global Issues resource Hub
On this page you'll find reading, listening, and viewing resources to familiarize yourself with current global issues. The resources are organized by topic, in alphabetical order, roughly aligning with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. Underneath each topic, you will find relevant resources.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Click on the image to the left to learn more about the SDGs, including facts and figures, links to resources and articles, and related news.
General Global Studies Resources
Collection of websites, articles, videos, and podcasts about global issues.
Websites
Youth Service America's Youth Guide to Global Goals
The Global Youth Service Network is a coalition of local, state, national, and international organizations committed to engaging children and youth as leaders through volunteering, com m unity service, service- learning, national service, and voting/ civic engagement.U.S. National Statistics for the U.N. Sustainable Goals
The Guardian's Global Development Page
Articles, videos, and photographs that inform and educate about global issues in the world now.Asia Society's Mapping the Nation
Mapping the Nation is an interactive map that pulls together demographic, economic, and education indicators—nearly one million data points—to show that the United States is a truly global nation.Asia Society's Center for Global Education
Global Issues is a website that aims to shine light upon the global problems and injustices that are not regularly reported on by the major news conglomerates. Through articles, many of which were written by the site creator himself, and comments on these articles posted by involved readers, the site voices these concerns in a well-organized and engaging manner.Articles
GlobalPost offers news articles and features from around the world. User-friendly and topically diverse, GlobalPost is a reliable and engaging news source."Preparing Young Americans for a Complex World" NYTimes
"Articles on the Global Issues Website" GlobalIssues.org
"Making the Case for Global Education" Asia Society
"Pen Pals 2.0: Can Technology Foster Global Tolerance?" Edutopia
Videos
TED Global Issues Video Collection
A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Global issues."Don't Ask Where I'm From, Ask Where I'm a Local" Taiye Selasi TEDTalk
Podcasts
Host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories that remind us just how small our planet really is. How are the things we're talking about being talked about somewhere else in the world? Rough Translation tells stories that follow familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory. At a time when the world seems small but it's as hard as ever to escape our echo chambers, Rough Translation takes you places. The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we go back in time to understand the present. These are stories you can feel and sounds you can see from the moments that shaped our world.Council on Foreign Relations' Why It Matters
Each episode of Why It Matters breaks down an issue that is shaping our world’s future. Join host Gabrielle Sierra as she speaks with the leaders and thinkers who are facing these questions head-on. Give a damn: News and analysis of the fight against inequity.Global Dispatches is a podcast about international relations, global affairs and world news that matters.Exploring smart policies for a better world. Small Changes is a podcast series of one-on-one interviews with people who've seen a problem in the world and set out to change it – often in small and unexpected ways.Affordable and Clean Energy
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Affordable and Clean Energy
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and videos.We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all. U.S.-based, youth-led organization advocating for the Green New Deal.Videos
"The End of Oil?" TED Playlist Videos
Thirteen TED Talks related to energy issues.Podcasts
A weekly digest on energy, cleantech and the environment. The Interchange is a weekly podcast on the global energy transformation. Each week, the hosts provide deep insights into technology, markets, projects, company financials, mergers and acquisitions, policy changes, and market data.Clean Water and Sanitation
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Clean Water and Sanitation
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and videos.Circle of Blue: Where Water Speaks Organization
Circle of Blue is informing the world’s most important decisions about water, food, and energy in a changing climate.Water For People is an international nonprofit based in Denver, Colorado. Our goal is to bring water, sanitation, and hygiene services to everyone, and to make sure those solutions last forever. We are an independent research team from Virginia Tech (VT) volunteering our time, resources and expertise to help resolve scientific uncertainties associated with drinking water issues being reported in the City of Flint, MI.Articles
Guardian "Revealed: Millions of Americans Can't Afford Water as Bills Rise 80% in a Decade"
Guardian "Help us test water quality across the US: is your water safe enough?"
Videos
"Talks on Water" TED Playlist Videos
Thirteen TED Talks related to energy issues.Podcasts
Three podcasts devoted to discussions of global water issues.Climate and the Environment
Websites
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.UN SDG Goal: Life Below the Water
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.We inspire and train diverse youth to be effective leaders in the environmental, climate and social justice movements.Primary Source's Climate Action for Global Social Justice Page
Primary Source is an education nonprofit that seeks to educate global citizens.Articles
The Guardian's Climate Change Articles
The Guardian is a British news source. This is a collection of climate-related journalism.The Correspondent's Climate Articles
The Correspondent is an online platform for unbreaking news, committed to collaborative, constructive, ad-free journalism."Effects of Global Warming" National Geographic
Reference article with links and videos.Videos
"Why Climate Change is a Human Rights Issue" TED Video Playlist
"How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Climate Crisis?" TED Video Playlist
"Climate Change: Oh, It's Real" TED Video Playlist
Dozens of TED Talks about climate issues.Podcasts
MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner with the latest research on our changing climate. Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet.Climate Conversations is the weekly climate change podcast from MIT Climate, an online community connecting questions to answers, research to solutions, and knowledge to action. Warm Regards is a podcast about the warming planet. Podcast about today’s most impactful environmental campaigns, organizations and startups.democracy, Religion, and Human Rights
Websites
SDG Goal: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Harvard's Democratic Knowledge Project
The Democratic Knowledge Project (DKP) is a K-16 civic education provider based at Harvard University. We offer curriculum development resources, professional development workshops for educators, and assessment tools and services—all in support of education for democracy. FairVote is the nation's leader in seeking to make every vote and every voice count in every election through structural electoral reforms.Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors
GNDEM, with 251 member organizations in 89 countries and territories, and regional network members in Africa, Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East/North Africa, has worked to facilitate and enhance the critical work of citizen election monitors throughout the world.Harvard's The Pluralism Project
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University studies and interprets the changing religious landscape of the United States.Harvard's Religious Literacy Project
The Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School advances the public understanding of religion with special attention to power, peace, and conflict.UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Human Rights Watch investigates and reports on abuses happening in all corners of the world.Articles
The Correspondent's "Better Politics" Articles
The Correspondent is an online platform for unbreaking news, committed to collaborative, constructive, ad-free journalism.Videos
"A Playbook to Understanding Power" TED Playlist Videos
"Plug Into Your Power" TED Playlist Videos
"Freedom Rising" TED Playlist Videos
Dozens of TED Talks about democracy and power."Faith in the Modern World" TED Playlist Videos
"Misconceptions of Islam and Muslim Life" TED Playlist Videos
Dozens of TED Talks about religion.Podcasts
What does it mean to live in a democracy? Democracy Works seeks to answer that question by examining a different aspect of democratic life each week — from voting to criminal justice to the free press and everything in between.Carnegie Council's Religious Pluralism Audio
In a world with tremendous diversity of beliefs, what is the best way for us to live together? This collection examines the condition of plurality--the fact that human beings have different, and sometimes conflicting, belief systems--and the ways in which human beings have tried to live harmoniously while retaining their differences. A show about human rights coming to you every week from the Cambridge Centre of Governance and Human Rights. The Hum is a podcast that cuts straight to the heart of human rights stories. Raw, honest and uncensored, from the people who have lived them first-hand.Education
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Quality Education
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Articles
World Bank's "The Education Crisis: Being in School is Not the Same as Learning"
The Conversation's Global Education Articles
The Conversation US arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse – and recognition of the vital role that academic experts can play in the public arena. Independent and not-for-profit, it is part of a global network of newsrooms first launched in Australia in 2011.The Atlantic's "Good School, Rich School; Bad School, Poor School" by Alana Semuels
New York Times "Choosing A School for my Daughter in a Segregated City" by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Videos
Frontline's Education Documentaries
"Frontline" offers an unflinching and compelling look at complex, vital and often-controversial subjects. Each broadcast consists of a long-form news documentary.He Named me Malala National Geographic Documentary
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai's life, story, and personal journey as a leading campaigner for girls' education around the globe."The Importance of Educating Girls" TED Playlist Videos
"How Can We Fix the Learning Crisis?" TED Playlist Videos
Several TED Talks about education topics.Podcasts
This American Life "The Problem We All Live With"
Right now, all sorts of people are trying to rethink and reinvent education, to get poor minority kids performing as well as white kids. But there's one thing nobody tries anymore, despite lots of evidence that it works: desegregation. A conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones about race, education, and hypocrisy. SchoolHouse is a podcast created by the Communities for Just Schools Fund and hosted by Allison R. Brown. SchoolHouse shares stories about how young people, their families and communities, and other advocates and activists are working in and around schools to make them healthy, safe, and equitable places for children to be.Gender and LGBTQ+ Equality
Websites
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Primary Source's "Gender Violence in Context"
Primary Source is an education nonprofit that seeks to educate global citizens.An organization that believes in the power of the law to create enduring equality for women and girls everywhere. HRC works to improve the lives of LGBTQ people worldwide by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law, and increasing public support around the globe.International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)
ILGA World – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association - is a worldwide federation of more than 1,600 organisations from over 150 countries and territories campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex human rights. GLSEN believes that every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. We are a national network of educators, students, and local GLSEN Chapters working to make this right a reality. The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area.National Center for Transgender Equality
The National Center for Transgender Equality advocates to change policies and society to increase understanding and acceptance of transgender people. In the nation’s capital and throughout the country, NCTE works to replace disrespect, discrimination, and violence with empathy, opportunity, and justice.Human Rights Watch "LGBT Rights"
Human Rights Watch works for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender peoples' rights, and with activists representing a multiplicity of identities and issues. This organization lets the voices of underrepresented girls and women around the world be heard through participatory multimedia presentations and seminars. Descriptions of each presentation can be found on the website.Articles/News
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer news leader including politics, commentary, arts & entertainment - your source for LGBTQ news for over 50 years.The Atlantic's "An American Revolution: 50 Years Later"
Videos
"The Gender Spectrum" TED Playlist Videos
Several TED Talks on gender and gender identity topics.From Academy Award-nominated director David France comes a powerful and eye-opening documentary about a group of activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ persecution in the Russian republic of Chechnya.Podcasts
NPR's "Hindsight: Looking Back at 100 Years of Women's Suffrage"
Historian and host Dr. Robin Henry examines the history of women's suffrage, political involvement, and social activism in the United States from the middle of the 19th century through today. Gender Reveal is a podcast for nonbinary folks, for people who don't know what "nonbinary" means, and everyone in between.Creative Boom's "13 Insightful Podcasts on Women, Feminism, and Gender Equality"
Hunger and Food insecurity
Websites
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Oxfam America or International
Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. We help people build better futures for themselves, hold the powerful accountable, and save lives in disasters. The Feeding America network is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Together with individuals, charities, businesses and government we can end hunger.Roots of Change: Food Justice and Racism in the Food System
ROC works together with California industries and communities to ensure that every aspect of our food—from when it’s grown to when it’s eaten—can be healthy, safe, profitable and fair for all Californians.National Black Food and Justice Alliance
National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) is a coalition of Black-led organizations working towards cultivating and advancing Black leadership, building Black self-determination, Black institution building and organizing for food sovereignty, land and justice. Real Organic Project is a grassroots, farmer-led movement created to distinguish soil-grown and pasture-raised products under USDA organic.The Natwani Coalition (Natwanit Tu’sawyungqam) serves the Hopi and Tewa people by reaffirming and preserving traditional farming practices that create a path to a healthy lifestyle.Ron envisions a world where gardening is gangsta, where cool kids know their nutrition and where communities embrace the act of growing, knowing and sharing the best of the earth’s fresh-grown food.Bustle's "7 Sustainable Food Organizations To Donate To If You Want To Fight Climate Change"
Articles
NPR's Goats and Soda "The Fight Against World Hunger Is Going In The Wrong Direction"
NYTimes "Spoiled Milk, Rotten Vegetables and a Very Broken Food System" by Dr. Jennifer Clapp
National Geographic's "The New Face of Hunger"
The Guardian's "Food apartheid: the root of the problem with America's groceries" by Anna Brones
Videos
"What's the Future of Food?" TED Playlist Videos
Several TED Talks on food issues.Food Recovery Network's "Five Films on Food Waste and Hunger That You Should Be Watching"
Podcasts
Our podcast shares hidden, human stories about food on the front lines of hunger. Pang! is a series of contemporary audio dramas based on the oral histories of families around the country who are hungering for change.Peace, Conflict, and Migration
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
HD is a Swiss-based private diplomacy organisation founded on the principles of humanity, impartiality and independence.Conflict Dynamics International
Conflict Dynamics International works to prevent and resolve violent conflict between and within states, and to alleviate human suffering resulting from conflicts and other crises around the world.United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. The International Crisis Group is an independent organisation working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world.Center for Global Peace Journalism
The Center for Global Peace Journalism works with journalists, academics, and students worldwide to improve reporting about conflicts, social unrest, reconciliation, solutions, and peace.Articles/Infographics
Council on Foreign Relations "Global Conflict Tracker"
Pew Research Center: Wars and International Conflicts
UN "Refugees and Migrants Infographics"
A story map.National Geographic's "Migration Waves"
The Correspondent's "Tracking the EU's Migrant Millions" Collection
The Correspondent is an online platform for unbreaking news, committed to collaborative, constructive, ad-free journalism. Together with our members, we want to change what news is about, how it’s made and how it’s funded.Videos
"The Road to Peace" TED Playlist Videos
"Personal Stories from Conflict Zones" TED Playlist Videos
"Refugees Welcome" TED Playlist Videos
TED Talks on various issues related to peace and conflict.Podcasts
A weekly podcast with leading humanitarians, foreign policy makers, and innovators to understand how they think about and tackle global crises.Our mission is pretty simple: we just want refugees' voices and stories to be heard. To this end, we're producing a podcast, allowing refugees to share their stories without fear of being traced (only first names are used, and any identifying details are edited out), in the hopes of providing a platform for these otherwise unheard voices.Poverty Reduction and Economic Equality
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Reduced Inequalities
UN SDG Goal: End Poverty in all its Forms
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Your portal into the world of inequality online — and ongoing efforts to leave our planet a more equal place.Our World in Data: Global Economic Inequality
Poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality: The world faces many great and terrifying problems. It is these large problems that our work at Our World in Data focuses on.Pew Research Center: Economic Inequality
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. The Rules (TR) was an activist collective that existed from 2012 to 2019. In its eight years of existence it focused on addressing the root causes of inequality, poverty and ecological break down through narrative and cultural interventions.Articles
The Guardian's Inequality Articles
The Guardian is a British news source. This is a collection of climate-related journalism.Oxfam International's "5 shocking facts about extreme global inequality and how to even it up"
Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. We help people build better futures for themselves, hold the powerful accountable, and save lives in disasters.Videos
"The Quest to End Poverty" TED Playlist Videos
Several TED Talk videos about poverty and inequality.Podcasts
In “The Uncertain Hour” podcast, host Krissy Clark dives into one controversial topic each season to bust longstanding myths about our economy and shed light on opaque realities of the world we live in.On the Media's "Busted: America's Poverty Myths"
WNYC’s weekly investigation into how the media shapes our worldview.Stanford Center on Inequality and Poverty Podcast
CPI's podcasts, hosted by Diantha Parker, feature discussions of cutting-edge research on poverty, inequality, and social policy.Public Health
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Good Health and Well-Being
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair.Fogarty International Center "List of NGOs Working in Global Health Research"
List of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) providing valuable resources, tools and funding in the field of global health research.Articles
Think Global Health is a multi-contributor website that examines the ways in which changes in health are reshaping economies, societies, and the everyday lives of people around the globe.NPR's Global Health Collection
Collection of articles and resources from NPR on global and domestic health issues.The Correspondent's "Sanity" Collection
The Correspondent is an online platform for unbreaking news, committed to collaborative, constructive, ad-free journalism. This collection focuses on mental and emotional health issues.Videos
"How to Mobilize Healthier Communities" TED Playlist Videos
"Let's Redesign the Medical Experience" TED Playlist Videos
"What You Need to Know About Medicine" TED Playlist Videos
Several TED Talks about public health issues.Podcasts
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's "This Week in Health" Podcast
Harvard Chan: This Week in Health, brings you top health headlines—from wellness tips to important global health trends. You’ll also hear insight from Harvard Chan experts. The Nation's Health creates podcasts and recordings for some of its news.Racial justice
Websites
UN Declaration of Human Rights
Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity.The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights
Is an international, human rights capacity-building organization that works side by side with activists in Latin America to enhance their ability to promote and protect the human rights of marginalized and vulnerable people who suffer from discrimination based on their national or ethnic origin, their sexual orientation or gender identity.American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Racial Justice
Showing Up for Racial Justice "Movement for Black Lives organizations and key movement supporters"
Global Citizen "7 Ways You Can Take Action for Racial Justice Right Now"
Articles
The Correspondent "What Racism Really Is" by OluTimehin Adegbeye
New York Times "What is Owed" by Nikole Hannah-Jones
The Atlantic "The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
UN: "Independent rights experts urge US to address systemic racism and racial bias"
New York Times "These Teen Girls Are Fighting for a More Just Future"
Africa Is a Country, founded by Sean Jacobs in 2009, is a site of opinion, analysis, and new writing. All the content on Africa Is a Country is published under a Creative Commons license.The Correspondent's "Othering" Collection
The Correspondent's "Everyday Colonialism" Collection
The Correspondent is an online platform for unbreaking news, committed to collaborative, constructive, ad-free journalism. Together with our members, we want to change what news is about, how it’s made and how it’s funded.Videos
"The Links Between Health and Racism" TED Playlist Videos
"Talks to Help You Understand Social Justice" TED Playlist Videos
"Talks to Help You Understand Racism in America" TED Playlist Videos
"The Pursuit of Justice" TED Playlist Videos
Dozens of TED Talks about racial and social justice.Race: The Power of an Illusion
Excellent documentary from PBS that came out in 2003. Must buy to watch.PBS "10 'Must Watch' Black History Documentaries"
Mashable "11 racial justice documentaries to further your education"
Podcasts
What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race head-on.Crooked Media's "Pod Save the People"
On Pod Save the People, DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with Sam Sinyangwe, Kaya Henderson and De’Ara Balenger. An audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.NPR's "Rough Translation Episode: The Global Legacy of George Floyd"
How are the things we're talking about being talked about somewhere else in the world? Gregory Warner tells stories that follow familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory. At a time when the world seems small but it's as hard as ever to escape our echo chambers, Rough Translation takes you places.Sustainable CiTies and communities
Websites
UN SDG Goal: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Includes facts, figures, links, articles, and more.International Organization for Sustainable Development
IOSD is the original Sustainable Development organization, created as an international NGO in 2004 and transformed into an intergovernmental institute (EUCLID affiliated) in 2008, under United Nations Treaty Series 46009/49007. IOSD is an authoritative source of papers, articles, updates and online degree programs related to the full scope of sustainable development. GCT features the latest global trends in sustainability, global progress on climate goals made at the Paris Climate Accord, and Green City Times' 10+ point plan for successful climate change mitigation policies.Articles
National Geographic's "Maps Show How Tearing Down City Slums Displaced Thousands"
National Geographic's "Inside the Controversial World of Slum Tourism"
The Conversation's "Outlining the Global Faultlines of the 'Slum' Narrative"
Videos
"The Issue of Homelessness" TED Playlist Videos
"How to Revive a City" TED Playlist Videos
"Our Future in Cities" TED Playlist Videos
Dozens of TED Talks about issues facing urban areas domestically and globally.Podcasts
This podcast is for urban planners, urban planning students and those interested in the topic of urban planning. The purpose of this show is to have a candid conversation about the ins and out of urban planning; discuss controversial topics relating to urban planning, and much much more. On Placemakers, we bring you stories about the spaces we inhabit and the people who shape them. Join us as we crisscross the country, introducing you to real people in real communities—people who make a difference in how we travel, work, and live. You’ll never look at your community the same way again. With an influential audience of city mayors, urban planners and architects, this is Monocle’s guide to making better cities, be it new technology, state-of-the-art subways or compact apartments. A podcast highlighting the new normal of urbanism in our globalized cities, as told by two female urbanists Katrina + Kristen.