How Sudan’s collapse exposes America’s fading global power

Aug 21, 2025
22 mins

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Episode Description

When Sudan’s civil war broke out in 2023, two military factions violently dismantled the country’s infrastructure, causing devastation for civilians. Now millions face famine, sexual violence, and mass displacement as international aid has dwindled after U.S. funding cuts. Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum and photojournalist Lynsey Addario traveled to Sudan to report on the crisis. Applebaum sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about what she saw on the ground, and what Sudan’s war reveals about the collapse of the liberal world order.

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