On September 15th 2008, the day on which Lehman Brothers collapsed, the global financial system suffered a heart attack that nearly destroyed the global economy. If we analogize the economy to the human body, than the financial system is like the circulatory system pumping capital to where it is needed most. In 2008, Wall Street, … Continue reading "China’s Clogged Financial Arteries: What Are the Risks of a Financial Crisis in China?"

On December 30th 2018, the Democratic Republic of the Congo held elections for the presidency. The elections were due in December of 2016, but has been delayed time after time. Hopes for the 2018 elections have been low, as the government had barred many leading opposition candidates from running, and government suppression of the media. The … Continue reading "Rumble in the Jungle: Martin Fayulu vs. Emmanuel Shadary vs. Félix Tshisekedi"

Spend any time in the slums of Nairobi, or rural Bangladesh and it is hard not to be struck by the proliferation of mobile phones. Many of the poorest households, often without access to electricity or running water, will own a cell phone. Many of the poorest countries in the world are in the midst … Continue reading "No More Banana Phones: How the Smartphone Revolution is Changing the Fight Against Global Poverty"

On December 30th, 2018 Bangladesh held general elections that will steer the course of the countries politics. Over the last twenty years, Bangladesh has emerged as one of the world’s surprise development stories. Bangladesh’s economy consistently grows at a rate of over 7% a year, it has emerged as one of the world’s largest makers … Continue reading "Mostly By Crook: Bangladesh’s Farcical Elections"

Every winter, the air of Delhi becomes an unbreathable morass. By some estimates, breathing one day of Delhi air when air quality is at it’s worst is equivalent to smoking 44 cigarettes and the toxic air reduces life expectancy by approximately six years. The burden of air pollution falls especially hard on the elderly and … Continue reading "Delhi Can’t Breathe: Why Do Indian City’s Have the Most Polluted Air on the World?"

Since 1950, the word has produced 8.3 billion tons of plastic, and 322 million in 2015 alone. Plastic utensils and other waste is filling up our landfills and choking our oceans. Plastic can only be properly recycled after being sorted and graded, a labor intensive process that most wealthy consumers are unwilling to do. As … Continue reading "Is One Country’s Trash, Another Country’s Treasure?"

In just 100 days, almost one million Tutsis, moderate Hutu and Twa were massacred in one of the most brutal episodes of violence n modern history. Today’s podcast episode is about the process of rebuilding from the ravages of the genocide. Paul Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front that took power after 1994 have overseen … Continue reading "No Child Without Vaccination, No Family Without Health Insurance: The Political Economy of Public Health in Rwanda"

On October 26th, the President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, dismissed then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe from office and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mahinda Rajapaksa had served as President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015. He was a controversial leader in part for the brutal tactics used by the Sri Lankan army used … Continue reading "Games of Thrones, Sri Lanka Edition?"

In 1948, US president Harry Truman announced the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and Japan in the aftermath of the destruction of World War II. The United States invested over $100 billion to rebuild these nations, and Europe and Japan rapidly exceded prewar levels of prosperity.  After the US overthrew the Taliban regime in 2001, … Continue reading "Grand Theft Afghanistan: What Happened to the $126 Billion of Reconstruction Aid Spent in Afghanistan?"

On November 8th, Jorge Enrique Pizano died of an apparent heart attack in his home. One week later, his son died from cyanide poisoning after drinking a bottle of water on his father’s death. The death was doubly suspicious because Jorge Enrique Pizano is at the center of a massive Colombian scandal. The investigation into … Continue reading "Who Killed Jorge Enrique Pizano?"