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How public institutions become captured | Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett
Apr 29, 2026
43m 56s
Why the UN looks different from the Global South | Alanna O’Malley
Apr 22, 2026
Unknown duration
The poverty trap that kills a million people a year | Madhukar Pai
Apr 15, 2026
Unknown duration
Can aid still fight poverty? | Elina Scheja
Apr 8, 2026
Unknown duration
Can Asia still deliver the development dream? | Philip Schellekens
Apr 1, 2026
Unknown duration
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/29/26 | How public institutions become captured | Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett✨ | state capturecorruption+4 | Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett | stateinstitutions+1 | — | state capturecorruption+5 | — | 43m 56s | |
| 4/22/26 | Why the UN looks different from the Global South | Alanna O’Malley | Dan Banik speaks with Alanna O’Malley about the hidden history of the United Nations, showing how actors from the Global South helped shape global governance, decolonization, development, and the struggle for a more just international order. The conversation explores why the UN looks very different when viewed from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and why these debates matter so much in today’s crisis-ridden world. | — | ||||||
| 4/15/26 | The poverty trap that kills a million people a year | Madhukar Pai | Why does tuberculosis still kill more than a million people every year despite being preventable and curable? Dan Banik speaks with Madhukar Pai about TB, poverty, undernutrition, primary healthcare, decolonizing global health, and the enduring legacy of Paul Farmer. | — | ||||||
| 4/8/26 | Can aid still fight poverty? | Elina Scheja | How is global development cooperation changing in an age of aid cuts, geopolitical fragmentation, and shifting national priorities? In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Elina Scheja, Chief Economist at Sida, about the future of foreign aid, poverty reduction, jobs, evidence, and what effective development policy looks like in a more uncertain world. | — | ||||||
| 4/1/26 | Can Asia still deliver the development dream? | Philip Schellekens | Dan Banik speaks with Philip Schellekens, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at UNDP, about what Asia’s extraordinary rise can (and cannot) teach us about development today. They explore growth, inequality, jobs, aging, AI, and why the future of development depends on moving beyond crisis language toward a more inclusive and opportunity-focused vision. | — | ||||||
| 3/25/26 | Urbanization, inequality and the future of development | Benjamin Bradlow | Dan Banik speaks with Benjamin Bradlow about urban inequality, informal settlements, and why access to housing, sanitation, and transport remains so unequal in many of the world’s fastest-growing cities. The conversation explores how local politics, state capacity, and civil society shape whether cities become spaces of exclusion or inclusion. | — | ||||||
| 3/18/26 | Why the middle class will shape global development | Homi Kharas | Dan Banik speaks with Homi Kharas about the rise of the global middle class and why it has become central to the story of modern development. The conversation explores how middle-class growth is reshaping economies, politics, and aspirations around the world, and why its future will matter for inequality, sustainability, and global change. | — | ||||||
| 3/11/26 | Artificial intelligence and the future of human decision-making | Francesco Marcelloni | Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare, education, and governance. Dan Banik and Francesco Marcelloni explore the risks and benefits, and why human judgment must remain central in the AI era. | — | ||||||
| 3/4/26 | Why India–China relations could reshape the global order | Manoj Kewalramani | India-China relations have entered a phase of cautious re-engagement, but beneath the diplomatic optics lie deep structural fault lines shaped by power asymmetry, border tensions, economic interdependence, and great power rivalry. Dan Banik speaks with Manoj Kewalramani about whether the relationship is stabilizing into a cold peace or simply entering another cycle of strategic competition with global consequences. | — | ||||||
| 2/25/26 | Can philosophy save a world obsessed with power? | Thomas Pogge | In a world defined by rising great-power rivalry, declining solidarity, and shrinking aid budgets, the Yale philosopher Thomas Pogge joins Dan Banik to discuss whether global justice and human rights still matter or whether power politics has won. From the erosion of soft power to bold proposals like the Ecological Impact Fund, this conversation explores how values, innovation, and institutional reform could reshape a fractured international order. | — | ||||||
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| 2/18/26 | Debt, development finance, and global agency | David McNair | Dan Banik speaks with David McNair about the shifting politics of global development in an era of debt distress and declining humanitarian funding. They explore how activism must adapt to a changing global financial landscape, the rise of agency in the Global South, and what it will take to reform development finance for the years ahead. | — | ||||||
| 2/11/26 | Six economists and the making of modern development | David Engerman | David Engerman takes Dan Banik inside the lives and rivalries of six South Asian economists who helped define what “development” would mean in the postcolonial world. From Cambridge seminars to global institutions, the conversation reveals how their debates on trade, planning, inequality, and human welfare still shape the choices governments face today. | — | ||||||
| 2/4/26 | Making evidence actually usable | Lindsey Moore | Dan Banik speaks with Lindsey Moore about how ethical AI and predictive analytics can transform decades of development evaluations into structured and searchable evidence for better decisions. They explore what it takes to build context-aware models grounded in clear taxonomies and local perspectives, enabling AI to strengthen institutional learning and advance equity. | — | ||||||
| 1/28/26 | Vietnam’s remarkable development turnaround | Arve Hansen | Vietnam is a celebrated development success story, but rapid growth is also reshaping everyday life through rising inequality, changing consumption, and mounting environmental pressures. Dan Banik speaks with Arve Hansen about what Vietnam’s next phase of development may look like and the trade-offs it will require. | — | ||||||
| 1/21/26 | Energy for growth on the African continent | Todd Moss | Dan Banik speaks with Todd Moss about why electrification has surged in some countries but continues to lag across much of Africa. Together they unpack why “access” is only the starting point when electricity is expensive, unreliable, and unable to power jobs and growth. | — | ||||||
| 12/23/25 | Looking back, thinking forward | Dan Banik | As the year draws to a close, Dan Banik takes stock of the major ideas and debates that have defined Season 6 of In Pursuit of Development. From shifting global power and democracy to climate, energy, and artificial intelligence, this episode looks back at what we have learned and ahead to what is next. | — | ||||||
| 12/17/25 | Climate, conflict and the development squeeze | Florian Krampe | Climate change is increasingly shaping development and security outcomes, not as a single cause of conflict but as a force that intensifies existing vulnerabilities in fragile contexts. Dan Banik and Florian Krampe discuss why separating climate, development, and security is no longer tenable and how climate action might become a pathway to resilience and peace rather than instability. | — | ||||||
| 12/10/25 | Aid at the breaking point | Nilima Gulrajani | As aid budgets shrink and multilateralism weakens, Dan Banik speaks with Nilima Gulrajani about what’s worth saving, what must change, and how global cooperation can still deliver in an uncertain world. | — | ||||||
| 12/6/25 | How Latin America sees the new Global South | Benedicte Bull | Dan Banik speaks with Benedicte Bull about how Latin America fits into the shifting idea of the “Global South.” Together, they explore what this identity means in practice, how the region balances ties to China and the United States, and what its experience reveals about power, justice, and development in a changing world order. | — | ||||||
| 12/3/25 | Borders, bargains, and the business of smuggling | Max Gallien | Dan Banik and Max Gallien explore how smuggling operates as a deeply embedded part of state–society relations in North Africa, rather than a simple threat to state authority. They discuss what this reveals about governance, livelihoods, and the political bargains that shape life in border regions. | — | ||||||
| 11/29/25 | Solidarity in a divided world | Cecilia Bailliet | Dan Banik speaks with Cecilia Marcela Bailliet about what solidarity truly means in a world increasingly turning inward. Together, they explore how solidarity, human rights, and peace intersect—and why real solidarity requires action, inclusion, and a renewed commitment to our shared humanity. | — | ||||||
| 11/26/25 | When evidence meets Washington politics | Dean Karlan | Dan Banik speaks with Dean Karlan about his efforts to strengthen evidence use and cost-effectiveness inside USAID during a period of dramatic institutional change. Together, they explore what the agency’s recent dismantling means for global development, U.S. soft power, and the future of aid in an increasingly uncertain world. | — | ||||||
| 11/19/25 | China’s evolving role in global development finance | Hong Bo | As globalization fragments and traditional aid declines, low- and middle-income countries are forging new partnerships to finance their development ambitions. In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Hong Bo about how China’s overseas investments are evolving, from mega-projects to smaller, greener, and more strategic initiatives, and what this means for the future of global development finance. | — | ||||||
| 11/12/25 | Power, policy, and the future of global development | Rachel Glennerster | As global aid budgets shrink and new coalitions emerge, Rachel Glennerster joins Dan Banik to unpack what these shifts mean for the future of development. Together they explore how evidence, prioritization, and South–South Cooperation can drive genuine progress in an increasingly multipolar world. | — | ||||||
| 11/8/25 | Democracy against the odds | Happy Kayuni | Malawi has recently held another peaceful election, reaffirming its status as one of Africa’s most resilient democracies despite deep economic hardship. Dan Banik speaks with Happy Kayuni about why Malawians continue to believe in democracy even when development remains elusive. | — | ||||||
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Chart Positions
15 placements across 14 markets.
Chart Positions
15 placements across 14 markets.