Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

Even by our current standards for presidential news, President Trump’s inquiries into purchasing Greenland this summer were surprising. And while few people took it seriously, Watson political scientist Jeff Colgan still wants to make clear: the US’s relationship with Greenland is no joke. On this episode of Trending Globally, Sarah and Jeff talk about Greenland's role in the Cold War, the politics of nuclear waste clean-up, and the challenges of building a train line...inside of a glacier. They also look at how, with climate change, the US’s relationship to Greenland will matter more and more in the coming decades. This might have been the first time you heard about Greenland on the nightly news, but it probably won’t be the last. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E94_Jeff%20Colgan%20Greenland.pdf]

NOTE FOR LISTENERS: Mark and Carrie will be moving to their own podcast channel in the coming weeks. To subscribe to their new feed, search for 'Mark and Carrie' wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks! Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Master of Public Affairs program, share their take on the news. Topics include: Explaining the Brexit Extended Universe, Hurricane Dorian, protests and political Turmoil in Hong Kong, the parallels between Germany and the US's politics, the Democrat's lukewarm affair with Joe Biden, and what Mark and Carrie learned this summer. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QyMwWCTPl1U-OcVTRaPBSGkQtXGH7Zkl/view]

Immigration is an inherently interdisciplinary subject. On this episode, Sarah talks with three postdoctoral fellows at Watson doing work on immigration: Aileen Teague, Rawan Arar, and Almita Miranda. A historian, a sociologist, and an anthropologist, they’re the perfect guests to help connect the dots on such a pressing, multifaceted topic. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E93_Immigartion%20PostDocs_mixdown.pdf]

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Master of Public Affairs program, share their take on the week's news. This week's topics: Boris Johnson's prospects as PM, Trump's newest racist tweets, Facebook's $5b privacy fine, the underpaid Women's US soccer team, and what to expect in the next ~120 Democratic debates. Mark and Carrie also invent 'Uber for Dogs'? You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ijljqsdfRO0V0c2n5zy8L8yTNEO7EJEH/view]

July 19, 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. Leading up to the anniversary, the Watson Institute hosted a conference looking at the history of the Revolution and its legacy. We at Trending Globally asked many of the conference guests -- including former Sandinista fighters, diplomats, foreign correspondents, scholars, and activists -- to help us tell the story of this Revolution. Coming this Fall on Trending Globally, the story of the Sandinista Revolution from the people who lived it, and an exploration of how it brought Nicaragua to crisis today. Subscribe to Trending Globally to get the first episode when it comes out. You can find more information about Watson's conference, including links to all the lectures and panel discussions, here: https://watson.brown.edu/events/2019/conference-nicaragua-1979-2019-sandinista-revolution-after-40-years

Policy-makers and the media have a problem when it comes to talking about gender in many Muslim-majority nations: too often it’s discussed only in the context of religion or culture, and politics is left out of the equation. On this episode, Sarah Baldwin talks with Nadje Al-Ali [watson.brown.edu/people/faculty/Al-Ali], an anthropologist at Watson's Center for Middle East Studies [https://watson.brown.edu/cmes/], working to change that. They discuss the various ways gender and politics intersect in Muslim-majority countries, at scales both local and global. They also talk about Al-Ali’s forthcoming book Gender, Islam & Governance [https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-gender-governance-and-islam-hb.html], which she co-edited with Deniz Kandiyoti and Kathryn Spellman Poots. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E92_Nadje%20Al-Ali_mixdown.pdf]

On this episode Sarah Baldwin talks with Charlotte Silverman, Sarah Campbell Tucker, and Carly Paul, three students at Brown who are doing fascinating work on gender and development. They discuss their work and research, explore how to better frame issues of gender equality and public health, and hear from Charlotte about what it’s like having your social justice work...win an Oscar [https://www.brown.edu/research/pembroke-center/news/2019-02/gnss-concentrator-charlotte-silverman-wins-oscar]. The film Charlotte co-produced, 'Period. End of Sentence.' is available streaming on Netflix. You can see the trailer here: [https://www.netflix.com/title/81074663] You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E91_Documentary_DS%20Students_REV_1.pdf]

On this episode of Trending Globally, Sarah Baldwin talks with Emily Oster, an economist at The Watson Institute and author of 'Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool' [https://www.amazon.com/Cribsheet-Data-Driven-Relaxed-Parenting-Preschool/dp/0525559256]. In the book, Oster uses the tools of an economist to challenge the conventional wisdom of early childhood parenting. Sarah and Emily discuss some of the most surprising findings from her research, and explore why the book has become such a hit among young parents today. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E90_Emily%20Oster_mixdown.pdf]

How has globalization changed the way that borders operate? And how have these changes affected the US's already strained immigration system? On this episode, Sarah Baldwin talks with former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin and Watson Professor Peter Andreas, both experts on the Mexico-US border. They discuss the current state of the border, the cynical genius of Trump’s chant to ‘build a wall,’ and how to fix our patchwork immigration system going forward.To see Alan Bersin's April presentation at Watson, follow this link: [https://watson.brown.edu/events/2019/alan-bersin-lines-and-flows-future-border-security-not-what-it-used-be]You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E89_Alan%20Bersin_Rev_2.pdf]

This episode of Trending Globally is the third in our 2019 Commencement-Student Spotlight series. As spring semester came to a close, host Sarah Baldwin spoke with a few of Watson’s graduating seniors about their research and work as undergrads. Be prepared to be inspired! Luna Floyd is a public policy concentrator at Watson. Sarah spoke with Luna about her work and research, which has focused on LGBTQ rights, homelessness, and fixing our country’s broken foster care system. It’s heavy stuff, but Luna approaches it with a clarity, intelligence, and passion that might actually give you hope. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E87_3_Student%20Ep%201c_Luna_EDIT_1.pdf]