Episodes

  • Can the Next Secretary-General Deliver for the World’s Young People and Young Countries?

    Can the Next Secretary-General Deliver for the World’s Young People and Young Countries?
    May 26 2026
    In 1960, when 17 African nations declared independence from colonial rule, the United Nations reinvented itself. Today, Africa and parts of Asia are home to the largest generation of young people in history. In Africa alone, 12 million young people enter the workforce every year, but only 3 million formal jobs are created. Development assistance is no longer enough. African leaders want real structural power in the global economy. On this episode of World’s Toughest Job, we ask: Can the next U.N. secretary-general deliver for the world’s young people and young countries? Host Jasmin Baoumy and co-host Mark Malloch-Brown are joined by Martin Kimani, president and CEO of the Africa Center and a former Kenyan ambassador to the U.N.; Joe Studwell, a senior fellow at the United Kingdom’s Overseas Development Institute and the Africa Urban Lab; and Saru Duckworth, a doctoral researcher at Oxford University. World’s Toughest Job is a co-production of Foreign Policy and the UN Foundation.
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    42 mins
  • Can the Secretary-General Still Act as a Firebreak on Peace and Security?

    Can the Secretary-General Still Act as a Firebreak on Peace and Security?
    May 19 2026
    During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, United Nations Secretary-General U Thant had three things on his side: personal diplomacy, the UN’s neutrality, and a few precious days to negotiate. Today, the risk from war is once again at a dangerous level. And on this episode of World’s Toughest Job, we ask what leverage the next secretary-general will have when a threat simmers for months or years and then explodes—not in 13 days, but in 13 hours. Can they still act as a firebreak when the old safety nets are gone? Or is it truly an impossible job? Jasmin Baoumy and Mark Malloch-Brown are joined by Lynn Kuok, the Lee Kuan Yew chair at Brookings Institution; Ankit Panda, nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, president of the International Peace Institute. World’s Toughest Job is a co-production of Foreign Policy and the UN Foundation.
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    44 mins
  • What Kind of Leader Does the UN Need Right Now?

    What Kind of Leader Does the UN Need Right Now?
    Apr 28 2026
    This year, 193 member states will elect a new secretary-general of the United Nations. Over the next eight episodes, we’ll ask how the next secretary-general might actually make a difference on issues from economic turbulence and superpower rivalries to artificial intelligence, inequality, and climate change. But today, we’re starting off with the most basic question: What kind of leader does the UN need right now? Host Jasmin Baoumy is joined by Thant Myint-U, a senior fellow at the UN Foundation; Susana Malcorra, the president and co-founder of GWL Voices; and Mark Malloch-Brown, a former UN deputy secretary-general and administrator of the UN Development Programme. World’s Toughest Job is a co-production of Foreign Policy and the UN Foundation.
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    38 mins
  • Coming Soon: World's Toughest Job

    Coming Soon: World's Toughest Job
    Apr 20 2026
    Between now and the end of this year, 193 member states will elect a new secretary-general of the United Nations. This person will oversee a staff of tens of thousands around the world and be asked to manage global emergencies, avert climate disaster, and end wars—all while answering to 193 bosses. What kind of leader does the world need right now? And how should candidates prepare to serve not just governments but 8 billion people? We’ll get into it all on World’s Toughest Job, coming April 28 from Foreign Policy and the UN Foundation.
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    2 mins