Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

Mar 19 2025 213 ep. 27 mins 2.4k

Trending Globally: Politics and Policy Podcast artwork

An award-winning podcast from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, exploring today's biggest global challenges with the world's leading experts. Listen every other week by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Is America’s “housing crisis” really a “mobility crisis”?

Mar 19 2025 36 mins

In the 19th century, about one in three Americans moved every year. In the 1960s, that figure had shrunk to one in five In 2023, it was one in 13. In other words, a smaller percentage of Americans are moving today than they have at any time in our history. As Yoni Appelbaum, historian and deputy executive editor at The Atlantic makes clear in his book, “Stuck: How the P

What Germany’s election means for Germany, the US, and the world

Mar 05 2025 32 mins

On February 23, Germans went to the polls. While the establishment center-right CDU/CSU alliance won the largest share of votes, the results revealed a country experiencing profound political and social change. The far-right AfD party received an unprecedented 20% of the vote, while the incumbent center-left party, the SPD, suffered its worst loss in over 100 years. So, what d

The future of US-China relations under a new Trump administration

Feb 19 2025 32 mins

On this episode, Dan Richards talks with Tyler Jost, a political scientist and assistant professor at the Watson Institute. Tyler is an expert on international security and Chinese foreign policy, and his new book “Bureaucracies at War: The Institutional Origins of Miscalculation,” explores how leaders (in China and beyond) make decisions about when and how to engage in mi

Education, democracy and the remarkable life and work of Mary McCleod Bethune

Feb 05 2025 33 mins

The Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol is a stately room just off the Great Rotunda, whose walls are lined with — you guessed it — statues. The statues celebrate notable figures from all 50 states.For most of its existence, there wasn’t a single statue of a Black American in this hall. But that changed in 2022 when a statue of Mary McCleod Bethune was delivered to the Hall fro

President Trump is back in office. What have we learned so far?

Jan 22 2025 29 mins

On Monday, January 20, Donald Trump was once again sworn in as President of the United States. The ceremony was moved indoors due to the cold, where Trump declared in his inaugural address that no president has ever been tested like he has, and that “the new golden age for America starts now.” However, it wasn’t all speeches and ceremonies on Monday — Trump also signed

Can the “free market” solve the climate crisis?

Jan 08 2025 28 mins

While there are many hurdles to addressing the climate crisis in a meaningful way, there’s been one consistent bright spot in climate news over the last decade: the price of renewable energy — particularly solar and wind power — has dropped dramatically. By many measures, they’re now cheaper to produce than fossil fuels. So does that mean that when it comes to a “gre

The surprising causes and effects of democratic erosion

Dec 11 2024 35 mins

In the last two presidential elections in the United States, one issue has entered our political debates in a way we haven’t seen in recent history: the health and future of American democracy itself. And as Rob Blair, a political scientist at the Watson Institute and co-founder of the Democratic Erosion Consortium, explains, this isn’t without reason. “I am not especial

Amidst melting glaciers and rising seas, finding hope for the future on an Antarctic voyage

Nov 27 2024 31 mins

In January of 2019, journalist Elizabeth Rush joined 56 scientists and crew people aboard an ice-breaking research vessel to study the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica. The glacier, which is about the size of the state of Florida, has been nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier” for the effect its disintegration would likely play in the rise of global sea levels. “If we lose Thwa

To understand Trump’s victory, look around the world

Nov 13 2024 34 mins

On November 5, Americans went to the polls and once again elected Donald Trump president of the United States. By this point, you probably know the broad strokes of his victory: He won every swing state and, unlike in 2016, the popular vote as well. It also seems clear that a key part of the Democratic Party’s message — that another Trump term would threaten democracy and

How control of Congress will shape US politics, no matter who’s elected president

Oct 30 2024 25 mins

On November 5, all eyes will be on the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump for the White House. But no matter who wins the presidency, there’s another close competition that will have a huge impact on U.S. politics: the fight for control of Congress. In fact, next year’s Congress will play a role in our politics even before the next presi