Big World

How effective is US foreign assistance, and why is it offered in the first place? In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Jessica Trisko Darden discusses foreign aid and how it can be more thoughtfully implemented. Professor Trisko Darden provides background on how US foreign aid got started in the years after World War II (1:23) and explains why the US became one of the largest providers of a...

Authoritarianism and corruption are on the rise in Latin America, while democracy may be receding. In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Matthew Taylor joins us to discuss politics and corruption in Brazil, which is a bellwether because of its status as the largest democracy in Latin America, the ninth-largest economy in the world, and a member of the G20. Professor Taylor breaks down what t...

International affairs education is changing. From teaching, learning, and administrative perspectives, the curriculum continues to evolve alongside a transforming world. In this episode of Big World, SIS professor and Assistant Dean for Masters Education Mike Schroeder joins us to discuss the changing nature of international affairs education. He talks about how introductory world politics courses...

As long as there have been people, there has been conflict and war among them. And too often, this conflict has been accompanied by sexual violence. Through the centuries, there has been a move to re-classify war rape as a war crime rather than as spoils of war. But there has also been a recognition that sometimes sexual violence is not just a traumatic outcome of conflict; sometimes rape is part...

The School of International Service takes an enormous amount of pride in our students and their potential to positively impact the world. We believe that a crucial piece of preparing students to effect positive change is preparing them for landing a great job when they graduate. In this episode of Big World, Cunningham joins us to give her insights on landing jobs in international affairs. She sha...

There is, perhaps, no better measure of a country than how it treats its workers, and Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy, is a manufacturing powerhouse that is known for its progressive ideals on labor relations. In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Steve Silvia joins us to discuss labor in Germany and to contrast its labor relations with that of the US. He explains why the German...

Small businesses are often referred to as the engine or the backbone of the economy. Entrepreneurs, the people who build new businesses and come up with innovative ideas, can help deter economic stagnation. In this episode of Big World, Professor Krista Tuomi joins us to discuss entrepreneurship and startups, as well as how local governments stake a claim in the promotion of innovation (1:08). She...

At the heart of the 35-day partial government shutdown, the longest in US history, was a fiery debate over funding for the border wall. Throughout that period, Americans were constantly reassured by officials that the military would remain funded. While the shutdown ended, Trump’s desire to fund the wall did not. In this episode of Big World, Professor Emeritus Gordon Adams joins us to discuss how...

Over the years, environmental activism in America has evolved. The movement began with a concern for wilderness and focused on pollution as we transitioned into the Industrial Revolution. Events that occurred during World War II then gave rise to the modern environmental movement in which the post-war generation no longer accepted environmental destruction at the price of progress. And now, the en...

Far-right extremists are often opposed to values such as equality—especially the idea that all races are equal. They reject the notion that America is a country comprised of immigrants and that the government has a role in preventing and prosecuting discrimination. But why? In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Carole Gallaher joins us to discuss America’s relationship with far-right extremi...

The education of sexuality and reproduction, or (as we called it in high school) sex ed, is a controversial topic around the world. Discussions on how to teach sex ed can often get mired in a combination of politics and perceptions of morality. Which begs the question: how do politics and these perceptions affect public health policy? In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Rachel Robinson joi...

Why do aid projects in Haiti so often seem to fail? In this episode of Big World, Professor Scott Freeman joins us to discuss the colonial history of foreign intervention in the country [01:28] and urges us to work past the international aid community’s historical rhetoric to create new narratives for “the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.” He encourages us to consider the prescribed terms...

From hyperdrives to the Vulcan salute, science fiction and fantasy have provided the abundance of worlds and characters that comprise our pop culture. But can these genres inform or reflect our thinking about international relations? In this episode, Professor Jackson joins us to discuss the ways that pop culture intersects with international relations, including how Star Trek reflected the discus...

Generations of Americans grew up in front of Sesame Street, but it might surprise you to learn that children all around the world are reciting “Rubber Ducky,” too – in many different languages and alongside characters we’ve never seen. In this episode Professor Moland joins us to discuss just how Nigeria’s Sesame Square presents a unique case study for the soft power of educational programming abr...

Terrorism has been a key issue in US domestic and foreign policy, as well as the country’s national discourse, since 2001. As the War on Terror continues 17 year later, what have we learned about Americans’ attitudes towards and relationship to terrorism? In this episode of Big World, Professor Young outlines what he thinks are the biggest misconceptions that Americans have about terrorism and why...

The #MeToo movement has gone global and led to important conversations about the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment worldwide. But have women on the margins—sex workers, domestic workers, and migrants—benefited from the movement? In this episode of Big World, Chin defines what it means to be an economic migrant (1:14) and how the traditional idea of “women’s work” connects female migrants...

Could a giant vacuum that sucks dangerous greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere really be effective in reversing climate change, or is this just a thing of science fiction? Humans release 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, and that number will continue to grow unless the global community makes serious efforts to reduce carbon emissions. We’ve long known that forests...

Big World brings you conversations that get you thinking about things differently, or maybe just thinking about different things. Join us as we take international affairs to interesting places every month.