Spicy World

We interview Dipo Jimoh (Columbia SIPA, Oil Industry) on what it is like working on an oil rig in Nigeria. We also talk about how Nigeria is dealing with Covid-19. Lastly we touch on the booming startup scene in the country.

This week our guest talks about what it is like to travel in Kabul right now. Cory shares an ill timed dispatch from Istanbul on the police state and virus preparations. While much of the world is mired in uncertainty, Putin remains focused on stability with a presidential term reset.

We interview Lucia Savchick (IDLO, fmr UN IOM, Harriman Institute, Columbia SIPA) on her international development work in Mongolia & Uzbekistan. We also discuss relations between Armenia & Azerbaijan. Last, Lucia tells us what it is like living in Italy during the Coronavirus outbreak. 

We interview academic Bernie Moore (MSU, Fulbright Scholar, Director of From Windhoek to Washington) on the past 100 years of Namibian history. We cover labor during the apartheid era, the wars in Angola, and popular hotel chains in Lubango.

Sometimes a story comes into the news for 48 hours and then you never hear about it again. This episode is to follow up on some of the headlines of the past few weeks. Carlos Ghosn is in Beirut. Isabel dos Santos is heading East. Haitham bin Tariq is staying put. Where is Dmitry Medvedev going? We also follow up on the draft of nations from episode 5.

We interview journalist Neil Hauer (@NeilPHauer - https://twitter.com/NeilPHauer?s=20) about recent Chechen extraterritorial killings, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and Global Norwegian Rat Distribution.

Today our man in London (Cory) reports on Brexit. We draft our own fantasy multi-nation unions.

We finally introduce ourselves then we talk about whether corruption pays. Also, are the newly released Corruption Perception Index numbers flawed?

We begin the first of many episodes of the Russia Series by talking about Putin's surprise announcement.

This week we discuss the aftermath of the plane coming down in Iran, the passing of "the Sultan" and is Bellingcat a CIA asset?