Foreign Exchanges: the Podcast

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The Ploughshares Fund’s John Carl Baker returns to the show to talk about the push to modernize the US nuclear arsenal, what that entails, and how much it will cost. We then assess the wreckage the Trump administration has made in terms of arms control and what that means for the future, depending on what happens in November.

Then-US President Barack Obama signing the ratification of New START, February 2011 (Official White House Photo)

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I'm joined by Dr. Owen Miller, lecturer in Korean Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Building in part off of his recent piece for Jacobin, Owen helps me better understand the root causes of the Korean War, the factions involved, and the impact the conflict had on the Korean people.

A US Navy Douglas AD-4 Skyraider preparing to launch from the USS Philippine Sea for a strike mission in Korea in October 1950 (US Navy photo via Wikimedia Commons)

I'm very pleased to be joined by Brendan James and Noah Kulwin, co-hosts of the fantastic podcast "Blowback," covering the Iraq War and the utterly surreal political and media environment that both enabled the war and was fundamentally shaped by it.

Mission accomplished indeed (US Navy via Wikimedia Commons)

Episodes are currently being released every Monday on your favorite podcast outlet, but you can hear the full 10 part series plus get access to bonus episodes right now at Stitcher Premium (sign up with the code "BLOWBACK" for a free one month preview).

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:

Returning guest and scholar of the Sahel Alex Thurston joins me to discuss the recently reported death of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader Abdelmalek Droukdel. Serendipitously, this subject coincides with Alex's forthcoming (probably in September) book, Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local Politics and Rebel Groups. He’s also written about Droukdel’s (probable) death at his blog. Twice, actually. We delve into the history of AQIM and the diminishing role it's played as the center of jihadist gravity has shifted from Algeria into the Sahel region. The piece Alex mentions toward the end of the interview on the regional crisis surrounding the Fulani, from anthropologist Modibo Ghaly Cissé, is available here.

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:

Latin America scholar Thomas C. Field Jr. joins me to discuss the last six or so months in Bolivia, from the disputed October election to the ouster of President Evo Morales to the machinations of the post-coup government that replaced him. You can find Thomas on Twitter @thomascfield and you can find his books at lots of places, but Powell’s has them here and here. Apologies for a few glitchy moments but in my defense this time they were caused by Skype, not me personally. That’s progress, at least.

I mentioned a couple of relevant interviews during the interview, one with southern Altiplano peasant workers leader Ramiro Huayta that you can find here and another with MAS presidential candidate Luis Acre that’s available here.

Returning guest Alex Thurston joins the show to discuss COVID-19 in the Sahel, how the region's militant groups have responded to the pandemic, and recent militant and military activity in Nigeria, Chad, Mali, and elsewhere. Be sure to check out Alex's Sahel Blog and follow him on Twitter: @sahelblog.

I'm joined by Andrew Fishman, reporter for The Intercept and managing editor for The Intercept Brasil, to discuss the ongoing soap opera that is Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's haggard response to the coronavirus, as well as the new drama surrounding the recent resignation of ex-Justice Minister Sergio Moro.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks (Brazilian government via Wikimedia Commons)

You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewDFish.

I'm joined by Michael Brooks, returning champion and host of The Michael Brooks Show as well as co-host of The Majority Report with Sam Seder and Jacobin's Weekends with Ana Kasparian and Michael Brooks. We're discussing his new book, Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right. We're talking the "Intellectual Dark Web," Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, and how the left can counter their message. Michael’s book is out April 24 and is already available for pre-order from your favorite booksellers, for example here.

There’s a catch to this interview, unfortunately: because of some huge and as yet bafflingly unexplained (though I’m certain human error was involved) technical issues on my end I had to re-record my portion of the audio and trim a few sections where Michael and I are talking in quick succession. Fortunately his audio was fine, it’s just me who sounded like I was talking through a tin can. The result is a coherent interview that is a little choppier than I would like in parts, so please be advised of that. You may still hear a very low-quality version of me in the background a couple of times but thankfully I think I’ve eliminated most of it. My apologies.

I’m joined by returning guest David Adler of the Democracy in Europe Movement to discuss how Europe has risen—or failed to rise—to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. David offers his thoughts on the lack of collective action within Europe and what it might mean for the eurozone and the European Union moving forward, as well as some ideas for improving European institutions.

David’s Guardian piece (co-authored with Jerome Roos), which we reference in the interview, can be found here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

I’m joined by historian and podcaster Patrick Wyman, whose “The Fall of Rome” and “Tides of History” are two of the very best historical podcasts out there, to discuss pandemic diseases in Roman history. We’re talking the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Cyprian, and the Plague of Justinian, and what they meant to the Roman Empire and (especially in the latter case) to world history in general. Later, and apropos of nothing in particular, we discuss Patrick’s recent piece for Mother Jones, “How Do You Know If You’re Living Through the Death of an Empire?”

The Fall of Rome and Tides of History are both available via Wondery or wherever you get your podcasts, and I can’t recommend them enough. As Patrick notes toward the end of the interview he’s got a book coming out in the near future, so keep an eye out for that. You can find Patrick on Twitter @Patrick_Wyman.