Give The Development Podcast 20 minutes of your time and it will take you on a trip around the globe and into the world of international development. With each episode, World Bank Group experts break down the latest issues and trends harnessing and explaining the data driving global issues in an accessible and engaging way. Along the way, listeners hear from real people living the effects of global development as well as the practitioners working to make the world a better, more equitable place for all.
Drawing on the team’s experience in broadcast news media as well as the World Bank Group’s mission to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity, The Development Podcast aims to use the highest production and editorial values to draw audiences into the world of global economics and development. The ultimate goal is to create empathy across a broad audience for the situation that millions of the world’s poor and vulnerable face, as well as an understanding of the important role that global cooperation has played and continues to play in resolving these issues.
The programs start with a deep dive into the data behind the stories. By focusing on the hard numbers and facts behind the headlines we give the audience the raw material they need to make their own judgements on these important issues.
Many of the topics are dense, esoteric, and nuanced; but through the stories of real people who are living the realities of today’s biggest challenges as well as the voices of experts who have dedicated their lives to addressing them, The Development Podcast humanizes global development – in a way that is accessible to all.
Listeners to the Development Podcast can be transported to places like Colombia, Togo, Mexico to hear from real people – mothers struggling to educate their children during the COVID-19 lockdown, an entrepreneur trying to help startups in a developing country, a pediatrician working to help obese and malnourished children – about their struggles and triumphs at this moment in history. In that same 20-30 minutes, they’re walked through the latest data and research, and hear from researchers developing innovative solutions.
The Development Podcast has shown tremendous success – especially among audiences interested in global affairs and development. Despite its infancy and technical hurdles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Development Podcast has drawn a dedicated and growing audience. This is evidenced by viewer emails that follow-up on episodes and propose new topics, as well as analytical data that suggests high-retention rates across episodes.
