This could be the most controversial World Cup in history. In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, host Dominic Bowen is joined by Professor Simon Chadwick, one of the world’s leading experts on the geopolitical economy of sport, to unpack the politics behind the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Chadwick challenges the term “sportswashing,” arguing…
This episode hosts Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi to examine the environmental and climate consequences of modern warfare, with a particular focus on the ongoing conflict involving Iran and its rapidly escalating global impact. The conversation explores how conflict is generating emissions at unprecedented speed and scale, with millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide released…
Business leaders are operating in a harsher, more expensive, and more politically volatile environment, where geopolitics is now showing up directly in fuel costs, inflation, supply chains, capital markets, alliance structures, and executive decision-making. I’m Dominic Bowen, host of The International Risk Podcast, where we unpack the issues shaping business, leadership, and global risk. Today,…
This episode hosts Professor Anja Shortland, returning to the podcast following her previous appearance in 2021, to examine how ransomware has evolved into a sophisticated and highly organised form of cybercrime, operating as a global market shaped by incentives, reputation, and weak governance. The conversation explores the scale of the threat, with billions in annual losses,…
Violent crime in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has for decades imposed a heavy toll on lives and economic performance. Outside of active war zones, the region remains the most violent in the world, accounting for roughly one-third of global homicides despite just 8% of the global population. The economic consequences are equally severe….
For years, disinformation has been framed primarily as a political or media problem, associated with election interference, bot networks, and foreign influence campaigns. It is often treated as something external to core systems. It is portrayed as an issue for platforms, regulators, or communications teams to manage. Yet this framing obscures a more complex and…
Iran is facing what many experts describe as a looming state of “water bankruptcy”— a crisis where demand has so profoundly outstripped supply that the very foundations of economic stability, social cohesion, and national security are under strain. From drying reservoirs in Tehran to collapsing aquifers and land subsistence, water is no longer just an…
Tim Lang is Emeritus Professor of Food Policy at City St George’s, University of London, and founding Director of the Centre for Food Policy established in 1994 as a leading centre for research and education on food system dynamics. His research and scholarship focuses on the intersections of health, environment, politics, and society within modern…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil From Central Asia’s emerging transport corridors to Iran’s sanctions and water stress, this episode of the International Risk Podcast explores how political risk, geopolitics, and climate change are reshaping the global trade map – revealing why supply chain durability is no longer just an economic question, but a strategic one…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 12.01.2026 Transport corridors, also known as the arteries of global trade, are often described in terms of engineering feats, freight volumes, and infrastructure investments. Yet the true determinant of whether these grand initiatives thrive or stall lies elsewhere. Beyond tracks, ports, and customs software sits the quieter but more powerful force shaping…
