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Ian Explains
Israel is stronger than ever militarily—and more isolated than ever diplomatically.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubles down on the war in Gaza and rejects outside pressure, longtime allies are starting to walk away. Japan, Italy, and France have announced arms embargoes. The EU is proposing partial trade sanctions. Even Netanyahu himself admits Israel is entering a “kind of isolation” that could last for years.
His solution? Turn Israel into a “super-Sparta”—a self-reliant, hyper-militarized economy capable of standing alone. In the latest edition of Ian Explains, Bremmer breaks down whether that’s a viable strategy or just political defiance. With Israel’s economy slowing to its weakest growth rate in decades, global investment pulling back, and international condemnation mounting, the costs are starting to show.
And while US support remains strong for now, Trump’s pivot to Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar signals that even Washington’s patience may have limits. Can Israel afford to go it alone? Or will the pressure—economic, political, and strategic—force a shift in course? The coming months may decide just how much isolation Israel can sustain.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
After more than three and half years of war, Russia has become a drone powerhouse. It’s sending bigger and more powerful swarms across the border into Ukraine nearly every day, eroding Kyiv’s early drone advantage. A year ago, Russia was barely sending a thousand drones into Ukraine a month, now it averages six times that. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down how Vladimir Putin prioritized drone production to turn Russia into a drone superpower.
Russia’s full-scale invasion began with embarrassing setbacks and staggering losses. Supply lines broke down, soldiers abandoned tanks, casualties quickly mounted. Meanwhile, Ukraine innovated by using cheap quadcopters armed with grenades. But in the last year, Putin made drones a national priority. He retooled the military, prioritized production, and improved technology. The future of warfare is now being built on the battlefield in real time, and whoever adapts the fastest wins. Will Ukraine be able to regain its edge?
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
As the United Nations turns 80, it’s showing its age. Born from the ashes of World War II with a mission to prevent future conflict, the UN now faces a world aflame: war in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan; humanitarian disasters in Haiti, Yemen, and the DRC; over 120 million people displaced. But even as the crises pile up, the UN is running out of money—and fast.
Ian Bremmer breaks down the UN’s looming financial crisis. The world body is funded entirely by its member states, and lately, too many of them are falling short. The US—its largest donor—has slashed contributions under President Trump. China, which now accounts for 20% of the budget, is increasingly unpredictable with its payments. And over 40 countries collectively owe more than $750 million in dues. The UN can’t borrow. It can’t run a deficit. And its most critical aid programs are at risk.
Now, Secretary-General António Guterres is cutting costs and restructuring the organization in an effort to stay afloat. His new initiative—UN80—proposes major changes: staff cuts, agency consolidation, and moving operations out of expensive hubs like New York and Geneva.
But with member states pulling back and global trust in international institutions eroding, the question isn’t just how to keep the lights on. It’s whether the UN can still do the job it was created to do.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
President Trump has made no secret of his distaste for wind and solar and preference for fossil fuels. His administration has canceled subsidies for renewable projects, lifted drilling restrictions on federal land, and is pressuring allies to buy more American oil and gas. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the reality of the energy transition and whether US policies will slow down global progress in moving toward a renewable future.
No matter what the White House says, the incentives for renewables are hard to ignore. From Texas to Saudi Arabia, India to China, governments all over the world are embracing solar and wind not just for the planet, but for economic and security reasons. Clean energy is now the cheapest power source almost everywhere. And, amid rising instability, energy independence has become a safety and security issue. You can’t embargo the sun. No one controls the wind. Fossil fuels still matter, but the question is no longer if the world will transition. It's how fast.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
We've been fighting a war on cancer for over half a century—from Nixon’s 1971 National Cancer Act to the promise of cutting-edge AI therapies today. Ian Bremmer reflects on how that war is going.
The numbers are still grim: nearly 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the US will be diagnosed with cancer, and 1,700 people die from it every day. Disparities persist—Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women—and treatment costs remain crushing for many.
But there’s progress. Survival rates have more than doubled since the 1960s, and new technologies, especially AI, are opening doors researchers couldn’t imagine a decade ago. For Ian, it’s personal. Both of his parents died of cancer. “If you haven’t had it yourself,” he says, “you know someone who has.” But for the first time in decades, there’s real hope that science may be gaining the upper hand.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Who bears the cost of the world’s refugees? As wars, state collapse, and humanitarian crises from Ukraine to Sudan to Gaza drive millions from their homes, the number of forcibly displaced people around the world is at record highs. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the worsening global humanitarian crisis, the broken aid system, and where refugees actually go.
Contrary to widespread opinion in wealthier countries, the vast majority are hosted by low and middle income nations. Millions of forcibly displaced people never cross an international border at all. That imbalance isn’t just unfair—it’s dangerous. What happens when the poorest countries are left to solve the hardest problems?
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
When–and why–did India and Pakistan become bitter rivals? The Indian subcontinent is home to some 1.5 billion people who share deep cultural, linguistic and historical ties, but for nearly eight decades, the Indian-Pakistan relationship has been marked by tension, violence, and sometimes all-out war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict to understand why tensions are once again rising after a military clash between the two countries in May 2025.
There are many complex reasons that India and Pakistan have become such bitter rivals. Bremmer unpacks four key issues: the partition after nearly two-centuries of British colonial rule, contested claims over the Kashmir region, the development of nuclear weapons, and leaders stoking nationalist and religious tensions for political gain. A terrorist attack in Kashmir last spring led to an exchange of military strikes and showed the world just how dangerous escalation between two nuclear powers can be. Watch Ian Explains to understand the roots of the conflict and why decades of tensions and war probably won’t be resolved any time soon.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.