The Devex Book Club

The Devex Book Clubhttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-devex-book-club--5812172
Each month, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar will sit down with a different author, academic, or development practitioner to discuss a new dimension of these constantly evolving sectors.]]>enBooksCopyright Devexhttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/839092facba18b5b3b64f9715f8139d3.jpgThe Devex Book Clubhttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-devex-book-club--5812172Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:52:32 +0000DevexDevexeditorial@devex.comIt seems like every day there’s an important new book being written on global challenges like poverty and climate change. This podcast is for anyone fascinated by books like these, especially the ones that challenge preconceived notions and present...
Each month, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar will sit down with a different author, academic, or development practitioner to discuss a new dimension of these constantly evolving sectors.]]>falseepisodicThe food paradox: Why those who feed us can't feed themselves with Roger Thurowhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-food-paradox-why-those-who-feed-us-can-t-feed-themselves-with-roger-thurow--65777873Award-winning journalist Roger Thurow reveals how conventional farming practices are simultaneously depleting resources and failing millions of farmers worldwide. His investigation finds that many receiving food aid are actually food producers, highlighting a fundamental flaw in global agricultural systems. Drawing from field research across multiple continents, Thurow highlights promising indigenous and regenerative farming approaches that could transform global food systems while addressing climate challenges.

Chapters
00:00 The Collision of Nourishment and Planetary Health
02:30 The Journey into Agriculture and Food Security
05:42 Unintended Consequences of Agricultural Practices
10:25 Lessons from Farmers: Regret and Resilience
14:26 The Debate: Regenerative vs. Modern Agriculture
20:08 Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation in Agriculture
25:15 The Role of Farmers in Global Agriculture
27:54 The Importance of Listening to Farmers

Want to stay updated on the latest news in global development? Subscribe to Devex’s Newswire: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/newswire
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65777873Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:20:56 +0000DevexSummary Award-winning journalist Roger Thurow reveals how conventional farming practices are simultaneously depleting resources and failing millions of farmers worldwide. His investigation finds that many receiving food aid are actually food...Award-winning journalist Roger Thurow reveals how conventional farming practices are simultaneously depleting resources and failing millions of farmers worldwide. His investigation finds that many receiving food aid are actually food producers, highlighting a fundamental flaw in global agricultural systems. Drawing from field research across multiple continents, Thurow highlights promising indigenous and regenerative farming approaches that could transform global food systems while addressing climate challenges.

Chapters
00:00 The Collision of Nourishment and Planetary Health
02:30 The Journey into Agriculture and Food Security
05:42 Unintended Consequences of Agricultural Practices
10:25 Lessons from Farmers: Regret and Resilience
14:26 The Debate: Regenerative vs. Modern Agriculture
20:08 Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation in Agriculture
25:15 The Role of Farmers in Global Agriculture
27:54 The Importance of Listening to Farmers

Want to stay updated on the latest news in global development? Subscribe to Devex’s Newswire: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/newswire
]]>1741agriculture,climate,climatechange,development,environmental,farmers,foodsecurity,foodsovereignty,global,impact,innovation,nutrition,sustainabilityfalsefullVulnerability as risk: Garance Wattez-Richard on insuring the emerging middle classhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/vulnerability-as-risk-garance-wattez-richard-on-insuring-the-emerging-middle-class--65577608Summary
Garance Wattez-Richard, CEO of AXA EssentiALL, discusses the transformative potential of inclusive insurance in addressing vulnerabilities, particularly in low and middle-income countries. She sits down with Raj Kumar to share her journey into the insurance industry, the evolution of microinsurance, and the importance of regulatory frameworks. The discussion highlights the profitability of inclusive insurance and its critical role in achieving sustainable development goals, especially in the context of climate change.

Chapters
00:00 The Risk of Vulnerability
00:47 Revolutionizing Insurance for All
01:37 A Journey into Development and Insurance
06:45 The Evolution of Microinsurance
11:41 Profitability in Inclusive Insurance
14:50 The Risks of Insurance Solutions
19:15 Regulatory Challenges in Emerging Markets
23:07 Insurance as a Core Development Activity
28:13 The Future of Insurance and Development

Want to stay updated on the latest news in global development? Subscribe to Devex’s Newswire: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/newswire ]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65577608Tue, 15 Apr 2025 08:51:03 +0000DevexSummary Garance Wattez-Richard, CEO of AXA EssentiALL, discusses the transformative potential of inclusive insurance in addressing vulnerabilities, particularly in low and middle-income countries. She sits down with Raj Kumar to share her journey into...Summary
Garance Wattez-Richard, CEO of AXA EssentiALL, discusses the transformative potential of inclusive insurance in addressing vulnerabilities, particularly in low and middle-income countries. She sits down with Raj Kumar to share her journey into the insurance industry, the evolution of microinsurance, and the importance of regulatory frameworks. The discussion highlights the profitability of inclusive insurance and its critical role in achieving sustainable development goals, especially in the context of climate change.

Chapters
00:00 The Risk of Vulnerability
00:47 Revolutionizing Insurance for All
01:37 A Journey into Development and Insurance
06:45 The Evolution of Microinsurance
11:41 Profitability in Inclusive Insurance
14:50 The Risks of Insurance Solutions
19:15 Regulatory Challenges in Emerging Markets
23:07 Insurance as a Core Development Activity
28:13 The Future of Insurance and Development

Want to stay updated on the latest news in global development? Subscribe to Devex’s Newswire: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/newswire ]]>1860climate,development,emerging,financial,insurance,markets,microinsurance,profitability,protection,regulation,risks,sdgs,vulnerabilityfalsefullBusiness in challenging markets: Viva Ona Bartkus on building businesses in fragile economieshttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/business-in-challenging-markets-viva-ona-bartkus-on-building-businesses-in-fragile-economies--65334269Summary
Discover why "business as usual" fails in the world's toughest places. Viva Ona Bartkus sits down with Raj Kumar to reveal the counterintuitive tactics that unlock massive opportunities where others fear to tread. Learn why:

The most successful security strategy isn't higher walls – it's community ownership
How to turn "middlemen with guns" into business partners
Why Chinese companies are winning while Western firms hesitate

The most successful security strategy isn't higher walls – it's community ownership
How to turn "middlemen with guns" into business partners
Why Chinese companies are winning while Western firms hesitate

Plus: The radical partnership model that's transforming dangerous markets from Uganda to Colombia. Bartkus shares explosive insights from 15+ years working with multinationals, Special Forces, and local communities in conflict zones.

Chapters
00:00 Embedding Business in Local Communities
01:53 The Journey to Frontline Markets
07:02 Understanding Market Dynamics
11:18 The Role of Middlemen in Local Economies
12:45 Security Through Community Engagement
16:14 The Next Round of Globalization
20:02 The Competitive Landscape of Global Investment
23:42 Collaboration Between Security and Development
25:28 Bridging the Gap Between Business and Humanitarian Efforts
28:41 The Role of ESG in Business Strategies
31:17 Adapting Business Models for Extractive Industries
36:43 The Future of Development Finance

Want to stay updated on the latest news in global development? Subscribe to Devex’s Newswire: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/newswire ]]>2466false14fullThe Undergrowth Effect: Danny Sriskandarajah on unlocking citizen powerhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-undergrowth-effect-danny-sriskandarajah-on-unlocking-citizen-power--64543427https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64543427Mon, 24 Feb 2025 14:27:12 +0000DevexFrom refugee camps to Oxfam's helm, Danny Sriskandarajah has witnessed firsthand how real change can happen—not in boardrooms, but on streets and in communities. Drawing from his book "Power to the People," he challenges the development sector's...2846citizenship,developmentfalse14fullDesign for billions: Inside the mind of Sanjay Purohit, a societal transformation experthttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/design-for-billions-inside-the-mind-of-sanjay-purohit-a-societal-transformation-expert--63446495https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63446495Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:21:07 +0000DevexWhat does it take to transform an idea from one that serves hundreds to millions, if not billions? Sanjay Purohit has spent his career aiming to crack this code. As the CEO and Chief Curator of Centre for Exponential Change, Purohit knows firsthand...3206falsefullJuan M. Lavista Ferres on "AI for Good"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/juan-m-lavista-ferres-on-ai-for-good--59635620https://api.spreaker.com/episode/59635620Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:11:59 +0000DevexIn this episode of the Devex Book Club podcast, President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Microsoft's Juan M. Lavista Ferres to talk about how he got his start with computer science, what AI can do (and what it can’t), and how Beluga...2582aifalse111fullAlex Amouyel on "The Answer is You"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/alex-amouyel-on-the-answer-is-you--59168732
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/59168732Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:29:59 +0000DevexDoing meaningful work doesn't have to come at the expense of your whole life. In fact, Alex Amouyel argues that anyone can create a life full of impact. In this episode of the Devex Book Club, Alex takes us through her own winding career trajectory,...
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>2413socialimpactfalse110fullHoward French on "Born in Blackness"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/howard-french-on-born-in-blackness--58836847Born in Blackness, our Devex Book Club selection for this month.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58836847Mon, 26 Feb 2024 22:20:11 +0000DevexReframing six centuries of world history in a single book is no easy feat. Doing it in lively, engaging prose that keeps you hooked the whole way through is even harder. But such is the talent of Howard French, longtime foreign correspondent and...Born in Blackness, our Devex Book Club selection for this month.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>3197africa,globaldevfalse19fullHomi Kharas on "The Rise of the Global Middle Class"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/homi-kharas-on-the-rise-of-the-global-middle-class--58061721
In his new book, "The Rise of the Global Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World," economist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development Homi Kharas traces the evolution of the middle class all the way from its roots in Victorian England, and ultimately offers a new policy agenda that could pave a way forward.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58061721Tue, 19 Dec 2023 18:59:07 +0000DevexThe middle class is the most successful group in world history, but today, it’s facing a bit of an identity crisis. The realities of automation, climate change and other factors are straining the once ubiquitous middle class dream, and younger...
In his new book, "The Rise of the Global Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World," economist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development Homi Kharas traces the evolution of the middle class all the way from its roots in Victorian England, and ultimately offers a new policy agenda that could pave a way forward.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>2088economicdevelopment,middleclassfalse18fullRajiv Shah on "Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/rajiv-shah-on-big-bets-how-large-scale-change-really-happens--57382964
But as Raj writes in his book, that uncertainty was all part of an important realization he’d eventually come to: that large-scale change doesn’t come from caution, but from what he calls a “big bets philosophy,” which says that it’s only by trying to fundamentally solve, not just improve, pressing problems that the world can truly be transformed.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/57382964Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:26:54 +0000DevexLike many of us, Rajiv Shah knew early on that he wanted to make an impact on the world, but he wasn’t quite sure how to do it. His book, "Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens," opens with some of that early uncertainty, like the summer he...
But as Raj writes in his book, that uncertainty was all part of an important realization he’d eventually come to: that large-scale change doesn’t come from caution, but from what he calls a “big bets philosophy,” which says that it’s only by trying to fundamentally solve, not just improve, pressing problems that the world can truly be transformed.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>2556false17fullSally Hayden on "My Fourth Time We Drowned"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/sally-hayden-on-my-fourth-time-we-drowned--56593766
The message kicked off a sprawling investigation that led Sally to interview hundreds of refugees and migrants who found themselves victims of the EU’s newly muscular efforts to patrol the Mediterranean Sea. The result of that investigation was "My Fourth Time We Drowned," named one of the New Yorker’s best books of 2022.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56593766Fri, 25 Aug 2023 21:18:00 +0000DevexIn 2018, Sally Hayden received a Facebook message from an unknown sender, a man claiming to be writing from inside a Libyan detention camp. The conditions faced by him and his fellow detainees were horrendous, and his desperate message came from a...
The message kicked off a sprawling investigation that led Sally to interview hundreds of refugees and migrants who found themselves victims of the EU’s newly muscular efforts to patrol the Mediterranean Sea. The result of that investigation was "My Fourth Time We Drowned," named one of the New Yorker’s best books of 2022.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html
]]>2475migrationfalse16fullDavid Sengeh on "Radical Inclusion: Seven Steps to Help You Create a More Just Workplace, Home, and World"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/david-sengeh-on-radical-inclusion-seven-steps-to-help-you-create-a-more-just-workplace-home-and-world--56221663"Radical Inclusion: Seven Steps to Help You Create a More Just Workplace, Home, and World,” you'll likely agree.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56221663Tue, 25 Jul 2023 21:56:16 +0000DevexCan you imagine a world where everyone belongs? For David Sengeh, Sierra Leone's Minister of Education and Chief Innovation Officer, the answer is "yes." And by the time you finish his book, "Radical Inclusion: Seven Steps to Help You Create a More..."Radical Inclusion: Seven Steps to Help You Create a More Just Workplace, Home, and World,” you'll likely agree.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>1935educationfalse15fullStefan Dercon on "Gambling on Development"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/stefan-dercon-on-gambling-on-development--55425128
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/55425128Wed, 28 Jun 2023 17:24:36 +0000DevexThe developing world has undergone tremendous change in the last 30 years, mostly for the better. But some countries have missed the boat. Why? In "Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Other Lose," economist Stefan Dercon explores the...
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>2695development,economicsfalse14fullDan Runde on "The American Imperative"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/dan-runde-on-the-american-imperative--54055368
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/54055368Wed, 31 May 2023 17:12:00 +0000DevexHow can America regain its position as a global leader? According to Dan Runde, author of "The American Imperative" and a a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic International Studies, the answer lies in the strategic use of soft power....
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>2896globaldevelopment,internationaldevelopmentfalse13fullFatema Sumar on "The Development Diplomat"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/fatema-sumar-on-the-development-diplomat--53609763
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53609763Fri, 21 Apr 2023 22:06:16 +0000DevexIn this week's episode, Raj talks with Fatema Sumar, executive director at Harvard University's Center for International Development, to discuss her book, "The Development Diplomat: Working Across Borders, Boardrooms, and Bureaucracies to End...
For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>2936globaldevelopment,internationaldevelopmentfalse12fullGaia Vince on "Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/gaia-vince-on-nomad-century-how-climate-migration-will-reshape-our-world--53213778Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53213778Thu, 16 Mar 2023 21:07:17 +0000DevexFor our first episode, Raj sits down with Gaia Vince—award-winning science journalist, author, broadcaster, and speaker—to talk about her book,...Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World.

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html]]>3035climate,climatechange,globaldev,migrationfalse11fullWelcome to the Devex Book Clubhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/welcome-to-the-devex-book-club--53217080

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53217080Thu, 16 Mar 2023 21:06:57 +0000DevexIt seems like every day there’s an exciting new book coming out on global challenges like poverty and climate change. Are you fascinated by books like these, especially the ones that challenge preconceived notions and present bold new ideas? Join...

For more information on upcoming episodes and to sign up for our mailing list, visit the Devex Book Club here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-book-club.html
]]>143climate,globaldev,humanitarianismfalse1trailer