Worldly

Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down the week’s big nuclear news — the US-North Korea summit in Vietnam and the recent round of hostilities between India and Pakistan. They go over the nitty-gritty of Trump’s somewhat surprising failure to strike a deal with Kim Jong Un, explaining how the talks collapsed, and what it means for the future. Then they talk about why the conflict over Kashmir is flaring up, and just how worried you should be about a war between these two nuclear-armed states. Zack powers through a cold, Alex powers through a North Korea-related lack of sleep, and Jenn makes a fantastic pun on the phrase “peace out.”

Here are two articles Alex wrote explaining what happened at the summit.

For background, here’s where we were in 2017 and how the first North Korea summit changed everything.

Alex’s exclusive on what the deal could have looked like.

A full transcript of the summit press conference.

Alex mentioned that National Security Adviser John Bolton’s position is very hawkish. 

The India-Pakistan escalating tensions, summarized.

Our Worldly episode about Kashmir.

More on Jaish-e-Mohammed and Daniel Pearl.

Zack mentioned the party dynamics in India — here’s a deeper dig into those.

We took a clip from this video of a captured Indian pilot.

The Pentagon statement that the acting defense secretary was only calling American officials.

Zack talked about the role the US played in the 2001 India-Pakistan crisis. 

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This week’s show takes all four of our popular Elsewhere music segments and puts them together in one special episode! Zack, Jenn, and Alex take you through a range of different acts: pioneering K-pop artists, a dissident Turkish Marxist band, one of Zack’s favorite British indie artists, and a Nigerian spin on Childish Gambino’s “This is America.” They play a bit of each song and then talk about the important messages they contain about the country they hail from. It’s a little break from the headlines, and a chance to learn about international culture and politics from an angle that the show doesn’t usually take.

The Suga song we played, “The Last 마지막”

Check on Vox’s Netflix show, which has an entire episode dedicated to explaining K-pop.

K-Pop stars are increasingly singing and talking about mental health. But it’s still unusual. Most K-Pop is sanitized after years of censorship. It’s fun, fluffy, romantic but chaste stuff, not things like, “I was afraid of people, so I hid in the bathroom and stared at myself.” 

Vox has all you need to know about BTS, the world’s chart-topping K-pop band.

Suicide ranks as the top cause of death among those ages 10 to 39 in South Korea.

Grup Yorum are longtime sympathizers of a Marxists terrorist group in Turkey, DHKP-C.

Here’s the song we played a short segment from.

Currently, 11 members of the band are in jail; two have sought asylum in France. In October, the lawyer defending the arrested Grup Yorum members in trial was himself jailed.

 “The Fall of Home” by Los Campesinos

Falz’s adaptation of “This is America,” “This is Nigeria.” NPR did a deep dive on the song and discussed it with Nigerian scholars. 

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Zack and Jenn are joined by Jen Kirby, one of Vox’s foreign affairs reporters, to discuss what has emerged as the biggest hurdle to the Brexit process: the border between the Republic of Ireland and British-controlled Northern Ireland. They go back in time, starting with the 1920s and going forward to the Northern Irish conflict known as “the Troubles,” to examine the reasons why keeping the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland open is so important. They explain how Brexit threatens to close the border, and how this issue is derailing the entire Brexit process. Zack notes that people don’t like walls, Jenn says the phrase “totes not renegotiate,” and Kirby blasts the “butterflies and unicorn” vision for Brexit.

Jen Kirby recommends this wonky deep-read on the backstop.

Here’s more on Gerry Adams’s role in the Troubles and the allegations that he was directly involved in the IRA’s violent activities … and here’s more on his forthcoming cookbook.

Our explainer of the historic vote down that Jen Kirby mentioned … and our episode breaking down that historic vote.

Jen’s piece on this comes out soon! 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down a new intelligence report that directly contradicts President Trump’s views on key policy issues from ISIS to climate change. The report caused Trump to blast his own spies on Twitter, writing that “Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!” — a shockingly public attack that illustrates just how broken US foreign policy is under Trump. On Elsewhere, the group runs through a medley of interesting topics they couldn’t cover during the month of music segments, a lightning round that ranges from Russian post offices selling beer to a rogue Japanese city mascot.

Links:

We talked a lot about the most recent Worldwide Threat Assessment report this episode. You can read it in full, or read Alex’s write-up.

We dropped in clips of Trump on North Korea, Iran, climate change, Vladimir Putin, and ISIS.

This oral history of how Obama and his intelligence officials talked about Osama bin Laden is worth your time.

Yes, Trump basically called US spies Nazis one time.

The evidence that both the intelligence community and the Bush administration screwed up Iraq intelligence before the 2003 war is quite overwhelming.

The BBC has covered the new availability of beer at Russian post offices.

Here’s the New York Times article about Chiitan that Zack referenced.

The video of Chiitan stealing a baseball bat from a locker.

Enjoy the full F-35 rollout rave experience for yourself.

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down the political crisis in Venezuela — a country in economic free fall where two men are each claiming to be the sole legitimate president. They run through 20 years of Venezuelan history, explaining how a unique economic-political ideology called “Chavismo” brought us to this point, and discuss what could happen next now that the Trump administration has backed one of the men's claims. On Elsewhere, they wrap up the music series with a breakdown of an ingenious Nigerian riff on Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” Zack doesn’t totally hate something Trump did, Alex goes down a YouTube rabbit hole, and Jenn tries to chart a middle ground for what could happen next in Venezuela.

Alex wrote a very thorough explainer on all the goings-on in Venezuela.

This piece will give you even more backstory on Hugo Chavez, and the team recommended this explainer on how things went so terribly wrong with the Venezuelan economy. 

For more on Maduro taking over after Chavez’s death in the controversial 2013 election, Jenn suggested this piece. We also have a piece diving into the elections from last year.

And here are more examples of the effects that the economic downturn is having — from shortages of toilet paper to shortages of food.

Zack said that most of the country is living under the poverty line as part of the worst depression anywhere on the planet. Here’s the analysis to back that claim. 

Maduro’s approval rating is very low.

Alex cited a Wall Street Journal op-ed written by Vice President Mike Pence. Here it is in full. We also played part of this address from Pence.

Trump mentioned a military option in Venezuela at one point. More on that here.

Jenn recommended this explanation of George H.W. Bush’s rhetorical support for the 1991 Iraqi uprising and the subsequent massacre that occurred when the US ultimately decided not to intervene to stop the government crackdown. She also mentioned the uprising in Egypt.

Zack suggested this book for anyone who wants to read more about the history of US interventions in Latin America and South America.

Alex and Jenn talked about a small, unsuccessful military mutiny in Venezuela.

Zack talked about Vincent Bevins’ Twitter thread wondering what the future holds for Venezuela.

On Elsewhere, we heard Falz’s adaptation of “This is America,” “This is Nigeria.” NPR did a deep dive on the song and discussed it with Nigerian scholars. 

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This week, Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down the UK parliament’s very big, very bizarre week of voting. On Tuesday, Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal by a huge margin; on Wednesday, they voted to keep May in office despite having just shot down her central policy. The Worldly team breaks down how this could have happened, what it means, and what happens to Brexit next. On Elsewhere, they continue the music series with a focus on one of Zack’s favorite bands — the British indie group Los Campesinos! — and how one of their newer songs reveals some of the social divisions fueling right-wing populism in the West. Zack gets angry about Brexit, Jenn reveals some confusion about “economics,” and Alex cites well-known European politics scholar Katy Perry.

Links!

Brexit votes this week, explained

Zack mentioned that the Bank of England predicts that a No Deal Brexit could be worse for the country than the Great Recession.

Jenn mentioned that a second referendum was gaining popularity. Here’s Vox’s Jen Kirby’s Q&A with People’s Vote UK, the grassroots organization that’s leading the campaign to hold a second referendum.

Zack mentioned that a leave claim proved false the day after the first vote. Specifically, it was a health care funding claim that turned out to be false.

The BBC interview with a British woman about a second referendum.

Zack’s piece arguing that there’s nothing May could have done.

 “The Fall of Home” by Los Campesinos

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This week, Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the burgeoning protest movement against Sudan’s longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. Bashir, who was responsible for the Darfur genocide and once sheltered Osama bin Laden, did not face a major uprising during the 2011 Arab Spring — but now is dealing with something similar, an uprising that could topple his regime. On Elsewhere, they continue the series on music, this time discussing a Turkish band called Grup Yorum that has gotten into major hot water with the country’s government. Zack has thoughts on the piccolo, Jenn breaks down Lindsay Lohan’s unlikely Turkish connection, and Alex quotes Heath Ledger’s Joker. References and further reading: If you want to dig deeper into Omar al-Bashir’s relationship with Osama bin Laden, Jenn recommends this book. For more on the Sudanese government’s role in the 1993 WTC bombing, page 121 of this book is a good place to start. The BBC has a very informative Q&A about Darfur. The official ICC page for al-Bashir. Jenn recommends this book for anyone who wants to understand the civil war that eventually led to South Sudan’s independence. This piece goes into more detail on the US decision to lift the sanction on Sudan. We played a small clip from this longer Al Jazeera segment on the Sudan protests, and Alex described this video of the protests. If you want to read more about the protests and the price of bread, the team recommends these three pieces. Jenn talked a little bit about “ghost troops,” but here’s more information on those.   Sudanese protesters were killed on Wednesday as part of the crackdown. A more in-depth read on Mubarak stepping down in Egypt. A guide to how the Syrian civil war started, which explains why people are worried about something similar in Sudan. Why Sudan didn’t get large Arab Spring protests back in 2011. Here’s why one Sudanese expert thinks the military might topple al-Bashir. Jenn mentioned a Daily Beast interview with a former CIA agent who talked about Sudan. Grup Yorum are longtime sympathizers of a Marxists terrorist group in Turkey, DHKP-C. Here’s the song we played a short segment from. Currently, 11 members of the band are in jail; two have sought asylum in France. In October, the lawyer defending the arrested Grup Yorum members in trial was himself jailed. 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss what President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to withdraw US troops from Syria means for that country, ISIS, and Iran. After all, nobody — including leading US officials and America’s allies — really wants Trump to do this. For Elsewhere, the crew kicks off a four-part series on how musicians around the world are using their songs to illuminate serious issues in their countries. This week, they discuss a K-pop song that highlights South Korea’s growing mental health crisis. Zack compares a South Korean song to Linkin Park, Jenn blasts Obama, and Alex suggests a slogan for Trump. References: Here’s what you need to know about Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. This BBC piece gives a good overview on Obama’s Syria strategy. The Trump administration said it would stay in Syria to keep Iran out. Oops. You can listen to the full clip of Pompeo’s remarks here. Vox made a video about the Kurds and their efforts to create their own state. As Zack noted, Turkey has attacked the Kurds in Syria before. It appears Turkey’s president told Trump that his country would defeat ISIS. Vox has Mattis’s resignation letter. Without US long-term protection, the Kurds have asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for help. Jenn said Obama lost Syria, an argument many experts make. Many experts, including US officials and allies, say the withdrawal is a mistake. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk said soon before the withdrawal decision that the US would stay in Syria for the foreseeable future. The US military was in Syria without any real congressional authorization. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu asked Trump for a slow withdrawal from Syria. Jenn recalls Trump blaming Obama for his withdrawal from Iraq, thereby giving ISIS the space to grow in power. Trump clearly views Syria as a land of “sand and death.” The Suga song we played, “The Last 마지막” Check on Vox’s Netflix show, which has an entire episode dedicated to explaining K-pop. K-Pop stars are increasingly singing and talking about mental health. But it’s still unusual. Most K-Pop is sanitized after years of censorship. It’s fun, fluffy, romantic but chaste stuff, not things like, “I was afraid of people, so I hid in the bathroom and stared at myself.”   Vox has all you need to know about BTS, the world’s chart-topping K-pop band. Suicide ranks as the top cause of death among those ages 10 to 39 in South Korea. 

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In this re-run Jenn, Zack, and Alex Ward discuss Europe’s political meltdown over migration, which Zack got a firsthand look at during a trip to Hungary last week funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. They start by airing Zack’s interview with Ibrar Hussein Mirzai, a young migrant who made the harrowing journey to Hungary from Pakistan, and zoom out to explain how the anti-migration sentiment that made Ibrar’s journey miserable also produced serious political turmoil in Germany. Some parts of this episode are a little out of date. The original ran in July 2018. Links: The man we heard from in this episode, Ibrar, was also featured on NPR. You can hear more from him and see a picture of him in that story. An in-depth look at Merkel’s migrant deal from the New York Times. For more context on the Hungary-Germany relationship, Zack recommends this piece. 

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