Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

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 and Rhodes Center Director Mark Blyth, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund. On each episode they discuss, debate, add context to, and, occasionally, make fun of the biggest headlines of the day. The conversations are always thought-provoking and informative, and while the topics are often somber, the show is not. On this episode they discuss the geopolitics of the World Cup, the future of the Republican Party, and how FTX’s complicated crypto-scandal fits into the long lineage of financial fraud. They also briefly play with Mark’s dog. Listen to more of Mark and Carrie and subscribe. Learn about all of the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

On October 30, 2022, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known by most simply as Lula – defeated Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro in a runoff election.On Lula's agenda: rebuild Brazil’s social safety net, restore the country’s democratic institutions, and advocate for the country's most marginalized citizens -- oh, and save the Amazon rainforest. He'll have to do all of that while navigating a divided government, polarized public, and aggressive far-right opposition.On this episode of Trending Globally Dan Richards explores this historic moment in Brazil with James Green, a historian and professor of Latin American history at the Watson Institute, and the host of the podcast Brazil Unfiltered. They discuss how Lula came to win, and what his victory means for Brazil and the world. They also look at why, contrary to what so many people predicted and feared, Brazil’s election went relatively smoothly. Because, as James makes clear: it easily could have not.  Learn more about James Green’s podcast Brazil Unfiltered.Find transcripts and more information about all our episodes on our website.Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

This year’s US midterm elections were as consequential as any in recent history. But it’s not just the headline-grabbing national races for Congress that will reshape the country in the coming years. There were also thousands of state-level elections on Tuesday, the results of which will have huge implications for Americans on issues including gun control, reproductive rights, the pandemic response, and climate change. On this episode of Trending Globally we’re stepping aside from midterm election analysis (there’s plenty of that to go around) — instead, you’ll hear from an expert on state-level government about the surprising, underappreciated power of US states to change people’s lives. And a warning: whatever your political beliefs, this conversation might actually make you feel optimistic about American government. Ambassador Suzi LeVine '93 is a Senior Fellow of International and Public Affairs at the Watson Institute, and this Fall she’s leading a study group called ‘The Power of the States’. In it, she’s helping students to see the tremendous potential of US state governments to change lives, and the unrecognized potential everyday citizens have to make their voice heard at the state level. Learn more about Ambassador LeVine’s work and her Watson Institute Study Group. Learn more about this episode and all our other episodes on our website. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. A final note: This fall marks Trending Globally’s fifth year at the Watson Institute, and this is the show’s 200th episode. To learn more about our favorite past episodes and stay up to date on ways we’ll celebrate in the coming weeks, follow  the Watson Institute on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And thank you all for listening! 

On the morning of July 9, 2022, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans gathered in front of the country’s Presidential Palace. By the afternoon, they had overwhelmed the guards and entered the grounds. The country’s President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the property and ultimately, the country. It was the culmination of a protest movement known as the ‘Aragalaya’ which had been growing for months amidst Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and its leaders’ corrupt, inept response. For the next few days, surreal images were broadcast around the world of Sri Lankan citizens of all stripes milling throughout the Palace, picnicking on its lawns, and swimming in its pool. But almost as surprising as the images was how quickly, within weeks, the country seemed to revert to the status quo. Or did it? On this episode, Dan Richards talks with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, an expert on Sri Lankan politics and founder of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Sri Lanka. He explains where the crisis came from, what led to the surreal protests this summer, and where the Aragalaya goes from here. Watch Dr. Saravanamuttu’s talk at the Watson Institute’s Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia. Learn more about the Center for Policy Alternatives. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

To mark the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, Trending Globally teamed up with the Watson Institute’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies to explore the breadth of ‘Hispanic Heritage’ in 2022.  In the first part of the show, Dan Richards talks with Dr. Pablo Rodriguez about how the growing Hispanic and Latinx population in the U.S. is changing the country’s electoral politics. Dr. Rodriguez is a medical doctor, public health advocate, and political commentator based in Rhode Island, and he’s observed and analyzed this transformation first-hand. They discuss the wide-ranging effects of this demographic change, and why its political implications are so hard to predict. In the second half Dan talks with Susan Eckstein, a professor of sociology at Boston University and author of Cuban Privilege: The Making of Immigrant Inequality in America. Her book tells the story of Cuban-American immigration policy since World War II, and the geographic, economic, and geopolitical quirks of history that created it. In telling this singular story, Eckstein casts a new light on all U.S. immigration policy.Questions? Comments? Ideas for topics or guests? Email us at: trendingglobally@brown.edu.Learn more about Watson’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Learn more about and purchase Cuban Privilege: The Making of immigrant Inequality in America. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. Find transcripts and more information about all our episodes on our website.

From the Watson Institute at Brown University, this is Trending Globally. I’m Dan Richards. On September 13, 2022, a young Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s ‘morality police’ for improperly wearing her hijab. Three days later, she was dead. Authorities claimed it was the result of a heart attack, but images of her in the hospital – bruised and bloodied – suggested otherwise. Those images, along with the government’s cover-up surrounding the details of her death, have sparked a protest movement in Iran unlike any the country has seen. On this bonus episode of Trending Globally, Dan Richards spoke  with anthropologist and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies  Nadje Al-Ali about these protests, and about the unique role gender has come to play in them. These protests are, and always have been, about much more than hijabs, as Nadje explains. They’re part of a much longer story of political resistance in the Middle East. Many of us, especially in the West, would do well to understand that story.Questions? Comments? Ideas for topics or guests? Email us at: trendingglobally@brown.edu.Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. Listen to Shervin Hajipour's song 'Baraye'.

On Sunday, September 25, the far-right Brothers of Italy party won a commanding victory in Italy’s general election. They’ll be the leading party in the country’s right-wing governing coalition, and their leader, Giorgia Meloni, is likely to become prime minister. In Italy’s last general election, in 2018, the Brothers of Italy received roughly 4% of the vote. This year, they received around 26% – more than any other party in the country.  Between 2018 and 2022, Meloni and her party rallied voters over common far-right concerns like immigration, the influence of international elites, and the rise of a supposed “LGBTQ Lobby.”Along with ideological concerns, Meloni and her party have employed a consistent mood that’s familiar across our politics: anger. Today, it can seem like cultivating anger is a key to political success. But how effective is it as a political strategy? And how, exactly, is it deployed? These are questions that Watson Professor and Political Economist Mark Blyth, Rhodes Center Postdoctoral Fellow Nicolò Fraccaroli, and Brown University undergraduate Nadav Druker '23 are uniquely suited to answer. Using data from over 18,000 Italian Facebook posts over the last decade, they’ve analyzed the presence of political anger in the rollercoaster of contemporary Italian politics. They then devised a new and fascinating way to measure this anger, and in the process are helping shed light on how the emotion is used, and the effect it can have. On this episode, Dan Richards talked with Mark, Nicolò, and Nadav about Italy's elections, how the results fit into their research on political anger, and what it can teach us about politics in Italy and around the world. Questions? Comments? Ideas for topics or guests? Email us at: trendingglobally@brown.eduRead Mark, Nicolo, and Nadav’s paperListen to the Rhodes Center PodcastListen to Mark and CarrieLearn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts

In the fall of 2021, tens of thousands of Afghan citizens were evacuated out of Afghanistan as the Taliban re-took the country. Many of these people resettled in the United States, and many more will resettle here in the coming years. Yet despite their growing numbers in America, and their unique relationship to the United States, there’s much we don’t know about their specific needs as refugees. On this episode of Trending Globally, you’ll hear from one man who fled Kabul with his family about their journey from Afghanistan and resettlement in Rhode Island. You’ll also hear from researchers at Watson’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies and Rhode Island’s Refugee Dream Center, who are working together to learn how these refugees can be better supported after such a traumatic evacuation and rapid resettlement in a new country. In the process of this research, these experts are also learning firsthand what needs to be done to make humanitarian evacuations safer and more humane. Because sadly, whether we’re talking about Myanmar, Ukraine, or countless other places in crisis, there will be many more emergencies requiring humanitarian evacuations in the future, resulting in refugees who must make new lives for themselves in communities around the world. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies. Learn more about the Refugee Dream Center. Meet Omar, Adam, and Alexandria and learn more about their work on Wednesday 9/21 at the Watson Institute. Read a recent article by Brown University on the research collaborationOne final note: This is Sarah Baldwin’s last episode as host of Trending Globally. We’re sad to see her go, but the show won’t be going anywhere. Dan Richards (who you’ve heard before, including on our last episode with Andrew Schrank) will be filling in as our host, and we’ll also be having guest hosts in the coming months. We’re excited for what’s come, and so grateful for everything Sarah brought to the show. Thank you, Sarah! 

High-profile unionization drives at companies like Amazon, Apple, and Starbucks have focused attention on organized labor in the US in a way unseen in half a century. The attention isn’t without merit: there were more successful union elections in 2022 than in any year since 2005, and public approval for organized labor is the highest it's been in over 50 years. Yet despite these signs of a growing labor movement, the percentage of Americans belonging to unions is still substantially smaller than it was during the peak of organized labor participation in the 20th century. So how should one think about the state of organized labor today? On the eve of Labor Day weekend, maybe it’s also worth revisiting why we should care about the state of organized labor in the first place. On this episode of Trending Globally, you’ll hear from Andrew Schrank, professor of sociology and international and public affairs at Watson and an expert on organized labor, about the past, present, and future of the labor movement in America. Because, as he explains, it’s more than just workers’ wages on the line: our country's prosperity and stability might depend on giving workers a greater voice in the future of our economy.  Read Andrew Schrank’s 2019 article ‘Rebuilding Labor Power in the Postindustrial United States’Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

In March 2020, the Vatican’s Apostolic Archives of Pope Pius XII – also known as the Vatican’s ‘secret archives’ – were opened to scholars from around the world. Historian and Watson Professor David Kertzer was one of those scholars. What he found there is helping to reframe the role that the Catholic Church – and its then leader, Pope Pius XII – played in World War II.  Pius XII’s legacy is heavily debated. Some people want him to be made a saint. Others call him ‘Hitler’s Pope,’ blaming him for aiding the Nazi regime and ultimately, facilitating the Holocaust. What David found is a much more complicated story. He’s put together his research into a gripping new book, The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler. It’s a page-turner of a book, filled with larger-than-life characters, set at a moment in European history when the stakes couldn’t be higher. It’s also completely true. On this episode of Trending Globally: David Kertzer discusses Pope Pius XII and World War II, and what this story can teach us about the need for moral leadership in times of crisis. Learn more about and purchase The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and HitlerLearn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts