Episode Details

Brazil is watching a generation of its most educated citizens quietly pack their bags. Since 2017, scientists, academics, and graduate students have been leaving in growing numbers, driven by economic instability, collapsing research budgets, and a political climate that treats universities with suspicion. In this episode, we explore how funding cuts and populist hostility have hollowed out Brazil’s scientific institutions, why earlier investments failed to translate into lasting careers at home, and what this brain drain means for the country’s future. The story follows individual researchers forced to choose between patriotism and survival—and asks how long a nation can afford to lose the people trained to understand, innovate, and explain it.

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/07/24/brazils-brain-drain-is-getting-worse