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To Save Us From Hell
by Global Dispatches
“The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell,” Dag Hammersjkold told us some 60 years ago. To Save Us From Hell is a podcast that discusses the players and debates raging at the UN to keep us from that fiery furnace. Each week, UN Dispatch editor-in-chief Mark Leon Goldberg and International Relations Scholar Anjali Dayal give critical analysis of the United Nations, as well as break down the latest news from Turtle Bay. From shenanigans at the Security Council to the UN’s life saving humanitarian work around the world, two veteran UN watchers dissect the key debates driving the agenda at the UN and uncover geopolitical intrigues along the way.To Save Us from Hell provides in-depth, accessible, and timely takes on the United Nations and its activities around the world. Whether you work for the UN, adjacent to the UN, or are simply curious about how the United Nations operates in this chaotic world our expert co-hosts will keep
Episodes
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Navi Pillay Wins the Nobel! And Trump Goes Nuclear on the ICC
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Get a discounted subscription: https://www.globaldispatches.org/50PercentOffAnnual The former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and chair of the UN body that concluded Israel committed genocide…
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Trump at the UN — And the Biggest Moments From UNGA
President Trump delivered his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly, kicking off a week of speeches from presidents and prime ministers from over 100 countries. In this special crossover edition of To Save Us From Hell and Global Dispatches, I am joined by Anjali Dayal, my To Save...
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What to Watch at UNGA 2026: Our Guide to the Biggest Week in Global Diplomacy
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Today’s episode is dedicated to all things UNGA81! We are just two weeks away from the largest diplomatic gathering of the year, as hundreds of presidents and prime ministers descend on the United Nations for…
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A Shakeup in the Race for UN Secretary General
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The United Nations is in the midst of selecting its next Secretary-General — and the race to succeed António Guterres just got more interesting. Last week, the Security Council held a straw poll to test the...
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Who’s Up, Who’s Down in the Race for UN Secretary-General?
The race to become the next United Nations Secretary-General reached a pivotal moment on Thursday, when the Security Council held its first straw poll of the seven declared candidates. The results sharply narrowed the field: only four candidates now appear viable, with one clear frontrunner and...
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What's Going on With the ICC? Plus: UNHCR in Trump's Crosshairs...And a rumored new Sec Gen Candidate?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org To the world, Zohran Mamdani is the mayor of New York. To the UN, he is the mayor of its host city. So when he posted a video calling for the arrest and extradition of Benjamin Netanyahu to the International...
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A Viral Shouting Match at the UN has Turned Into a Campaign to Oust a Senior UN Official
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org About ten days ago, a highly unusual scene unfolded at the United Nations: Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon and Vanessa Frazier, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed...
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How the UN Views the Iran-U.S. Ceasefire
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett could become the first United Nations Secretary-General of Indigenous descent. Guyana’s ambassador to the United Nations was nominated as a Secretary-General candidate this week,...
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Germany Gets Snubbed for the Security Council
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org There was a remarkable scene at the United Nations yesterday as the President of the General Assembly and former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock read out the results of a hotly contested race for a...
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Stopping Ebola Requires Multilateralism. America’s Retreat Is Making That Harder
An Ebola outbreak is spiraling in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — and one of the clearest lessons from past outbreaks is that Ebola requires multilateralism: countries working together through existing institutions like the United Nations and the World Health Organization to contain the...
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Inside the Flawed Push at the Security Council to Reopen Hormuz
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The Security Council is weighing yet another U.S.-backed resolution on the Strait of Hormuz that is probably doomed from the start. In this first segment, Anjali and Mark explain the flawed logic behind this...
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Let the Race for UN Secretary General Begin!
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the four candidates for UN Secretary-General made their case at the UN General Assembly. Across twelve hours spanning two days, they took questions from UN member states and civil society groups eager to learn more about their priorities, proclivities, and...
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The UN Has a Plan to Open Hormuz (Two of Them, Actually.)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The war in the Middle East has claimed its first UN casualties: three Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon were killed in under 24 hours. With Israel intent on occupying the same part of southern Lebanon that UN...
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How the US is Justifying the Iran War to the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org One of the fundamental precepts of the United Nations Charter is that waging war against another UN member state is simply not permitted. It’s illegal. There are, however, some narrow exceptions — and here the...
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The War in Iran Comes to the United Nations
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org We cover a lot of ground in this week’s episode of To Save Us From Hell! There are two new entrants to the race to succeed António Guterres as the next UN Secretary-General; Cindy McCain announced she is…
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Board of Peace v United Nations | US To Attack Iran? |Plus, Trump's Very Odd Pick to Lead Outreach to International Organizations
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org It was an odd juxtaposition: Trump’s inaugural Board of Peace gathered in Washington, D.C. as the U.S. appeared to be readying for war with Iran. In this week’s To Save Us From Hell episode, Mark and Anjali...
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The Secretary-General Race Heats Up — And the Epstein Files Hit the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org For the first time in history, multiple countries have jointly nominated a candidate for UN Secretary General. Earlier this week, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico endorsed Michelle Bachelet—a former president of…
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The Stories that Will Drive the UN Agenda in 2026 | Plus, Can Trump's "Board of Peace" Compete with the Security Council?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Can Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace really compete with the Security Council? Will we even be discussing it a week or two from now, or will Trump and other world leaders simply move on? And what’s with the...
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Is This an Existential Moment for the United Nations?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The Security Council convened an emergency meeting on Monday in response to American military operations in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife— forcing dozens of countries to publicly respond…
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Anjali Addresses the Security Council! | Plus: Rafael Grossi Gets "The New Yorker" Profile Treatment
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Discount link for full episode: https://www.globaldispatches.org/40percentoff Your very own To Save Us From Hell co-host Anjali Dayal briefed the United Nations Security Council on Monday! She was paired with...
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The Security Council Goes To Syria
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org On December 4, the entire United Nations Security Council made an unprecedented trip to Syria. It is hard to overstate what a significant turning point this represents — both for the Security Council and the...
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What We Think About the Gaza Resolution at the Security Council
On Monday evening, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, formally endorsing Trump’s peace initiative for Gaza. The resolution passed overwhelmingly, with 13 votes in favor, none against, and two abstentions (from Russia and China), following several weeks of U.S.-led diplomatic wrangling....
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What Zohran Mamdani's Win Means for the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org New York isn’t just the cultural and media capital of the United States — it’s also the host city to the United Nations. Since 1962, City Hall has maintained a special office dedicated to liaising with the UN....
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Will the Security Council Back a Gaza Stabilization Force? | Trump vs. the International Maritime Organization | Plus: Heba Aly on a New Push for UN Charter Reform
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The ceasefire in Gaza is hanging by a thread. One idea on the table: an International Stabilization Force made up of troops from around the world. The Security Council is deep in negotiations over a resolution…
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Did The Gaza Ceasefire Emanate From UNGA? Plus: A New "Gang Suppression Force" for Haiti and our Nobel Predictions
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org 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...
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“Your Countries Are Going to Hell”: Trump’s UNGA Speech, Unpacked | Live From UNGA
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…
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These are the Stories that Will Drive the Agenda at UNGA This Year
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org 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…
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US Nixes UNIFIL and Denies Famine in Gaza | Plus, is Antonio Guterres Too Timid?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The United States this week pulled the plug on UNIFIL, the decades-old UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. Every other member of the Security Council—and Lebanon itself—wanted it to stay. But Israel…
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States Are Lining Up to Recognize Palestinian Statehood at the UN | Tammy Bruce Tapped as Deputy US-UN Amb
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Trump’s latest UN pick is not a diplomat. He’s tapped conservative firebrand Tammy Bruce — a Fox News personality–turned–State Department spokesperson — as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN. We break…
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A UN Expert on Enforced Disappearances Investigates the U.S. Detention of Venezuelan Migrants in El Salvador
We have a special (and timely) conversation today with Grazyna Baranowska, Vice Chair of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Anjali Dayal and Dr. Baranowska discuss the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the kinds...
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What We Learned From Mike Waltz's Confirmation Hearing
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org 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…
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Searching for Compromiso in Seville | Is Rafael Grossi Radioactive?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org 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...
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What the UN is Doing about the Iran-Israel War | Plus: The US walks out of a key UN conference, and why the UN might abandon its historic building in Geneva
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Bombs are dropping in Iran and Israel, with no end in sight and the very real prospect that the United States might imminently join the fight. As a hot war unfolds in the Middle East, frantic diplomacy is also...
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New Faces at the UN—and a Horse Fight at the General Assembly
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org 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...
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Will the UN Set Up Shop in Rwanda?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org Discount subscription link for 40% Off --> https://www.globaldispatches.org/40PercentOff The UN is facing a major budget crunch. So how is it responding? One answer is UN80—a reform effort championed by the...
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Who Will Be the Next UN Secretary-General? | With Richard Gowan
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The race to succeed António Guterres is unofficially underway. His term as UN Secretary-General ends in December 2026, but the backroom jockeying has already begun. In this episode, Mark and Anjali are joined…
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Trump’s Tariffs Are Making a Mess at the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org "Nobody wins in trade wars," said António Guterres as he left a UN Security Council meeting this week. But it’s clear there’s at least one big loser: American diplomacy. This week, Anjali and Mark break down…
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Crisis at the UN Refugee Agency and International Organization for Migration
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration are two entities now squarely in the crosshairs of their once-strongest backer. Both agencies rely heavily on American funding—but with…
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Trump's War on Women Comes to the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The Trump administration has turned the United Nations into a battleground in its war on gender equality. At the Commission on the Status of Women this week, the U.S. sought to block references to gender...
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Seismic Shift At The UN Following a Jaw Dropping Vote On Ukraine
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org On Monday February 24, the General Assembly convened for a long-scheduled vote marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a stunning shift, the United States abandoned its European allies...
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Trump's Anti-DEI Crusade Comes to the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The Trump administration’s fight against DEI has come for the United Nations. In this episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and Mark Leon Goldberg discuss what we are seeing unfold at the UN in terms of...
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Can the UN Stop the Violence in DR Congo? | How The US Foreign Aid Freeze Impacts the UN
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org The major city of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, is now under the control of a Rwanda-backed rebel group. UN peacekeepers in the area were unable to repel the assault but continue to…
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What We Learned From Elise Stefanik's Confirmation Hearing
In this special live recording of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and I break down the highlights (and lowlights) from the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s pick as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise Stefanik, a member of Congress from New York and a staunch Donald Trump...
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What to Expect at the UN in 2025
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org A new year. A new United Nations. In this 2025 debut episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and I discuss what to expect in the year ahead at the United Nations. We cover a lot of ground—from the new...
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How the UN Can Help Syria
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org It’s a new day in Damascus. But what about New York? For the last 14 years, the United Nations’ role in Syria has been relegated to the circumscribed (but vital) task of supporting the humanitarian needs of...
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What's the Relationship Between the ICC and the UN? | COP29 Update | Another US Veto | World, Meet Tom Fletcher
We cover a lot of ground in this week’s free episode. Just hours before we recorded our conversation, the ICC issued formal arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Anjali Dayal and Mark Leon Goldberg explain what this means for the UN. We then…
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Trump and the UN: What Awaits, Come January
In this special post-election edition of To Save Us From Hell, Mark Leon Goldberg and Anjali Dayal explain what to expect — and what not to expect — from Donald Trump’s approach to the United Nations during the next four years. Will he burn Turtle Bay to the ground? Mostly ignore the UN? Cozy up…
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What Happens if UNRWA Shuts Down?
UNRWA is a unique humanitarian agency. It is both a humanitarian relief provider for millions of Palestinians across several countries, and in many places, it functions as a de facto municipal government, providing services like schools, healthcare, and trash collection. Together, UNRWA provides…
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What Happens if UNRWA Shuts Down?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.org UNRWA is a unique humanitarian agency. It is both a humanitarian relief provider for millions of Palestinians across several countries, and in many places, it functions as a de facto municipal government,...
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UNIFIL Peacekeepers Injured By Chemical Agent | Guterres Goes to Russia | Can the UN Save Biodiversity?
The Israeli Defense Forces have continued their deliberate attacks on UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon, including an incident in which UNIFIL Blue Helmets were injured by white phosphorus, an incendiary chemical agent used by the Israeli army. Why does this keep happening, and what…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
“The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell,” Dag Hammersjkold told us some 60 years ago. To Save Us From Hell is a podcast that discusses the players and debates raging at the UN to keep us from that fiery furnace. Each week, UN Dispatch editor-in-chief Mark Leon Goldberg and International Relations Scholar Anjali Dayal give critical analysis of the United Nations, as well as break down the latest news from Turtle Bay. From shenanigans at the Security Council to the UN’s life saving humanitarian work around the world, two veteran UN watchers dissect the key debates driving the agenda at the UN and uncover geopolitical intrigues along the way.To Save Us from Hell provides in-depth, accessible, and timely takes on the United Nations and its activities around the world. Whether you work for the UN, adjacent to the UN, or are simply curious about how the United Nations operates in this chaotic world our expert co-hosts will keep
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How many episodes does To Save Us From Hell have?
To Save Us From Hell currently has 69 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is To Save Us From Hell about?
“The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell,” Dag Hammersjkold told us some 60 years ago. To Save Us From Hell is a podcast that discusses the players and debates raging at the UN to keep us from that fiery furnace. Each week, UN Dispatch...
How often does To Save Us From Hell release new episodes?
To Save Us From Hell has 69 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to To Save Us From Hell?
You can listen to To Save Us From Hell 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 To Save Us From Hell?
To Save Us From Hell is created and hosted by Global Dispatches.
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