Feeding the world's eight billion people has never been easy. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the market for fertilizer, that task has gotten even harder. The fertilizer crisis threatens to exacerbate food insecurity worldwide, especially in low-income countries already reeling from record-high inflation and rapidly depreciating currencies. What is fertilizer’s role in the food supply chain?   Featured Guests:  Laura Cross (Director, Market Intelligence, International Fertilizer Association) Michelle Gavin (Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/down-and-dirty-global-fertilizer-dilemma 

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of nuclear war felt like a problem of days past. Now, as great-power competition heats up, the potential for nuclear conflict seems higher than at any point in decades. How did the nuclear taboo fade, and what does nuclear proliferation mean for the United States?   Featured Guests: J. Andrés Gannon (Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, CFR) Rupal N. Mehta (Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/new-nuclear-age 

All current U.S. military personnel have one thing in common: they volunteered. But falling recruitment has raised questions of national security, military readiness, and the health of U.S. society. Can the all-volunteer force handle a changing international security landscape?   Featured Guests: Max Boot (Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, CFR) Amy Bushatz (Director and Executive Editor, Military.com) Colonel Timothy J. MacDonald (U.S. Army Fellow, CFR)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/army-some-recruiting-trouble-all-volunteer-force

Freedom of the press is under attack around the globe, but for journalists in Latin America in particular, reporting has become a matter of life and death. Populist leaders in the region have consolidated power and clamped down on press freedom, making the area the deadliest in the world for reporters. With anti-journalist sentiment on the rise, can a free and fair press prevail in an increasingly polarized world?   Featured Guests: Neil Brandvold (Documentary Filmmaker and Photojournalist) Jan-Albert Hootsen (Mexico Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists) Carin Zissis (Editor-in-Chief, AS/COA Online)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/silencing-messenger-global-threats-press-freedom   

As rising global temperatures thaw the ice at the North Pole of the planet, competition between nuclear-powered states threatens to heat up the Arctic Circle even further. An increasingly minable Arctic, which contains vast natural resources, has piqued the economic interests of oil-hungry great powers, even as the warmer climate jeopardizes Indigenous tribes. Here’s how the Arctic could become the next frontier of great-power competition.   Featured Guests: Esther Brimmer (James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance, Council on Foreign Relations) Captain Jeff Randall (U.S. Coast Guard Military Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations)   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/whats-cracking-arctic   *Editor's Note: In a narration for this episode, the Why It Matters team mistakenly stated that Russia will chair the Arctic Council for the next two years. In fact, Russia’s tenure ends in May, 2023. As of this writing, the next chair, Norway, has not committed to restarting stalled cooperation.