Best Unified Robotics Podcasts (2025)

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What Comes Next For Israel and Gaza | With Matt Duss 27:56

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17m ago27:56

27:56

A ceasefire is holding in Gaza. Aid is beginning to flow. The remaining Israeli hostages have been released, as have nearly 2,000 Palestinians from Israeli detention. This has been a truly remarkable day in the Middle East. But can this positive momentum be sustained? I recorded this conversation with Matt Duss of the Center for International Polic…

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Did The Gaza Ceasefire Emanate From UNGA? Plus: A New "Gang Suppression Force" for Haiti and our Nobel Predictions | To Save Us From Hell 19:18

5d ago19:18

19:18

UNGA is over. But its legacy lives on. We recorded this episode as news broke of a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and so we look back at UNGA80 to trace the ways in which the world’s largest diplomatic gathering may have provided some key momentum for a breakthrough on Gaza. Mark and Anjali also go deep on a new Gang Suppression Forc…

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When Treaties Work: The High Seas Treaty 30:09

7d ago30:09

30:09

On September 16th, Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the High Seas Treaty, triggering a countdown to January, when the treaty will officially enter into force. The High Seas Treaty establishes a kind of “rules of the road” for international waters that lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single country—particularly around conservation and th…

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S6E5: Smart metatagging tips for a path to AI-ready content 52:55

8d ago52:55

52:55

We unpack how structured content and metadata make AI useful, reliable, and traceable across complex organizations. Regina and Max join us to connect strategy and tech, from RAG fundamentals to governance that bridges silos and boosts trust. Some highlights: How to define AI readiness Making metadata part of authoring, not an afterthought Why compo…

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Sudan's Civil War Takes an Even Deadlier Turn 25:01

10d ago25:01

25:01

A genocidal militia called the Rapid Support Forces has been laying siege to the city of El Fasher, in Darfur, for nearly 500 days. But in recent weeks, the situation has grown far worse. Some 250,000 people are now trapped in the city and are enduring relentless bombardment from drones and artillery. Food is scarce, and an untold number of people …

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"Women’s Rights Are Human Rights" — 30 Years On 29:41

13d ago29:41

29:41

In 1995, there was a landmark meeting on gender equality in Beijing: the Fourth World Conference on Women. The conference produced the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a highly influential blueprint for advancing women’s rights. It was at this conference that then–First Lady Hillary Clinton famously declared, “Human rights are women’s r…

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S6E4 Audio Synthesis in AI: Breaking Down Barriers 49:19

15d ago49:19

49:19

Manny graces our show once more to share insights on audio synthesis, a technology that has evolved far beyond robotic voices into sophisticated AI systems. It has made documentation more accessible and enhanced technical communication workflows. Manny and I discuss practical applications, implementation strategies, and ethical considerations for i…

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Is America Suddenly at War With Venezuela? 22:06

18d ago22:06

22:06

Over the last two weeks, the United States has at least twice bombed boats in the Caribbean that the White House claims were smuggling drugs to the United States, killing an unknown number of people on board. This is extraordinary. Under normal circumstances, the United States Navy or Coast Guard would interdict alleged drug smugglers and turn them…

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S6E3 Beyond Documentation: Building Knowledge Systems for AI 43:46

22d ago43:46

43:46

What happens when AI meets technical writing? It's not the end of the profession—it's an evolution that opens exciting new possibilities for skilled communicators. Kartika Raman, Lead Technical Writer at Salesforce, shares her journey from database administration to technical writing and now to the cutting edge of AI content creation. She explains …

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“Your countries are going to hell” -- Trump Unleashes at the UN 44:32

23d ago44:32

44:32

It was Donald Trump’s fifth speech before the United Nations General Assembly. It was also his most rambling. For 55 minutes, the President of the United States riffed: on migration, windmills, hot air, London’s mayor, offshore oil in Aberdeen, even the flooring and décor of UN headquarters. At one point, Trump told the assembled world leaders: “Yo…

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Immunizations Are One of Africa's Greatest Public Health Success Stories | Future of Africa, Episode 7 1:03:51

27d ago1:03:51

1:03:51

Immunization has transformed the health trajectory of millions in Africa — but the job is far from done. This discussion moves beyond vaccines as a medical intervention, framing them instead as a trust-building exercise between communities and health systems. You’ll come away with a clear sense of what it will take to protect Africa’s health gains …

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Women and Girls Will Write the Future of Africa | Future of Africa, Episode 6 59:34

30d ago59:34

59:34

Africa’s future will be written by its girls and women — if they have the resources and rights to lead. Graça Machel calls for a generational shift in how girls’ education and leadership are supported, while Françoise Moudouthe challenges donors and policymakers to back feminist movements with flexible, sustained funding. Satta Sheriff brings the v…

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S6E2 Resume Robots and Chatbot Interviews: Surviving the AI Hiring Maze 53:22

29d ago53:22

53:22

Jack Molisani returns to discuss how technical communication careers are evolving with generative AI. He shares practical advice for navigating the changing landscape with pro tips in this era of resume robots and chatbot interviews, while emphasizing that human expertise remains irreplaceable. A resume should be a personal communication from you t…

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S6E1 Empowering Technical Writers Through Agentic AI: A Conversation with Manny Silva 53:57

1M ago53:57

53:57

Kicking off our season, Manny Silva discusses how agentic AI is transforming technical documentation workflows and explains why human expertise remains essential despite technological advancements. AI agents are tools that extend our capabilities rather than replace technical writers' core skills. Learn why! Some takeaways from this interesting dis…

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These Are the Stories that Will Drive the Agenda at UNGA This Year | To Save Us From Hell 15:59

1M ago15:59

15:59

Hundreds of presidents and prime ministers are coming to the UN for the annual opening of the General Assembly. UNGA officially kicked off on September 9, but the big events—including the parade of speeches from world leaders—begin on September 22. In this special episode of To Save Us From Hell, Mark and Anjali preview the key storylines, speeches…

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The UN and the Crisis of Liberalism | Rethinking Humanitarianism 59:38

1M ago59:38

59:38

A few weeks ago, my To Save Us From Hell co-host Anjali Dayal and I joined Tammam Aloudat, CEO of The New Humanitarian, for an episode of their podcast ReThinking Humanitarianism. The questions Tammam posed—and the topics we explored—were big-picture ones: how can the UN, a fundamentally liberal institution shaped by liberal values, function and su…

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How to Transform Education in Africa | Future of Africa, Episode 5 59:56

1M ago59:56

59:56

Education in Africa must do more than keep up — it must leap ahead. Vimbai Masiyiwa champions entrepreneurship education that sparks job creation, while Minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam draws lessons from reforming Senegal’s school system for a digital future. Tina Muparadzi links skills development directly to economic transformation, making the case …

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A Simmering Conflict in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Region is Suddenly Getting Worse 27:05

1M ago27:05

27:05

Cabo Delgado is Mozambique’s northernmost province, bordering Tanzania. Since 2017, it has been gripped by a violent insurgency, when Islamist militants began attacking villages, towns, and government forces. The region is also home to major natural gas deposits, in which the French energy giant Total has invested heavily. But after a wave of attac…

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How to Solve the "Trust Deficit" in Africa | Future of Africa, Episode 4 1:04:21

1M ago1:04:21

1:04:21

When people don’t trust their institutions, the social fabric of a society is weakened. But that “trust deficit” can — and must — be closed. In this episode of our Future of Africa series, we explore innovative and practical approaches to enhancing trust and cooperation between people and their institutions -- from grassroots communities to global …

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A Major Study Finds Giving Pregnant Women Cash Massively Improves Children's Health 23:52

2M ago23:52

23:52

A new study out of Kenya shows that one of the most impactful ways to reduce infant and child mortality is to provide cash—no strings attached—to pregnant women. A randomized controlled trial by economists from UC Berkeley and Oxford University found that unconditional cash transfers reduced infant mortality by 48% and under-5 child mortality by 45…

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How Global Development Finance Deals Can Actually Drive Local Impact | Future of Africa Episode 3 1:00:22

2M ago1:00:22

1:00:22

Making promises on financing for development is the easy part. Following through on them is hard. Ambassador Chola Milambo speaks frankly about turning global financing commitments into tangible benefits for African communities. Chidi Okpala highlights the role of innovative private-sector partnerships, while Tumi Mkhizi Malebo offers a youth persp…

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Can a Series of Global AI Summits Actually Shape the Rules that will Govern the World’s most Powerful Technology? 27:25

2M ago27:25

27:25

In 2023, the United Kingdom hosted the world’s first major international summit on the risks of advanced artificial intelligence. That Bletchley Park gathering kicked off a series of high-profile summits — in Seoul in 2024, in Paris earlier this year, and with India set to host the next in 2026. But here’s the big question: are these summits actual…

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The Climate, Peace & Security Nexus | Future of Africa Episode 2 1:00:27

2M ago1:00:27

1:00:27

What does it mean to make peace with nature — and why could that be the key to lasting peace between people? Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos shares the extraordinary indigenous mandate that shaped his leadership, while Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim explains how climate shocks in Africa are driving conflict and migration. Khouloud Ben Mansour…

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What We Can Expect from the Putin-Trump Alaska Summit 18:36

2M ago18:36

18:36

The past week has seen a frenzy of diplomatic activity on Ukraine, culminating in Donald Trump’s extraordinary announcement that he will host Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks on the war. Setting aside the propriety of Putin visiting the United States (he launched this war of aggression and is wanted by the ICC for the systematic abduction of Ukra…

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Africa's Role on the Global Stage | Introducing: The "Future of Africa" Podcast Series 1:01:38

2M ago1:01:38

1:01:38

Africa is the world’s youngest continent — and its future is everyone’s future. By 2030, 70% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population will be under the age of 30. By century’s end, one in three people on the planet will be African. What happens in Africa will shape the course of the 21st century. That’s why Global Dispatches is proud to launch a bold new…

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Famine in Gaza — A Political and Humanitarian Tipping Point? 24:20

2M ago24:20

24:20

“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.” That was the conclusion of a July 29 report by the leading global authority on food security, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The report found that more than one in three people in Gaza (39 percent) are now going days at a time without eating. M…

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The Stark Demise of the Era of NGOs 24:09

2M ago24:09

24:09

In 1997, Jessica Matthews' landmark Foreign Affairs essay “Power Shift” captured the growing influence of NGOs and other non-state actors in shaping global affairs. But nearly three decades later, that tide has turned. A provocative new piece in Foreign Affairs argues that the age of NGOs is over—and states are reasserting dominance. Joining me to …

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A New Study Shows that Sanctions Kill As Many People As War 18:43

3M ago18:43

18:43

A groundbreaking new study published in the British medical journal The Lancet Global Health finds that unilateral economic sanctions—most of which are imposed by the United States—lead to approximately 564,000 excess deaths worldwide each year. Up to half of these deaths are children. While sanctions are often touted as an alternative to military …

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Comfort Ero on How Foreign Aid Cuts May Spark Conflicts Worldwide | Live from the Aspen Security Forum 19:27

3M ago19:27

19:27

I caught up with Comfort Ero at the Aspen Security Forum last week. She is the President of the International Crisis Group, and in that role, she brings a truly global perspective on the drivers of conflict worldwide. Earlier in the forum, she participated in a panel on international aid—timely, given the massive scaling back of foreign assistance …

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Can Europe Stay Unified on Ukraine? With Thordis Gylfadottir, Iceland's Former Foreign Minister | Live From the Aspen Security Forum 19:01

3M ago19:01

19:01

My guest today, Thordis Gylfadottir, served as Iceland's foreign minister until 2024. We spoke last week at the Aspen Security Forum, where she delivered a forceful case for the necessity of continued military and diplomatic support for Ukraine. However, that view—once broadly shared across Europe and the Atlantic—is no longer as ubiquitous as it o…

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What We Learned From Mike Waltz's Confirmation Hearing for UN Ambassador | To Save Us From Hell 20:49

3M ago20:49

20:49

Trump’s pick for UN Ambassador, Mike Waltz, faced questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. You may recall he previously served as National Security Advisor before being sidelined by Trump after “Signalgate.” But Waltz was never officially fired — he was banished to the United Nations instead. For over two hours, he fielded q…

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The Global Backlash Against Gender Equality 28:19

3M ago28:19

28:19

A furious backlash against gender equality, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights is sweeping the globe. In a new report for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, my guest today, Saskia Brechenmacher, shows that this backlash is not just a temporary reaction to recent progressive reforms but a key front in a larger cultural and political reali…

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Nigeria's Herder-Farmer Violence is Escalating 28:38

3M ago28:38

28:38

The farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria is a long-running and deadly struggle over land and resources, primarily between nomadic herders—mostly from the Fulani ethnic group—and settled farming communities. Driven by factors such as desertification, population growth, and shrinking grazing land, herders increasingly move south in search of pasture, le…

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To Save Us From Hell: Searching for Compromiso in Seville | Is Rafael Grossi Suddenly Radioactive? 19:28

3M ago19:28

19:28

The major Financing for Development Conference wrapped up in Seville last week with the so-called Compromiso de Sevilla, which commits countries to accelerating efforts to fund the Sustainable Development Goals and support economic and social development in lower-income countries. In our first segment, we are joined by Michael Sheldrick, co-founder…

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How Trump’s Aid Cuts Are Costing Lives in Sudan—The Largest Crisis on Earth 23:44

4M ago23:44

23:44

As of July 1, what remains of USAID’s programming is being folded into the State Department. The independent agency, created 64 years ago to advance American values and support global humanitarian causes, is no more. With USAID’s demise comes a staggering human cost. The Lancet today published a study finding that more than 14 million people — a th…

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What the NATO Summit Tells Us About The Future of European Security 18:56

4M ago18:56

18:56

The leaders of NATO met in The Hague on June 25th for a rather truncated meeting with a limited agenda. Unlike recent NATO summits, this one did not focus much on the war in Ukraine, countering China, or other broad international security concerns. Rather, this meeting was dedicated to securing a commitment by most NATO members to double their defe…

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How the Israel-Iran-US War Forever Changed the Middle East 30:48

4M ago30:48

30:48

Will the ceasefire between Israel and Iran actually hold? How might Iran respond to the unprecedented American attacks on its nuclear program? And more broadly, how have events over the last two weeks changed the entire security dynamic of the Middle East? I’m privileged to bring you a conversation with one of the foremost experts on these question…

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How the US Bombing of Iran May Split the Republican Party 25:28

4M ago25:28

25:28

Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran lays bare a major rift within Republican foreign policy. Until recently, the more isolationist “America First” wing seemed ascendant, sidelining the hawks. But that dynamic decisively shifted on Saturday when Trump ordered American strikes on several targets in Iran My guest today is Andrew Prokop of Vox, who re…

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Why The UN Oceans Summit Matters 21:53

4M ago21:53

21:53

From June 9th to 13th, some 15,000 participants—including more than 60 Heads of State and Government—convened in Nice, on France's Mediterranean coast, for a major UN-sponsored conference on oceans. So what happened at the UN Oceans Summit, and why does it matter? Joining me to answer these questions and more is Bruna Campos of the Center for Inter…

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"They Have Decapitated the Iranian Military" - Will The Iran-Israel War Drag in the US? 21:58

4M ago21:58

21:58

After years of threats, the Israeli government launched a major attack overnight, targeting both Iran’s nuclear program and several senior Iranian military and political leaders. At the time of writing, Iran had yet to respond in a major way, though the expectation is that the regime will hit back—and much harder than it did last year after a previ…

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Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Head of UN Peacekeeping, on Why It Still Matters—And What Happens If Funding Disappears 30:57

4M ago30:57

30:57

There are nearly 70,000 UN peacekeeping personnel serving in 11 missions around the world. My guest today, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is in charge of them all. He has served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations for the last eight years, giving him deep visibility into the unique role that UN Peacekeeping plays in maintaining…

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A Personal Note from Mark 7:04

4M ago7:04

7:04

Global Dispatches is entering a new era—and I need your help to keep it going. For years, I’ve been able to produce this show thanks to institutional support, especially from the UN Foundation, which has backed my work for two decades. But due to recent funding cuts, that support is ending, and I now need to raise $140,000 to keep the show going at…

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The Gaza Aid Debacle 19:51

4M ago19:51

19:51

After an 80-day total blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a new scheme to distribute food to desperate Gazans began operations this week. The “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” is an Israeli-American creation, designed by consultants, backed by American security contractors, and headed by an evangelical Christian supporter of Donald Trump who has l…

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A Fight Over Horses(!) Tells Us A Whole Lot About The Sad State of Trump's Diplomacy at the UN | To Save Us From Hell 14:09

5M ago14:09

14:09

The General Assembly selected five new members of the Security Council and one new President of the General Assembly this week in not-so-hotly contested elections. These new Security Council members will take their seats in January, and former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will assume the PGA gavel at UNGA in September. So what can we e…

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When Treaties Work: The Pandemic Agreement 30:47

5M ago30:47

30:47

On May 20th, after years of negotiation, World Health Organization member states adopted the Pandemic Agreement — the first international treaty focused on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Developed in response to the shortcomings revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agreement emphasizes equitable access to vaccines, diagnosti…

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Pope Leo Makes His Foreign Policy Debut 27:19

5M ago27:19

27:19

The Pope is not just a religious leader—he's also a Head of State. The Holy See maintains formal diplomatic relations with most countries on Earth and holds the status of a permanent observer at the United Nations. In recent years, the Pope has leveraged his dual role as the leader of the Catholic Church and a head of state to pursue a purposeful f…

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How Science Can Build a Nuclear Free Future | Zia Mian 34:23

5M ago34:23

34:23

My guest today, Zia Mian is co-director of Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security. He's a physicist who has long studied nuclear weapons and nuclear security. In our conversation Zia Mian explains how scientists have impacted policy discussions about nuclear weapons since the dawn of the nuclear age, and how as the nuclear se…

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India and Pakistan: A Fragile Ceasefire Holds—But for How Long? 31:21

5M ago31:21

31:21

On April 22, militants launched a brutal assault on a tourist site in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 26 civilians in what became the deadliest terrorist attack in India in nearly 15 years. What followed was the most intense military confrontation between India and Pakistan in decades—airstrikes, drone attacks, and a terrifying cycle of escalati…

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The Nuclear Threat From Space | Bill Hennigan 18:25

5M ago18:25

18:25

What would actually happen if a nuclear weapon were detonated in space? This isn't just the stuff of science fiction — it's a scenario that researchers have studied closely, and the implications are deeply unsettling. From disrupting satellite a nuclear detonation in space would have immediate, global consequences — even without a single casualty o…

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Can The UN Ban AI-Powered “Killer Robots” Before It’s Too Late? 35:29

5M ago35:29

35:29

I've been hanging around the United Nations these past few days attending events related to consultations on lethal autonomous weapons systems—so-called killer robots. These are AI-powered weapons systems that can select and strike targets without human control. This is not the stuff of science fiction. These weapons exist today, and they are becom…