Rebecca Cruise talks to Joshua Landis about the latest developments in Syria. Then, Suzette Grillot interviews writer, translator and journalist Achy Obejas. They talk about Cuba, literature and why rupture is a major theme of Obejas's work.

Even though Achy Obejas’s family left Cuba when she was very young, the island nation has an enormous influence on her work. Obejas is a writer, translator and journalist whose novels include Memory Mambo , Days of Awe and Ruins . She has also written collections of stories and poems. Obejas told KGOU’s World Views that Cuba is the subject of her work because she often focuses on rupture. “If it hadn't been for forces outside of our family, my family would have remained in Cuba,” Obejas said.

Sharing small amounts of money with poor people can help alleviate poverty and spur economic growth. In his book Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution , anthropologist James Ferguson focuses on the question of who is owned what. He is particularly interested in the question of what claims poor people have, and the kinds of resources that can be shared with them.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise talk about giant lily pads that have reappeared in Paraguay, and how drought is India is affecting world chickpea prices . Then, Suzette talks with James Ferguson, author of Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution , about how small cash payments to poor people can help alleviate poverty and spur economic growth.

Adnan Mahmutovic fled the war-torn former Yugoslavia as a teenager, and settled as a refugee in Sweden. He began working as a care assistant for a man who had suffered a stroke, and the job became his introduction to Swedish life.

Valzhyna Mort grew up in Belarus as the Soviet Union collapsed, and she’s spent her entire career using poetry to dispel misconceptions and bring her country out of Russia’s shadow. “A great myth was that it was a really big reading nation, and I don’t know if it was really true, in terms of how much reading was done,” Mort told KGOU’s World Views. “But it’s certainly true that every household had a library. No matter what your parents did, how educated they were, you had a library.” She played

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise talk about the Trump administration's decision to forego its planned appointment of an ambassador to South Korea. They'll also discuss Israel's first use of an anti-boycott law after the singer Lorde canceled her concert there. Then, Suzette talks with writer Adnan Mahmutavic . He's a professor at the University of Stockholm and the author of several books, including How to Fare Well and Stay Fair . They'll talk about Adnan's life as a refugee and finding humor

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss protests in French over Dutch experiments with pulse fishing, and ongoing protests in India over a Bollywood film. Then, Rebecca talks with Andrea Glorioso, counsellor for digital economy for the European Union’s delegation to the United States, about the EU's digital single market plans.

Retailers and consumers in the European Union face barriers when trying to conduct business online. An effort to implement a digital single market could change that. The EU’s digital single market , or DSM, plan could improve e-commerce across borders within the union, modernize copyright regulations and improve cybersecurity, among other goals.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise talk about the current political, economic and social environment in Rio de Janeiro. They'll also discuss a recent poll that shows a general decline in support for the United States and President Trump around the world. Then, Suzette talks with Mahtem Shiferraw . She's a poet who grew up in Eritrea and Ethiopia, whose collection of poetry, Fuchsia , examines concepts of personal displacement and nomadism.