"Wake" with Luke Vargas

The idea for a global parliament, a citizen legislature, and the sovereignty of the human being dates back centuries. It's an idea with roots in ancient Greece and the Roman Republic. It traces back to birth of the United States, the French Revolution and the establishment of the U.N. out of the rubble of World War II.

This week on Wake we'll talk with the leader of a movement to create a global parliament aimed at addressing major problems that nation states are struggling to address.

• Andreas Bummel, director of Democracy Without Borders and author of "A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century."

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

Taped: April 11, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

From day one of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has directed his ire at Mexico and raised questions about the motives and character of Mexicans seeking a life in the United States.

As President, that focus on Mexico has only intensified. Trump frequently disparages the Mexican government, he's strips away what little legal protections existed for young migrants and created new agencies entirely focused on amplifying news about crimes committed by immigrants.

This week on Wake we're going behind the headlines – and definitely behind the Tweets – to look at how the current political climate is changing what it means to be an immigrant in the United States.

Helping us do that are:

• Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute
• Ana Raquel Minian, assistant professor of history and comparative studies in eace and ethnicity, Stanford University, author, "Undocumented Lives: The Untold Story of Mexican Migration."
• Alexis M. Silver, associate professor of sociology, SUNY Purchase College, author, "Shifting Boundaries: Immigrant Youth Negotiating National, State and Small Town Politics."

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

Taped: April 6, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

The headlines are filled with grave proclamations about the future of the European Union. Recent Italian elections swept eurosceptic parties into office, a vocal Front National in France is taking inspiration from President Trump while Eastern and Central European states band together to defy the E.U. on immigration.

But are things really as bad as they seem? Maybe collective governance of 28 member nations is bound to be messy, and maybe some pressure is just what the E.U. needs to revitalize its mission a quarter-century after its founding.

Helping us perform a health check on the E.U. are:

• Mai'a Davis Cross, professor of political science at Northeastern University and author of "The Politics of Crisis in Europe"
• Ivan Berend, distinguished research professor at UCLA and author of "The Contemporary Crisis of the European Union: Prospects for the Future"

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

Taped: March 13, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Tourism is diplomacy. A single tourist may not move markets or drive political change, but tourism responds to the times, rising and falling along with political rhetoric, immigration policy and cultural shifts.

This week on Wake we're exploring recent trends in global and domestic travel, considering what the U.S. can do to draw more visitors to America's shores and how Americans tourists can be better ambassadors abroad.

Our guests this week are:

• Rick Steves, travel guidebook author and TV host
• Amos Snead, spokesperson, Visit U.S. Coalition

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

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

Freedom around the world is in retreat as "democracy faces its most serious crisis in decades."

This week on Wake we'll try to get to the bottom of these worrying trends overseas and turn the focus on the U.S., to see what's changing here at home and what if anything, the U.S. can do to set a model for the world.

Our guests this week are:

• Sarah Repucci, senior director for global publications at Freedom House
• Thomas Carothers, director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Rosarie Tucci, director of Inclusive Societies at the United States Institute of Peace

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

Recorded February 22, 2018.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

China's young generation is large, fiercely competitive and tapped into global education, commerce and tourism. This dynamic cohort is coming of age as China itself reawakens from a 'Century of Humiliation' and increasingly drives the world economy.

This week on Wake we're looking at China's 'millennials' – what could be the world's most influential generation.

Our guest is:

• Zak Dychtwald, author of "Young China: How the Restless Generation Will Change Their Country and the World."

If you enjoy this discussion, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Reach the program by email at [email protected].

Recorded February 7, 2018.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

United Nations peacekeeping is at a crossroads. Under threat, over-extended and beset by scandal, perhaps is it's no surprise the Trump Administration made the U.N. peacekeeping budget an early target of funding cuts.

This week on Wake we'll ask if reforms can modernize peacekeeping and whether peacekeeping advances or sets back American interests.

Heling us answer those questions are:

• Ambassador James Dobbins, senior fellow at the RAND Corporation and former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Norrie MacQueen, honorary research fellow at the University of St. Andrews.

If you enjoy this discussion, follow us on Twitter @WakeOnAir. Reach the program by email at [email protected].

Recorded January 30, 2018.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

In 2015, the Panama Papers peeled back the lid on how the world's uber rich shelter money in offshore accounts. More revelations in 2017 known as the Paradise Papers showed us how little has changed.

This week on Wake we're diving into the world of offshore finance and what the public needs to know about the costs of financial dealings intended to remain private.

Our guests include:

• Dr. Mary Alice Young, senior lecturer in law, Bristol Law School, University of the West of England
• George Turner, writer and researcher, Tax Justice Network.

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

Recorded December 7, 2017.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

At every stop along President Trump's state visit to Asia in November, he said the U.S. and its allies were stepping up pressure on North Korea. But months on, it seems not much has changed.

In conversation with Cheon Seong-Whun this week we're taking a step back to consider if we're looking at North Korea all wrong, and if seeing the country differently could unlock new policy options.

This week's guest:

• Cheon Seong-Whun, visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

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

Recorded November 8, 2017.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has just returned from a big trip to Africa. She visited refugee camps South Sudan, famine victims in Ethiopia, and in Congo, she insisted that long-postponed elections finally be held. Upon her return to New York, she announced $60 million in US funding to create an anti-terror fighting force in Africa's Sahel region.

Ten months into the Trump administration, is Africa now on the agenda? Is there a U.S. "Africa policy" per se, and does that matter?

To help us answer those questions are:

• Joshua Meservey, senior policy analyst for Africa and the Middle East at the Heritage Foundation

• Todd Moss, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development

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

Recorded November 1, 2017.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.