Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

Adam Levine is the director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies at Watson and associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown. Much of his work has grown out of an essential fact about epidemics that many of us are just now learning: as Adam explains on this episode, “our global public health system for detecting outbreaks is only as good as the remote nurse working in a rural village in Africa or Indonesia or anywhere else in the world.” To address this interconnectedness, Adam and health care professionals at Brown have partnered with the healthcare NGO Project HOPE to remotely train health care workers on how to safely identify and combat COVID-19 and the coronavirus. On this episode Adam talks with Sarah about this partnership and the role high-quality training plays at all levels in stopping the spread of a pandemic. They also discuss what Adam’s learned from treating Ebola in active war zones, and why this likely won’t be the last pandemic we see. You can learn more about Watson's Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies here. You can learn more about Project HOPE here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

Peter Maurer is the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In early March he came to Watson, and Sarah talked with him about the challenges of humanitarian aid in the 21st century. Shortly after they spoke, Coronavirus travelled the globe, and everything seemed to change. But surprisingly, for all that's different now, so much of what Peter had to say still resonates -- maybe now more than ever. It's not a light conversation, but but Peter's wisdom, kindness, and clarity of purpose might actually leave you feeling a little more hopeful about this scary, uncertain time.You can learn more about Maurer's recent talk at Watson here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

Mark Lurie is an epidemiologist and expert in infectious disease at Brown University's School of Public Health. On this episode he talks with Sarah about the underlying issues of the coronavirus pandemic: how the virus spreads, what can be done to slow it down, and the different ways it's being treated by countries around the world. They also discuss lessons we can learn from previous public health crises in fighting this one, and how the pandemic is interacting with other social and economic issues.You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

The spread of the coronavirus, and global effort to contain it, have quickly upended every aspect of our lives. We at Trending Globally are going to bring your more conversations and insights about this pandemic in the coming weeks from our community of experts at Watson and Brown. On this episode: how the coronavirus is affecting US politics, and how US politics are affecting the development of this public health crisis. Guest host Dan Richards talks with Wendy Schiller, Watson Faculty Fellow and Chair of the Political Science Department at Brown University. They discuss the wide-ranging affects of this crisis on American politics, from the Democratic Primaries to voting reform to how might it affect the concerns and considerations of voters going into the general election.You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

This is the first episode in a special series that Trending Globally will be producing this semester with Watson’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (also known as CLACS). Each episode will focus on a different aspect of society in Latin America and the Caribbean. To start: the politics of natural disasters and emergency management. Storms like Maria and Dorian have done more than cripple islands in the Caribbean; they've brought up important questions of politics, power, and social justice in the region. We're excited to welcome as a special guest host for this series Dr. Pablo Rodriguez. Dr. Rodriguez is Chair of the Women & Infants Health Care Alliance, Associate Professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown, and the former Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island. He’s also a radio host here in Rhode Island, and one of the most trusted voices covering politics and Latin-x issues in the state. He spoke with two experts on the Caribbean who are based here at Brown: Patsy Lewis, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies; and Paget Henry, a sociologist and Professor at Brown. You can learn more about Watson’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

Historians have explored warfare through just about every lens imaginable. But leave it to political scientist and Watson Faculty Peter Andreas to use the lens you haven’t considered: drugs. On this episode Sarah talks with Peter about his newest book ‘Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs.’ In it, he writes how these drugs - from coffee to opium -- have affected how, and why, we fight. You can see the Watson Institute’s recent panel discussion about the book here. You can learn more about and purchase 'Killer High' here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

On January 31, the UK formally left the European Union. But ‘Brexit’ is far from over. On this episode guest host Dan Richards talks with political economist and Watson Professor Mark Blyth about the next steps in this process, and what they’ll mean for Europe and the UK. Mark’s never been Brexit’s biggest fan, but on this episode he explains to Dan why he has some reasons for hope, and what it might look like to ‘get Brexit done right.’You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

This past January marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. On this episode, Sarah talks with Watson Faculty Fellow and historian Omer Bartov about the intimate tragedies that occurred within the massive, industrialized murder of the Holocaust. In his book 'Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz,' he vividly illustrates how the residents of one small town went from co-existing to committing mass murder in a matter of years. It’s both an important piece of history and a cautionary tale about how quickly neighbors can turn against each other. You can learn more about and purchase Omer's book here. You can watch Omer discuss the book at the Watson Institute here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

Tensions between China and the US are at a level not seen in decades. But as Chas Freeman, former Assistant US Secretary of Defense and Watson Senior Fellow believes, the tension between these countries is larger than a tit-for-tat trade dispute. Everything about this relationship is being called to question, and it has implications around the world. On this episode Edward Steinfeld, Director of the Watson Institute and Director of Watson’s China Initiative, sits down with Chas to discuss what may be the biggest story of decades to come: the fast-changing relationship between the US and China. You can read Chas’s paper ‘A World Dividing: The International Implications of the Sino-American Rift’ here. You can learn more about Watson’s China Initiative here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

On this episode: why protests have erupted across India in the last few months, and why these protests have been, in many ways, a long time coming. Guest host and producer Dan Richards talks with Sara Shneiderman, associate professor in anthropology and the School of Public Policy & Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, and Sahana Ghosh, postdoctoral fellow at the Watson Institute, about what they call the “weaponizing of citizenship" in India. You can read more of their analysis in their recent op-ed for The Conversation here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.