Matthew Yglesias: Foreign Aid, Climate Politics, and Plastic Straws

Energy for Growth Hub’s Casey Dunning Davis joins host Katie Auth to discuss how the Millennium Challenge Corporation (mostly) escaped being DOGEd, where it excels in international development, and where it falls short. Listen as Casey and Katie discuss how the agency’s mandate and portfolio are changing to match the political moment, and whether MCC could be the most powerful tool to strengthen electric utilities in emerging economies.

International development reporter Adva Saldinger joins host Katie Auth for the first episode of season 5 to discuss how the Trump administration is reshaping the world of development finance for energy and climate. Adva explains the rising prominence (and shifting mandate) of the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) – and the questions being raised about its speed, credibility, and accountability. She and Katie also dig into how the World Bank is navigating pressure from the US, including a compromise over its climate strategy. About the Guest: Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance and U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter that focuses on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with nearly two decades of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa. "I think if you want a deal to get through, you need to pretty clearly be able to link it to a benefit to the US economy and be able to articulate that pretty well." - Adva Saldinger, Season 5 of High Energy Planet Covered in This Episode A Reshuffled Landscape: Katie asks Adva how her beat has changed since the start of the second Trump administration, and Adva explains that with USAID gone, the Development Finance Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation have become the central players in US development policy — though a clear, unified policy vision still hasn't emerged.

Imagine a world with electricity so abundant that it powers jobs, boosts innovation, and improves living standards at massive scale. And so universal that no person’s potential is wasted because energy is too limited or expensive where they live. High Energy Planet, from the Energy for Growth Hub, explores how we build that future. In Season 5, we’re focused on the US government’s wild shifts in energy and development policy. What’s actually happening? What does it mean for partners? For investors? For philanthropy? And most of all: how do we reinvent energy and climate diplomacy for a world that has fundamentally changed? Season 5 starts September 15 – new episodes monthly. Hosted by Katie Auth, deputy executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub. This show is brought to you by the Energy for Growth Hub. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more: Visit the Energy for Growth Hub

Ken Opalo, associate professor at Georgetown University and author of An Africanist Perspective, joins the show to discuss what’s really behind chronic underinvestment in Africa’s power sector, what US policymakers are missing, and what gives him hope for the future of African development.

Rose and Katie unpack the fallout from the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID and what it means for global energy investment and energy access. Drawing on their experience in US government, they explore the ripple effects of these cuts, the impact on local and international partners, and the broader shifts in development assistance. They also reflect on the role of public service, the evolving nature of US engagement abroad, and how to navigate this new reality.