Zack, Jenn, and Alex go through the published excerpts from and quotes of John Bolton’s new book — a tell-all about his time as Trump’s national security adviser. They talk about the most shocking moment in the text, Trump’s alleged support for China putting Uighur Muslims in concentration camps, and run through some of the other revealing moments in the book and what they tell us about the way US foreign policy works today. Then they zoom out to this context: How much should we trust John Bolton’s version of events, and how angry should we be about his book coming out now rather than during Trump’s impeachment?

References:

Here are the three main write-ups of Bolton’s book in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Washington Post.

This is Bolton’s other book Alex mentioned.

Vox’s Jen Kirby has a helpful explainer on the Uighur issue.

Kirby also has a great piece on the seven most disturbing allegations in Bolton’s new book.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex continue last week’s conversation about the ongoing global reckoning surrounding race, this time focusing on the movement to remove controversial statues. In several Western countries — including the United States, Belgium, and the United Kingdom — people are demanding that statues of historically notable slave traders and imperialists be taken down. The Worldly team discusses the significance of these fights, and look to two other examples of countries that have dealt with issues of historical memory and atrocity: Germany and Japan.

References:

This is a good brief explainer on the Edward Colston statue coming down in the UK and his role in Bristol’s history: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/07/europe/edward-colston-statue-bristol/index.html

Here’s the Museums of Bristol website describing Colston as “revered philanthropist / reviled slave trader”: https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=2374

This is a good New York Times piece about the Leopold II statue in Antwerp, Belgium, coming down: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/world/europe/king-leopold-statue-antwerp.html

The book King Leopold’s Ghost goes deep into King Leopold II’s brutal exploitation of the Congo.

Jenn mentioned Sarah Wildman’s piece for Vox about how Germany has dealt with its past, which discusses the stolpersteine cobblestones and the Topography of Terror memorial: https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/16/16152088/nazi-swastikas-germany-charlottesville

Here’s a good piece about Belgium’s colonial-era human zoo and the museum where it once stood: https://www.npr.org/2018/09/26/649600217/where-human-zoos-once-stood-a-belgian-museum-now-faces-its-colonial-past

This is a good look at the comfort women statues in South Korea and Japan’s reaction to them: https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/11/13/563838610/comfort-woman-memorial-statues-a-thorn-in-japans-side-now-sit-on-korean-buses

And here’s Belgian soccer player Romelu Lukaku discussing his experience in his own words: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/romelu-lukaku-ive-got-some-things-to-say

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

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If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the global impact of the anti-police violence protests in America. They talk about large solidarity protests across Europe, explaining why and how they’re such a big deal, and how police violence against foreign journalists is affecting relationships with key allies like Australia. They also talk about how hostile dictatorships, like China and Iran, are exploiting racial tensions to hurt America’s global image and deflect criticism from their own human rights abuses — a tactic with deep Cold War roots.

CORRECTION: We misstated the Canadian city that saw a recent police crackdown against protesters. That occurred in Montreal. We regret the error.

References:

Here’s Vox’s story on the Lafayette Square attack by federal officials.

Friend of the show Jen Kirby has a great piece on how the Floyd protests have gone global.

The decolonization statistics Jenn cited come from the State Department.

You can read more about the European cases Alex listed here.

Alex wrote on the US-Australia rift over the attack on two Australian journalists.

Here’s Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pausing for 21 seconds after fielding a question on events in the US.

Time magazine had a good piece on US adversaries using the protests to criticize America.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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Alex and Jenn are joined by returning guest Jen Kirby to discuss the political scandal roiling the UK, in which a top political adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, got caught taking a 260-mile road trip while the rest of the country was on lockdown due to the coronavirus. The Worldly crew discusses why a seemingly trivial violation has become a huge political firestorm, and what it says about the US that something like this wouldn’t even register as a blip on the radar screen of Trump administration scandals.

References:

The BBC has a great timeline of the Cummings scandal.

There’s a smart, short explainer of the whole ordeal at Slate.

You can watch the whole interview with the Scottish woman here.

Vox’s Jen Kirby has an excellent profile of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Yes, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner really did skirt coronavirus guidelines to drive to New Jersey.

Vox also has a thorough explainer on Trump accusing Joe Scarborough of murder.

Hosts:

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about the global spread of the idea that hydroxychloroquine can treat coronavirus. Americans know it as Trump’s favorite drug, but the idea actually started with a famous contrarian doctor in France — and its most fervent acolyte in politics is the Brazilian president, not the American one. They talk about how faith in the drug spread globally, despite a lack of evidence and considerable reason to worry about its side effects, and how it exemplifies a style of politics that academics have termed “medical populism.”

References:

The Guardian has a great story on the origins of how hydroxychloroquine became a global phenomenon.

Here’s that study on “medical populism” we talked about so much.

Populists around the world are turning to hydroxychloroquine, reports the Washington Post.

The New York Times has a thorough profile of French doctor Didier Raoult.

You can find the video of Brazilians singing about the drug to President Bolsonaro here.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about the idea of a US-China “cold war” — a notion that’s been around for a while, but has become super popular since the coronavirus has turned into a blame game between the world’s two leading powers. They discuss what it would mean for the countries to be in such a conflict, compare it to the actual Cold War, debate whether the term really applies to the US, and wrap up by talking about how or whether tensions between Washington and Beijing could successfully be dialed down. There are references to Blink-182, The Office, and thumb war.

References:

Alex wrote about how China is exploiting the coronavirus crisis to achieve its goals faster.

Here’s Vice President Mike Pence’s China speech at the Hudson Institute.

There really are a lot of stories — see here, here, and here — on the US-China “cold war.”

Everything you wanted to know about the Thucydides trap.

And here’s that Chinese rap video Jenn mentioned.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the bonkers story of a botched invasion attempt of Venezuela, reportedly led by a group of US-based mercenaries. They explain the truly bizarre backstory of the head merc, former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau; discuss how a slapdash plan to topple President Nicolás Maduro reportedly came together in partial coordination with the Venezuelan opposition; and zoom out to look at what this fiasco says about Venezuelan politics and the role of private military contractors in world affairs. There is, of course, a lengthy discussion of Machiavelli.

References:

There are a lot of good reports on what happened, but this one by the Washington Post is comprehensive and easy to understand.

Here’s the video of Jordan Goudreau announcing the raid.

Now you can dig around Silvercorp USA’s Instagram page just like Jenn.

This story from the Sun-Sentinel details Goudreau’s Puerto Rico trip to make money.

Here’s a tweet featuring images of the IDs of the two captured Americans.

The New York Post has a video of the moment the mercenaries were detained.

New York magazine details some of the sillier moments.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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The Worldly team takes a break from the coronavirus doom and gloom to talk about some other big news: the Pentagon’s confirmation this week that it has, in fact, filmed at least three instances of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). They break down the footage, debate what the videos might actually show, talk about the Cold War history of US government investigations into UFOs, and explore how UFOs play into international relations and deeper concepts about religion and humanity. There’s also a surprise guest appearance at the very end! Oh, and LOTS of X-Files jokes.

References:

It’s true: The Pentagon officially released three videos showing three aerial objects it could not explain.

Alex has two stories on Area 51.

Popular Mechanics has a smart longread on the Pentagon’s secret UFO program.

Here’s a video debunking the claim that images in the Pentagon’s release show alien spacecraft.

Jenn noted all the now-declassified history of the US government’s digging into UFOs. Here’s stuff from the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and the 1968 Condon Report.   

Check out renowned international relations theorist Alexander Wendt’s UFO’s paper.

Zack mentioned an article in the Conversation about why UFOs deserve scientific study.

Byrd recommends this book about our “alien oceans.”

Here’s Byrd’s conversation with the Vatican’s chief astronomer.

Vox’s interview with a religion scholar on UFOs is worth your time.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about the coronavirus situation in sub-Saharan Africa and South America, two regions that have so far been mostly spared the worst of the virus. They explain why experts say there could soon be major outbreaks on both continents, and discuss the structural reasons why the social distancing policies that have helped slow the spread of the disease in Asia, Europe, and the US may not be feasible in Africa and South America.

References:

Alex has stories on how the coronavirus will affect sub-Saharan Africa and South America.

It’s worth understanding the crisis in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Richer countries are outbidding poorer ones on resources to combat the coronavirus, the New York Times reports.

Politico notes that African countries want debt relief so they can focus on public health programs.

The Guardian has an important story on the tough choices facing poor families in Latin America.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

Your financial contribution will make vital explanatory journalism possible at a time when clear, concise information is needed more than ever. Thank you for supporting Vox.

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about Trump’s plan to freeze US funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), ostensibly in retaliation for its failures in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. The team discusses the very real problems with the organization’s response and why cutting global health funding during a pandemic is both dangerous and geopolitically shortsighted.

References:

Vox has a story explaining how Trump’s poor coronavirus response isn’t the WHO’s fault.

Here’s that disastrous WHO tweet Zack cited.

Vox also has a piece on how China obfuscated early information on the coronavirus outbreak.

Time has a story on what critics are saying about Trump’s WHO decision.

In February, the Council on Foreign Relations had a blog post on the WHO’s missteps.

The New York Times explains why Trump’s WHO play is just a way to shift blame.

Here’s the clip of the WHO official hanging up on a reporter after questions about Taiwan.

Vox’s explainer on the coronavirus has a lot of important information about the pandemic.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

 

Consider contributing to Vox:

Your financial contribution will make vital explanatory journalism possible at a time when clear, concise information is needed more than ever. Thank you for supporting Vox.

 

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

 

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

 

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