The new business model for the Steelpan industry is an ecosystem based on collaboration rather than competition. Akua Leith explains the pillars and principles that guide this system in the founding of MITTCO (Musical Instruments of Trinidad and Tobago Company LTD). Support the Show.By Akua Leith

"Be like water" was Bruce Lee's famous admonition. For Victor Provost, Pan was the instrument he played growing up on St. John in the Virgin Islands. Jazz was the music he loved. The melding of the two was no conscious exploration, it was an organic evolution. Performing and sharing this gift was what he was used to, until Covid struck. Then he piv…

One of the steelpan art form's prodigious talents talks about the challenges of building an identity outside of conditioned perceptions in the music industry and the indigenous culture from which it emerged. Support the Show.By Andre White

“In the US, every instrument…guitar, trumpet, piano, has its own society where people who are interested…or are practitioners and teachers in that discipline, get together at conferences, via professional journals, websites; and they share best practices, ideas,…what has worked, what hasn’t worked, what are their challenges, so that we’re not reinv…

Sons don't always follow in their Dad's footsteps, especially when Dad has already created some pretty big shoes to fill. But when a son matches his Dad's passion and potential for a particular preoccupation, the promise is priceless. Listen as TNTeague share their passion for Pan. Support the Show.By TNTeague

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Jonathan Scales never set out to be different in the steelpan fraternity. He was just being himself, playing the music he loved and found himself taking Pan where it had never been. Listen to Jonathan's story, an unlikely saga that grows with every note he play…

Four-time Panorama Large Band Champion arranger and director, Duvone Stewart of the BP Renegades Steel Orchestra breaks down the process of composing a winning arrangement within the constraints of a four-element criteria. Links to the Duvone Stewart documentary, The Man Behind the Music: https://youtu.be/dBx9uMMfKKM?si=msjpj... https://youtu.be/Eo…

In a jam-packed episode we cover the Paraguayan general election, more Chilean constitutional drama and briefly share our thoughts on England’s local elections. There’s continuity, a right-wing surprise and 1000 Tory loses inside, so give it a listen! Follow us on Twitter @ballotworld and please rate and subscribe wherever you listen.…

On 2nd April Montenegro held the second round of momentous presidential elections that saw long-term ruler Milo Đukanović leave office. And on the same day Bulgarian held yet another parliamentary election, with the potential for more to come. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and rate and subscribe wherever you're listening.…

Finland and Andorra both went to the polls on 2nd April for elections which featured both continuity and change. We’ll break down the political dynamics of both countries and just what the results mean going forward.

The Netherlands held provincial, water board and island council elections on 15th March. The results sent waves through Dutch politics- essentially all the parties lost seats to the agro-populist BBB, the BoerBurgerBeweging or Farmer-Citizen Movement, which surged to almost 20 per cent of the vote from almost nothing. The councillors elected today …

Estonia held elections on 5th March, which saw the Reform party of incumbent PM Kaja Kallas come first with a record 31.2% of the vote. No coalition now looks feasible without Reform, thus extending the party’s dominance over Estonian politics. Issues around security and cost-of-living dominated in the election, in light of Estonia’s prominent supp…

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and among the world’s biggest democracies, held its presidential election on February 25, with 76-year old Bola Tinubu of the incumbent All Progressive Congress being declared the winner with 36% of the vote. The election comes at a time when Nigeria faces multiple issues, including economic challenges. …

On 12th February Cyprus held the second round of one of its most dramatic presidential elections yet. While favourite Nikos Christodoulides had been leading the polls by massive margins in the run-up to the election, he ended up winning a very close contest. To find out why we dig into Cypriot politics and explore the runners and riders in this rac…

This week we're globe hoping, looking at a couple of smaller elections that have occurred recently. We first cover the Monegasque landslide election, where all the country's largest parties united into a single bloc. Then we travel across the Atlantic to explore Ecuador's referendum and local elections. While we're in the region, we catch up with w…

We're returning to Czechia, last visited in 2021, to cover the results of the presidential election. Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš failed in his attempt to seize the country's top job, loosing pretty easily to former general Petr Pavel. We're joined by Dr. Sean Haley of UCL SSEES to break down why Babiš lost so badly and who exactly the man wh…

This week we're tackling that all-important topic of upper houses, or second chambers, with a special focus on the United Kingdom's bizarre House of Lords. How does the House of Lords work, and where does it come from? And what's the best way to design a second chamber? We scour the world's upper houses for the answer. Follow us on twitter @ballotw…

In a quiet period for elections we're taking a look at authoritarian successor parties- the phenomenon where the ruling parties of authoritarian regimes take to electoral politics, and are often quite successful. While this might seem odd at first glance, we break down exactly why people would still want to vote for these parties when they have the…

Happy new year! This week we're taking a look at the biggest and most exciting elections scheduled for 2023...and some of the ones we're looking forward to because we're massive nerds. We also make foolhardy predictions we can look back on and grimace about at Christmas. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and rate and subscribe wherever you're liste…

Do you like festive recaps of the year, do you like elections? Then this is the podcast for you! We're taking a look back at the electoral year and discussing what the most significant contests were, which ones caught us by surprise, and what the elections that brought us sadness and joy this year were. Merry Christmas everyone! Follow us on twitte…

The only conversation anyone's ever had about the Faroe Islands which doesn't make an ancient Egypt joke. Also perhaps the only reporting on the recent Faroese election in the English language, which is a shame because this was a fascinating contest. These were early parliamentary elections, and saw a political comeback for former Prime Minister Ak…

We freely acknowledge Malaysia can be a difficult country for us to keep track of, especially over the last four years which saw dramatic governmental changes mid-term. But no need to worry as we're joined by Dr. Lynette Ong of the University of Toronto to take us through the twists and turns of recent Malaysian politics and what the results of the…

In the US midterm elections the red tide of Republican victories singularly failed to materialise, with Republicans making modest gains at best and failing to take the Senate. But why did Democrats perform so well when all the fundamentals were against them? To break this remarkable set of results down, were joined by Prof. Chris Carman of the Univ…

In Denmark's recent election incumbent PM Mette Frederiksen's left-leaning bloc won a narrow majority in parliament against predictions. Yet it's all change in Denmark's party system, as Frederiksen instead seeks to form a centrist government around her Social Democrats. We break down why ordering the death of some Mink triggered the downfall of a …

Do you like your good news moderated by terrible news? Then this is the podcast for you! We're going over the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections which saw former president Silva strike a blow fro democracy and environment, but on the other hand we're going to bring you the lowdown on the Israeli legislative elections, which saw th…

On October 2nd Brazil had its first round of presidential elections. Former president Lula got 48.43% of the vote and incumbent Bolsonaro got 43.2% of the vote. Because neither candidate got over 50% of the vote, the country will go to a runoff vote on October 30th. Fair to say that many people around the world, and not only in Brazil, are on the e…

Two countries this week in a bumper episode! First we tackle Bulgaria, a country we’ve visited many times before, to find out why they want us to talk about them so badly. Then we’re looking at Latvia, another postcommunist country that held very volatile elections recently.

Elections on 3rd October in Quebec saw another landslide majority for the CAQ party of premier François Legault. Leagult came to power in 2018 leading the first government not of the Liberals or PQ since the 1960s. He represents a departure in Quebecois politics from the Sovereignty-federalism divide. The size of the CAQ victory was magnified by th…

Italy held snap general elections on 25th September which saw a victory for its 'centre-right' coalition of parties. Chief among these was the radical right Brothers of Italy party led by presumptive PM Giorgia Meloni, who managed to triumph over a divided centre-left. We discuss what the origins and ideology of the new rightist government and the …

Sweden’s general election on 11th September produced a knife edge result which saw the right-wing bloc of the centre-right parties and the radical right Sweden Democrats win a small majority. The election marks the final incorporation of the Swedish Democrats into the party system and the breakdown of the cordon sanitaire around them. Follow us on …

*This episode was recorded before the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II* Chileans voted overwhelmingly against a new draft of the constitution last weekend.This vote comes after a long process of social protests followed by fascinating political change in one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries and one of the most solid democracies…

Angola elected its President and National Assembly on 24th August. Although the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won again, this was the closest election since Angola’s independence from Portugal in 1975. Previous elections had seen a landslide victory for the MPLA and long term president José Eduardo dos Santos, who had…

Kenya held general elections on 9th August to a plethora of positions including its presidency. This contest was won narrowly by William Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance, in a victory which is now being tested. We're joined by Dr. Fred Ajwang of Kings College London to dive into the world of Kenyan politics, a world of clientelism, ethnic vot…

What is a green party? Where do they do best and who supports them? We look at this ever more relevant party family and break down their ideology, origins and supporters. From the Nordics to Mexico to New Zealand, this is a truly global guide to the greens! Please do rate and subscribe wherever you're listening and follow us on twitter @ballotworld…

On July 26th Tunisian’s voted in favour of a Constitutional Referendum that many suggest is largely a power grab by current president Kais Saied. This referendum was marked by very low turnout (a little over 30%), but a very high percentage of “Yes” votes among those who participated (94%). The opposition boycotted the referendum. Was this constitu…

We're concluding our countdown of the world's electoral systems, this week looking at the top three. Who will come out on top? Which electoral system will be known for all time as the incontrovertible best? Tune in to find out. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and please rate and subscribe wherever you're listening.…

This week we're embarking on an epic mission to settle once and for all what the best electoral system is. We survey a wide range of the systems in use and discuss their pros and cons, working our way up from worst to best. This week we get from the block vote all the way up to the single transferable vote, before leaving you in suspense for our to…

This week we're catching up on two second rounds from elections we've looked at in the past few weeks. First, we return to Colombia, where Andres has been reporting on the ground, to hear about Petro's narrow victory. Then we go back to France where Macron's bloc looses its parliamentary majority, throwing the 5th republic into uncharted waters. We…

Bonjour! We're back in France taking a look at the first round of the French legislative elections that are following hot on the heels of Macron's reelection as President. We're unpacking where NUPE came from and why its posed such a danger to Macron, as well as the behaviour of the other parties and alliances in this contest. Because it's the Ball…

Ontario held provincial elections last week, which saw the incumbent Progressive Conservatives win in a landslide. Their leader, Doug Ford, has been a populist figure with a controversial record. Also this week, the UK Conservatives held a vote of confidence in PM Boris Johnson, who survived, but by a fairly narrow margin. We break down what the re…

Colombia held its first round of voting for president last Sunday (May 29th) which culled the field of contenders to two candidates: Gustavo Petro who everyone expected would go on to the second round and Rodolfo Hernández whose victory is quite shocking. The fact that Gustavo Petro emerged as the highest voted candidate is already a sort of politi…

Australia's federal elections saw the ouster of Scott Morrison's Coalition government and major successes for third parties and independents. It also saw the return of the Labor Party under leader Anthony Albanese after 9 years in opposition. We're joined by Australian elections analyst Ben Raue to break down the collapse in coalition support and t…

Filipinos went to the polls on May 9th 2022 for an important general election, to elect president, vice-president, renew the House of Representatives, some Senate seats, and elect governors, and several local officials. The main headline is that a majority of voters in the Philippines elected Ferdinand Marcos, also referred to as Bongbong Marcos, t…

On 5th May Northern Ireland elected a new Assembly in a momentous contest which saw Sinn Féin become the largest party for the first time and the hardline unionist DUP loose a significant share of the votes. The elections come at a turbulent moment for Northern Ireland, with breakdowns in power-sharing and the fallout form Brexit. We're joined by P…

This week Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru announced plans to dramatically reform the Welsh Parliament- the Senedd. These much needed changes, which would increased the Parliament from 60 to 96 and change the electoral system, have been met with change and controversy. We break down what these changes mean for Welsh politics.…

We’re discussing local elections held across England, Scotland and Wales last week, which saw heavy losses for the governing Conservatives and gains for the centre-left opposition parties. In Scotland, the SNP remained dominant and Labour returned to second place, and in Wales Labour scored a major victory as Plaid Cymru strengthened its hold over …

Slovenia has been ruled in recent years by a rickety coalition headed by Janez Janša, who has been a mainstay of Slovenian political life its entire democratic history. Janša is an incredibly controversial figure, who has cuddled up to Viktor Orban and moved towards the radical right. He has a long history of personal corruption and abuse of power.…

We break down the second round of France's presidential elections, which saw a wider than expected victory for President Macron over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. We discuss why this happened and what might be in store for Macron's second term and the upcoming legislative elections. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and please rate and subscri…

On April 10th, Mexico held its first presidential recall vote to see whether Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) would remain in office or not. The turnout threshold of 40% was not reached, as only 17.8% of the voter’s roll turned out, which means that the results were not legally binding- in any case, 92% of voters who turned out voted for AMLO to …

With all eyes on the French presidential election we decided to dive deep into the nature of this unusual executive, which has a reputation for being extremely powerful but doesn't operate along the lines spelled out in the constitution. We discuss the origins of the position, the sources of its power and analyse the results of the first round of t…