Brazil Institute Podcast

In this episode, Bruna Santos and Carlos Affonso Souza dive into the evolving landscape of digital regulation in Brazil. Carlos, the Director of the Institute of Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro (ITS Rio) and a Professor of Law at Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), brings his expertise to discuss the critical questions surrounding the accountability of digital platforms and the implic...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks about upcoming municipal elections in Brazil with Thiago Vidal, Director of Political Analysis at Prospectiva Public Affairs Lat. Am. With 5,570 municipalities and over 156 million voters deciding on new mayors and city council members, the results are critical and often overlooked from an international perspective. Bruna explores...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks with Jennifer Prescott about the evolving tech landscape in Brazil. Jennifer highlights the economic impact of cloud computing and AI, collaborations with the Brazilian government on AI regulation, and the country's growing AI ecosystem. They also discuss efforts in digital training and how global best practices can help shape...

In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to Venezuelan journalist Paula Ramón for an insider's view on Venezuela's elections, the impact of Chavismo on citizens, and Lula's controversial stance.

In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to Leticia Phillips, founder and managing partner of the Ridge Road Group, about Brazil-US cooperation for energy transition.

In this episode, host Lina Doherty discusses the historic climate crisis in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with guests Natalie Unterstell and Anabel Teixeira. They explore the local government’s response, the vital role of civil society, and the imperative for sustainable reconstruction.

In this episode, Bruna Santos and Oscar Vilhena, law professor and Wilson Center global fellow, reflect on Brazil one year after its momentous 2022 election bringing Lula back into power. They analyze early challenges confronting Lula’s administration, from political turmoil to polarization, while discussing the road ahead for institutional stability. 

In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to labor lawyer Stanley Gacek about the new Partnership for Workers’ Rights between the US and Brazil. Announced at the 2022 UN General Assembly, the accord aims to promote higher standards and strengthen protections for workers in key sectors of both countries. Gacek provides an insider’s look at the partnership’s origins, goals, and potential impact on em...

In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos talks with Vanessa Canado, director of the Tax Research Center at Brazil’s Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, about Brazil’s bold tax reform proposal, the state of Congressional negotiations, and its potential impact on businesses, consumers, and economic growth. Notably, Canado drafted the constitutional amendment bil...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with Raoni Rajão. As a professor at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, member of the cabinet of Brazil’s Minister of Environment, and a former Brazil Institute Fellow, Rajão sheds light on the profound impacts of misinformation in science, specifically relating to the environment and climate change.

In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute podcast, Talita Fernandes speaks with RadicalxChange’s Paula Berman and Agência Pública’s Natália Viana about how social media regulation and technology usage are at the center of the debate after the January riots in Brasilia.

In this episode, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with David Nemer, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia’s department of media studies, and Natasha Felizi, director of Brazil’s Instituto Serrapilheira, about how the spread of fake news is poisoning Brazilian democracy.

The Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute podcast is launching a new series of 5 episodes on the future of Brazilian democracy. In this episode, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with Natalia Viana, director and founding member of Agência Pública, about the future of Brazilian democracy and the democratic challenges President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is already facing. This series is part of the proj...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Alex Nascimento, best-selling author and professor of blockchain business applications and security tokens at the University of California, Los Angeles. They discuss the current crypto landscape in Brazil, the drive toward crypto regulation in Brazil and the world, and the regulatory framework for crypto assets recently...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Liliana Ayalde and Universidade de São Paulo Professor Maria Herminia Tavares de Almeida, about the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s next president, the future of U.S.-Brazil relations under Lula, and the implications for environmental, security, and economic policy in B...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Clara Becker, a journalist and cofounder of Redes Cordiais, a media literacy non-profit designed to counter disinformation and hate speech on social media. They discuss how misinformation is affecting Brazil’s electoral process and potential strategies to fight fake news in the public sphere.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Felipe Nunes, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the CEO of the polling firm Quaest, about the upcoming general election in Brazil, where former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro will face off at the ballot box, the scientific methods and the growin...

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with Richard Back, head of political analysis and strategy for XP Investimentos and a former advisor to the president of the lower Brazilian congressional chamber, about how the Congress is evolving, what to watch for in the upcoming legislative elections this October, and how the composition of the next Brazilian Congress...

In this latest episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with Natalie Unterstell, President of the Talanoa policy think tank, member of the UN Green Climate Fund’s accreditation panel, and former Brazilian negotiator at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change about the state of play in the Brazilian Amazon and how the outcome of Brazil’s presidential election in Oct...

In this special presentation of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with reporter at large and Columnist at Folha de São Paulo Patrícia Campos Mello, CEO and Founder of IDEIA Big Data Maurício Moura, and Partner at JOTA digital media startup Fernando Mello, about Brazil’s upcoming presidential election, how the results may unfold come October, and what are some of the policy i...

In less than one month, Brazil is holding one of the largest 5G auctions to date, globally. Over the last year, the question of whether Brazil would allow Chinese companies, including Huawei to participate in the country’s 5G telecoms infrastructure has dominated coverage of the issue and speaks to some of the unease surrounding China’s investment in Brazil, and in Latin America more broadly. But...

The Brazilian Amazon has entered the dry season, a period that, in recent years, has seen thousands of forest fires break out across the region. This year, a severe drought in much of Brazil—the worst in decades—has many worried that the fires could hit a new record. On this episode, guest Jake Spring, Reuter’s Environment and Commodities Correspondent in Brasilia, joins host Anya Prusa to discuss...

On May 6th, a police operation targeting gang members in Jacarezinho, in Rio de Janeiro, left 28 dead. It was the bloodiest police raid in the city’s history. But police violence is common in Rio’s favelas, with residents—often disproportionately Black and pardo—caught up in conflict between drug traffickers, paramilitary gangs, and the police. On this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host...

Fifty percent of entrepreneurs in Brazil are women—but they face an uphill battle to keep their businesses open. Renata Malheiros Henriques, the National Coordinator for Women Entrepreneurship Projects at the Brazilian small business association Sebrae, wants to change this. Under Renata’s leadership, Sebrae launched a country-wide project called Sebrae Delas to support female entrepreneurship and...

Politics in Brazil has long been criticized for cronyism and outright corruption, but the last few years have seen the rise of a younger group of Brazilian politicians—from across the political spectrum—calling for accountability, ethics, and data-driven policymaking. On this episode, investor and entrepreneur Eduardo Mufarej talks about the organization he co-founded, RenovaBR, to train young lea...