"Wake" with Luke Vargas

The world witnessed two major leadership shakeups this week in Brazil and Germany, and both seem to signal personality politics are the flavor of the moment.

This week we'll talk to a Brazilian political scientists about that country's new far-right president, a biographer of Angela Merkel about the German chancellor's slow transition out of power and an expert on populism to consider how global political sentiments are changing an age of anxiety.

Our guests are:

• Cesar Zucco Jr., political scientist at Brazil's Fundação Getúlio Vargas
• Joyce Marie Mushaben, distinguished professor of comparative politics at the University of Missouri St. Louis, author, "Becoming Madam Chancellor"
• Benjamin Moffitt, senior lecturer in politics at Australian Catholic University, author, "The Global Rise of Populism"

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: October 30-November 1, 2018.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

The Trump Administration just lowered its refugee admissions ceiling for the next fiscal year to its lowest number in 40 years, and that's not the only change afoot.

Christian refugees also appear to be getting precedence over Muslims fleeing conflicts in places like Syria, Yemen or Somalia.

This week on Wake we'll go behind the numbers to see what's changing in US refugee admissions policy.

Helping us do that are:

• Kathleen Newland, senior fellow and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute
• Daniel Schneiderman, deputy U.S. program director at theInternational Crisis Group
• Carl Bon Tempo, associate professor of history at SUNY Albany and author of "Americans at the Gate: The United States and Refugees during the Cold War"

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: September 21, 2018.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

On the heels of meetings with the leaders of Russia and North Korea, President Trump says he's open to talking with Iran's leaders without precondition. Curiously, that offer of face-to-face dialogue came just days after Trump threatened Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani.

Several months after the American exit from the Iran deal, we're looking today at where the deal stands, how Iran is faring with the deal in limbo, and trying to discern where US policy is heading.

Helping us do that are:

• Daryl Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association
• Shampa Biswas, Paul Garrett Professor of Political Science at Whitman College, author, "Nuclear Desire"
• Naysan Rafati, Iran analyst for the International Crisis Group

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: August 2, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin bragged this week that a new generation of Russian nuclear weapons would be "years, and perhaps decades ahead of foreign analogues."

Those comments follow a video presentation earlier this year in which new Russian missiles were seen breaking through the clouds and heading straight for what appeared to be Florida.

This week on Wake we'll take a look at the recent upgrades to Russia's military capabilities in recent years and consider whether or not upgrades to the country's armed forces should give the US and NATO something to worry about.

Our guests this week:

• Bettina Renz, associate professor of politics and international relations, University of Nottingham, author, "Russia's Military Revival"
• Dara Massicot, policy researcher at the Rand Corporation

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: June 20, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Seated across from Kim Jong Un at a negotiating table in Singapore last week, President Donald Trump said he showed the notorious dictator a video of what a brighter North Korea could look like. The message of that video: there's a prosperous economy awaiting Kim if he only shelves his nukes and plays nice.

This week we're putting aside the nuclear element of that offer and focusing on North Korea's economy and what it could possible become, under the status quo or in an era of new North Korean relations.

Our guests this week:

• Nicholas Eberstadt, political economist, American Enterprise Institute (4:12)
• Eunjung Lim, professor international relations, Ritsumeikan University (15:10)
• Ian Bennett, associate program manager, Choson Exchange (29:48)

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: June 17, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

For months, President Trump built up expectations that North Korea's nuclear program could be quickly negotiated away in historic talks with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

But expectations have since shifted to talk of an agreement to end the Korean war, and instead of asking for sanctions relief, North Korea says it wants security guarantees from the U.S.

This week on Wake, we'll try to cover as many angles of the Singapore talks as we can, from the evolving demands of the U.S. and North Korea, to the particular desires of China, South Korea and Japan looming just offstage.

Helping us do that are this week's guests:

• Joe Cirincione, president, Ploughshares Fund
• Naoko Aoki, research associate, Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
• Sharon Squassoni, research professor, Institute for International Science and Technology Policy, George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: June 7, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

People power prevailed in Armenia in April, as mass demonstrators dislodged Prime Minister (and former president) Serzh Sargsyan, who changed the county's constitution in a bid to remain in office.

After a peaceful revolution, Armenia has a new leader and is embarking on a laundry list of complex political and economic reforms.

This week on Wake we'll dive into what Armenia's revolution tells us about the country's future, the future of the Transcaucasus and the states of the former Soviet Union.

Helping us do that are this week's guests:

• Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, an independent think tank in Armenia
• Anahit Shirinyan, academy associate at Chatham House

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: May 24, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Years of military efforts to destroy Boko Haram have failed to eradicate the terror group. Boko Haram continues to stage daring attacks, kidnap civilians and fuel a regional refugee crisis that's displaced hundreds of thousands.

This week on Wake we'll trace the origins of Boko Haram consider how the group fits into the global terrorism landscape.

Helping us do that are this week's guests:

• Scott MacEachern, professor of anthropology at Bowdoin College, author, "Searching for Boko Haram: A History of Violence in Central Africa"
• Tricia Bacon, assistant professor in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology at American University, author, "Why Terrorist Organizations Form International Alliances"

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: April 19, 2018 + May 8, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Just the word 'Russia' conjures up a range of loaded associations from Ukraine to collusion, Syria to election meddling, Sergei Skripal to nuclear weapons.

The Cold War is over, but the U.S. continues to push Russia on a range of issues across the far corners of the globe.

This week on Wake we'll ask if the U.S. would be better off ignoring Russia, and we'll learn several reasons why we absolutely can't.

Helping us to demystify Russia are:

• Amb. Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, author, "From Cold War to Hot Peace"
• Sarah Henderson, associate professor of political science, Oregon State University

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: May 8, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Cuba recently underwent a historic presidential leadership change, turning the page on decades of rule by brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro with the election of Miguel Díaz-Canel.

But far from being a shock to the system, Díaz-Canel is a party stalwart, groomed by the Castros for a leadership role and likely to continue in their footsteps.

This week on Wake we'll consider what Díaz-Canel's presidency means for the future of Cuba, and we'll step back to survey the state of the US-Cuba relationship and whats likely to change – and not change – in the years ahead.

Helping us do that are this week's guests:

• Marguerite Rose Jiménez, director for Cuba at the Washington Office on Latin America
• Amb. Vicki Huddleston, former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana and author of "Our Woman in Havana: A Diplomat's Chronicle of America's Long Struggle with Castro's Cuba"

If you enjoy this discussion, follow Wake on Twitter @WakeOnAir. To share feedback with us, send an email to [email protected].

Taped: April 30, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.