Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

While there’s a lot to be thankful for this fall and winter (such as an effective Covid-19 vaccine) many Americans are still living in the middle of a crisis when it comes to housing. It’s one that’s been brewing for far longer than the pandemic -- and looks like it will outlast it, too. Too many Americans live in unstable housing, or go for stretches of time without any home at all. It’s one of our most embarrassing shortcomings as a country, and addressing it has proven to be one of our most vexing policy problems. This week we’re rereleasing one of our favorite episodes on the topic: part three of Less to Lean On, a series on housing in America that Trending Globally produced in collaboration with the media collective Signs of Providence.This particular episode follows one woman as she tries to navigate the world of affordable housing in Rhode Island. Her story reveals the complex web of forces that keep so many Americans from finding stable housing, and why it’s disastrous not just for individuals, but for our society as a whole. If you like this episode, we recommend you go back and listen to the rest of the series, which covers housing, eviction, and homelessness from a variety of angles. Listen to Part 1Listen to Part 2Listen to Part 4Learn more about Signs of ProvidenceLearn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

On November 16, a $1 trillion infrastructure bill was signed into law by President Biden, marking the biggest investment in the country’s infrastructure in decades. At the same time, an even larger social spending bill sits in a state of limbo in Congress, with no resolution in sight.  What happens in the US Congress over the next few months should matter to everyone, not just the political hobbyists. With proposed government spending on everything from fighting climate change to supporting new industries in the US, the success or failure of President Biden’s legislative agenda will have a huge effect not just in America, but around the world. On this episode Sarah Baldwin ’87 and Dan Richards talk with two experts to get a sense of how President Biden’s agenda has been making its way through Congress, and how the process fits into the bigger picture of US electoral politics. Guests:Carrie Nordlund is assistant dean for undergraduate programs at Brown University, and co-host, with Mark Blyth, of the (aptly titled) podcast, Mark and Carrie. Wendy Schiller is a professor of political science at Brown and director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy, which is housed at the Watson Institute. Learn more about the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy.  Learn more about Watson’s other podcasts, including Mark and Carrie. 

Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute and the founder of Kakenya’s Dream, a female empowerment and education non-profit based in the rural Masai Mara of Kenya. Kakenya grew up in the Masai Mara, in a community where it was expected that women wouldn’t go to school beyond childhood. They’d be subject to early, arranged marriages, and worse. Yet, incredibly, Kakenya forged a different path. On this episode of Trending Globally, you’ll hear Kakenya’s story in her own words, and learn how it led her to develop a new model for girls' education in rural Kenya. It’s a model based on a premise that her life story also affirms: that the education of girls and the health of a community are deeply intertwined. Learn more about Kakenya’s DreamLearn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts

In the world of international affairs, there’s perhaps no concept more fundamental than human rights. Yet despite that, these rights seem to be under greater threat in more places than we’ve seen in a long time. In order to understand how we might better promote human rights around the world, we at Trending Globally wanted to take a step back and explore the very concept of ‘human rights.’ Sarah Baldwin ‘87 and Dan Richards spoke with two experts -- one a political scientist, and one a neuroscientist -- about where exactly this concept comes from, and where it might be going. Guests on this episode:Nina Tannenwald, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Brown UniversityTara White, Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown UniversityRead Tara White’s paper on ‘Dignity Neuroscience.’Learn more about the Watson Institute's other podcasts on our website.

Remember when talking about the weather was boring? Not so anymore. Extreme weather events are becoming more common, and more extreme, with no sign of letting up. On this episode Sarah Baldwin ’87 talks with homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem about what these changes mean for humans: Where should we live? How should we live? How should we think about our place on this planet? Juliette Kayyem served under President Obama as an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and is currently a senior lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she teaches crisis management and homeland security. Her upcoming book, The Devil Never Sleeps, reframes how to think about crisis management in an age of disasters, from the level of the individual up through the federal government. And if a conversation with an expert like this sounds too depressing, don’t worry: talking with Juliette is anything but. Learn more about Juliette’s upcoming book The Devil Never Sleeps: Managing Disasters in an Age of Catastrophes. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts.

The past 18 months have been a strange time for art lovers. Museums and galleries have sat empty. Artistic communities have, like all of us, learned to live in isolation. At the same time, though, there’s been a revolution in how we think of public space in our cities and towns. Streets, parks, and even alleyways have turned into our storefronts, our classrooms, and our museums. What do these changes mean for the art world, and for arts’ relationship to the rest of the world?On this episode, Trending Globally partnered with ‘Providence Curates’ to explore this question. Providence Curates is a nonprofit made up of artists, writers, and curators, dedicated to expanding and diversifying artistic communities in the region and to reimagining how art can enter the public realm. This conversation was put together for PVDFest Ideas 2021, an Arts and Ideas festival in Providence, Rhode Island. Guests on this week’s show: Jonny Skye is a gallerist based in Providence, RI, and a board member of Providence Curates. Spencer Evans is an artist, a professor of drawing at RISD, and a board member of Providence Curates. Melaine Ferdinand King is a 4th-year doctoral candidate in Africana Studies at Brown UniversityJudith Tolnick Champa is an artist, curator, and founder of Providence Curates and the Providence Biennale. ‘Providence Curates: Cultivating a Transformative Experiment,’ is an offshoot of the Providence Biennale. You can learn more on their website, and contact them directly at providencebiennial@gmail.com. Special thanks to Stephanie Fortunato, Director, and Dr. Micah Salkind, Special Projects Manager of the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism (ACT) PVDFest Ideas 2021, for making this collaboration possible. You can find a list of all of this year’s PVDFest Ideas events (both live and virtual) on their website.

This fall marks the 20th year of American military engagement abroad following the events of 9/11. This year Trending Globally is teaming up with scholars at the Costs of War project to explore the effects of two decades of war. The Costs of War project is an interdisciplinary group of scholars who have stepped in where the government has often failed, working to measure the true financial, human, political, and environmental costs of America’s post-9/11 wars. On this episode Sarah Baldwin ’87 talks with Stephanie Savell, one of the project’s directors, about how the organization started and why its work is more necessary than ever. Dan Richards talks with David Vine about one of the most heartbreaking costs of these wars: the more than 38 million people who have been displaced from their homes in countries including Afghanistan and Iraq.Learn more about the Costs of War Project. Learn more about and purchase David Vine’s book ​​The United States of WarA Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State.Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts.  

It’s been a summer of crisis in some of the world’s most fragile states. At Trending Globally, we’ve found ourselves asking the same questions over and over lately -- are the world’s rich countries simply not doing enough to help fragile states around the world? Or are they helping, but in the wrong way? On this episode guest host Dan Richards talks with Brian Atwood, a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute, about the unique challenges of providing aid to fragile states. Brian led the U.S. Agency for International Development - known as USAID - under President Clinton. He was also dean of the Humphrey School for Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota from 2002 until 2010. Brian explains what the international community is getting wrong when it comes to helping the world’s fragile states, and what we might change to make it right. You can get more information about this and every other Trending Globally episode, including transcripts, by visiting our website here. You can learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts here. 

Before the pandemic, Watson economist Emily Oster was best known for her books Expecting Better and Cribsheet. They offered data-driven advice about pregnancy and raising young children, and they’ve become required reading for many young parents. Her knack for synthesizing data into plain-language advice made her a natural fit for her next role: as one of the unofficial guiding voices behind school reopening plans in America this past year.The pandemic -- and Emily’s role in it -- have added special valence to her newest book, The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years. Unlike her previous two books, this one is focused less on crunching data than on teaching readers how to make complex decisions when they don’t have all the data. As such, it’s probably her most universal book to date. On this episode Sarah ’87 talks with Emily about The Family Firm, her experience in the spotlight during recent debates over school reopening, and how to make decisions that you can feel good about no matter the outcome. You can purchase The Family Firm here. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.

Audrey Truschke is a scholar who has gotten in some very hot water lately. She’s regularly harassed on Twitter, she’s facing a lawsuit, and she’s received death threats. ‘What’s she an expert in?’ you might ask. Public health? Election law? Critical Race Theory? Nope.Ancient Sanskrit. On this episode we’re sharing part of a new podcast from Watson. It’s called ‘Sensing the Sacred’ and it’s hosted by Finnian Gerety, a visiting assistant professor of religious studies and contemplative studies at Watson’s Center for Contemporary South Asia.Finnian and Sarah talk about the motivation behind the show, which explores spirituality in South Asia from angles as diverse as the origins of yoga to the rise of Hindu nationalism. Finnian also shares some of his recent conversation with Audrey Truschke, where they talk about the role of Sanskrit in Hindu nationalist propaganda, and more broadly about how to contest the ‘fascist blueprint’ we see being enacted around the world today. You can learn more about and subscribe to ‘Sensing the Sacred’ here. You can buy Audrey’s book here.You can learn more about Trending Globally by subscribing to our podcast newsletter here.You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts here.