Trending Globally: Politics and Policy Podcast
1) Shutdown politics, gerrymandering, and the role of Congress as Trump enters his lame-duck phase
When President Trump took office in January, Congress seemed poised to play a supporting role in the story of Trump’s second term. Republicans largely fell in line to support President Trump’s cabinet...Show More
2) Challenging the U.S. foreign policy consensus on Taiwan
In October, President Trump and President Xi Jinping met for the first time in Trump’s new presidential term. The meeting ended with commitments from both countries designed to lower trade tensions —–...Show More
3) The future of the green transition and the climate movement
In August 2022 — just over three years ago — the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law. It represented the largest federal investment in renewable energy and climate action in U.S. history. The ...Show More
4) Inequality and democracy in India, the US, and beyond
In 2014, Narendra Modi became India’s Prime Minister, marking the beginning of what many experts and international watchgroups identify as a period of democratic erosion in the country. Since the...Show More
5) Small Barriers, Big Impact: Rethinking International Development
Bryce Steinberg is a development economist, which means she studies how lower-income countries grow into more prosperous ones. More specifically, she studies how to help people in low-income coun...Show More
6) ‘Illicit global economics 101’ with Peter Andreas
Watson political scientist Peter Andreas has spent decades studying the global economy — but not the one you read about in the business section, or are taught in Econ 101. His focus is on the ill...Show More
7) Diplomacy, security, and the “Art of Coercion”
In his new book “The Art of Coercion,” Watson political scientist Reid Pauly provides a seemingly straightforward definition of coercion: “The practice of convincing a target by the use of threats, to...Show More
8) The role of universities in a democratic society (originally broadcast on the Rhodes Center Podcast, in collaboration with “Brown 2026”)
What’s the role of a university in a democratic society? What responsibility do universities have to foster the public good, and what responsibilities does the public have to support centers of educat...Show More
9) What does the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ mean for America?
On July 4th, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law. The bill cuts trillions of dollars in taxes, and allocates hundreds of billions in new spending. To offset all of this, i...Show More
10) USAID is gone. What's the future of international aid?
On July 1st, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officially closed its operations. It was the culmination of a months-long effort by the Trump administration to dismantle th...Show More