Whose Century Is It?

"Whose Century Is It?" explores ideas, trends and twists shaping the 21st century. Is this century China's, or once again America's, or someone else's entirely? It's too early to say; but creator and host Mary Kay Magistad offers interviews, stories and perspectives from around the world that provide informative— and often surprising— ways to think about the question. Mary Kay is a former NPR and PRI foreign correspondent and Asia hand who has reported from some 40 countries, on both sides of the turn of the 21st century.

On China's New Silk Road Podcast Preview 08/19/2020

On China's New Silk Road Podcast Preview If you like Whose Century Is It?, check out this preview of my new limited series podcast with the Global Reporting Centre, On China's New Silk Road. I've teamed up with great local journalists on almost every continent to explore how China's global ambition is seen around the world, and at the impact Chinese investments in one of the biggest global infrastructure efforts ever, are having on the ground. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/15681536

Modern slavery in your grocery cart 04/04/2019

Modern slavery in your grocery cart Next time you sip your tea or bite into a bar of chocolate, or load up your grocery cart with other treats, spare a thought for the underpaid or unpaid workers who made it possible. Modern slavery comes in many guises, and politics professor Genevieve LeBaron of the University of Sheffield in England, who's done field studies on the subject, is here to tell you how it happens, and what you might want to look out for as you shop. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/9261713

Wizards, Prophets & the Fate of the Earth 01/11/2019

Wizards, Prophets & the Fate of the Earth We're pretty clever, we humans, but we ignore unintended consequences at our peril -- like climate change, after a couple of centuries of fossil fuel-driven growth and innovation. Can we innovate our way out of that growing crisis, or must we conserve? Or both? Charles Mann, author of 1491, 1493 and The Wizard & the Prophet, tells the tale of these two competing approaches through the lives of the 'wizard,' Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, and the 'prophet,' ecologist William Vogt. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/8216972

Sci Fi Future 12/03/2018

Sci Fi Future In the imagined world of novelist Eliot Peper's near-term future in such books as Bandwidth and Borderless, San Diego's burning, polar ice caps have melted, everyone's got their heads in their digital feeds, and a powerful social media company called Commonwealth controls --well, seems like just about everything. Eliot talks to host Mary Kay Magistad about writing speculative fiction, about the value of sci fi in helping us all think through current crises and possible futures, and about what sci fi has seen coming, and what it's gotten just plain wrong. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/7774583

Why half the world's languages may disappear in this century 04/08/2018

Why half the world's languages may disappear in this century Embedded in each language is a reflection of life as lived by its speakers, over thousands of years. When a language disappears, that's all lost. As the world becomes more connected, and dominant cultures push their own languages for wider use, half of the world's 7,000 languages could be gone by century's end. The good news is, linguists are on it, like this episode’s guest Laura Welcher, who oversees the Long Now Foundation’s Rosetta Project in San Francisco. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/6455838

Ethnic cleansing, human tragedy & the future few saw coming for Burma 03/05/2018

Ethnic cleansing, human tragedy & the future few saw coming for Burma Not so long ago, Myanmar (Burma) was a good news story, with democratic reforms, a booming economy and falling poverty rates. Then came ugly military-led attacks on Rohingya Muslims, who killed, raped and burned houses, and forced some 700,000 Rohingyas to flee to camps in Bangladesh, with little pushback from pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. What does this mean for Myanmar's democratic future? Khin Ohmar, an exiled Burmese human rights and democracy activist for 30 years, shares her thoughts. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/6332742

We'd All Love to Change the World 01/22/2018

We'd All Love to Change the World What happens when you mix the efficiency and energy of the entrepreneurial world with the idealism of philanthropy? A growing number of social entrepreneurs say, you can create a world of good. But just like real entrepreneurs, more such efforts fail than succeed, and both smarts and resilience are needed for the long haul. Jonathan Lewis, author of The Unfinished Social Entrepreneur and founder of MCE Social Capital and cofounder of Copia, shares what he's learned over years as a social entrepreneur. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/6177005

China's counterintuitive bet 12/30/2017

China's counterintuitive bet Can China become a global leader in innovation by protecting state-run companies from competition at home, while acquiring innovative companies abroad? Can that innovation be sustained in a society where free speech and intellectual inquiry is sharply curtailed? China's leaders are betting on it, and in this episode, journalist-turned-business analyst Jim McGregor, chairman of APCO Greater China, mulls over the odds. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/6100627

Leading -- and following -- in turbulent times 11/19/2017

Leading -- and following -- in turbulent times Leaders like Donald Trump often rise at times of unsettling change. But what if that's exactly the wrong kind of leadership to face the challenges of this century? Futurist Bob Johansen argues the era ahead will be one with less hierarchy, more shared and shifting leadership, where clarity and agility will be rewarded, while rigid certainty will be punished. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5960328

In the Amazon 10/17/2017

In the Amazon Lush, vast and rich in biodiversity, the Amazon is the lungs of the planet. But it also attracts miners, loggers, farmers and developers, including foreigners, most recently Chinese, who have, over the past 40 years, contributed to reducing forest cover by some 20 percent. But at what cost to the planet? Host Mary Kay Magistad travels in the Amazon with Jon Watts, environment editor with The Guardian newspaper, to explore the complicated present and uncertain future of the Amazon. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5841463

Young China 08/27/2017

Young China Few generations in the world face a reality as dramatically different from all that have come before, as China's one-child generation. Since the one-child policy started in the early '80s, China has gone from aspiring developing country to powerful global player. It has shifted from being majority rural to majority urban, with per capita annual GDP rising from $300 to over $8,000 now. Young Chinese are more connected with the world than previous generations, thanks to the internet, smartphones, films, television and travel and study abroad, with some 330,000 studying in the United States alone. What does all this mean for the kind of power China might become in this century? Host Mary Kay Magistad talks with Alec Ash, long-time Beijing resident and author of "Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China," in this final episode as a coproduction with PRI's The World (but not the last of the podcast — details in the episode). /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777776

Rebuilding Brazil's economy requires more than BRICS and China 08/15/2017

Rebuilding Brazil's economy requires more than BRICS and China Brazil's economy was blazing along in the first decade of this century, turbo-charged by China's appetite for commodities. And there was the added boost of being named, by a Goldman Sachs exec, one of the rising economies to watch — the BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Then China's economic growth slowed, demand for commodities dropped and Brazil fell into its worst recession in a century, intensified by its worst corruption scandal ever. Brazil is beginning to emerge now, after two years of economic contraction and political turbulence. What are its prospects for again being seen as one of the great rising economic powers of this century? Host Mary Kay Magistad visited Rio de Janeiro to find out. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777777

Bumps along South Africa's yellow BRIC road 08/02/2017

Bumps along South Africa's yellow BRIC road South Africans' hopes and expectations that their country might become a democratic and economic leader in Africa, helped by a strong relationship with China and membership in the BRICS group — a collection of big countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) expected to emerge as economic leaders in this century — haven't turned out quite as planned. South Africa dipped into recession this year, has unemployment near 30 percent, and a deeply unpopular and, many South Africans say, ineffective president, Jacob Zuma. What happened, what now, and what do South Africans make of the similarities they see between their president, and President Donald Trump? Host Mary Kay Magistad reports from South Africa. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777778

Requiem for Liu Xiaobo 07/17/2017

Requiem for Liu Xiaobo Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo spent much of his life advocating for basic political rights and democracy in China. For that, he spent years imprisoned by a government that feels threatened by such demands. He was in prison when he won the Nobel Prize in 2010, serving 11 years for "subversion of state power," and he was in prison as his liver cancer advanced. He was released, under guard, to a state hospital, and died there July 13, 2017. Chinese authorities have repeatedly called Liu Xiaobo a criminal. They have censored information about him at home and appear to hope the world will forget him. That's unlikely. When an individual is brave enough to stand up to an authoritarian power on behalf of justice and rights for many, that stands out. And at a time when authoritarian tendencies are creeping in, in unexpected places, because people aren't always vigilant about protecting the democracy and rights they have, Liu's work and focus stand as a reminder that these things are precious to those who don't have them, and that authoritarians, once in power, rarely volunteer to cede power to citizens, unless pressure builds, and they have no other choice. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777779

How China's past shapes dreams of future power 06/30/2017

How China's past shapes dreams of future power China was one of the world's great powers for most of the past couple thousand years, and back on its heels only for a couple of centuries, as the Industrial Revolution took off and European colonialism expanded. Now, China's drawing on its past and moving with deliberation to reclaim what many Chinese feel is China's rightful place in the world. The challenges are many, but with slowing economic growth, an aging population and uncertain future challenges from within and outside China's borders, there's incentive to act now to cement China's place as a regional if not global leader. And that's what China's leaders are doing, drawing on their past for inspiration. Host Mary Kay Magistad talks with Howard French, author of "Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Path to Global Power." /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777781

Can Chinese pragmatism help save the planet? 06/16/2017

Can Chinese pragmatism help save the planet? China's leaders may not exactly be evangelizing about the perils of climate change, but compared to Donald Trump, these days, they look downright statesmanlike on this front. And Chinese policies on renewable energy, while often driven by pragmatic self-interest more than selfless concern for the planet, may nonetheless help tip the balance in the right direction in this century. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777782

Seeing into the future 05/29/2017

Seeing into the future Blind seers aside, it's easier to see where you're going, on the road and in life, if you can actually see. More than half of Americans wear glasses; in poorer and more remote regions of the world, it's estimated that some two billion people need glasses but don't have access to them, cutting into their ability to learn, work and live a full life. A social entrepreneurial effort called VisionSpring has reached millions of such people in Asia and Africa, selling glasses at affordable prices to customers who earn less than $4 a day. Host Mary Kay Magistad talks with VisionSpring's founder Jordan Kassalow, and president Ella Gudwin. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777784

Radio Free(ing) Africa 05/19/2017

Radio Free(ing) Africa An unsung weapon against terrorism that has proven successful in Africa is the power of the airwaves — shortwave radio reaching people with reliable information, and programming that helps educate them, connect them and imagine a different kind of future. The ubiquity of cellphones allows people in conflict regions to call in, challenge abuses of power and have a voice. That's worked in the Congo, with Radio Okapi. It's working now in areas where Boko Haram has been active in West Africa, and the new Dandal Kura radio network is now broadcasting. Host Mary Kay Magistad talks with her old editor and friend David Smith, who helped set up both. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777785

Soul searching in China 05/03/2017

Soul searching in China A resurgence of interest in religion in China, after more than half a century of Communism and in the midst of China's rapid economic transformation and global rise, comes as new generations search for spiritual meaning and an ethical foundation. Host Mary Kay Magistad talks with former China correspondent colleagues Ian Johnson, author of "The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao," and Jennifer Lin, author of "Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Faith in a Chinese Christian Family," about how her own Chinese family, including Watchman Nee, the Billy Graham of China in the first half of the 20th century. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777786

Enemies of the (Corrupt) People 04/19/2017

Enemies of the (Corrupt) People With kleptocratic autocrats on the rise, good journalism that explains what's going on matters more than ever. Fresh from sharing a 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, for coverage of the Panama Papers, Drew Sullivan, founder and editor of the Organized Crime & Corruption Project, talks corruption, authoritarian creep and the future of journalism. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777787

Truth & reconciliation in South Africa, revisited 04/06/2017

Truth & reconciliation in South Africa, revisited Healing deep social wounds takes time, even with active effort. After decades of institutionalized racism under apartheid, South Africa's Truth & Reconciliation Commission helped a divided nation watch, weep, reflect & come together — even if imperfectly. What is its legacy now, two decades later? How much of the hope South Africans had for what their future might be together has been borne out? Host Mary Kay Magistad visited South Africa to see how South Africans from different communities feel about what difference the TRC has, and hasn't, made in their lives. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777788

Atrocity amnesia 03/15/2017

Atrocity amnesia What happens when neighbors kill neighbors? What happens when the perpetrators try to bury the past? The past can still both shape and haunt the present, as the villagers of the small Polish town of Jedwabne have found, decades after other villagers there rounded up and killed hundreds of their Jewish neighbors. The World's Nina Porzucki visits the village to see how that past is remembered, and who's willing to talk about it. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777789

Women's work 03/08/2017

Women's work Women around the world face varying degrees of gender discrimination in the workplace — whether they're hired, how much they're paid, whether they advance as fast as men doing the same job. In Jordan, where girls and women generally do better than their male counterparts in school, and where more women than men attend college, startlingly few women participate in the workforce. Why? Asma Khader, a Jordanian lawyer, women's rights activist and former government official, weighs in, in conversation with The World's Shirin Jaafari. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777790

Badass librarians of the Internet Archive 02/23/2017

Badass librarians of the Internet Archive Librarians rock. And Internet Archive librarians, aiming to digitize and make universally available all human knowledge, including saving webpages that would otherwise disappear? They're on a whole 'nother level. In this age of alternative facts and disappearing government websites, hear how this small group of badass librarians is working to preserve knowledge, and empower investigative reporters and ordinary citizens to find webpages those with something to hide would rather you didn't find. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777791

Keeping up with killer technology 02/08/2017

Keeping up with killer technology Drones have only been around for a couple of decades, but already, they're reshaping the contours of conflict and raising ethical quandaries. President Barack Obama launched more than 500 drone strikes during his tenure, 10 times more than President George W. Bush. But Obama's drones strikes killed far fewer civilians than did Bush's intervention in Iraq. Still, how much should drones and robotics be used in conflict, and when, and what unintended consequences might this unleash? Peter Singer, Strategist at the New America Foundation and author of "Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century" talks with The World's Jeb Sharp. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777792

Make America Kind Again 01/27/2017

Make America Kind Again America became a global leader over the past century through openness, generosity, and soft power —the ability to attract, and to make others want to emulate your way of life, including inclusivity and equal rights. Donald Trump's vision of America, as voiced in his campaign and reflected in his first words and deeds as president, has caused more global dismay than attraction. Will the Trump era mark the end of the American century? Listen in to hear some early takes. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777793

How trust eroded within America's democracy 01/12/2017

How trust eroded within America's democracy Trust in government and journalism has plummeted in recent decades, particularly among conservatives. This wasn't a coincidence, nor strictly a result of bad behavior on the part of elected officials or the press, says Thomas Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of "It's Even Worse Than It Was: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism." He argues that understanding how we got here just might help Americans move to a better place. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777794

China, the US and the lessons of history 12/29/2016

China, the US and the lessons of history Talk about epic love/hate relationships. From the birth of the United States, China has loomed large in the American imagination, and America in China's, for better and for worse, often with surprising twists. Build a wall across the Mexican border? That was first proposed to stop Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. Mao Zedong's secret vice? American 'kissy' movies, to quote former Washington Post China correspondent John Pomfret, author of "The Beautiful Country and the MIddle Kingdom," an engaging new history of what America and China have meant to each other's citizens, as well as their governments, 1776 to now. And because this is a big and important topic, this is a long(ish) podcast — so break it up if you like. Want to hear about why the Founding Fathers admired China? Listen to the first 20 minutes. How America did — and didn't — promote its values in China in the 20th century? That'd be 20:00-53:00. Challenges for US-China relations now and going forward? 53:00 to the end. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777795

A newsroom looks at future past 12/14/2016

A newsroom looks at future past As Americans wonder what changes a new year and a new President will bring, here's a case study of how much things can change, in unexpected ways, in a relatively short time. Host Mary Kay Magistad sits down with some of the early staff of PRI and BBC co-production PRI's The World to chat about what the future looked like in 1996, when The World first went to air, and how change has come in unexpected ways and uneven waves. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777796

Black Lives Rising (in STEM) 12/02/2016

Black Lives Rising (in STEM) Great ideas come from diverse minds, and efforts to get more African Americans into cutting edge fields — science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine — are gaining ground, but with considerable challenges. How might efforts to increase this kind of diversity fare under a Trump presidency and beyond? Host Mary Kay Magistad explores. /episode/index/show/whosecenturyisit/id/5777797

Whose Century Is It?

TOPICS