Watson School political scientist Peter Andreas has spent decades studying the global economy — but not the one you read about in the business section, or are taught in Econ 101. 

His focus is on the illicit global economy. 

He’s written about everything from piracy in colonial America to the smuggling of technology during the Industrial Revolution, to clandestine migration and illegal drug trafficking today. 

His newest book, “The Illicit Global Economy: Everything You Need to Know,” is both a concise primer on this massive topic and a compelling argument for why you can’t understand our global economy today without understanding how it operates on both sides of the law. 

On this episode of “Trending Globally,” he talks with Dan Richards about how the illicit global economy works, the surprising nuances within it, and how it intersects with some of the most pressing issues in our politics today. 

Learn more about and purchase “The Illicit Global Economy: Everything You Need to Know.”