Poet Mahtem Shiferraw’s collection of poetry Fuchsia examines personal displacement and nomadism from the perspective of immigrants. Shiferraw , who grew up in Eritrea and Ethiopia before moving to Los Angeles, says she was inspired by poetry as a child. She attended an Italian school in Ethiopia, where she was immersed in a culture that embraced poetry.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss the lack of birth control in Venezuela, and the first meeting held between North and South Korea in more than two years. Then, Suzette talks with Jacob Poushter of the Pew Research Center about American public opinion of foreign policy, and the image of the United States in other countries.

Americans tend to be more interested in domestic policy than foreign policy, but they do pay attention and have opinions about international politics.

Zia Haider Rahman’s debut novel, In the Light of What We Know, covers a broad swath of topics, ranging from friendship, geopolitics, math and science. The novel opens when an old friend appears at the narrator’s door, and the two men in their early forties have very different stories to tell about their lives.

Suzette Grillot talks with British author Zia Haider Rahman about his novel, In the Light of What We Know . The book was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Rahman has also worked as a human rights lawyer, a banker and an anti-corruption activist.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise close out 2017 with an end-of-year discussion on some of the biggest international news events of the past 12 months. Copyright © 2017 KGOU Radio. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to KGOU Radio. Any use requires KGOU's prior permission.

Suzette Grillot talks to Jacob McCleland about corruption allegations in Panama and HIV/AIDS rates among indigenous Panamanians. Then, Suzette talks with World Neighbors' Regional Director for Latin American and Caribbean, about the NGO's development projects.

The Oklahoma City-based NGO World Neighbors works on a variety of development projects across the world. Lionel Vigil, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, says the NGO is focused on four components in his region: Sustainable agriculture, clean water, sanitation and savings and credit groups.

The recent surge of violence in Mexico is due to greater competition for territory between drug cartels, according to a University of Oklahoma political scientist. Charles Kenney told KGOU’s World Views the Mexican government’s war on drug cartels weakened some drug cartels, but others have stepped up to fill the void, creating violence.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise talk about the plight of journalists around the world and a recent change in indigenous law in Canada that could affect over a million women. Then, Suzette talks with Charlie Kenney about security and democratization in Mexico.