Best Al Booth Podcasts (2026)

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Kerry Brown, "The Great Reversal: Britain, China and the 400-Year Contest for Power" (Yale UP, 2024) 37:29

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2h ago37:29

37:29

In the sixteenth century, Queen Elizabeth I tried to send several letters to her Chinese counterpart, the Wan Li Emperor. The letters tried to ask the Ming emperor to conduct trade relations with faraway England; none of the expeditions carrying the letters ever arrived. It’s an inauspicious beginning to the four centuries of foreign relations betw…

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BEST OF: Jimmy Kimmel on His Career in Comedy! 1:01:01

3d ago1:01:01

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In this Best Of episode, we revisit our 2020 conversation with Jimmy Kimmel! We go through his long career, beginning with his start in radio and his transition to television. We discuss the birth of Jimmy’s late night show back in 2003 and how, in his own words, the show was "genuinely terrible.” With time, Jimmy figured it out and established a t…

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Joel S. Wit, "Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea" (Yale UP, 2025) 49:23

6d ago49:23

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After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wi…

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Samuel Helfont, "The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:02:15

8d ago1:02:15

1:02:15

American wars in Iraq were a defining feature of global politics for almost thirty years. The Gulf War of 1991, the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the campaign against the Islamic State beginning in 2014 each had their own logic. Each occurrence was a distinct conflict; however they must not only be considered in isolation. The United State…

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David A. Graham on What Project 2025 Wrought 54:51

11d ago54:51

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Throughout the 2024 election, we all heard about the dangers of Project 2025, yet somehow it’s worse than we imagined. Trump continuously said he didn't know anything about it (but he did), and nearly a year after his swearing in, we've seen a huge portion of it already implemented. We're joined by The Atlantic’s David A. Graham, author of the new …

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Mayu Fujikawa, "Envisioning Diplomacy: Japanese Ambassadors in Early Modern Europe" (Pennsylvania State UP, 2025) 55:42

13d ago55:42

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In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Japan sent its first diplomatic delegations to visit the popes and dignitaries of Europe. European artists portrayed these historic ambassadors—the Tenshō embassy (1582–90) and the Keichō embassy (1613–20)—in numerous oil paintings, frescoes, drawings, and prints. Envisioning Diplomacy: Japanes…

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Thomas Gidney, "An International Anomaly: Colonial Accession to the League of Nations" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:02:25

14d ago1:02:25

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It is often assumed that only sovereign states can join the United Nations. But this was not always the case. At the founding of the United Nations, a loophole drafted by British statesmen in its predecessor organisation, the League of Nations, was carried forward, allowing colonies to accede as member-states. Colonies such as India, Ireland, Egypt…

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Franklin Foer & Anne Applebaum on The Globe in 2025! 1:01:53

11d ago1:01:53

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As we approach the end of 2025, we take a look back at what happened around the world in Trump’s first year back in office. We're joined by two of the best foreign policy writers we know: Franklin Foer and Anne Applebaum from The Atlantic! We discuss the EIGHT wars and conflicts that Trump has single handedly ended, while also examining the ongoing…

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Magda Long et. al., "Covert Action: National Approaches to Unacknowledged Intervention (Georgetown UP, 2025) 1:02:21

23d ago1:02:21

1:02:21

Covert action is generally understood as unacknowledged interference by one state in the affairs of another state or non-state actor to affect change. This definition, inspired from the US approach, dominates the debate in intelligence policy and scholarship and provides a prism through which most observers (mis)understand this form of secret state…

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Mark Leibovich on Hegseth, Trump, & More! 55:34

18d ago55:34

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We're joined by the great Mark Leibovich from The Atlantic to run through some of the wild stories fresh out of Washington. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is facing criticisms on multiple fronts: Not only was it reported that he ordered the killing of two survivors from a bombed alleged drug trafficking boat, a Pentagon Inspector General also found …

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David Kirkpatrick on Trump’s Immense and Shameless Profiteering 54:45

1M ago54:45

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One of Donald Trump's most successful initiatives in his second term has been making himself and his family richer than ever. We're joined by The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick, who earlier this year wrote a piece outlining all the ways the legendary grifters have cashed in during Trump’s presidency. The Trump family has long been associated with s…

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Oracy And Psychology: Does Oracy play a part in our development even before we are born? 37:55

1M ago37:55

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"We're not born with language. We're born with communication, skills and desire, but we're not born with the words to get needs met." - Dr. Maddi Popoola In this episode I am joined by Educational Psychologist and author of "Reimagining Education", Dr Maddi Popoola. We go right back to the early stages of development i.e. in the womb, with Dr. Madd…

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Lawyer Liz Oyer on Trump’s Corrupt Pardons 51:55

1M ago51:55

51:55

In Donald Trump's second term, we've seen a flurry of pardons and commutations. Of course, every President is granted the pardon power, but with this administration, pardons often seem to have a price tag. We're joined by Liz Oyer, former US pardon attorney (appointed by Biden and fired by Trump), to discuss some of the shadier pardons doled out du…

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Yanqiu Zheng, "In Search of Admiration and Respect: Chinese Cultural Diplomacy in the United States, 1875–1974" (U Michigan Press, 2024) 1:12:18

1M ago1:12:18

1:12:18

What does it mean for a country to seek admiration — and what kinds of institutions try to make that admiration possible? Yanqiu Zheng’s In Search of Admiration and Respect: Chinese Cultural Diplomacy in the United States, 1875–1974 (U Michigan Press, 2024) traces how China attempted to reshape its international image across a century marked by imp…

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Philip Nash, "Clare Boothe Luce: American Renaissance Woman" (Routledge, 2022) 1:04:56

1M ago1:04:56

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Philip Nash's book Clare Boothe Luce: American Renaissance Woman (Routledge, 2022) is a concise and highly readable political biography that examines the life of one of the most accomplished American women of the 20th century. Wife and mother, author, editor, playwright, political activist, war journalist, Congresswoman, ambassador, pundit, and fem…

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Catherine Rampell on The End of The Shutdown 48:26

1M ago48:26

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After 43 days, the longest government shutdown in American history has finally ended. We're joined by Catherine Rampell from The Bulwark and MSNBC to talk about how it finally came to a close and why a lot of Democrats are mad at their party. Catherine details how the Trump administration used the shutdown as an excuse to inflict as much pain as po…

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Eric H. Cline, "Love, War, and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed" (Princeton UP, 2025) 1:07:05

2M ago1:07:05

1:07:05

From the acclaimed author of 1177 B.C., a spellbinding account of the archaeological find that opened a window onto the vibrant diplomatic world of the ancient Near East In 1887, an Egyptian woman made an astonishing discovery among the ruins of the heretic king Akhenaten’s capital city, a site now known as Amarna. She found a cache of cuneiform ta…

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Ronald Angelo Johnson, "Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution" (Cornell UP, 2025) 1:25:55

2M ago1:25:55

1:25:55

Entangled Alliances is a reinterpretation of the American Revolution through analysis of diplomacy in the emerging United States during decades of hemispheric transformation. Ronald Angelo Johnson brings to light the fascinating story of American patriots and rebels from Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) allying against European tyranny. The American Re…

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Oracy In Dialogue: How recognising the dynamics of classroom dialogue is key - Alice Pepper 21:02

2M ago21:02

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"Oracy has got this opportunity to give people a voice and for them to recognise what it is to be heard." - Alice Pepper In this first episode since the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report, I chat with Alice Pepper (Oracy Award Lead at One Education) about how wider oracy learning has to involved classroom dialogue to create equity in you…

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Aaron Magid, "The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan" (Universal Publishers, 2025) 52:47

1M ago52:47

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The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan (Universal Publishers, 2025) is the first comprehensive biography on Jordan’s King Abdullah. Drawing on interviews with over 100 individuals, including Abdullah's classmates, former Jordanian ministers, and CIA directors, The Most American King offers a thorough account of this key Arab leader. Aaron Magid…

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Molly Jong-Fast on The 2025 Elections! 38:41

2M ago38:41

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The Democratic Party showed signs of life all around the country with last week's off-season elections. Helping us make sense of it all is Molly Jong-Fast, opinion writer for The New York Times and host of the Fast Politics podcast! Molly examines NYC's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and why his campaign was so successful. Can he actually deliver on th…

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Kalathmika Natarajan, "Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: Caste, Class and Indenture Abroad, 1914-67" (Oxford UP, 2026) 1:16:19

2M ago1:16:19

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Over the centuries, millions of migrant labourers sailed from the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, to shape what is now the world’s largest diaspora. Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: Caste, Class and Indenture Abroad, 1914-67 (Hearst, 2025 and Oxford UP, 2026) recovers the histories and legacies of those ‘coolie’ mi…

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Political Reporter David Weigel on The Shutdown 47:10

2M ago47:10

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We are approaching the longest government shutdown in American history with no end in sight. But it seems like this is exactly what the Trump administration wants. How much longer can this go on? We are joined by David Weigel from Semafor to discuss the damage of the shutdown and how the White House believes it's winning this fight. Weigel examines…

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Oracy And Children's Stories: Looking back at my guests' stories of how Oracy has changed children's lives. 25:56

2M ago25:56

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"Listen to the song here in my heart. A melody I start, but can't complete. Listen to the sound from deep within, it's only beginning to find release." - Beyonce Hello, I'm the host or Oracy And Beyond, Al Booth. I always like to start these notes with a quote from the guest featured in the episode. In this episode, however, my first six guests are…

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Harry Litman on Important Legal Stuff. 50:10

2M ago50:10

50:10

Every day brings a new constitutional crisis. Donald Trump isn't just breaking norms... he's weaponizing the entire justice system against anyone who dare cross him. We're joined by former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman to cut through the chaos and explain what the hell is happening. Trump promised that he would bring "retribution" to his second term -…

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Yong-Shik Lee, "Sustainable Peace in Northeast Asia" (Anthem Press, 2023) 1:02:36

2M ago1:02:36

1:02:36

In the long run, countries in Northeast Asia will have to see the need for collective defense. Otherwise, you won’t be able to stop rivalry between powers like the U.S. and China. It sounds utopian now, but so did the idea of French and German soldiers serving under the same command a century ago. – Y.S. Lee, NBN Interview (2025) Sustainable Peace …

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Ada Ferrer, "Cuba: An American History" (Scribner, 2021) 53:27

2M ago53:27

53:27

“No country is ever just one thing.” In her new book Cuba: An American History (Scribner, 2021), NYU historian Ada Ferrer shows this again and again. In clear and engaging prose, Ferrer narrates five centuries of history from a decidedly different angle than previous one-volume studies; the main drivers of history in this book are not just familiar…

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William Doyle, "Napoleon at Peace: How to End a Revolution" (Reaktion Books, 2022) 19:09

2M ago19:09

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The French Revolution facilitated the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, but after gaining power he knew that his first task was to end it. In this book William Doyle describes how he did so, beginning with the three large issues that had destabilized revolutionary France: war, religion, and monarchy. Doyle shows how, as First Consul of the Republic, Napo…

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John Fugelsang on Jesus’s ACTUAL Politics 45:11

2M ago45:11

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Donald Trump and the Republican Party have the backing of Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians. But if you read the Bible or listen to the teachings of Jesus Christ, it would be clear that their policies are anything but Christ-like. We're joined by comedian, radio host, and NYT bestselling author John Fugelsang to discuss his new book, “Sepa…

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Oracy In Phonics: How children can thrive when they are given the oracy skills to express themselves authentically. - Laura Brogan 33:16

3M ago33:16

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"Oracy is truly inclusive. It's not about speaking perfectly but about giving students the confidence and skills to express themselves authentically." - Laura Brogan Laura Brogan is the National Education Lead for Phonics and Early Reading at Twinkle Educational Publishing. She is passionate about helping children find their voice by starting where…

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Alice Walker: Marked by Tradition 47:37

3M ago47:37

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Alice Walker is an internationally celebrated author, poet and activist whose books included novels, collections of short stories, children’s books, and volumes of essays and poetry. Her best known novel, The Color Purple, was adapted by Steven Spielberg into a major motion picture. In 1992 she spoke at the John Adams Institute about her novel Poss…

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Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds, "Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic" (Yale UP, 2025) 37:24

3M ago37:24

37:24

A vital account of the state of the Arctic today--emphasising the twin dangers of climate change and geopolitical competition Nowhere is the dual threat of climate change and geopolitical contest felt more strongly than in the Arctic. Sea ice is declining rapidly, wildfires are burning, and permafrost is thawing. All the while, global interest is g…

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David Hogg on Electing Young Progressive Dems 44:45

3M ago44:45

44:45

We're thrilled to welcome David Hogg to the podcast. Hogg is a co-founder of March For Our Lives and his PAC, Leaders We Deserve. He shares about how the tragedy in Parkland, FL launched him into the political fray. Hogg notoriously served as a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee for a brief time. He tells us about some of the inner wor…

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Maria Fedorova, "Seeds of Exchange: Soviets, Americans, and Cooperation in Agriculture, 1921–1935" (Northern Illinois UP, 2025) 49:06

3M ago49:06

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Seeds of Exchange: Soviets, Americans, and Cooperation in Agriculture, 1921–1935 (Northern Illinois UP, 2025) examines the US and Soviet exchange of agricultural knowledge and technology during the interwar period. Maria Fedorova challenges the perception of the Soviet Union as a passive recipient of American technology and expertise. She reveals t…

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Joshua Eisenman and David H. Shinn, "China's Relations with Africa: A New Era of Strategic Engagement" (Columbia UP, 2023) 1:42:23

3M ago1:42:23

1:42:23

Since Xi Jinping’s accession to power in 2012, nearly every aspect of China’s relations with Africa has grown dramatically. Beijing has increased the share of resources it devotes to African countries, expanding military cooperation, technological investment, and educational and cultural programs as well as extending its political influence. China'…

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Emma Ashford, "First Among Equals: U. S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World" (Yale UP, 2025) 35:24

3M ago35:24

35:24

A fresh, concise roadmap for U.S. grand strategy in a multipolar world For the past thirty years, post-Cold War triumphalism and a desire to reshape the world have defined U.S. foreign policy. But the failures of the global war on terror, the return of conflict to Europe, and growing tensions with China all suggest that this approach to the world i…

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Norm Ornstein on Another Chaotic Week in DC 48:56

3M ago48:56

48:56

Chaos has ensued across the federal government as we face another shutdown. We're joined by political scientist, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and friend of the show, Norm Ornstein, to make sense of it all. What is this shutdown all about? Healthcare. With Republicans in charge of the House, the Senate, the Presidency, A…

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Oracy In Philosophy: How the oldest form of debate can give a voice to young people - Bob Coenraats 31:38

3M ago31:38

31:38

"We need to find what's inside children's minds if we want to teach them. We need to find what they find important before we take the hassle of teaching them about history or geometry or something." - Bob Coenraats In this episode of Oracy And Beyond we are in The Netherlands to talk to philosophy teacher and passionate oracy advocate Bob Coenraats…

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Dr. Tom Frieden and Brandy Zadrozny on RFK Jr. and the CDC 43:50

3M ago43:50

43:50

Trump picked RFK Jr. to take over the Department of Health and Human Services, and chaos has ensued. So far, RFK Jr. is ignoring the advice of experts and bringing along his cronies to push vaccine skepticism. It could have a devastating impact on the health of Americans for years to come. We're joined by Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who cu…

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Michael Jabara Carley, "Stalin's Gamble: The Search for Allies Against Hitler, 1930-1936" (U Toronto Press, 2023) 1:25:35

3M ago1:25:35

1:25:35

Shedding light on the origins of the Second World War in Europe, Stalin's Gamble: The Search for Allies Against Hitler, 1930-1936 (University of Toronto Press, 2023) aims to create a historical narrative of the relations of the USSR with Britain, France, the United States, Poland, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Romania during the 1930s. The bo…

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BBC's The Global Story 6:16

3M ago6:16

6:16

Hear a teaser for The Global Story, the daily BBC news podcast that covers the intersection where the world and America meet. Find The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.By The Al Franken Podcast

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Randi Weingarten on Defending Our Public Education 44:30

3M ago44:30

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We are joined by Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, to discuss her new book, “Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy.” In the book, Weingarten details how there has been a systematic demonization of teachers and public education in America. She argues that one of the pillars of …

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Adam R. C. Humphreys and Hidemi Suganami, "Causal Inquiry in International Relations" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:35:30

3M ago1:35:30

1:35:30

Causal Inquiry in International Relations (Oxford UP, 2024) by Adam R. C. Humphreys and Hidemi Suganami defends a new, philosophically informed account of the principles which must underpin any causal research in a discipline such as International Relations. Its central claim is that there is an underlying logic to all causal inquiry, at the core o…

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Oracy In Science: How debating scientific theories can change the world's future - Peter Munroe 25:27

4M ago25:27

25:27

"Mistakes are okay. If you're making mistakes, it shows that you're trying something and that you're working on it." - Pete Munroe Once upon a time in a radio station boardroom a new Managing Director was giving a talk to the on-air team. During her introduction she said she wanted to see mistakes. She wanted to see ideas that didn't come off. Beca…

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George Papaconstantinou and Jean Pisani-Ferry, "New World New Rules: Global Cooperation in a World of Geopolitical Rivalries" (Agenda, 2024) 43:42

4M ago43:42

43:42

The need for collective action has never been greater, but geopolitics, structural changes and diverging preferences mean that existing global governance arrangements, devised at Bretton Woods in the 1940s, are either unravelling or outmoded. Reconciling this contradiction is today's pressing global policy challenge. In New World New Rules: Global …

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Kim Stanley Robinson: The Fight for Planet Earth 1:03:59

3M ago1:03:59

1:03:59

Kim Stanley Robinson is the author of 22 novels of speculative and science fiction. The Ministry for the Future is set in the near future in which the world is suffering the disastrous consequences of climate change. But it also details the steps humanity takes to mitigate them. It is ultimately an optimistic story about technological and political…

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Zach Fredman and Judd Kinzley eds., "Uneasy Allies: Sino-American Relations at the Grassroots, 1937–1949" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 33:33

4M ago33:33

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This timely collection of essays examines Sino-American relations during the Second World War, the Chinese Civil War and the opening of the Cold War. Drawing on new sources uncovered in China, Taiwan, the UK and the US, the authors demonstrate how 'grassroots' engagements - not just elite diplomacy - established the trans-Pacific networks that both…

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Michael Poznansky, "Great Power, Great Responsibility: How the Liberal International Order Shapes US Foreign Policy" (Oxford UP, 2025) 32:20

4M ago32:20

32:20

In the wake of World War II, the United States leveraged its hegemonic position in the international political system to gradually build a new global order centered around democracy, the expansion of free market capitalism, and the containment of communism. Named in retrospect the "liberal international order" (LIO), the system took decades to buil…

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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Reducing Violent Crime 39:15

3M ago39:15

39:15

Baltimore, Maryland is one of Donald Trump's most frequent targets when talking about crime in America. As the President continues to threaten to send troops into American cities, we wanted to hear from Baltimore's mayor, Brandon Scott. Since Mayor Scott took office, the city has seen a dramatic drop in violent crime. He explains his policies and h…

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Peter Sparding, "No Better Friend? The United States and Germany Since 1945" (Hurst, 2024) 53:13

4M ago53:13

53:13

The German-American relationship is the decisive transatlantic dynamic of our time. Long seen as one of the most stable connections between Europe and America thanks to its well-defined Cold War structure and hierarchy, relations between Washington and Berlin have become much more volatile in the twenty-first century-- and are playing an increasing…