Analysis
Russian elections: why though?
It’s a fair question to ask as Russia goes to the polls this weekend for nationwide local and parliamentary votes in which the outcome is certain.
It’s a fair question to ask as Russia goes to the polls this weekend for nationwide local and parliamentary votes in which the outcome is certain.
25 years after 9/11, has America learned the lessons of the war on terror—or is it repeating the same mistakes? Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper reflects on the post-9/11 era, the war with Iran, and why China is the biggest existential threat to the United States.
AI is rapidly lowering the barriers to knowledge and expertise that once kept some of humanity’s most dangerous capabilities out of reach. Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen joins Ian Bremmer to examine why biological weapons may pose an even greater risk than nuclear war – and whether governments and tech companies can keep up.
For decades, nuclear war has represented the ultimate doomsday scenario. But investigative journalist and author Annie Jacobsen says biological warfare may pose an even greater overall threat. Unlike nuclear weapons, which require tightly controlled materials, enormously expensive delivery systems, and specialized expertise, the barriers to developing biological weapons can be far lower. And artificial intelligence could lower them further.
Ian Bremmer sits down with Jacobsen to discuss how AI is changing the landscape of catastrophic risk. As increasingly powerful models make sophisticated scientific knowledge easier to access, they could allow bad actors to bypass years of specialized training and dramatically shorten the path from an idea to a potentially dangerous capability.
They also explore the struggle to govern a technology developing faster than regulators can respond, the gaps in existing AI safeguards, and what governments and tech companies could do to identify dangerous vulnerabilities before they are exploited. And they step back to a larger question at the heart of Jacobsen’s work: Why does humanity keep developing technologies with the potential to threaten its own survival – and can our ability to manage those risks ever catch up with our ability to create them?
Africa sees millions of migrants move within the continent each year. Less than 1% of people in sub-Saharan Africa migrate beyond the continent to places like Europe, North America, and Asia, according to the World Bank and the French Development Agency.
As Americans head toward November’s midterms, the boom of apps like Polymarket and Kalshi is raising a bigger question: can prediction markets rival – even replace – traditional polling?
Merriam-Webster added words and phrases around AI, including “AGI” (artificial general intelligence), “vibe coding” (using AI to create computer code), and “uncanny valley.”
Ian Bremmer analyzes the recent wave of AI doomsday rhetoric

A woman walks past a billboard, displaying portraits of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy and promoting the United Russia party ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election, near the Moscow International Business Centre in Moscow, Russia, September 15, 2026.
It’s a fair question to ask as Russia goes to the polls this weekend for nationwide local and parliamentary votes in which the outcome is certain.
WINTER IS COMING. But Fall is coming first, so be prepared with seasonal items from the Puppet Regime official store. Our top pick: the PUPPET REGIME hoodie, perfect for stormy weather, chill breezes, or clandestine machinations. Available in "can't stop, won't stop" black and "the power of YES" pink.
Never mind tariffs, we ship (just about) worldwide (sorry Iran, Russia, and North Korea)!
Browse our full collection, which also includes:
Shop now at shop.puppetregime.tv!
Japan hit a historic milestone this week. What was it?
Take the quiz to see if you guessed correctly!
GZERO Media is a company dedicated to providing the public with intelligent and engaging coverage of global affairs. It was created in 2017 as a subsidiary of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk analysis firm.
Interest in global affairs is soaring these days, and yet traditional sources of insight are either too politicized, too polarizing, or too boring.
We believe there's a better way to help people understand the forces that are reshaping their world. By delivering deep insight with a light touch. By taking a global view. By pushing beyond predictable opinions and formats to inform, engage, challenge, and entertain.
Our approach is at once journalistic, analytical, and creative. We not only explain the most important stories in the world today — we tease out the critical connections between them, so you can be smart about what comes next.
Whether you get the daily dish on global affairs from our GZERO Daily newsletter, see global leaders in a different light on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, or get your fix of laughter and outrage from our political satire show PUPPET REGIME, we hope that you come away with a broader and deeper understanding of the world.
For decades, a small number of leading countries regularly came together – in formats like the Group of Seven (G7) or the wider Group of 20 (G20) – to seek collective solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. What's more, the United States used its power, for better or worse, as a kind of "G1" to underwrite global norms of global commerce, finance, and security.
Today, that order is slipping away. No single power or group of powers is willing or able to set a global agenda. It's a world of many pretenders, but no leaders. Welcome to the GZERO.

President Donald Trump seated surrounded by foreign leaders including Germany's Angela Merkel, Japan's Shinzo Abe and France's Emmanuel Macron
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Ian Bremmer is President and Founder of GZERO Media. He hosts the weekly digital and broadcast show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, where he explains the key global stories of the moment, sits down for an in-depth conversation with the newsmakers and thought leaders shaping our world, and takes your questions.
Ian is also the President and Founder of GZERO Media's parent company, Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm. Ian is a New York Times bestselling author of eleven books including "Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism," "Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World," "The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?" and "Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World." His latest book, "The Power of Crisis," draws lessons from global challenges of the past 100 years—including the pandemic—to show how we can respond to three great crises unfolding over the next decade.
Ian earned a master's degree and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University, where he went on to become the youngest-ever national fellow at the Hoover Institution. Although he might not admit it, Ian's secretly jealous of his puppet's interviews with the world's most powerful leaders.
Catch our upcoming livestream on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 5:15 PM ET: How can a human-centered approach to AI help address some of society’s most pressing challenges while fostering inclusion, trust, and shared prosperity? Our livestream discussion, "Global Stage: Live from the 81st UN General Assembly" examines this key question, live from the sidelines of UN headquarters. Watch live at gzeromedia.com/globalstage
As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the global economy, one question is becoming increasingly urgent: who will actually benefit? Recorded at the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, this special Global Stage conversation brings together leaders from the United Nations, Microsoft, and the scientific community to examine how AI can help tackle some of the world's biggest challenges, from disaster preparedness and climate resilience to humanitarian response and sustainable development.
Keep up with what’s going on around the world - and why it matters.