Best UNDP Podcasts (2025)

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Cash balance plans: Why small businesses and professional services firms are adding this retirement benefit. 27:53

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12d ago27:53

27:53

While the number of traditional pensions has been shrinking for decades, one type of defined benefit (DB) plan is expanding: the cash balance plan. Combining features of DB and 401(k) plans, cash balance plans are particularly well-suited to helping small-business owners and highly paid professionals such as doctors and lawyers save for retirement.…

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The cost of extreme weather in Europe 16:50

1M ago16:50

16:50

In Europe, flooding was the most prevalent—and most expensive—climate peril last year, making 2024 the “Year of the Flood.” On this episode of Critical Point, five authors of Milliman’s annual Extreme Weather in Europe report assess the toll of flooding in their country and the response from insurers, governing bodies, and communities. They discuss…

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Interview with UNHCR Head of Innovation Hovig Etyemezian 47:06

3M ago47:06

47:06

What does it take to become a UN humanitarian work? We interviewed Hovig Etyemezian, Head of Innovation at UNHCR, the UN Agency for Refugees to find out about his journey and how working in the field, in the frontlines, managing refugee camps logistics, finding ways to innovate in volatile situations teaches one to be agile and resilient, qualities…

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UN Refugee Agency Fundraising Strategy 16:15

3M ago16:15

16:15

Interview with Mark Manly, head of donor relations and resource mobilisation at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The UNHCR focuses on providing international protection and solutions for refugees, internally displaced people, and preventing statelessness. Their fundraising strategy relies on flexible annual funding from government donors …

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Paris Peace Forum, Interview with Justin Vaisse, Founder and Executive Director 17:18

3M ago17:18

17:18

Seeking Common Ground in a World of Rivalry The organization led by Justin Vaisse, historian and diplomat, is supported by the French government and private sector sponsors, including Microsoft. There will be panels with AI companies and how they are engaging with governments, academics, and UN officials from Africa and Europe. Microsoft Vice Chair…

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Rainforest Connection Uses AI to Protect the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest Biodiversity and Halt Illegal Logging 9:08

3M ago9:08

9:08

I interviewed Bourhan Yassin, CEO of Rainforest Connection, a company that applies AI to acoustics for data insights to better inform conservation, preserve biodiversity, and protect the rainforests from illegal logging. They are currently working in 80 countries, including Brazil, where most of their work is happening. RFCx works with audio to mon…

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Artificial intelligence and insurance, part 3: Global regulations and trends 28:44

5M ago28:44

28:44

AI has taken the world by storm—but not all insurance companies, or countries, are approaching the technology the same way. On this special episode of Critical Point, experts from Munich Re and Milliman who work across five continents come together for a global conversation exploring how insurers and regulators are approaching AI around the world. …

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How can Medicaid pay for cell and gene therapies? 25:57

7M ago25:57

25:57

Cell and gene therapies have been grabbing news headlines, both for their potential to cure rare diseases and for their million-dollar price tags. Milliman pharmacists and healthcare experts explain why state Medicaid agencies are particularly affected and the strategies many are using for predicting uptake and covering these high costs. You can re…

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Brazil: Interview with Brazilian Diplomat Camila Olsen 28:11

7M ago28:11

28:11

Interview with Brazilian Diplomat Camila Olsen on Promoting Brazil Abroad and Attracting FDI Interview with Camila Olsen, Head of Trade, Investment, Agriculture and Energy Section at the Brazilian Embassy in Copenhagen Today I interviewed the Brazilian diplomat Camila Olsen, head of trade investment, agriculture and energy at the Brazilian embassy …

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Vint Cerf and Maria Ressa on the Internet Governance Forum 29:58

7M ago29:58

29:58

UN Secretary General Calls for a Global AI Regulatory Agency These last couple of days have been quite busy on issues of AI and emerging tech governance at the UN and its agencies. We had the IGF meeting in Geneva with Maria Ressa and Vint Cerf, AI at the Security Council in New York, and the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk calling al…

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Housing as a Human Right 15:09

8M ago15:09

15:09

The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many other international human rights treaties state that the right to housing under international human rights law is the right to live in peace, security and dignity. The violation of the right to housing is often experienced by marginalized and disadvantaged groups including indigenous peoples, pe…

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Healthcare costs in a presidential election year 20:28

9M ago20:28

20:28

Healthcare costs are a hot topic as we approach open enrollment and the presidential election. In this episode of Critical Point, host Deana Bell sits down with Dave Liner and Jason Clarkson, principals at Milliman and co-authors of the Milliman Medical Index (MMI), to discuss the key drivers of 2024’s healthcare costs. They dive into the effects o…

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Ten questions everyone’s asking about captives 22:59

11M ago22:59

22:59

Cyber risk, climate change, new pharmaceutical therapies—as companies look for ways to manage increasing costs and unforeseen exposures, captives are a popular mechanism to insure against the unexpected. Around since the 1950s, today there are more than 7,000 captive insurers worldwide, with many headquartered in Vermont, Bermuda, and the Cayman Is…

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Increasing diversity in clinical trials 28:43

1y ago28:43

28:43

Drugmakers are taking steps to make sure clinical trials include participants from a variety of backgrounds—and they are steadily making progress, as evidenced by new studies of multiple sclerosis and sickle cell disease. Milliman health researchers Ellyn Russo and Chris Page unpack a history of distrust in medical research, the implications of fai…

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Why life insurers are investing in private equity and real estate 29:09

1y ago29:09

29:09

Life insurers have historically invested their portfolios in the relative safety of mortgages and bonds, but economic volatility, sticky inflation, and other headwinds have spurred many insurance companies to diversify into alternatives, a trend explored in a recent Milliman paper. On this episode of Critical Point, three of the paper’s authors dis…

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Are corporate pension plans making a comeback? 19:57

1+ y ago19:57

19:57

For decades, companies with traditional pensions have been freezing those plans and replacing them with defined contribution options to help their employees save for retirement. But IBM made headlines when it restored its defined benefit program in early 2024. Three Milliman pension actuaries discuss this choice, new hybrid DB plan designs, and how…

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Engaging Youth in Zambia in Sustainable Farming 23:50

1+ y ago23:50

23:50

In this episode, we explore the impactful work of the “Young Emerging Farmers Initiative” (YEFI) in Zambia. YEFI aims to empower young people, particularly those in rural areas, to adopt sustainable farming practices. Committed to creating job opportunities, YEFI also seeks to change the perception of agriculture among young people, highlighting th…

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Protecting and Restoring Uru Uru Lake 17:37

1+ y ago17:37

17:37

Immerse yourself in the inspiring journey of the URU URU team in Bolivia, winners of the Equator Prize 2023. Learn about their efforts to revive and restore Uru Uru Lake polluted by chemicals and garbage and restore its precious biodiversity.

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Bringing the community together to restore the environment 15:34

1+ y ago15:34

15:34

Discover the inspiring story of the Equator Prize 2023 winners, Perfect Village Communities “PVC Burundi.” This remarkable initiative aims to restore the health of local communities in Burundi by creating a natural fertilizer for their crops, engaging youth in farming, creating new job opportunities, bringing the community together, and planting tr…

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Growing the actuarial profession in the developing world: Where the UNDP-GAIN initiative stands after one year 41:18

1+ y ago41:18

41:18

Actuaries are vital to the insurance industry and national economies, but the profession is still emerging in many developing countries. That’s why Milliman and the United Nations Development Programme have launched a program to increase actuarial capacity around the world. In this episode, five Milliman volunteers reflect on the initiative’s first…

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Artificial intelligence and insurance, part 2: Rise of the machine-learning models 38:23

1+ y ago38:23

38:23

In our second Critical Point episode about AI applications in insurance, we drill down into the topic of machine learning and particularly its evolving uses in healthcare. Milliman Principal and Consulting Actuary Robert Eaton leads a conversation with fellow data science leaders about the models they use, the challenges of data accessibility and q…

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Artificial intelligence and insurance, part 1: AI’s impact on the insurance value chain 34:05

2y ago34:05

34:05

Artificial intelligence has been the buzz term of 2023, evolving at a pace unimaginable when Milliman launched this podcast five years ago. For this 50th episode of Critical Point, we gathered a group of our AI experts to discuss how the technology is poised to reshape the insurance value chain, from hiring practices and actuarial modeling to custo…

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How extreme heat affects insurance—and how the industry can respond 25:21

2y ago25:21

25:21

Insurers are feeling the heat as another record-breaking summer finally cools off. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman leaders Rich Moyer, Garrett Bradford, and Andi Shah—who have studied the impact of extreme heat from the Middle East to Europe to North Carolina—discussed the ramifications on property, workers’ compensation, health, and ot…

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Could pensions save big this year? Experts weigh in on 2023 PBGC premiums 13:55

2y ago13:55

13:55

After 2022’s rollercoaster of soaring interest rates and plunging investment returns, sponsors of single-employer defined benefit plans face a key choice as they calculate the 2023 variable rate premium they’ll pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Milliman pension actuaries Casey Baldwin and Ryan Cook spoke with Nina Lantz about …

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Inclusivity in employee benefits: Diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns in plan design and communication 23:41

2y ago23:41

23:41

As companies embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, many are realizing their benefit policies and communications can help address health inequities and be more inclusive. From modernizing the language in plan documents, to simplifying fertility care for same-sex couples, to not showing a skinny marathoner in the ads for your fitness chal…

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SECURE 2.0, Part 2: How the new retirement law affects single-employer defined benefit plans 20:57

2y ago20:57

20:57

In this companion episode to our look at SECURE 2.0 and defined contribution (DC) plans, Milliman employee benefits expert Nina Lantz explores how the new retirement law affects single-employer pensions. She talks with Milliman Consulting Actuary William Strange about what it means for retirement that life expectancy is rising more slowly, how comp…

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SECURE 2.0, Part 1: Tips for DC plans navigating contribution changes 23:01

2y ago23:01

23:01

When the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in late 2022, it introduced 92 provisions affecting retirement plans—and created a long to-do list for plan professionals. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman employee benefits expert Nina Lantz talks with Brandy Cross, our director of defined contribution (DC) plan compliance, about how DC plans are coping. L…

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The COVID-19 emergencies are ending. What does that mean for health plans? 20:33

2y ago20:33

20:33

More than three years after the coronavirus shut down the world, the Biden administration announced in early 2023 the end of the U.S. National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency, two declarations that had mandated health insurance coverage of COVID-19 tests and vaccines, among other requirements. As these regulations are now rolled back, wha…

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Rising sea levels, rising rents: How climate change will displace communities 22:53

2+ y ago22:53

22:53

As climate change causes more storms and floods, residents of coastal areas are being forced to move inland—driving up rents and displacing current residents of those regions. Milliman recently studied this issue in a paper called “Climate Displacement in New York City: Making Space for Our Neighbors,” published with Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit …

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Milliman at 75 – An interview with the firm’s first female principal 34:52

2+ y ago34:52

34:52

Hear from Milliman’s first female principal, Peggy Pearson, about her path from homemaker (and home economics major) to actuarial leader, all while breaking through the cultural barriers of the time. In honor of Milliman’s 75th anniversary, Peggy sits down with current Milliman principals Angela Bolduc and Kim Guerriero to discuss how she “got into…

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Church retirement plans: A look at the Diocese of Fort Worth 20:42

2+ y ago20:42

20:42

Church retirement plan sponsors face unique considerations. While helping to position their clergy and other plan members for a secure future, they also must stay competitive across the wider benefits landscape to recruit and retain lay employees. For a look at how one diocese manages these pressures, Milliman actuaries Jake Pringle and Delbert Zam…

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From AI to astronauts’ insurance: A look at the latest insurtech trends 19:51

2+ y ago19:51

19:51

Insurtech never stops evolving. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman actuaries Sheri Scott and Robert Eaton discuss recent trends they’ve seen and opportunities on the horizon--everything from new motion data and technology for improving the customer experience, to coverage for emerging risks including autonomous trucks, cryptocurrency, and …

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VM-20 for principle-based reserving: Tales from the front office 42:14

3y ago42:14

42:14

The VM-20 requirement is no longer hypothetical—it’s here, and it’s had a big impact on principle-based reserving for the life insurance industry. In this episode of Critical Point, we hear how experts are coping. Michael McCarty from Legal & General America shares the direct carrier’s side, while Laiping Wong-Stewart from RGA brings the reinsurer’…

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Surprises and obstacles SECURE 2.0 could present for plan sponsors and HR professionals 14:34

3y ago14:34

14:34

Learn how SECURE 2.0 could derail or reduce participant contributions, and what plan sponsors and HR professionals need to know about this potential regulation. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Jason Brantley sits down with Charles Clark and Karina Guerrero to talk about surprises in SECURE 2.0 and some of the details below the headlin…

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Regulatory reviews around principle-based valuations 37:12

3y ago37:12

37:12

Hear real-life experiences and get an “inside the company” look at the regulatory examination of principles-based reserve valuations for life insurers. PBR is a new method of determining U.S. statutory reserves in life insurance that better quantifies product risks. Milliman’s Karen Rudolph sits down with Catherine Murphy from John Hancock and Sara…

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Promoviendo los derechos indígenas sobre los territorios nativos en la escena mundial 25:59

3y ago25:59

25:59

Conozca cómo Alex Villca Limaco, Defensor de los Derechos Indígenas y de la Naturaleza en la Coordinadora Nacional para la Defensa de los Territorios Indígenas Originarios Campesinos y Áreas Protegidas (CONTIOCAP), ha abogado por los derechos a la tierra y la protección del medio ambiente en los territorios indígenas de Bolivia en la escena mundial…

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Global benefits in 2022 – A conversation with Microsoft’s Vicky Nevin 31:54

3y ago31:54

31:54

In this one-on-one conversation with Vicky Nevin, Microsoft’s head of international compensation and benefits, learn how a leading multinational organization is approaching its compensation and benefits strategy and overcoming global challenges. Vicky speaks with Milliman / MBWL global EB leader John-Paul Augeri to share perspectives and priorities…

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Ep. 6: Improving Rural Electrification in Solomon Islands 11:50

3+ y ago11:50

11:50

Welkam back to the UNDP podcast! In this episode, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, Mr. Chris Vehe, and the Director of the Energy Division Mr. Gabriel Aimaea talk about rural electrification and clean energy in Solomon Islands.

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#BelieveHer, Story #6: She Was 1:24

3+ y ago1:24

1:24

“What you say matters.” Listen to the last story of #BelieveHer, an interactive theatre play that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. This is a joint project of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, UNDP and UN Women implemented in partnership with Dreamcast Theater Solomon Islands as p…

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#BelieveHer, Story #5: Gender Roles Reversed 1:53

3+ y ago1:53

1:53

What if gender roles were reversed? 🟠 Challenging gender-based stereotypes and discrimination in the fifth story of #BelieveHer, an interactive theatre play that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. This is a joint project of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, UNDP and UN Women implem…

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#BelieveHer, Story #4: Domestic Violence 1:40

3+ y ago1:40

1:40

“Every woman deserves to live a life free from violence.” Listen to the 4th story of #BelieveHer, an interactive theatre play that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. This is a joint project of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, UNDP and UN Women implemented in partnership with Dream…

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#BelieveHer, Story #3: Justice For Rape 3:44

3+ y ago3:44

3:44

“How many more…?” Listen to the third story of #BelieveHer, an interactive theatre play that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. This is a joint project of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, UNDP and UN Women implemented in partnership with Dreamcast Theater Solomon Islands as part o…

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#BelieveHer, Story #2: Finding the Right Support 2:49

3+ y ago2:49

2:49

“The more I pursued support, the more I found there were support networks around me. Together we can do more.” Listen to the second story of #BelieveHer, an interactive theatre play that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. This is a joint project of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs,…

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#BelieveHer, Story #1: Real Men Don't Hit 2:17

3+ y ago2:17

2:17

“Empathy gives you the freedom to make your decision.” The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women present #BelieveHer, an interactive theatre play. The play consists of six audio stories portraying realities of physical and mental violence that women have endured and calling for the p…

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The workplace has changed, how will the supplemental benefits market change with it? 31:19

3+ y ago31:19

31:19

Learn about five trends and creative approaches heading into 2022 for supplemental health benefits. Strategy consultant Christin Kuretich fuses Milliman market intel with a broader lens on society and the shifting nature of the workplace, to make some educated predictions on what we will see change and evolve in the voluntary benefits market. From …

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Strengthening the Electoral Cycle in Solomon Islands 19:44

3+ y ago19:44

19:44

Welcome to the new episode of the UNDP podcast, where we talk with the Chief Electoral Officer of the Solomon Islands Electoral Office, Ms Jane Waetara, and the Registrar of the Office of the Registrar of the Political Parties, Mr Jasper Anisi, about strengthening the electoral cycle in the Solomon Islands.…

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Pension risk hibernation – an alternative to annuity buyouts 12:08

3+ y ago12:08

12:08

For corporate financial officers who are considering a pension annuity buyout, there’s an opportunity cost to 100% risk transfer, as Milliman’s Zorast Wadia and Bret Linton discuss on this episode of Critical Point. With the passage of the COVID-19 stimulus, many CFOs and plan sponsors likely see the second half of 2021 as an opportune time to de-r…

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Sumitra Pasupathy, Global Partnerships Director, Ashoka 1:00:15

3+ y ago1:00:15

1:00:15

In this episode we meet Sumitra Pasupathy, who is the Global Partnerships Director at Ashoka. Ashoka is absolutely legendary in the world of social entrepreneurship. And it's based on the idea that the most powerful force for good in the world is a social entrepreneur. Sumi is a social entrepreneur and the Co-founder and Director of Playeum, an inn…

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Cynthia Cheung, Incubation Program Lead at UNDP and Citi Foundation's Youth Co:Lab 41:13

4y ago41:13

41:13

Today I have a very special guest for you dialling in from Bangkok, Thailand. She leads the incubation programs for young entrepreneurs in over 24 countries at the Youth Co:Lab, an initiative co-led by the UNDP Asia-Pacific and Citi Foundation to economically empower the next generation in the region, through youth entrepreneurship and government i…

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El papel de las mujeres Indígenas para promover la seguridad alimentaria y proteger los bosques en Costa Rica 18:35

4y ago18:35

18:35

Hablamos con Heylin Reyes, coordinadora de proyectos de empoderamiento de la mujer en la Asociación de Mujeres Indígenas del Territorio Cabécar Kábata Könana en Costa Rica. Su asociación reúne a mujeres Indígenas para promover el uso de prácticas y conocimientos tradicionales para la seguridad alimentaria y los fines medicinales, mejorar el lideraz…