GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

As more small businesses move sales, payments, and customer relationships online, they unlock new opportunities, but they also become easier targets for cyber-criminals and other threat actors.
In this episode of Local to global: The power of small business, host JJ Ramberg sits down with Shamina Singh, Founder & President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and Brian Cute, Interim CEO and Director of Capacity & Resilience at the Global Cyber Alliance, to explore what Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital economy reveals about the cybersecurity challenges facing micro, small and medium-sized businesses everywhere.
Together, they unpack what cyber-risk looks like on the ground, from phishing, ransomware, and malware to low-tech scams like QR-code sticker switching. They also examine why the damage rarely stays local; when a small supplier gets hit, disruptions can cascade through regional networks and even global supply chains.
The good news is that their collaboration in Southeast Asia is also surfacing solutions that the rest of the world can borrow. Singh and Cute share what works, including public-private partnerships that deliver practical toolkits, localized training, and basic cyber hygiene that businesses can adopt, especially as AI-driven fraud and deepfakes make scams harder to spot.
Local to global: The power of small business is a podcast series from GZERO Media’s Blue Circle Studios and Mastercard, exploring why small businesses are poised to play an even bigger role in the future of the global economy.
 
Host: JJ Ramberg
Guests: Shamina Singh, Brian Cute

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How does a small country like Singapore, strategically positioned between the US and China, navigate a world of growing uncertainty? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to unpack a global order in flux. For a small country at a global crossroads, managing the current geopolitical moment isn't an abstract concept. It is central to its survival. Despite "radical uncertainty," the city-state has continued to flourish as a global hub for finance, trade, and technology.
From the sidelines of Davos, Bremmer and Shanmugaratnam look at the rapidly changing global order. Shanmugaratnam says the challenge is not to sit back and “be intimidated” but to realize that most issues no longer require leadership by a “single, dominant power.” Take AI. Despite its relatively small size, Singapore has become a global leader. With some of the most advanced real-world adoption of artificial intelligence in the world, the government is working to future-proof its economy by investing in lifelong learning and skills upgrading so that its workforce, especially white-collar workers, can adapt and thrive in the AI future.
Host: Ian Bremmer
Guest: Tharman Shanmugaratnam

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The GZERO World Podcast heads to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum this week for a look at transatlantic relations and how President Trump’s second term is reshaping the global order. Uncertainty and tensions were high this week as Trump doubled down on his desire to control Greenland—before announcing a deal with NATO over the Danish territory’s future and walking back tariff threats. Ian Bremmer spoke with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on the sidelines of Davos to discuss the future of the transatlantic relationship, Arctic security, the war in Ukraine and why, despite so many geopolitical challenges, Europe is more united than ever.
Then, Bremmer sits down with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, for a look at the surprising resilience of the world economy. Georgieva says there are four key reasons why the IMF upgraded its global growth forecast for 2026. They also discuss the importance of independent central banks and Trump’s push for more control over Fed policy.
Host: Ian Bremmer
Guests: Alexander Stubb, Kristalina Georgieva

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It’s been a year since President Trump returned to office, this time with fewer constraints, a better understanding of how government works, and a much more muscular view of US foreign policy. This week on the GZERO World Podcast, Harvard’s Stephen Walt joins Ian Bremmer to help answer a simple question with complicated answers: what kind of presidency is he building this time around?
Over the past year, we’ve seen a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a rewriting of America's role in the world. There’s been a retreat from multilateral institutions, targeting of long-standing allies, and a view of global politics where great powers dominate, and weaker ones fall in line. It’s a big departure from 80 years of the postwar order America spent building and leading. How much more will change by the time he leaves office?
Host: Ian Bremmer
Guest: Stephen Walt
 

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Ian Bremmer unpacks the fallout from the Trump administration’s dramatic operation in Caracas that captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the US to face federal charges. The raid was a stark demonstration of American power, and few are mourning the fall of a leader whose rule helped collapse Venezuela and drive millions to flee. But even with Maduro gone, the hard questions start immediately: who governs now, how long does the US stay involved, and how quickly could “stability” turn into something far messier?
First, Bremmer speaks with Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, who says the operation may have been “limited” in scope, but the political and strategic risks are only beginning. Gallego argues that the White House is improvising and that Congress is watching closely for signs of escalation. “There really isn’t a plan,” he warns. “They’re kind of just playing this as it goes, which is very scary that they’re doing that.” He lays out what a more sustainable path could look like, including releasing political prisoners, setting a timeline for elections, and pursuing economic steps that reduce the chances of renewed conflict.
Then Bremmer is joined by Stanford political scientist Frank Fukuyama, who cautions against viewing Maduro’s capture as a clean “one and done” victory. The regime, he argues, is bigger than any single leader, and the US may be stepping into a long, unpredictable project whether it admits it or not. “Let’s not kid ourselves,” Fukuyama says. “This is a nation building exercise.” From the risk of economic collapse and refugee flows to the precedent set by a US foreign policy driven by raw leverage, Fukuyama and Bremmer explore what happens when Washington embraces the “law of the jungle,” and why the consequences could extend well beyond Venezuela.
Host: Ian Bremmer
Guests: Ruben Gallego and Francis Fukuyama

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