What does the Khorgos dry port mean for economic and political relations between Central Asian republics and China? How will countries like Kazakhstan navigate foreign affairs and global power dynamics in the region?

Sitting down with Dean Shawn Lyons and Dr. Richard Weitz, we answer some of these questions and look at how ex-Soviet republics have positioned themselves geopolitically and the implications of a growing Chinese economics and political influence in the region.

Host: Niko Marcich

Researchers: Derrick Wang and Liam Kraft

Guest Interviews: Dean Sean Lyons and Dr. Richard Weitz

Producers: Geoff Keating and Andy Carluccio

Music: Emancipator

The Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVA, and affiliated with TEEJ, UVA’s podcasting network.

Why are female workforce participation rates so low in developing countries, and what kinds of solutions are trying to encourage women to enter the workforce and pursue entrepreneurship?

Sitting down with UVA Global Studies Professor Sree, we discuss some of the institutional and cultural constraints that perpetuate low female workforce participation, specifically in South Asia. Then, we sit down with Sehat Kahani, a Pakistani tele-medicine startup that pairs female stay-at-home physicians with patients in rural and low-income communities, to discuss how they empower female physicians and improve access to health care in Pakistan.

Host: Niko Marcich

Researcher: Katya Sankow

Guest Interviews: UVA Global Studies Professor Sreerekha Sathiamma and Sehat Kahani's Dr. Iffat Zakar

Producers: Andy Carluccio and Geoff Keating

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ, UVA's podcasting Network.

Music: Emancipator - Nevergreen, At The End of Time - Pulchra, Tristeza - Golden Hill

After Iran's announcement to ban the teaching of English in primary schools, we examine the implications of cultural protectionism in Iran and around the world. What are the end goals of cultural protectionism?How does the Internet challenge the traditional nature of cultural protectionism?

Host: Niko Marcich

Researcher: Nicholas Mortensen

Guest Interview: Professor of Media Studies at UVa - Emily Blout, Professor at University of Lucerne - Dr. Mira Burri

Producer: Andy Carluccio and Geoff Keating

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ.fm, UVa's undergraduate podcasting network.

Music: Balmorhea - "Masollan", Audissey, Patrick O'Hearn - "Beyond This Moment" and "So Goes The Current"

Seeking to better their lives, thousands of immigrants pass through its southern border every day. The journey is never easy. Beatings, sexual assaults, murder, and other encounters with cartels await these immigrants on their journey north. This harsh reality not only occurs on the border that the United States and Mexico share, but also on the border of Mexico and Guatemala.

In our last episode of the semester, we sit down with a Guatemalan migrant who has made this journey north and a Latin American policy expert to talk about this perilous journey, the relationship between police and organized crime and solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Mexico.

Host: Niko Marcich

Researcher: Tyler Hinkle

Guest Interview: Director for Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, Adam Isacson and a Guatemalan immigrant

Producer: Andy Carluccio

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ.fm, UVa's undergraduate podcasting network.

Music: Balmorhea - "Masollan", The Album Leaf - "The Light", Clem Leek - "You're so Far Away", Patrick O'Hearn - "Beyond This Moment" and "So Goes The Current"

In a special season review, technical director Andy Carluccio takes a look back at some of the highlights from all the episodes this semester.

Host and Producer: Andy Carluccio

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ.fm, UVa's undergraduate podcasting network.

Music: Long Way From Home - Peter Cincotti, Auddisey

"This is the largest corruption scandal in the history of the world..." What started off as a money laundering investigation in Brazil quickly transformed into a large scale corruption probe. Politicians indicted, company executives thrown in jail, and billions of dollars of dirty money have been recovered. Will Operação Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash) translate into stronger political institutions, and can other countries replicate the Operations' successes?

Host: Niko Marcich,

Researchers: Derrick Wang and Walter Sharon

Guest interview: Professor of Politics at Carleton College, Alfred Montero

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ.fm, UVa's undergraduate podcasting network.

Music: Sergio Mendes - Mas Que Nada

Our current system of global health governance is made up of a bevy of acronymic and mysterious health organizations constituting a veritable alphabet soup of agencies. We look at the challenges faced by the Ebola crisis and how the public health community has learned from their deadly mistakes.

Host: Niko Marcich

Researcher: Balthazar Merrin and Geoff Keating

Producer: Geoff Keating

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ.fm, UVa's undergraduate podcasting network.

Music: Audissey and Petrichor

“Where can we be black if we can’t be black in Africa?” Western European standards continue to dominate education in South Africa, affecting students across races and wealth tiers. Even though Apartheid was dismantled in 1991, why do South African primary and secondary schools still appear so racially divided? How does the lasting footprint of colonialism affect schools, and how does the universal trend of denialism feed into these issues?

Host: Niko Marcich

Researcher: Katya Sankow

Guest Interviews: Professor of Education at the University of Washington Tacoma, Christopher Knaus

Producer: Geoff Keating

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ.fm, UVa's undergraduate podcasting network.

Music: Audissey and Rodriguez

What if we connected the whole world to the Internet? Launched in 2013, Facebook's Free Basics platform promises to do just this. Stemming from an altruistic vision to expand access to information, Free Basics provides affordable Internet access to remote areas in developing countries. What else is behind Facebook's vision to expand Internet access, and why are some communities rejecting the platform? What are the implications of Facebook being the primary Internet service provider in a community or country?

Host: Niko Marcich

Researchers: Dominick Giovanniello and Balthazar Merrin

Guest speaker: Professor of Media Studies at UVa, Christopher Ali

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa and affiliated with TEEJ, UVa's podcasting network.

Music: Talkdemonic and Audissey

What if we connected the whole world to the Internet? Launched in 2013, Facebook's Free Basics platform promises to do just this. Stemming from an altruistic vision to expand access to information, Free Basics provides affordable Internet access to remote areas in developing countries. What else is behind Facebook's vision to expand Internet access, and why are some communities rejecting the platform? What are the implications of Facebook being the primary Internet service provider in a community or country?

Joined by Professor of Media Studies Christopher Ali, researchers Dom Giovanniello, Balthazar Merrin and host Niko Marcich, we dive into these topics in our live episode this Wednesday at 7pm at OpenGrounds.

Global Inquirer is a production of the International Relations Organization at UVa. We are also affiliated with TEEJ, UVa's podcasting network.

Music: College Electric Youth