The World Wise Podcast

One of the most profound ways in which we learn about different cultures and countries is through books. This episode focuses on bridging divides and fostering understanding between the U.S. and China through journalism and books. Today's guest, Dori Jones Yang , has spent her life and career immersed in understanding China and interpreting the country, its culture, and its politics for a U.S. aud...

For immigrants who have left one country and adopted another, an enduring question is how to give back, in some way, to the country and society they come from. This is especially a dilemma for those who come from lower income countries. Financial remittances, or the concept of sending money back home, are of course one solution and reached $540 billion in 2020. But what are some other important wa...

When we think of reporters on the front lines, we often think of countries ravaged by war. But we can all agree that the pandemic has also felt like a battle-ground with its own share of chaos, upheaval, and suffering. So much has been in flux for the higher education sector over the past few years that the one constant that many of us have relied upon is excellent reporting and journalism. This e...

On this last day of Immigrant Heritage Month (June 2022), this episode's guest is someone for whom all of the issues that we talk about on this show—being an international student, being an immigrant, being displaced and having to leave your homeland, and finding your place, voice and identity as a woman of color—are all lived experiences. Esther Benjamin is the CEO and Executive Director of World...

Immigrant-origin students constitute one of the fastest growing populations of students on American campuses, and now make up over a quarter of all students . Add to this large number the almost 1 million international students from other countries, and it suddenly becomes clear why we need to have conversations about higher education AND immigration. There is no better time to talk about these is...

In this 15th episode of the show, we take an interlude or brief pause to reflect and--instead of interviewing a guest--I bring myself to the podcast! I take you behind the scenes of launching the show and the vast territory we have covered--both thematically and geographically--since the podcast launched in February 2022. But what I also candidly share is that it is hard to build a listenership an...

We often talk about the many different ways in which to empower girls and women around the world: more education, better health, better nutrition; voting rights. But what if the future of women could be changed by something as technical as coding or computer programming? This is exactly the solution that this episode's guest, Fereshteh Forough , came up with as she struggled with her own experienc...

Solving global or even national-level problems is never easy, but what if these challenges ultimately boiled down to a lack of leadership? And if developing the next generation of leaders is then the answer, how can countries go about doing this? Patrick Awuah’s solution was to found a university in his home country of Ghana. He is the Founder and President of Ashesi University , a private, not-fo...

This episode focuses on women and education globally and how creating opportunities for girls and women and ensuring equal access is directly linked to positive outco mes for societies. However, despite the significant progress for women over the past several decades, we find ourselves at an unf ortunate point in time where women’s fundamental rights are under threat, and where huge gender gaps co...

For many bright students from around the world, the cost of studying and living in the U.S. remains largely unaffordable. While the overall costs of a college degree in the U.S. have gone up for all students, international student face a unique combination of barriers which include often coming from less wealthy countries; of not being able to easily work in the U.S.; and not being eligible for fi...

This 10th episode of the podcast focuses on the important role of films and filmmakers as cultural ambassadors and storytellers. The medium of film can be powerful in helping us understand other histories, cultures, and narratives. Many of us form our early impressions—often incorrect or incomplete--of the world around us through films, but it is also films that subsequently open our eyes to the n...

The U.S. healthcare system depends on a global workforce and it is common to see a doctor or nurse who is from another country. Over a quarter of doctors in the U.S. are immigrants and in some states a third of all healthcare workers are from another country. Yet, as we learn in this episode, it is not easy for someone from another country to study medicine and persist as a healthcare worker in th...

SHOW NOTES This episode explores how the arts serve as a window into issues of race and social justice, and how artists have always been instrumental in helping us understand other cultures and the world at large. Today’s guest is Dr. LaNitra Berger , Senior Director of Fellowships at the Office of Undergraduate Education at George Mason University . A highly-regarded international education leade...

SHOW NOTES We often hear the phrase, “Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.” This gap is most obvious when we think about education and that millions of young people around the world never reach their potential not because they lack the smarts or the drive, but because they lack access to the right kind of educational opportunities that will help open the door to their future. But what does...

SHOWNOTES One in four or 18 mil­lion chil­dren in the US have at least one parent who is an immigrant and while children of immigrants feature frequently in immigration policy debates in the U.S., the experiences and challenges of immigrant parents are rarely discussed. This episode's guest is Masha Rumer , a writer and journalist, whose new book is Parenting with an Accent: How immigrants honor t...

SHOW NOTES What does the international student experience look like in the US today? This is obviously a very broad question with many different nuances to it, but in this episode we look at what this experience has felt like in recent years, framed by the forces of the pandemic, the rising social justice movement globally, and a political and social environment that has not always felt friendly t...

SHOWNOTES This special episode of the show focuses on the history and evolution of the field of international education; the current state of student exchanges between China and the U.S.; and also the important role of leadership and mentoring in the field. Today’s guest, Peggy Blumenthal , has been at the forefront of the field, helping shape numerous programs and guiding generations of internati...

SHOW NOTES How do we measure what it means to be a quality college or university in today’s competitive global landscape? Student-level data and information is one thing, but looking at entire systems–especially complex ecosystems like universities--is quite another. Enter rankings, arguably a set of objective criteria and metrics on which students base their decisions and by which institutions ar...

SHOW NOTES Episode Summary: How do we remain global in our worldview yet locally rooted in our day-to-day lives? For those of us who live between cultures, an enduring questions is how to shape our lives in a way where we draw upon our multiplicities and varied experiences. For many of us this has also meant adapting to new homelands and cultures and for others it has meant engaging with the world...

SHOW NOTES The UN estimates that 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine in just one week. One of the most damaging and lasting impacts will be on education as millions see their learning disrupted: only 5% of refugee students globally are able to access higher education and that number will now rise. International students from Ukraine and those who are international students within Ukraine have als...