The CGD Podcast

CGD's Clemence Landers, Liliana Rojas-Suarez, and Catherine Pattillo look at how the Iran war compares to recent shocks like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, how governments are responding—from fuel subsidies to rationing and currency interventions—and where the pressure is most acute, including in import-dependent economies in Southeast Asia and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

In this episode, I speak with Imran Matin of BRAC University's Institute for Governance and Development and my CGD colleague Kehinde Ajayi about why child marriage persists and what evidence tells us about how to reduce it. We discuss how the drivers vary across contexts, and what policies have been shown to work, including education investments, empowerment programs for adolescent girls, and cash transfers designed to delay marriage.

Venezuela has experienced one of the deepest economic collapses in modern history, with incomes falling sharply, poverty soaring, and millions forced to leave the country. Following the removal of Nicolás Maduro from power, Venezuela now faces a moment of uncertainty and possibility. In this episode of the CGD Podcast, I'm joined by Dany Bahar, Director of CGD's Migration and Displacement Program, and Liliana Rojas-Suarez, Director of CGD's Latin America Initiative, to discuss what comes next. We examine how Venezuela reached this point, the conditions that need to be in place for a credible economic recovery, the role of oil and debt restructuring, and how the country can realistically chart a path out of poverty and back toward stability and growth.

CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with Seth Berkley, former CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, about lessons from COVID-19 and how they should shape future vaccine development and delivery.

In this episode, I speak with Ian Mitchell, the lead author of the 2025 Commitment to Development Index (CDI), about what this year's results reveal. We discuss why many countries have slipped in their overall contributions to global development, where progress is emerging, and how the CDI can guide smarter, more coherent policymaking across trade, migration, climate, technology, and development finance at a time of increasingly constrained budgets. Ian also reflects on the major trends shaping this year's index and urges policymakers and advocates to look beyond aid when thinking about how to drive real impact for the world's poorest countries.

The landscape of global development is shifting—shrinking aid budgets, emerging funding models, and evolving priorities are forcing philanthropic capital to move faster, take greater risks, and fill critical gaps left by governments and multilateral institutions. What should the role of philanthropy look like? In this time of disruption, philanthropic donors are also presented with an opportunity to rethink, identify and remove barriers, and consider what changes can be truly game-changing. In this episode, I speak with Katrina Sill, Global Health and Development Lead at Founders Pledge, about their newly launched Catalytic Impact Fund. We discuss risk, impact, evidence, and how philanthropic entities can balance responding to immediate needs and foster resilient systems for the future.

From chatbots supporting new mothers and nutrition coaches guiding families, to tutoring tools for children and apps advising farmers, artificial intelligence is beginning to find its place in development. But is it ready—and are we? In this episode of the CGD Podcast, I'm joined by Temina Madon, Executive Director of the Agency Fund, and Han Sheng Chia, CGD Fellow and Director of our new AI initiative. We discuss where AI shows promise—from health and education to livelihoods and agriculture—what risks it could amplify, and how the development community can ensure these technologies improve lives rather than deepen inequalities.

CGD’s Rachel Glennerster speaks with Lord Jim O'Neill and Dr. Akhil Bansal on the nature and scale of the problem of neonatal sepsis, how an advance market commitment could help incentivize the development of a diagnostic, and what steps policymakers can take to help save newborn lives.

CGD's Helen Dempster speaks with the Inter-American Dialogue's Manuel Orozco about the key role that remittances play in development, the impact of the new tax, and how remittances could be better supported and managed.

Following the 2025 Development Leaders Conference, CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with BMZ's Dirk Meyer and SAIIA's Elizabeth Sidiropoulos about conference takeaways, including whether climate should be a focus for development agencies, how to get more bang for your climate-change buck, and how developing countries might prioritize between climate mitigation and adaptation.

After a large share of USAID's work was terminated, a small cadre of development experts created Project Resource Optimization, or PRO, to identify highly cost-effective, life-saving programs that were on hold and connect them with philanthropic donors who could fill the gaps. CGD's Erin Collinson speaks with two PRO team members, Rob Rosenbaum and Caitlin Tulloch, about the origins and limits of the PRO initiative, its successes to date, and the lessons from the work that could help re-envision US foreign aid.

CGD's Sanjeev Gupta and Benedict Clements of Universidad de Las Américas discuss the considerations that influence the design of sound monetary and fiscal policies, the role of income taxes, and the kinds of reforms that can bring equity to both emerging and advanced economies.

As the second season of Pandemic Proof comes to a close, host Javier Guzman reflects on the progress made in pandemic preparedness since COVID-19, the challenges we still face, and the rapidly shifting global landscape that will shape what comes next.

Ahead of the African Development Bank's presidential election in May, CGD's Karen Mathiasen and AfriCatalyst's Daouda Sembene interview three of the candidates – Amadou Hott, Samuel Munzele Maimbo, and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala – on their priorities for the Bank and their views on how to help steer countries through a volatile and uncertain time and achieve their development goals.

Takahiro Tsuda and Atsushi Mimura from the Japanese Ministry of Finance join Javier to to examine current funding mechanisms for pandemic preparedness and response, explore Japan's role in driving global efforts (and insights gained), and discuss potential pathways to strengthen PPR financing.

CGD's Gyude Moore speaks with Hannah Ryder of Development Reimagined and Yunnan Chen of ODI Global about the evolution of China's relationship with Africa, the opportunities presented by FOCAC 9, and where the money should go to do the most good.

CGD's Kehinde Ajayi speaks with UNICEF's Ruth Graham-Goulder and CGAP's Rani Deshpande about the importance of including adolescent girls' perspectives to inform policy, of working across sectors to provide multi-issue solutions, and of developing financial and economic interventions that reflect adolescent girls' realities.

Catharina Boehme, Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Governance at the WHO, joins guest-host Pete Baker to discuss the outcomes of the WHO Investment Round and the opportunities and risks it presents for strengthening global health and pandemic preparedness.

CGD's Rachael Calleja speaks with Santiago Quiñones Cardenas of APC Colombia, a member of the Re-thinking Development Cooperation Working Group, about the value of multidirectional learning, the importance of creating inclusive spaces for engagement, and Santiago's advice for successful triangular cooperation.

CGD's Eeshani Kandpal speaks with Twaweza founder Rakesh Rajani and the World Bank's Halsey Rogers about how Twaweza's learning assessments became the basis of the 2018 World Development Report on education. Together they shed light on how partnerships between international actors and local institutions can have outsize impact on policy worldwide.