Podcast Episodes

“Inside the global supply chain”, with New York Times’ Peter Goodman

Remember the supply chain problems of 2020 and 2021? The story we were told was that COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world’s ability to make and transport goods, leaving us with shortages of everythi…

Published on 10 months, 1 week ago

Why is this election so close? The issues and voters driving 2024

While no one knows how this November’s election is going to go in the U.S., there’s one thing most experts agree on: It’s likely going to be close. Very close. Poll after poll suggests that, especial…

Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago

The state of political journalism in an election year unlike any other

Even for an election year, the last few months have seen a head-spinning amount of political news in the United States.

So, on this episode, Dan Richards spoke with someone uniquely suited to help ma…

Published on 11 months ago

A history of presidents who threatened American democracy (and the citizens who saved it)

Many Americans see a potential Trump victory in this year’s election as a threat to American democracy. Whether you share that concern or not, the rise of Donald Trump and the prospect of a second Tr…

Published on 11 months, 2 weeks ago

The Secret History of the Pope and World War II (originally broadcast 2022)

In March 2020, the Vatican’s Apostolic Archives of Pope Pius XII — also known as the Vatican’s “secret archives” — were opened to scholars from around the world. Historian and Watson Professor David …

Published on 1 year ago

South Africa’s elections, 30 years after apartheid: part 2

This is the second part in our two-part series on South Africa’s politics 30 years after the election of Nelson Mandela, and with it, the end of apartheid. 

Around the same time as that anniversary th…

Published on 1 year ago

This summer’s UK and French elections explained, with Mark Blyth

Over the course of 2024, roughly half of the world’s population will participate in national elections. 

On this episode, we take a closer look at two of them: this summer’s elections in the United Ki…

Published on 1 year ago

South Africa, 30 years after apartheid: part 1

This spring marked the thirtieth anniversary of the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s president and the end of apartheid, the system of legalized racial segregation that had existed in Sou…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago

The surprising results of India’s election

On June 4, results came in from the largest democratic election in history. Over 640 million people voted in India’s election, which took place at over one million polling places across the country o…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

A former police officer (and public health expert) on the opioid crisis and public safety

For this week’s show, we’re sharing an episode of “Humans in Public Health,” a podcast from The Brown School of Public Health. It makes a great follow-up to our episode earlier this month about Rhode…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago