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In Pursuit of Development

Dan Banik

Step into conversations that travel across continents and challenge the way you think about progress. From democracy and inequality to climate resilience and healthcare, Dan Banik explores how societies navigate the complex terrain of democracy, poverty, inequality, and sustainability. Through dialogues with scholars, leaders, and innovators, In Pursuit of Development uncovers how ideas travel, why policies succeed or fail, and what it takes to build a more just and resilient world. Expect sharp insights, candid reflections, and a global perspective that connects local struggles to universal aspirations.
Listen, reflect, and be inspired to see global development in a new light. 🎧

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20 episodes
Avg 42 min
English

Episodes 20

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S6 · E36
June 17 · 31 min
Why hope is what we need | Dan Banik
In this Season 6 finale of In Pursuit of Development, Dan Banik asks why hope has come to seem naïve at precisely the moment we need it most. Drawing on global poverty, democracy, climate anxiety, and the politics of collective action, he argues for evidence-based hope as a disciplined and realistic alternative to both denial and despair.
S6 · E35
June 3 · 48 min
How civil society adapts when aid shrinks | Tikhala Itaye
As aid shrinks and donor priorities shift, civil society organizations are being forced to rethink how they survive, adapt, and continue serving communities. Dan Banik speaks with Tikhala Itaye about funding cuts, local ownership, social entrepreneurship, gender equality, accountability, and why Malawi’s development future may depend on new forms of innovation and collaboration.
S6 · E34
May 20 · 46 min
Is Rwanda a development success? | Pritish Behuria
Rwanda is often celebrated as one of Africa’s most striking development success stories. But how durable is that success, and who has benefited from it? Dan Banik speaks with Pritish Behuria about Rwanda’s services-led growth model, powerful national brand, and the unresolved challenges of jobs, inequality, foreign dependence, and structural transformation.
S6 · E33
May 13 · 24 min
African agency at the crossroads | Dan Banik
African scholars, policymakers, civil society leaders, and practitioners are rethinking development amid aid cuts, geopolitical fragmentation, climate pressures, and the rise of AI. Drawing on recent conversations in Pretoria, Addis Ababa, Blantyre, and Mauritius, Dan Banik reflects on African agency, the limits of donor-driven development, and why the future must be shaped by those most affected by it.
S6 · E32
April 29 · 43 min
How public institutions become captured | Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett
Dan Banik speaks with Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett about state capture and development. Together, they explore how corruption moves beyond bribes to reshape institutions, weaken accountability, deepen inequality, and allow powerful political and business actors to rewrite the rules in their own favor.
S6 · E31
April 22 · 47 min
Why the UN looks different from the Global South | Alanna O’Malley
Dan Banik speaks with Alanna O’Malley about the hidden history of the United Nations, showing how actors from the Global South helped shape global governance, decolonization, development, and the struggle for a more just international order. The conversation explores why the UN looks very different when viewed from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and why these debates matter so much in today’s crisis-ridden world.
S6 · E30
April 15 · 51 min
The poverty trap that kills a million people a year | Madhukar Pai
Why does tuberculosis still kill more than a million people every year despite being preventable and curable? Dan Banik speaks with Madhukar Pai about TB, poverty, undernutrition, primary healthcare, decolonizing global health, and the enduring legacy of Paul Farmer.
S6 · E29
April 8 · 39 min
Can aid still fight poverty? | Elina Scheja
How is global development cooperation changing in an age of aid cuts, geopolitical fragmentation, and shifting national priorities? In this episode, Dan Banik speaks with Elina Scheja, Chief Economist at Sida, about the future of foreign aid, poverty reduction, jobs, evidence, and what effective development policy looks like in a more uncertain world.
S6 · E28
April 1 · 43 min
Can Asia still deliver the development dream? | Philip Schellekens
Dan Banik speaks with Philip Schellekens, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at UNDP, about what Asia’s extraordinary rise can (and cannot) teach us about development today. They explore growth, inequality, jobs, aging, AI, and why the future of development depends on moving beyond crisis language toward a more inclusive and opportunity-focused vision.
S6 · E27
March 25 · 46 min
Urbanization, inequality and the future of development | Benjamin Bradlow
Dan Banik speaks with Benjamin Bradlow about urban inequality, informal settlements, and why access to housing, sanitation, and transport remains so unequal in many of the world’s fastest-growing cities. The conversation explores how local politics, state capacity, and civil society shape whether cities become spaces of exclusion or inclusion.
S6 · E26
March 18 · 45 min
Why the middle class will shape global development | Homi Kharas
Dan Banik speaks with Homi Kharas about the rise of the global middle class and why it has become central to the story of modern development. The conversation explores how middle-class growth is reshaping economies, politics, and aspirations around the world, and why its future will matter for inequality, sustainability, and global change.
S6 · E25
March 11 · 46 min
Artificial intelligence and the future of human decision-making | Francesco Marcelloni
Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare, education, and governance. Dan Banik and Francesco Marcelloni explore the risks and benefits, and why human judgment must remain central in the AI era.
S6 · E24
March 4 · 37 min
Why India–China relations could reshape the global order | Manoj Kewalramani
India-China relations have entered a phase of cautious re-engagement, but beneath the diplomatic optics lie deep structural fault lines shaped by power asymmetry, border tensions, economic interdependence, and great power rivalry. Dan Banik speaks with Manoj Kewalramani about whether the relationship is stabilizing into a cold peace or simply entering another cycle of strategic competition with global consequences.
S6 · E23
February 25 · 37 min
Can philosophy save a world obsessed with power? | Thomas Pogge
In a world defined by rising great-power rivalry, declining solidarity, and shrinking aid budgets, the Yale philosopher Thomas Pogge joins Dan Banik to discuss whether global justice and human rights still matter or whether power politics has won. From the erosion of soft power to bold proposals like the Ecological Impact Fund, this conversation explores how values, innovation, and institutional reform could reshape a fractured international order.
S6 · E22
February 18 · 48 min
Debt, development finance, and global agency | David McNair
Dan Banik speaks with David McNair about the shifting politics of global development in an era of debt distress and declining humanitarian funding. They explore how activism must adapt to a changing global financial landscape, the rise of agency in the Global South, and what it will take to reform development finance for the years ahead.
S6 · E21
February 11 · 53 min
Six economists and the making of modern development | David Engerman
David Engerman takes Dan Banik inside the lives and rivalries of six South Asian economists who helped define what “development” would mean in the postcolonial world. From Cambridge seminars to global institutions, the conversation reveals how their debates on trade, planning, inequality, and human welfare still shape the choices governments face today.
S6 · E20
February 4 · 45 min
Making evidence actually usable | Lindsey Moore
Dan Banik speaks with Lindsey Moore about how ethical AI and predictive analytics can transform decades of development evaluations into structured and searchable evidence for better decisions. They explore what it takes to build context-aware models grounded in clear taxonomies and local perspectives, enabling AI to strengthen institutional learning and advance equity.
S6 · E19
January 28 · 50 min
Vietnam’s remarkable development turnaround | Arve Hansen
Vietnam is a celebrated development success story, but rapid growth is also reshaping everyday life through rising inequality, changing consumption, and mounting environmental pressures. Dan Banik speaks with Arve Hansen about what Vietnam’s next phase of development may look like and the trade-offs it will require.
S6 · E18
January 21 · 50 min
Energy for growth on the African continent | Todd Moss
Dan Banik speaks with Todd Moss about why electrification has surged in some countries but continues to lag across much of Africa. Together they unpack why “access” is only the starting point when electricity is expensive, unreliable, and unable to power jobs and growth.
S6 · E17
Dec 23, 2025 · 10 min
Looking back, thinking forward | Dan Banik
As the year draws to a close, Dan Banik takes stock of the major ideas and debates that have defined Season 6 of In Pursuit of Development. From shifting global power and democracy to climate, energy, and artificial intelligence, this episode looks back at what we have learned and ahead to what is next.

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