Our first episode of Think Change, recorded in March 2022 just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, explored how disinformation was shaping narratives around a fast-moving conflict. We asked who was producing it, how it spread through digital platforms, and how it influenced public understanding of war in real time.

Three years on, to mark our 100th episode, we return to these same questions – which have become pivotal to understanding not only conflicts around the world but also international politics.

Information has become a battleground. Trust in institutions and the media is waning. And AI is transforming how narratives are created, amplified, contested – often faster than we can make sense of them.

In this special episode, leading commentators and thinkers reflect on what has changed since our first episode, and what happens to a society when its members can no longer agree on what is true.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI Global (Think Change host)
• Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent
• Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, Former UN diplomat & Former President of the Open Society Foundations
• Ksenia Iliuk, Co-founder, LetsData

Related resources

• Disinformation and the Russia-Ukraine War (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)
• A war on many fronts: disinformation around the Russia-Ukraine war (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Has AI ushered in an existential crisis of trust in democracy? (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Digital Societies Hub (ODI Global)

The first-ever International Peacebuilding Week, which will run from 22-26 June, comes at a critical moment. Violent conflict is becoming more protracted, global cooperation is under strain, and climate shocks, displacement and weak institutions are compounding risks in some of the world's most fragile settings.

Can a dedicated week for peacebuilding help shift the conversation from crisis response to long-term investment in peace?

In this Think Change episode, guests discuss what it will take to turn renewed attention into meaningful action.

Together, they explore the politics of peacebuilding, the importance of accountability, the growing links between climate and conflict, and why countries most affected by fragility must be at the centre of shaping solutions.

As calls for accountability grow in conflicts, including Gaza and Sudan, the conversation asks whether International Peacebuilding Week can become more than a forum for discussion and help build a truly global movement for peace.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding and Peace Support, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs
• Michael Keating, Executive Director, European Institute of Peace
• Habib Ur Rehman Mayar, Deputy General Secretary, g7+ Secretariat
• Mauricio Vazquez, Head of Policy, ODI Global Risks and Resilience programme

Related resources

• What can – and can’t – the private sector deliver for climate action in fragile states? (Expert comment, ODI Global)
  
  
• Transforming research practices in fragile and conflict contexts: insights from those working on the frontline (Expert comment, ODI Global)
  
  
• Building resilience in complex and conflict settings (ODI Global)
  
  
• The Summit of the Future – how can we build peaceful societies in a fragmented world? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are under growing pressure to prove their relevance in a world where development finance is becoming increasingly fragmented, financing needs are rising, and fiscal space is tightening across many countries.

Governments are asking these institutions to deliver more finance, more quickly, and with greater efficiency and impact. MDBs are also in the middle of a far-reaching reform agenda – driven through successive G20 presidencies and shareholder processes – aimed at strengthening their financial capacity, improving coordination, and making operations faster and more effective.

However, despite this momentum for reform, a central question remains: what is actually changing for the countries these institutions exist to serve?

This episode of Think Change explores that question through the findings of ODI Global’s latest MDB client survey, drawing on the views of nearly 650 government officials across 125 countries.

Guests examine how client countries assess MDB performance across financing, policy advice, delivery speed, coordination and project quality, and whether reforms agreed in recent years are translating into meaningful operational change.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Anna Bjerde, Managing Director for Operations at the World Bank
• Annalisa Prizzon, Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
• José Antonio Ocampo, Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and former Minister of Finance of the Government of Colombia

Related resources

• Reforming multilateral development banks: perspectives from client countries
• Maximising operational effectiveness and impact: key priorities for multilateral development banks
• Are MDBs becoming ‘better’ institutions for their clients? Early insights from the 2025 survey of clients of multilateral development banks