Mark and Carrie

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: what we know about the Omnicron variant; the politics behind the Supreme Court's current abortion rights case; Peng Shuai, and the problem of celebrities in author...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the news. On this episode: the illusion that is Infrastructure Week; Biden's agenda and early-onset midterm anxiety for Democrats; debunking the great inflation panic; G20, COP26, and the promises that countries...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the news. On this episode: the newest Texas abortion law, and how it looks to the rest of the world; Biden's trip to the UN that no one watched; Republicans remember they hate debt in the face of Democrat's infra...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the news. On this episode: the morality, strategy, and politics of America's Afghanistan withdrawal; how the 2020 Census is giving Republicans and Democrats something to fret over; humanity's collective shrug aft...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the week's news. On this episode: the Delta variant spreads the globe; the economy is doing great and has reverted to the mean (or it isn't and it hasn't); Carrie's Olympic fever and Mark's Olympic skepticism; Haiti, South...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the week's news. On this episode: the G7's shaky promises on taxing the rich, and shaky relationships with China and Russia; regional variations in the Covid-19 recovery in the US; making sense of the tight US labor market;...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: the politics of Facebook's 'Supreme Court'; new voter restriction laws in the US and the Republican Party's continued flirtation with authoritarianism; why suspending vaccine patents won't actually help the world to make more vaccines; Ameri...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: Mark and Carrie feel skeptical about a 'post-Covid' boom; Biden's infrastructure bill, and the inconvenient truths it poses to congressional Republicans; the trial of Derek Chauvin, and how policing in America might (or might not) change in...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: the Atlanta spa shootings and anti-Asian violence in America; the crisis at the US-Mexico border and Biden's political dilemma around immigration; the risks and rewards of the US pandemic relief bill; EU vaccine rollouts goes from bad to wor...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: Biden's relief bill, and a rethink on inflation; the EU's dark-horse bid for worst vaccine rollout; a coup in Myanmar; cold winds in the midwest -- and in the hearts of certain Texas Republicans; US explores Mars; the politics of Aleksei Nav...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: the Capitol riot and its aftermath; Trump's deplatforming on Twitter and Facebook, and what it reveals about Big Tech; assessing Biden's first 48 hours in office; China's 'pivot' back towards itself; the confusion behind the EU's 'strategic...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: Mark and Carrie's abiding memories of 2020; what aspects of pandemic life will go away in 2021, and what parts will stick around; the stock market vs. the real economy; presidential power and corporate power in the United States; race, class, electoral...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: The beginning of the coronavirus vaccine rollout; Mitch McConnell, a profile in courage; diversity in Biden's cabinet and the 'Kamala Conundrum'; what the media (and Mark and Carrie) are going to talk about after Trump leaves office; how to break up Fa...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: A lingering pandemic and slow-moving 'coup'; making sense of Trump's electoral loss, and his demographic gains; why Covid cases are rising in the US and Europe but less so in Asia; how the American left and right antagonize their fellow citizens; what...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: rising Covid cases in the US and Europe; the state of the presidential race amidst America's twisted electoral system; Trump's value and liability to the Republican Party; the US government is kind of, sort of, reigning in big tech (but not really); wh...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: Trump and Melania have coronavirus; the electoral insignificance of Trump's tax returns; a dumpster fire debate; thinking long-term on this month's Supreme Court fight; the rest of the world's plan for climate change; what a coronavirus second/third/pi...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: a global tour of climate catastrophes; Trump's immovable poll numbers; environmental hypocrisy across the political spectrum; are there anarchist bus lines to midwestern suburbs? (No); why Brexit hurts our brains; the future of commutes; The...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. Steven Bannon's lack of imagination; the conundrum of reopening America's schools; following the money in the USPS; the implications of Apple's staggering wealth; Phil Collins forever.

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: {Not} containing coronavirus in the US; America's navel gazing and obsession with Hydroxychloroquine; making sense of the GDP numbers; the coronavirus and Trump's chaotic campaign strategy; disparaging women in politics; Biden's VP selection conundrum;...

Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and political scientist Carrie Nordlund share their take on the news. On this episode: unpacking the biggest SCOTUS cases of the last two weeks; Trump's not-so-good summer so far; questioning if Trump's numbers are really as bad as they seem; 2020 Election as declaration of culture war; the difference between affect (also known as bull**...

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 news. On this episode: Covid-19 surges in some US states amid reopening and quarantine 'fatigue'; the EU's potential ban on travelers from the US; the Supreme Court's surprising decisions on DACA...

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 news. On this episode: What this podcast can add to the conversation (and what it can't); the economic ramifications of systemic racism; America's uniquely violent, militarized police system; Trump's escala...

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 news. On this episode: different scenarios as US states experiment with ‘opening up’ their economies; pandemic coverage in the US compared to the rest of the world; the Kafkaesque non-scandal that is ‘Obama...

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 news. On this episode: thoughts on a future relief bill, in the face of historic unemployment; the profound lack of new ideas in Congress; making sense of Trumps re-election strategy; wondering if we’re a f...

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 news. On this episode: Trump's strategy to let states fend for themselves; Joe Biden's strategy of being neither seen nor heard; how Europe's handling the coronavirus; the US's 'one bit of luck' in this cri...