Nutshell Politics

A brief examination of the Kurdish people, their history, their culture & religions, and their role in the Middle East today.

A theory episode that discusses the history and purpose of international institutions and whether or not they are successful in accomplishing that purpose, with a focus on the United Nations.

This episode looks at the current heartbreaking situation taking place in Nicaragua. Who is Daniel Ortega? Where did he come from? What do the people want? How is Ortega handling the situation? Why/how did they get to this point? How dire is it? And finally, what might some solutions be?

This episode gives a brief history of NATO, then launches into a discussion of the recent summit last week and, in particular, Donald Trump's comments and behavior there. Why was NATO formed? What is its purpose today? What are the headlines from the meeting? Why has Trump been so critical of the organization? Is he correct? How did he do handling the summit?

We discuss more theoretical elements of nuclear weapons, from the Non-Proliferation Treaty that binds countries through international law, to Nuclear Deterrence Theory, its pros and cons, and the level of influence that's had on political science/policy making.

Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! Rather than a new international politics topic, here's a short holiday episode focusing on the history of the 4th of July and a few fun facts about the day!

Today's episode examines the recent Presidential election in Turkey and the implications it has for the state of the Turkish government under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Who is Erdoğan? What does his regime look like? What factors played into this election? And what potential ramifications does this have for the future of Turkey and their relationship to the rest of the world?

Today's episode is a discussion of the Kim family dynasty in North Korea, especially the current leader, Kim Jong-un. Who are they? Where did they come from? What do we need to know about their background/psychology?

Today's episode discusses the history of the North Korean nuclear program and the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. What happened? What's really important here? What are the big questions we still have? And what are the ramifications moving forward?

The first episode of a new podcast, Nutshell Politics, the show where we discuss what YOU need to know about world politics, the context and depth that the mainstream media glosses over.

This episode is an introduction to the host, Justin Kinney, and a brief discussion of Nuclear weapons and Broken Arrow incidents.

Thanks for listening and sticking with me as I get used to this whole podcasting thing and find my groove with it!