Wealth of Nations Podcast

On February 1st, 2021 the military of Myanmar, called the Tatmadaw, launched a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on paper thin claims of massive voter fraud. The people of Myanmar have decisively rejected the coup, with protests organizing almost immediately after the coup, with hundreds of thousands of people … Continue reading "Will Everything Be OK? : Ethnic Insurgency, Military Dictatorship and Mass Protest In Myanmar"

In December of 2020, the first announcement of effective vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer heralded the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, additional vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, and by the Russian, Chinese and Indian companies have showed effectiveness. Nations across the developed world have raced to vaccinate as many people … Continue reading "Winning the Vaccination Race: Chile’s Success in Mass Vaccination"

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the most dangerous public health threat faced by the United States was the spectacular rise of drug overdoses in recent decades. Between 1999 and 2019 the number of drug overdoses has increased from 19,000 to 77,000. While the early days of the drug overdose epidemic was driven by the unethical prescription … Continue reading "More Lows Than Highs: The Fight Against Drugs in China, Mexico and the Philippines"

On March 17th 2014, Sergio Moro, a little known judge from the Brazilian state of Curitiba, authorized an investigation of suspicious money transfers at a gas station. The resulting investigation, known as Operation Car Wash or Lava Jato, uncovered a web of corruption that shook Brazilian society to its core. The largest construction companies in … Continue reading "Closing The Shop Down: The Dispiriting End of Operation Car Wash in Brazil"

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global health crisis that kept the most public health experts up at night was the rise of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) microbes. According to the World Health Organization, 700,000 people lose their lives to multi-drug resistant microbes a year. If no steps are taken to control the growth … Continue reading "The Ghost of Pandemics Future: Can India Stop The Rise of Superbugs?"

On February 1st, 2021 the armed forces of Myanmar, called the Tatmadaw, under Min Aung Hlaing, launched a coup against the democratically elected leader Aung San Su Kyi ending Myanmar’s ill fated experiment with democracy. In 1962, the Tatmadaw launched a coup to create an unusually brutal and xenophobic dictatorship. Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have long … Continue reading "Singing The Irrawaday Blues: The Tatmadaw Overthrows Democracy in Myanmar"

In the last episode of the Wealth of Nations podcast, I discussed Ukraine’s spectacular economic implosion in the aftermath of independence, democracy and market reforms. However, Ukraine’s experience was far from universal. Nations such as Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia successfully adapted to the political and economic transformations of the 1990s, and are … Continue reading "Why Nations Don’t Fail: Building Institutions in Romania"

On August 20th 2020, Alexei Navalny became violently ill on a flight to Moscow. Navalny, who was evacuated to a hospital in Germany, had been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok by the FSB, Russian security services. Navalny, a long time pro-democracy and anti-corruption activist, had been a thorn in Vladimir Putin’s side. Navalny was … Continue reading "Courage to the Point of Insanity: Alexei Navalny’s Return to Russia"

On August 24th, 1991 Ukraine declared its independence from and dissolution of formal ties with the USSR. Ukraine was supposed to be entering a new era of independent rule, democratic governance and a vibrant free market economy. However, this optimistic vision quickly proved to be a mirage. Between 1991 and 1999, Ukraine’s GDP PPP per … Continue reading "Socialism Without a Plan, Capitalism Without Markets: Ukraine’s Economic Collapse in the 1990s"

On August 13th, 2021 Uganda held general elections for president and parliament. The elections pitted Yoweri Museveni, the 75 year old president of Uganda since 1986 seeking a sixth term, against Robert Kyagulanyi, a 38 year old Reggae star better known as Bobi Wine. The results of the elections themselves are not in question. Businessmen … Continue reading "Aging Autocrat vs. The Ghetto President: Uganda’s Spectacularly Unfair Elections"