Podcast of the Month: Global Aid Rethink – Examining the Future of International Development Beyond Aid Cuts

This month’s featured podcast is the Global Aid Rethink and it’s recently released bonus series – a timely three-part extension to the original Global Aid Rethink podcast that explores one of the most significant shifts in international development in recent decades.

Hosted by Ivica Petrikova (Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London) and Melita Lazell (Associate Professor in Political Economy and Development at the University of Portsmouth), the podcast brings together academics, policymakers, and development practitioners to rethink the current global aid landscape through political, historical, and ideological lenses.

With funding for international development at its lowest level for decades and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals increasingly off track, Global Aid Rethink isn’t afraid to ask the difficult questions. Throughout the original series, the hosts explore the role of aid in an ever-changing world, examining whether current approaches remain fit for purpose and how development cooperation can evolve to address today’s global challenges.

Conversations throughout the podcast cover a wide range of topics, including aid as soft power, debates around neo-colonialism, the politics of international development, changing priorities in the UK and US, and the practical realities of delivering aid on the ground. By bringing together leading voices from across academia and the development sector, the series provides thoughtful, evidence-based discussions that connect research with contemporary policy debates.

Spotlight: The Global Aid Rethink Bonus Series

Building on the themes explored in the first series, three special bonus episodes examine the rapidly changing global aid landscape following the dramatic funding reductions seen in 2025. The series explores how governments, international organisations and local communities are responding to unprecedented changes in development funding:

1. Development Aid After the Cuts: Navigating a Post-Aid World

Joined by Nilima Gulrajani (ODI Global) and Prof. Nafisa Bedri (University of Portland), hosts Ivica Petrikova and Melita Lazell evaluate the immediate fallout of historic aid withdrawals. From the alarming collapse of maternal healthcare funding in conflict zones like Sudan to the rise of self-reliance initiatives like Ghana’s Accra Reset, the panel examines how global south nations are reclaiming sovereignty and rebuilding trust in a post-aid landscape.

2. Development Finance in a New Era: The Financialisation of Global Aid

This episode zooms in on the rapid shift from traditional grant aid to market-based financial tools, private capital, and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). Featuring Paddy Carter (British International Investment) and Dr. Luis Mah (University Institute of Lisbon), the guests debate whether major initiatives like the EU’s Global Gateway serve true public engagement goals or merely act as geopolitical tools for critical mineral access.

3. Climate Finance and Social Justice: The Reality of a Just Transition

Guests Prof. Alex Beresford (University of Leeds) and Dr. Caner Sayan (Swansea University) tackle the growing tension between global climate targets, international finance, and social justice. Drawing on striking field research with mining communities in South Africa’s coalfields, the episode exposes the dark side of top-down transition models, questioning who really pays the price when foreign loan-based green energy policies clash with working-class livelihoods.

Catch up and listen to Global Aid Rethinks

Featuring expert guests from leading universities, international organisations and the development sector, each episode combines academic insight with real-world experience to unpack complex issues in an accessible and engaging way. Rather than offering simple solutions, the conversations encourage listeners to critically examine the systems, institutions and policies that influence development around the world.

Whether you’re already a listener of Global Aid Rethink or discovering the series for the first time, the bonus episodes provide an excellent opportunity to engage with some of the most pressing debates in international development today. Together, the original series and the new bonus episodes offer a comprehensive exploration of the changing role of global aid, making this an essential listen for researchers, students, policymakers and anyone interested in the future of international cooperation.

If you haven’t yet listened to the original Global Aid Rethink series, now is the perfect time to catch up before diving into the new bonus episodes. Together, they paint a compelling picture of a sector at a crossroads, challenging assumptions and encouraging new ways of thinking about how global aid can better serve communities around the world.

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