Best Watson Institute For International Podcasts (2024)

1
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy citizenship abroad 34:33

16m ago34:33

34:33

When you think of high-end luxury commodities, you might imagine yachts, private jets, or even whole islands. But in the last few years, another commodity has started to receive a lot of attention from the world’s wealthiest people: citizenship. With enough money, people can buy their way into becoming a citizen of a growing list of countries aroun…

1
A new history of the Sandinista Revolution 42:47

10d ago42:47

42:47

In the 1970s in Nicaragua, left-wing rebels, calling themselves the Sandinista National Liberation Front, fought to overthrow their country’s dictator. It worked. The Sandinistas led a coalition that took over the government in July 1979, in what became known as the Sandinista Revolution. However, within a few years, the Sandinistas faced a violent…

1
What happened to the ‘American dream’? 32:24

28d ago32:24

32:24

Here’s a depressing fact: it takes longer to travel from Boston to Los Angeles today than it did 50 years ago. Getting to the airport, getting through the airport, the flight itself — just about every part of the process takes longer than it once did. According to New York Times senior writer David Leonhardt, this is just one example of the stagnat…

1
How asset managers came to own everything and you failed to notice 53:11

1M ago53:11

53:11

Listeners of the Rhodes Center Podcast have probably heard of companies like Black Rock, State Street and Vanguard. You’ve also probably heard how, through ETFs and other investment products, these types of investment firms own a staggering share of the world’s biggest companies (20-25% of the S&P 500 by some estimates). But in this episode, you’ll…

1
From Black Lives Matter to January 6, how ‘Black grief’ and ‘white grievance’ shape our politics 33:28

1M ago33:28

33:28

The last decade has seen the growth of two political movements that appear diametrically opposed: the Black Lives Matter movement and the rise of Donald Trump. But as our guest on this episode explains, these two movements are linked, and can only be understood together. On this episode, Dan Richards talks with political scientist Juliet Hooker abo…

1
Mark and Carrie Special: 2024 Primaries, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, what’s next for the UK’s Labour Party 29:14

2M ago29:14

29:14

We’ve got a lot of exciting new Trending Globally episodes coming up in the next few weeks and months, but this week we’re sharing an episode of another podcast from the Watson Institute: Mark and Carrie. The show is hosted by political economist Mark Blyth and political scientist Carrie Nordlund. On each episode, they discuss, debate and, occasion…

1
Ukraine is ‘on the ropes’ two years after Russia’s invasion. What’s next for the Russia-Ukraine War? 29:32

2M ago29:32

29:32

February 24, 2024, marks two years since the beginning of the War in Ukraine. In the war’s first year, Russia’s assault on Ukraine shook the West, while Ukraine's defense of the territory captivated the world. While no less deadly or consequential, the war's second year has looked very different. The war has become a stalemate on the battlefield, a…

1
The origins of America's separate and unequal schools 27:43

3M ago27:43

27:43

In the United States, inequality along the lines of race in education is such a persistent issue that it often fails to make headlines. COVID-19 brought it back to the front of the nation’s consciousness as evidence mounted that nonwhite students were experiencing roughly twice as much learning loss as their white counterparts. Yet, as our guest on…

1
How backlash came to define American politics, and what it means for the future of public policy 35:49

3M ago35:49

35:49

Backlash is hardly a new political force — since America’s founding, change has often been driven by citizens mobilizing in opposition to policies, programs, or social movements. But recently, as our guest on this episode explains, backlash movements have come to dominate our politics in unprecedented ways. He argues that to build a more stable and…

1
The new psychology of nuclear brinkmanship (originally released February 2023) 29:44

4M ago29:44

29:44

Trending Globally will be back with all new episodes soon, but in the meantime we’re rereleasing some of our favorite episodes from 2023. We hope you enjoy – and have a great start to 2024! *** The beginning of 2023 saw a disturbing milestone: the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the ‘Doomsday Clock’ forward to 90 seconds to midnight – the c…

1
What happens when a prison comes to town (originally released January 2023) 26:05

4M ago26:05

26:05

“Trending Globally” will be back with all new episodes soon, but in the meantime, we’re rereleasing a few of our favorite episodes from 2023. We hope you enjoy — and have a great start to 2024! *** In 2007, Watson Professor John Eason moved with his family from Chicago to Forest City, Arkansas. At the time Eason was getting his Ph.D. at the Univers…

1
After four years of COVID-19, are we safer against future pandemics? 29:21

5M ago29:21

29:21

This December marks four years since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. On this episode of Trending Globally, Dan Richards speaks with two experts from the Pandemic Center at Brown University’s School of Public Health about the ways our society’s approach to public health has changed since 2019. They discuss how we should be thin…

1
The business side of fighting climate change 33:27

5M ago33:27

33:27

On this podcast, you’ve heard from a range of experts about the policies and politics of decarbonization. But what does the fight against climate change look like from the business side? Sophie Purdom is the Founder and Managing Partner of Planeteer Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage climate technology companies. She also w…

1
Exploring “the land of inequality” with a Nobel Prize-winning economist Sir Angus Deaton 27:11

5M ago27:11

27:11

On this episode, political economist and Watson professor Mark Blyth talks with Nobel Prize-winning economist Sir Angus Deaton about his new book, “Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality.” You may not know Angus Deaton by name, but you probably know a phrase he helped to make famous: “deaths of despair.” In 201…

1
An Immigrant Economist in the Land of Inequality: A Conversation with Sir Angus Deaton 32:28

5M ago32:28

32:28

In 2015, economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a paper that revealed something startling: an increase in mortality rates in the United States among white middle-aged men and women between the years of 1999 and 2013. They published a book in 2020 that aimed to explain the trend, which they attributed to — among other factors — economic sta…

1
Israel, Palestine, and ‘personal history in times of crisis’ 37:43

6M ago37:43

37:43

How do our individual experiences shape our political views? What role do our own stories and memories play in how we think about the world around us? How can we use our memories — even our most painful ones — to help build a more peaceful politics? These are complicated questions, and not of the variety we often ask on this show. But historian Ome…

1
The political ramifications of a ‘green transition’ in the US 32:49

6M ago32:49

32:49

Last year, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Considered by many to be the biggest climate and energy bill ever passed, the IRA included roughly $370 billion to help shift the U.S. to cleaner forms of power. And it was just one of three laws passed by the administration that will play into the United States’ move away from…

1
The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 3): houses, micro states, finance, carbon 35:27

6M ago35:27

35:27

This is part three in our companion series to the book “Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation” (co-edited by Mark Blyth, Lucio Baccaro and Jonas Pontusson). On this episode, Mark talks with four contributors for the book: Alex Reisenbichler, Aidan Regan, Oddný Helgadóttir, and Jonas Nahm. They look at case studies in a hand…

1
Archiving the ‘Voices of Mass Incarceration’ at Brown’s John Hay Library 32:54

7M ago32:54

32:54

In 1982, Mumia Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. An ex-Black Panther, he had no prior criminal record. Amnesty International investigated his case and found in many ways that it "failed to meet minimum international standards.” He’s been incarcerated for more than 40 years. Over those decades, Abu-Jam…

1
Seeing America through the eyes of refugees 31:31

7M ago31:31

31:31

One day in the year 2000, in the midst of the Second Congo War, Honoria* fled her home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and never returned. After 16 years in a refugee camp in Uganda, she relocated to Philadelphia, where she became one of the roughly 80,000 refugees who entered the U.S. that year. Honoria’s family was one of the dozens that …

1
The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 2): growth models at scale 32:51

7M ago32:51

32:51

This is part two in our companion series to the book “Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation” (co-edited by Mark Blyth, Lucio Baccaro and Jonas Pontusson). In part one (which, if you haven’t listened to, we’d recommend you go back and do), Mark and his guests discussed how growth models are almost like the business model for…

1
How participatory budgeting can strengthen our democracy 23:02

7M ago23:02

23:02

Imagine if, when you were in middle school, an Ivy League professor came to your school and told you that you were going to be part of an experiment. You were going to get to decide how the money in your school was spent. What would you want to spend it on? How would you convince your classmates that your idea was best? Furthermore, would you even …

1
Why the West is thinking about the coup in Niger all wrong 28:41

8M ago28:41

28:41

This summer, military forces in the West African country of Niger pushed the country’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, out of power. This was not the first coup in Niger’s history, or in the recent history of the Sahel region of Africa. In the last few years there have been coups in multiple countries in the region, including Burkina Faso and Mali. But …

1
The 2024 Election: Voting Laws, Trump's Legal Woes & Political Exhaustion 26:34

9M ago26:34

26:34

On August 23, at least 5 GOP hopefuls for the party’s presidential nomination will take to the stage in Milwaukee for their first primary debate. In other words, the 2024 election is about to get real. In this episode, Dan Richards talks with Wendy Schiller, professor of political science at Brown University and director of the Watson Institute’s T…

1
The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 1) 33:58

9M ago33:58

33:58

This is the first in a three-part series on Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation, a book co-edited by Mark Blyth, Lucio Baccaro, and Jonas Pontusson. Using examples from around the world, the book offers a new understanding of what happens to our politics when growth slows down. In this episode, Mark grills his co-authors …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Watson Institute For International Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

Trending Globally: Politics & Policy

1
The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

Rhodes Center

1
Mark and Carrie

Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University

1
The Startup Visa Podcast

Tahmina Watson

1
ISUM2015 - Manila Startup Conference

ISUM2015

1
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy citizenship abroad 34:33

1
A new history of the Sandinista Revolution 42:47

1
What happened to the ‘American dream’? 32:24

1
How asset managers came to own everything and you failed to notice 53:11

1
From Black Lives Matter to January 6, how ‘Black grief’ and ‘white grievance’ shape our politics 33:28

1
Mark and Carrie Special: 2024 Primaries, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, what’s next for the UK’s Labour Party 29:14

1
Ukraine is ‘on the ropes’ two years after Russia’s invasion. What’s next for the Russia-Ukraine War? 29:32

1
The origins of America's separate and unequal schools 27:43

1
How backlash came to define American politics, and what it means for the future of public policy 35:49

1
The new psychology of nuclear brinkmanship (originally released February 2023) 29:44

1
What happens when a prison comes to town (originally released January 2023) 26:05

1
After four years of COVID-19, are we safer against future pandemics? 29:21

1
The business side of fighting climate change 33:27

1
Exploring “the land of inequality” with a Nobel Prize-winning economist Sir Angus Deaton 27:11

1
An Immigrant Economist in the Land of Inequality: A Conversation with Sir Angus Deaton 32:28

1
Israel, Palestine, and ‘personal history in times of crisis’ 37:43

1
The political ramifications of a ‘green transition’ in the US 32:49

1
The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 3): houses, micro states, finance, carbon 35:27

1
Archiving the ‘Voices of Mass Incarceration’ at Brown’s John Hay Library 32:54

1
Seeing America through the eyes of refugees 31:31

1
The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 2): growth models at scale 32:51

1
How participatory budgeting can strengthen our democracy 23:02

1
Why the West is thinking about the coup in Niger all wrong 28:41

1
The 2024 Election: Voting Laws, Trump's Legal Woes & Political Exhaustion 26:34

1
The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 1) 33:58

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