PODCAST · news
Devex Podcasts
by Devex
We're the world’s leading independent news organization covering global development.
Episodes
-
Special edition: How deep partnership with Haitian communities redefines possibility
Haiti has spent years dominating international headlines almost exclusively through the lens of political crisis and humanitarian emergency. But behind the headlines lies a resilient ecosystem of local organizations that continue to drive change. Recorded live at Devex Impact House in New York…
more -
This Week in Global Dev: #166: Live from Bangkok: An update from the World Bank and IMF annual meetings
This week we are coming to you live from Devex Impact House, our summit on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF annual meetings. We unpack the bank’s push for “small AI” in developing countries to avoid the considerable costs of building data center architecture, while weighing the risks of...
-
Theory of Change: #18: The lessons and warnings of PEPFAR
The recent history of U.S. foreign aid has been dominated by budget cuts, institutional dismantling, and massive workforce reductions. Against this backdrop, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, feels less like a template for modern foreign policy and more like a relic…
more -
This Week in Global Dev: Live from Berlin: Key takeaways from the World Health Summit
This week, the Devex team is on the ground in Berlin for the World Health Summit. We explore how this year’s event stands apart from previous iterations and what makes it distinct from the World Health Assembly. During the conversation, we explore a major theme of the event: the intersection of...
-
Special edition: Why Are Money and Systems Failing Disability?
In this special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, produced in partnership with the Global Disability Fund, Devex co-founder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with the fund’s director Ola Abualghaib for a candid, personal conversation about why disability...
-
Special Episode: Can the Global Summit for Eye Health Make Vision Impossible to Ignore?
More than 90% of global vision loss is preventable or treatable with low-cost interventions such as cataract surgery or prescription glasses. Yet 1.1 billion people worldwide currently lack access to basic eye care — a number projected to double by 2050 without strategic action. In this special...
-
Theory of Change: #17: Zipline's global drone delivery vision
The California-based drone delivery company Zipline made waves last year when it secured a $150 million pay-for-performance grant from the U.S. State Department to scale up its operations in Africa. That announcement came just months after the State Department took control of the U.S.…
more -
This Week in Global Dev: #165: Building resilient systems in development finance and global health
This week we are at Building Bridges, a conference aiming to bring different stakeholders together to build investable solutions to global challenges. We discuss the key topics at the summit, including how the private sector can be effectively engaged in social impact and making financial...
-
AI in practice: Bridging the implementation gap
Across the global development landscape, artificial intelligence promises to redefine how health, education, and social protection services are delivered. However, moving past small-scale piloting to deliver measurable, population-level impact amid tightening budgets is rarely a pure tech…
more -
Special edition: Reimagining financing for development and growth
The fundamental question of how development and growth are financed is undergoing a profound transformation. Over the course of a series of original essays and op-eds, The Next Frontier (https://pages.devex.com/thenextfrontier.html) – a Devex series in partnership with the Children's Investment...
-
#164: This Week in Global Dev: Inside the US global health overhaul and Buffett's philanthropic strategy
The United States is set to implement one of the biggest overhauls of its global health assistance in decades. The new strategy will reshape how billions of dollars flow to 35 countries, shifting greater responsibility onto their governments through bilateral agreements that encapsulate the Trump...
-
Special Episode: The Power to Decide: Reclaiming Sovereignty in a Digital Era
In this special edition episode of This Week in Global Development, sponsored by Public Digital, Devex's Alan Robbins sits down with Public Digital's Lauren Kahn and Mike Bracken CBE. Recorded at Devex Impact House during UNGA, they unpack the urgent need for emerging economies to transition from...
-
Theory of Change: #16: Live from UNGA with Buddy Shah
In a live episode of the Theory of Change podcast, Buddy Shah, CEO of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and chair of the Anthropic Long Term Benefit Trust, shared an inside look at the intersection of global health, market-shaping agreements, and artificial intelligence. "The mistake that many...
-
Global Progress in the AI era: As Anthropic urges caution on AI, its ‘beneficial deployments’ work grows
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei made headlines recently by calling for slowing the development of increasingly powerful AI models to give safety measures time to catch up. That only increased the urgency of another effort within the company, which is expanding: An initiative to help...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #163: Live from UNGA: Navigating the new era of multilateralism
This week we are closely tracking the conversations at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and what they mean for the global development sector. From U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech rejecting international governance frameworks and championing national sovereignty to...
-
Theory of Change: #15: Live from UNGA with David Beasley
In a live episode of the Theory of Change podcast recorded at the Devex Impact House in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, David Beasley, the former World Food Programme executive director and former governor of South Carolina, laid out his playbook for navigating...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #162: The Gates Foundation's latest AI pledge, and a look ahead to UNGA 81
This week, we report on the Gates Foundation’s 2026 Goalkeepers Report, which includes a $1 billion pledge to make AI more inclusive. The funding aims to expand access across health, education, agriculture, and digital equity to directly benefit the global south. We unpack how AI can help...
-
Theory of Change: #14: Is the global humanitarian system collapsing?
In an interview on Devex's Theory of Change podcast, Alight CEO Jocelyn Wyatt warned that the traditional humanitarian business model is facing structural failure. Following the collapse of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the transition of U.S. foreign aid programs to the U.S....
-
Special edition: The real funding gap isn't money
In this special episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, sponsored by Rippleworks, Devex Senior Editor for Special Coverage Catherine Cheney sits down with Doug Galen, CEO of Rippleworks, and Azeez Gupta, co-founder of Rocket Learning, to reimagine how philanthropy thinks about...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #161: Bypassing the traditional aid system: The big bet to end starvation
This week, we discuss our in-depth story on Operation End Starvation, a new initiative aiming to remake the global malnutrition supply chain. With a focus on cost-effectiveness, the project pairs public cash for ready-to-use therapeutic foods, or RUTFs, with philanthropic dollars to fund...
-
Theory of Change: #13: Is it OK to take 'tainted money'?
In the latest episode of the Theory of Change podcast, human rights activist Kavita Nandini Ramdas discussed the deep systemic contradictions of modern philanthropy, its uneasy relationship with grassroots activism, and why nonprofit organizations must stop playing quiet to keep elite funding....
-
This Week in Global Dev; #160: The fight over $7.5B in expiring aid and a rejected State Department grant
We recently reported that roughly $7.5 billion in international affairs funding is set to expire by the end of this month. In a letter, more than 100 U.S. lawmakers have urged the State Department to spend the money. We unpack the situation and what it means for development spending, including…
more -
Theory of Change: #11: Can communities help refugees where governments fail?
In the latest episode of the Theory of Change podcast, Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US, discussed how community-driven sponsorship could revolutionize refugee resettlement, bypass political gridlock, and offer a scalable alternative to overburdened government systems. Global forced displacement is...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #159: The water sector’s funding challenge and Asia’s philanthropy push
At World Water Week in Stockholm, financing took center stage ahead of the U.N. Water Conference in Abu Dhabi this December. The annual gathering saw around 2,000 participants discuss water governance, security, and the rising pressures of a global water bankruptcy. However, attracting private...
-
Theory of Change: #12: What does 'country ownership' really mean?
What is “country ownership,” really? And what gets in the way of making it a reality? Against a backdrop of historic cuts to development assistance by many of the world’s largest donors, the chorus of voices calling for national governments to set — and finance — their own development agendas is...
-
Special edition: Rethinking the housing crisis
What if housing finance could help solve today's biggest challenges? In this special episode, Habitat for Humanity’s Jacqueline Innocent reveals why housing is an upstream catalyst for health, education, and equality — and how inclusive finance can transform global housing systems.
-
This Week in Global Dev: #158: Famine reporting goes dark in 3 crisis zones, and COP31’s critical test
Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, three of the world’s most hunger-prone nations, were removed from the latest reporting by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network — a U.S.-based data and monitoring system which tracks hunger levels across the globe. The move leaves aid organizations supporting...
-
Theory of Change: #10: Is impact investing due for a reckoning?
Twenty-five years ago, when Jacqueline Novogratz founded the impact investing nonprofit Acumen, she still had to prove that markets and entrepreneurship could work for people living in poverty — and help lift them out of it. In the years since, that has moved from a relatively fringe approach to...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #157: Inside the State Department's pivot to faith-based organizations
In this episode of This Week in Global Development, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Senior Reporters Michael Igoe and Sara Jerving to discuss the U.S. State Department’s announcement to allocate nearly $2 billion to partnerships with faith-based and community organizations…
more -
Special edition: Are jobs for youth development's silver bullet?
In this week’s special edition episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, sponsored by the International Youth Foundation and the Caterpillar Foundation, we examine how shifting labor markets, automation, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the job landscape, leaving millions…
more -
Theory of Change: #9: Mark Dybul says this was never the plan for PEPFAR
For over two decades, the U.S. government has been a lynchpin in the global fight against HIV, pouring billions of dollars into treatment, prevention, and health systems strengthening through initiatives like the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Then came Elon Musk, the...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #156: Tracking the real-world impacts of US foreign aid cuts
This week, we discuss The Aid Report, a project supported by a media grant from the Gates Foundation to track the real-world impacts of U.S. foreign aid cuts. Over the past couple of months, the initiative has documented more than 1,000 verified impacts across multiple countries and sectors. We...
-
Theory of Change: #8: How Kakenya Ntaiya turned pain into progress
Philanthropists and global development donors have made a lot of promises about supporting local leaders and community-based organizations. But their insistence on finding scalable models might be getting in the way of a simpler achievement: helping people. Kakenya Ntaiya is a one-woman case…
more -
This Week in Global Dev: #155: The new era of US and European foreign assistance
This week we look back at the last 18 months of U.S. foreign assistance — a period defined by the dismantling of USAID and the absorption of foreign aid strategy into the State Department. We break down the types of initiatives the Trump administration is prioritizing and where the funding is...
-
Theory of Change: #7: Jim Richardson believes we can still agree about US foreign aid
U.S. foreign aid advocacy groups are soul-searching in the wake of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and deep cuts to U.S. foreign assistance. Bipartisan support for U.S. aid programs crumbled quickly in the face of Elon Musk’s attack on the...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #154: Turning World Cup hype into impact and governing AI for good
With the FIFA World Cup entering its final week, we explore how NGOs operating in participating nations can leverage the tournament’s spotlight to advance their work. While tournament hype is notoriously fleeting, we break down how NGOs can translate a short-term spike in curiosity into sustained...
-
Theory of Change: #6: Ebere Okereke believes global health is about power
Global health is entering a period of profound upheaval. As governments reassess foreign aid, donors rethink decades-old models, and African leaders push for greater ownership of their health systems, one question looms over the sector: Who should hold the power to shape global health? Dr. Ebere...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #153: Uncertainty over UNAIDS’ future and avoiding sexual abuse in Ebola response
With uncertainty lingering over its future, we discuss a new UNAIDS interim report outlining potential pathways forward — including further downsizing the secretariat, turning it into a U.N.-hosted hub, or merging it with another health entity. During the conversation, we explore UNAIDS’...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #152: US aid leadership changes and a controversial UN merger
This week we discuss Jeremy Lewin’s departure from the U.S. State Department’s foreign aid bureau to the White House. His transition to the National Security Council ends a controversial leadership marked by the retreat of the U.S. from its long-held role as the world’s leading bilateral donor.…
more -
Special edition: Live from Hamburg: Can governments still invest in the future?
This special two-part edition of This Week in Global Development comes to you from the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, where leaders from across development, government, business and civil society gather to debate the big questions facing the global economy — from climate and debt to security,...
-
Special edition: The blueprint for better lung cancer screening
In a special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex cofounder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Brazilian thoracic surgeon Dr. Ricardo Sales do Santos to discuss a revolutionary approach to tackling lung cancer in medically underserved communities in...
-
Theory of Change: #5: Why Rachel Kyte doesn’t listen to climate polls
Rachel Kyte has spent decades shaping global climate change policy — from the World Bank to the United Nations to the United Kingdom. More than a decade since the signing of the Paris climate agreement, Kyte — the U.K. special representative for climate — is both inspired by how much has been…
more -
This Week in Global Dev: #151: Live from London Climate Action Week
As London Climate Action Week gets into full swing, we break down the key talking points from the conference so far. With the city in the midst of a scorching heat wave, the discussion of climate change feels even more urgent than usual. We explore the transactional landscape that developing...
-
Theory of Change: #4: William Easterly still believes development is freedom
Development economist William Easterly famously does not mince words about the disappointments of anti-poverty megaprojects and far-fetched foreign aid plans. For much of his career, Easterly has taken aim at experts who export their visions onto other people’s countries and communities — drawing...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #150: Fact-checking US aid claims as the State Department continues to hire
In our landmark 150th episode, we discuss a common theme in global development over the past 18 months: the state of U.S. foreign aid. We’re seeing the State Department steadily replenish its workforce, with dozens of open roles across the agency’s global health, international aid, and disaster...
-
Theory of Change: #3: Gayle Smith on the next fight for foreign aid
U.S. foreign aid is undergoing one of the most tumultuous transformations in its history. The Department of Government Efficiency’s dismantling of USAID and transfer of its remaining programs to the State Department upended the U.S. global development industry. But it’s much more than a question…
more -
This Week in Global Dev: #149: Development banks pivot strategies as global volatility deepens
At this year’s annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Riga, Latvia, discussions centered on a critical structural shift: what development finance should look like in an age of persistent volatility. Ukraine is increasingly shaping the answer, as the bank’s...
-
Theory of Change: #2: Seth Berkley has seen our pandemic future
Much of Seth Berkley's career has been an attempt to answer the question: How do you get vaccines to people who aren’t well-served by an inequitable global health system? When the COVID-19 outbreak exploded in early 2020, that question took on new urgency — along with a mind-spinning slew of...
-
This Week in Global Dev: #148: The latest on the Ebola outbreak response
This week, we unpack the latest on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. With no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo species driving the spread, we dive into the race to develop a vaccine and the critical funding shortfalls standing in the way. While...
-
Theory of Change: #1: How Alexander Berger weighs the world’s biggest problems
Coefficient Giving, one of the world’s largest effective-giving funders, is about to go even bigger. On the heels of its biggest funding year ever in 2025 — in which it channeled over $1 billion to highest-impact causes — the organization formerly known as Open Philanthropy and funded by Facebook...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
TOPICS IN THIS SHOW
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
We're the world’s leading independent news organization covering global development.
HOSTED BY
Devex
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Devex Podcasts have?
Devex Podcasts currently has 374 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Devex Podcasts about?
We're the world’s leading independent news organization covering global development.
How often does Devex Podcasts release new episodes?
Devex Podcasts publishes regularly with 374 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Devex Podcasts?
You can listen to Devex Podcasts on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Devex Podcasts?
Devex Podcasts is created and hosted by Devex.
URL copied to clipboard!