economic strategy. With due process under threat and American institutions under pressure, Van Hollen calls on Democrats to fight back not just with opposition, but with an alternative vision: “We should point out the betrayal, but also present a plan that helps working people—the people Trump claims to stand for.” Host: Ian BremmerGuest: Chris Van Hollen Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

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• Free speech in Trump's America with New York Times journalist Jeremy Peters and conservative scholar Ilya Shapiro

  Free speech has become one of the most contentious issues in American politics, but what does it actually mean today? On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with conservative legal scholar Ilya Shapiro of the Manhattan Institute and New York Times free speech reporter Jeremy Peters. They discuss  how free expression is being defined—and challenged—on university campuses and by the Trump administration, particularly when it comes to national immigration policy. “The dynamic of ‘free speech for me but not for thee’ is prevalent,” Shapiro warns, pointing to inconsistent enforcement of campus speech rules and a broader “illiberalism” taking hold in higher education.The conversation turns to the Trump administration’s aggressive response to Israel/Gaza protests, including efforts to penalize non-citizen students for their political speech. Peters cautions that this approach may violate the very rights the administration claims to defend. “Rather than execute a clean policy to support free speech,” he says, “they’re using blunt force to try to deport people who didn’t do anything terribly wrong.” The potential legal battles ahead could determine how far the government can go in defining speech as a national security issue—especially for non-citizens.Both guests acknowledge that antisemitism on campus has become a flashpoint, but differ on how it’s being addressed. Shapiro argues that while not all anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitic, many protesters are crossing that line: “It’s possible to be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic, but it’s very rare in my experience.” Peters agrees the issue is complex and evolving, noting that universities “seem much more focused on preventing antisemitism than they were just a year ago.” Together, the guests raise urgent questions about the balance between expression, identity, and institutional responsibility in a sharply divided political landscape.Host: Ian BremmerGuest: Ilya Shapiro & Jeremy Peters Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

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