There’s a great deal of uncertainty in Washington, D.C. over President Joe Biden’s capacity to run as the Democratic nominee for President. If he declines to run for re-election, the most likely replacement is Vice President Kamala Harris.
In this week’s episode of To Save Us From Hell we take a deep dive into Kamala Harris’ views of the United Nations. We discuss how she’s engaged with the UN since becoming Vice President and why there are some subtle but important distinctions between her approach to the UN and that of President Biden.
If you are not already a paying supporter, you can access the full episode by purchasing a subscription. You’ll be able to get full episodes on your preferred podcast listening app, or directly in Substack.
Our Kamala Harris discussion is in our third segment. We kick off at the Security Council, where an emergency meeting on Ukraine led to a revealing clash between the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors. The meeting followed Russian airstrikes on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, which Russia denied. Things got particularly heated when the Russian Ambassador, acting in his capacity as President of the Security Council, raised procedural objections against letting Ukraine into the meeting(!).
We also discuss an event around the UN that should attract more media attention than it actually does. The High-Level Political Forum is the third-largest annual gathering at the United Nations and serves as an annual check-up on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The centerpiece of this meeting includes over 40 “Voluntary National Reviews” in which countries report and discuss their own progress towards the SDGs. We discuss what’s happening at this year’s High-Level Political Forum and the merits of peer pressure as an accountability mechanism for the SDGs.
Get the show at Apple Podcasts and Spotify