Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

*Update: Arenberg's book 'Congressional Procedure' has been named a Foreword INDIES 2018 Book of the Year Finalist [https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/books/congressional-procedure/] .* Richard Arenberg knows the inner workings of Congress better than almost anyone. He spent over 30 years on Capitol Hill as senior staff for Senators George Mitchell, Carl Levin, and Paul Tsongas. Today he’s a Visiting Professor in Political Science at Brown University, and a Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute [https://watson.brown.edu/people/fellows/arenberg]. His new book, 'Congressional Procedure' [http://www.thecapitol.net/Publications/congressionalprocedure.html], explores one part of Congress that we often overlook: its rules. Part history, part rule-book, and part manifesto, Arenberg’s book makes clear how these rules are more than just formalities. On this episode of Trending Globally, Sarah talks with Arenberg about why Congress’s rules matter, why so many people call Congress ‘broken,’ and how it might save itself going forward. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E79_Rich%20Arenberg_REV.pdf]

On this episode of Trending Globally,: a deep dive into the opioid crisis. Guest host Susan Moffitt, Director of the Taubman Center for American Policy and Politics [https://watson.brown.edu/taubman/], talks with Brandon Marshall, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health [https://vivo.brown.edu/display/bm8]. Marshal is an expert in the epidemiology of substance abuse, and presented on his work this February at a conference hosted by the Watson Institute and the Taubman Center [https://youtu.be/-DWoWS3RtBE]. Moffitt and Marshall look at the origins of this public health crisis, and help make sense of the staggering numbers behind it. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E78_Brandon%20Marshall_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. Today's topics include Trump’s declaration of a ‘national emergency’, Amazon’s Valentine’s Day break-up with NYC, The Green New Deal, insect extinction and humanity's inability to focus on climate change, and the incomprehensible progression of Brexit. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lSRyn43cD7fnyJk72xOD53IoqtFjavG8/view]

On this episode of Trending Globally [https://soundcloud.com/watsoninstitute/sets/trending-globally], Sarah Baldwin speaks with Sam Wilkin, an economist, political risk consultant, and fellow at the Watson Institute [https://watson.brown.edu/people/visiting/wilkin]. In 2015 Sam started to work on a book about the history of populist movements around the world. At the time people weren’t too interested in what he was saying. Then Donald Trump was elected President, and people became very interested. His book History Repeating: Why Populists Rise and Government’s Fall [https://profilebooks.com/history-repeating.html], came out in March of 2018. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E77_Sam%20Wilkin_REV.pdf]

Whether it’s the economics of small-scale farming, or the environmental impact of a fast food hamburger, what we eat is about way more than just nutrition. On this episode of Trending Globally, Sarah Baldwin talks with Ross Cheit [https://watson.brown.edu/public-policy/people/faculty/ross-cheit], a political science Professor at the Watson Institute who helps Brown students make these connections in a class he designed called ‘Politics of Food.’ But the more time he’s spent on this topic, the more he’s realized that one type of food is treated a little differently from all the rest: fish. In their forthcoming book Big Fish: Politics, Policy, and American Seafood, Cheit and his co-authors look at the unique challenges and opportunities fish represent when it comes to feeding the world. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/16UlBbCZvfAZxcNh4q1h6xMAqPZ2VAioy/view?usp=sharing]

Whether we’re thinking about parenting, pregnancy, or public health, Brown economist Emily Oster [https://watson.brown.edu/people/faculty/oster] likes to challenge conventional wisdom. One of Oster’s most recent papers, posted at the National Bureau of Economic Research, is about a subject that’s full of conventional wisdom: the American diet [https://www.brown.edu/research/projects/oster/sites/brown.edu.research.projects.oster/files/uploads/OsterBehavioralSelection_December2018.pdf]. In it, Oster challenges how doctors and scientists create those studies we read about in the newspapers -- the ones that tell us that kale is good, sugar is bad, and red wine is somehow...both. On this episode of Trending Globally, host Sarah Baldwin spoke with Oster about where she finds inspiration for her research, what it’s like growing up in a family of economists, and how she first decided to focus her attention on science and nutrition. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E75_Emily%20Oster%20_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. Today's topics include the continued government shutdown, early thoughts on the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary, what the media got right and wrong about the Covington Catholic story, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's marginal tax rate proposal, Brexit as Greek Tragedy, Venezuela's uncertain future, and Jeff Bezos's mild (but oh so costly) affair. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r2QMYa7vTm5keosfhNFqbFe549qT1bRd/view]

On this episode of Trending Globally, host Sarah Baldwin speaks with Adaner Usmani [https://watson.brown.edu/people/postdocs/usmani] and Terry-Ann Craigie [https://www.brown.edu/academics/population-studies/people/person/terry-ann-craigie-0] about the web of issues surrounding criminal justice in America. Terry-Ann Craigie is an Associate Professor of Economics at Connecticut College, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, and a visiting faculty at Brown's Population Studies and Training Center. Adaner Usmani is a sociologist and postdoctoral fellow at The Watson Institute. They discuss the cause of our mass incarceration crisis, the value of taking a public health approach to criminal justice, and how to translate economic and social research into actionable public policy. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E74_Adaner%20and%20Terry-Ann.pdf]

On this episode of Trending Globally, Margaret Weir, a political scientist at the Watson Institute, spoke with Assistant Professor of Government at Cornell University Jamila Michener [https://www.jamilamichener.net/] about her book 'Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism and Unequal Politics' [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fragmented-democracy/9A69DF1567190EF38883D4766EBC0AAC]. Michener explains how Medicaid’s effects go far beyond hospitals and health clinics. A complex federal program that varies tremendously across the country, Medicaid affects not only participants' healthcare, but their perception of our democracy. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E73_Weir%20Michener%20REV.pdf]

Sometimes, in the world of social justice organizing, it can seem like there are actually two worlds. One is made up of theoreticians and scholars. The other is made up of organizers on the ground. Legal scholar and Dejusticia Executive Director César Rodríguez-Garavito [https://www.dejusticia.org/en/responsible/cesar-rodriguez-garavito-2] and Watson Senior Fellow Peter Evans [https://watson.brown.edu/people/fellows/evans] want us to challenge this distinction. On this episode of Trending Globally, Sarah Baldwin spoke with them about their most recent work -- an anthology titled 'Transnational Advocacy Networks: Reflecting on 20 years of Evolving Theory and Practice' [https://www.dejusticia.org/en/publication/transnational-advocacy-networks/] -- and about how interdisciplinary, global networks are essential for confronting human rights challenges today. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://watson.brown.edu/files/watson/imce/news/podcast/trending-globally/transcripts/E72_Peter_Cesar_mixdown.pdf]