Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

On April 20, 2021, Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the death of George Floyd. But despite the overwhelming evidence -- including the infamous video of him kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes -- that verdict was hardly a foregone conclusion. On this episode Sarah talks with Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, associate professor of sociology at Brown, about why convicting police office...

On this episode, Sarah and Dan talk with scholars across Watson about the climate issues they think aren’t getting enough attention. The answers range from how climate change will affect warfare to the role international bribery might play in maintaining a habitable earth. Hopefully these conversations will leave you with lots to think about and underscore just how much our politics, policies, and...

In February, a colleague at the Watson Institute forwarded the team at Trending Globally an email from a former student. The subject line read: “I write to you in desperation and with my life at risk.” The email was sent from Yangon, the capital of Myanmar. The man who sent it was not exaggerating. Myanmar is in the midst of violent unrest, which started when the country’s military staged a coup o...

This is the fourth and final part in a special series from Trending Globally exploring the housing crisis in the United States, and in Rhode Island in particular. The crisis has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but as we’ll show, it’s a problem that has been with us for much, much longer. In this episode, we delve into Brown University's complicated relationship with the residential comm...

2020 was a year defined by loss. Loss of life, of jobs, of opportunities. On this episode Sarah talks with Juliet Hooker, a political theorist and professor at Brown who has been thinking a lot about how feelings of loss affect not just our psyches, but our politics. Her newest book project, tentatively titled “Black Grief/White Grievance,” aims to shed light on how exactly these feelings intersec...

So many people have suffered as a result of the pandemic. But there’s one group who may pay the price for an especially long time: America’s children. As schools start to reopen this spring, and federal funds begin to flow into states and municipalities, what can we do to make up for kids’ social, emotional, and academic loss? Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at...

Scientists have developed vaccines for Covid-19 in record time. Now how do we convince enough people to take them? To get a better understanding of the roots and causes of "vaccine hesitancy," Sarah spoke with political scientist and Watson Institute Associate Professor Prerna Singh. In studying the history of mass vaccination, Prerna has come to a troubling conclusion: skepticism (and at times, o...

On this episode Watson’s Director Ed Steinfeld talks with Deborah Seligsohn as part of Trending Globally’s ongoing series on contemporary China. Deborah’s an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Villanova University, where she focuses on the relationship between business interests and environmental issues in China. Ed and Deborah explore how China’s economic transformation has changed the c...

India and the US have both struggled with anti-democratic forces the last few years. What lessons do these countries' struggles have for each other — and for us? There’s no better person to talk with about these issues than Ashutosh Varshney, Professor of International Studies at Watson and the Director of Watson’s Center for Contemporary South Asia. He has a way of explaining familiar politics in...

What can one of America’s smallest states teach us about US politics? A lot, it turns out. On this episode Sarah talks with the Boston Globe’s Dan McGowan, a political reporter who covers Rhode Island. Sarah and Dan discuss the pandemic response in Rhode Island, the leftward tilt of the Rhode Island State House in the 2020 elections, and what Americans should expect from their new Commerce Secreta...

On this episode Sarah talks with Watson Senior Fellow and member of Watson’s Climate Solutions Lab Deborah Gordon. Deborah is an expert on one of the most destructive greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere: methane. Thanks to the work of people like Deborah, the Biden Administration recently made methane reduction one of its top climate priorities. But as Deborah explains, methane has some peculiar p...

On this episode, the shocking history of one of history’s most toxic relationships. Sarah talks with Peter Andreas about his book ‘Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs.’ In it, he explores the role drugs have played in human warfare - not just as vices, but as commodities, and even as weapons. After hearing this conversation you'll see drugs, war, and the relationship between the two in a ne...

The Biden Administration has rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, paused deportation of immigrants, and mandated the wearing of masks on Federal property. But there’s one arena that the administration has avoided putting in the spotlight: the future of US military intervention. On this episode Sarah talks with anthropologist and Watson Professor Cathy Lutz about ‘The Costs of War,’ an interdiscip...

Between the presidential election, spikes in the coronavirus pandemic, and the beginning of mass vaccination, you might have missed this other world-historical event: China landed on the moon. On this episode, Watson’s Director Ed Steinfeld talks about China’s lunar mission with Watson Faculty Fellow Jim Head. Jim is a Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown, and a leading expert on interplaneta...

On this episode Sarah talks with Jori Breslawski, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Watson and expert on one type of organization that’s been on the front lines in the fight against Covid-19: armed non-governmental groups. That means groups like Boko Haram, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State, as well as gangs in countries like Brazil, El Salvador, and South Africa. While ‘emergency healthcare provider’ might...

This is the third part in a special series from Trending Globally exploring the housing crisis in the United States, and in Rhode Island in particular. The crisis has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but as we’ll show, it’s a problem that has been with us for much, much longer. On this episode, we follow one Rhode Island family's story in order to understand the psychological and economi...

How does a President’s health affect their ability to lead? Do Presidential candidates deserve any privacy in terms of their medical history? How do we define what health issues ‘matter’ for a role as all-encompassing as President of the United States? On this episode Sarah looks for answers with the help of Watson Professor Rose McDermott. McDermott’s 2010 book ‘Presidential Leadership, Illness,...

On this episode Sarah talks with Watson Senior Fellow and former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp. As the Democratic Party faces a divided government and nation, Senator Heitkamp is someone many people are turning to for ideas on how to move forward. Sarah and the Senator discuss the fallout from the Presidential election, as well as the strategic and philosophical debates that are happening ri...

On this episode Sarah talks with Watson Visiting Associate Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Erica Durante about her new book ‘Air Travel Fiction and Film: Cloud People,’ which explores the role air travel plays in modern storytelling, and by extension, our culture. By looking at how air travel manifests itself in film, literature, and our everyday lives, Erica makes clear: whether...

On this episode Dan talks with Watson Faculty Fellow and Chair of the Political Science Department at Brown Wendy Schiller about the state of the race in its closing days: who has already voted, who is left to sway, and what we’ve learned so far from this unprecedented election season. You can learn more about Watson’s other podcasts  here .

No matter who wins the Presidency this fall, this much we know: human-driven climate change will continue to be one of the greatest threats we face, as a country and as a planet. On this episode Sarah talks with Watson Professor Jeff Colgan and political science PhD candidate Fred Shaia about the newly created Climate Solutions Lab at Watson, and their recently published report “Presidential Clima...

On this episode, guest host Rich Arenberg talks with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island about some of the most pressing issues in American politics. Rich is the Interim Director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy at Watson, and spent decades staffing some of the most influential Congress people of the 20th century. Senator Whitehouse is a leading voice on many issues in...

On March 2, 2020, Watson Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Kertzer was granted access to the Vatican Apostolic Archives -- formerly known as the Vatican’s ‘secret archives.’ David used the opportunity to explore the records of Pope Pius XII, who led the church during World War II, and whose role in that war is still a source of heated debate. In August, David published a piece in The...

Trending Globally will have more coverage of the US election results in the coming weeks, but today, as votes are still being counted, we have something for those who might want a little break from election news. This is the first episode of a series we produced last year about the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. The Sandinistas first came to power over 40 years ago, but in many ways their rev...

On this episode Sarah talks with physician, public health expert, and Watson Faculty Fellow Adam Levine about a new study examining the effectiveness of convalescent plasma treatment for people with Covid-19. Depending on what Adam and his colleagues find, it could mark the beginning of a new phase in the fight against coronavirus. Adam’s team is looking for volunteers for this study, in Rhode Isl...