Podcast Episodes

Christmas special – The acronisation game

Season 4

While much of the success of the show is due to my fabulous guests, I am also lucky to have a wonderful team to assist me at the University of Oslo. …

3 years, 10 months ago

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Just copy us! Why can’t the rest of the world be more like Scandinavia? — Harald Eia

Season 4 Episode 10

Scandinavian countries are well-known for high standards of living and many people wonder about the origins of the welfare state model in Scandinavia…

3 years, 10 months ago

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Contemporary state building and elite taxation in Latin America — Gustavo Flores-Macías

Season 4 Episode 9

While many Latin American states have experienced severe public-safety crises in the context of fiscal duress, elite engagement in state building has…

3 years, 10 months ago

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The power of the Chinese state: Examination, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology — Yasheng Huang

Season 4 Episode 8

Ever wondered why the state in China is so powerful? Yasheng argues that Keju — the Imperial civil service examination — has historically maximized a…

3 years, 10 months ago

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Show me the money: Why cash transfers matter for development — Ugo Gentilini

Season 4 Episode 7

Cash transfer schemes have grown in popularity in many parts of the world in the past few decades. Numerous studies find that cash transfer programs …

3 years, 11 months ago

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Crises of democracy — Adam Przeworski

Season 4 Episode 6

Democracy is valued by many people because it enables us to achieve freedom and political equality in addition to numerous economic and social goals.…

3 years, 11 months ago

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Silenced voices in global health — Address Malata

Season 4 Episode 5

Global health organizations are mainly located in the global North and experts from low- and middle-income countries are underrepresented in global h…

3 years, 11 months ago

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The development bargain — Stefan Dercon

Season 4 Episode 4

Development is a gamble because success is not guaranteed when benefits materialize in the long-term and a host of factors may undermine elite positi…

3 years, 11 months ago

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Transforming our global food system — Gunhild Stordalen

Season 4 Episode 3

Over 2 billion people in our world lack access to adequate food, and over 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Between 2014 and the onset o…

4 years ago

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Why we fight — Chris Blattman

Season 4 Episode 2

While there are millions of hostile rivalries around the world, only a fraction of these erupt into violence. It is easy to overlook the underlying s…

4 years ago

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