Analysis
Alberta nixes independence - but immigration is the real story
Alberta is staying in Canada. But the more important results may have come from the nine other questions on the referendum ballot that have received considerably less attention.
Global Stage LIVE from United Nations WATCH REPLAY
Alberta is staying in Canada. But the more important results may have come from the nine other questions on the referendum ballot that have received considerably less attention.
With the midterms just weeks away, Democrats are hoping for a blue wave, while Republicans are fighting to hold onto Congress. Amy Walter and Liam Donovan join Ian Bremmer to break down the races, the issues driving voters, and what the results could mean for Trump's presidency.
With the midterms just weeks away, Democrats are eyeing control of Congress as Republicans struggle with the political fallout from the Iran war, rising prices, and Trump's unpopularity. Amy Walter and Liam Donovan join Ian Bremmer to break down what could happen in November and what it means for the future of both parties.
Could a blue wave be coming in November? With the 2026 midterms approaching, Democrats are hoping to flip both chambers of Congress, while Republicans are fighting to hold onto their narrow majorities. But the battle for the House and Senate looks very different, and even with voter frustration mounting, the outcome is far from certain.
On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, and Republican strategist Liam Donovan to examine the state of the midterm races. They discuss why the Iran war and rising gas prices have become major political liabilities for Republicans, whether Trump can mobilize his base despite his declining popularity, and why Democrats are focusing on affordability, corruption, and voter frustration rather than cultural issues.
But the stakes extend well beyond November. What would a Democratic-controlled Congress actually mean for the final two years of Trump's presidency? Could a major Democratic victory change the party's direction, or simply reinforce its opposition to Trump? And as both parties look toward 2028, is JD Vance positioned to inherit the Republican nomination, and what kind of candidate could emerge for Democrats?
In the span of just over a week, US states carried out a failed execution and completed one by lethal injection, while Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth has announced plans to livestream an execution of Nidal Hasan, the man convicted of carrying out a mass shooting at a military base in 2009.
Since returning to power in 2025, the Trump administration has drastically changed the answer to this question, pursuing an ‘America First’ philosophy that is dramatically more transactional: the US will give you money, but you must give the US something valuable in return.
In March the government doubled the maximum prison term for same-sex relations to 10 years.
Ian Bremmer analyses what India's youth movement could mean for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Supporters of the Forever Canadian group, who want Alberta to remain in Canada, wave Canadian flags as they wait for the results of a non-binding referendum on Alberta sovereignty in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada October 19, 2026.
Alberta is staying in Canada. But the more important results may have come from the nine other questions on the referendum ballot that have received considerably less attention.
This week, Microsoft launched the Velocity Prize, a global competition designed to give students ages 13–16 an opportunity to demonstrate their computational thinking, coding, and creative problem-solving skills in Minecraft. Supported by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, the competition encourages students to build digital skills and learn how to use technology responsibly while exploring future opportunities in cybersecurity.
By helping equip the next generation with the skills to navigate and shape the digital world, the Velocity Prize is helping build a pipeline of future problem-solvers who can contribute to a safer and more resilient digital ecosystem.
Read more here.
Protests have rocked Albania this week. They began months ago in opposition to a seaside resort project led by Jared Kushner that would displace what?
Take the quiz to see if you guessed correctly!
GZERO Media is a company dedicated to providing the public with intelligent and engaging coverage of global affairs. It was created in 2017 as a subsidiary of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk analysis firm.
Interest in global affairs is soaring these days, and yet traditional sources of insight are either too politicized, too polarizing, or too boring.
We believe there's a better way to help people understand the forces that are reshaping their world. By delivering deep insight with a light touch. By taking a global view. By pushing beyond predictable opinions and formats to inform, engage, challenge, and entertain.
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For decades, a small number of leading countries regularly came together – in formats like the Group of Seven (G7) or the wider Group of 20 (G20) – to seek collective solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. What's more, the United States used its power, for better or worse, as a kind of "G1" to underwrite global norms of global commerce, finance, and security.
Today, that order is slipping away. No single power or group of powers is willing or able to set a global agenda. It's a world of many pretenders, but no leaders. Welcome to the GZERO.

President Donald Trump seated surrounded by foreign leaders including Germany's Angela Merkel, Japan's Shinzo Abe and France's Emmanuel Macron
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Ian Bremmer is President and Founder of GZERO Media. He hosts the weekly digital and broadcast show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, where he explains the key global stories of the moment, sits down for an in-depth conversation with the newsmakers and thought leaders shaping our world, and takes your questions.
Ian is also the President and Founder of GZERO Media's parent company, Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm. Ian is a New York Times bestselling author of eleven books including "Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism," "Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World," "The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?" and "Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World." His latest book, "The Power of Crisis," draws lessons from global challenges of the past 100 years—including the pandemic—to show how we can respond to three great crises unfolding over the next decade.
Ian earned a master's degree and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University, where he went on to become the youngest-ever national fellow at the Hoover Institution. Although he might not admit it, Ian's secretly jealous of his puppet's interviews with the world's most powerful leaders.
From Davos and the Munich Security Forum to the UN General Assembly, our livestream discussions convene heads of state, business leaders, technology experts from around the world for critical debate about the geopolitical and technology trends shaping our world.
As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful and more deeply embedded in everyday life, how can we ensure it remains a tool for human progress, and under human control?
Keep up with what’s going on around the world - and why it matters.