It’s kind of China’s moonshot. Nothing like it has been built before. And when a moon mission happens, the world is watching.” Brian Eyler on the International Risk Podcast On 19 July 2025, Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over the ceremony marking the start of construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam project on the…
Palmo Tenzin is an Advocacy Officer and Senior Researcher for the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). She is an experienced researcher and policy officer specialising in Chinese politics and contemporary Tibet, Sino-Tibetan relations and Asia-Pacific security. At ICT, Tenzin focuses on investigating and analyzing developments in Tibet, ranging from land management and environmental policies to…
On 19 July 2025, China began construction on a 60,000-megawatt hydropower project at Medog, with three times the output of Three Gorges and roughly the UK’s entire annual power production. This is a 1.2-trillion-yuan investment (USD 170B) that Beijing frames as clean energy and development. It is located in southeast Tibert, and only 30km upstream…
Brian Eyler is the Director of the Stimson Center‘s Southeast Asia and Energy, Water and Sustainability programs. He is widely recognised as a leading voice and expert on transboundary water-energy-food nexus security issues in the Mekong River Basin, having spent more than 15 years living and working in China. Eyler is the Co-Lead of the…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, we explore China’s evolving role in Africa’s energy landscape with Fikayo Akeredolu, a DPhil candidate at Oxford specializing in the political economy of energy in Nigeria. We discuss: Join us as we analyze the opportunities and challenges shaping Africa’s energy future and the strategic role China plays in this…
Author: Camila Mateos Betancourt Last week with Joshua Meltzer, we discussed the intricate dynamics of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in our podcast, exploring the relevance for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and the importance of a unified, aligned trade approach toward China. While the USMCA fosters a shared framework for trade, each country faces…
This midweek, Dominic Bowen welcomes Juan Carlos Machorro to The International Risk Podcast to dive into the complexities of the USMCA. Together, they discuss the origins of the agreement, the critical elements of the 2026 Joint Review, the implications of Mexico’s judicial reforms, Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, and the urgent need to strengthen Mexico-Canada trade…
Juan Carlos is the leader of Santamarina y Steta’s transactional and financial practice area, with 30 years of experience advising various national and international organizations on the development and implementation of investment and financing projects in Mexico. His areas of expertise include Mergers and Acquisitions, Project Finance and Infrastructure. His talent, practical and business acumen, and…
Dr. Brett Edwards is currently a Senior Lecturer in Security and Public Policy at the University of Bath. He holds a wide range of interest from technology to governance and security. At the moment he is involved in a number of projects examining the security implications of cutting-edge biotechnology, the governance of biological and chemical…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil This week on The International Risk Podcast we discuss Chemical and Biological Warfare with Doctor Brett Edwards. We discuss the history of chemical and biological warfare, explaining that it has been around for longer than we thought, and what the international risks are. Then we move onto the current risks,…
