For the first episode of its fourth season, The Bellwether podcast welcomes Dr. Joanne Liu. She is a pediatric emergency physician, the former International President of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders, a professor at McGill’s School of Population and Global Health, and the director of its Pandemic and Emergency Readiness Lab. She also chairs the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

Dr. Liu explains why good humanitarian work starts with humility, and how good diplomacy starts with respect. She looks back on a number of her field assignments and the importance of keeping humanitarian actors accountable. She also describes how her team challenged the “life-saving only” model to build care for survivors of sexual violence. She warns that attacks on hospitals and civilians are being normalized and shares what she has learned about mediation, trust, and keeping lines of communication open in a polarized world. She closes with what still drives her and with advice for the next generation of policymakers.

For those interested in learning more about her experience, the English version of her book Ebola, Bombs, and Migrants: Humanitarian Crises in a Security-Obsessed World came out this fall.

Associated with The Bell, a policy-focused newsletter, The Bellwether is a podcast hosted and produced by students of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.

Host and Producer: Ameema Talat

Editor: Tian Mi

Creative Director, The Bell: Tyler Kowch

The Bellwether Team: Samantha Babirye Nalumansi, Lea Ghandour, Tian Mi, Ameema Talat

Music: ‘Complex World’ by All Good Folks on #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/c/all-good-folks

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