Price Shock: The World Economy, Upside Down
Date
June 27, 2022
Guests
Rupert Russell
June 27, 2022 — Inflation in the U.S. has reached its highest point since 1981. In developing nations, the problem is even worse. The UN says thirty-seven nations are in need of food, but can’t afford it, triggering fears of food riots. So what makes prices for necessary things – like food and fuel – so volatile?
This week, we revisit a conversation with filmmaker Rupert Russell about his book and film, “Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World.” Russell connects the dots between the cost of bread and oil to political upheaval around the world, and he explains why price swings by market players cause famine, conflict and crisis.
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In collaboration with Foreign Policy, we bring you the lesser-known role of women’s rights in the fight to end apartheid, and how the current struggle to reform sexist property laws in South African courts is keeping...
South Africa Since Apartheid: Has Democracy Worked?
In this episode, a co-production with Foreign Policy, we take a look at South Africa’s path to political and economic equality. Political scientist Evan Lieberman joins Voice of America’s “Straight Africa...
The Price Haitians Have Paid for Freedom
Ray Suarez sits down with Haitian author Évelyne Trouillot and historian Leslie Alexander for a conversation about Haiti’s turbulent history since its revolution.
Zero Sum, Zero Change: What Racism Costs Everyone
Policy expert Heather McGhee joins Ray Suarez to discuss her new book and podcast, "The Sum of Us", and the burgeoning cross-racial alliances pushing for real change.
“The Code of the Warrior” and Ethics on the Modern Battlefield
Shannon French, Inamori Professor in Ethics at Case Western Reserve University, joins Ray Suarez to chart the ever-evolving field of military ethics and its central role in keeping both civilians and soldiers safe.
A Blurred Civilian/Soldier Line? Accountability in the Age of Drones
Ray Suarez speaks with journalist Azmat Khan about accountability in the age of remote warfare, and the importance of civilian oversight in US military action.
Forging Identity After War: Activism and Storytelling
Aminatta Forna joins Ray to chat about legacy, trauma, and forging identity – and joy – in the aftermath of violence, in her recent essay collection, The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion.
Are Women the Future of Sierra Leone?
Chernor Bah shares how his early experiences with war and humanitarian aid inspired to create Purposeful, an Africa-rooted organization that challenges the long held assumption that men – and white donors – should...
Dr. Atul Gawande’s Prescription for COVID and Aging: What Can We Learn?
In this episode, Dr. Gawande and Ray Suarez discuss taking public health work to the global stage, and the immense challenges that lie ahead.
The New Story of Old Age: What Japan and the Pandemic Can Teach Us About Living Longer
MIT AgeLab's Joseph F. Coughlin talks about how leaps in technology have led to longer life spans — and why it may be the key to making the most out of borrowed time. Then, NYT's Motoko Rich shares how this demographic...
Forty Years After Vincent Chin, Asian Americans Continue to Fight Hate
Ray Suarez speaks with filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña and activist Helen Zia about the ongoing fight to recognize diverse Asian-American histories, challenging stereotypes and what justice means today.
The Story of Vincent Chin, and How It Became A Rallying Cry for Asian Americans
In this episode, we revisit an interview with filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña about her documentary, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” to learn about the movement sparked by Chin’s story.
Bill Browder on Exposing Russia’s Web of Corruption, and Surviving Putin’s Wrath
In a gripping interview with Ray Suarez, Browder recounts a hunt for missing money that led him to discover a corruption and conspiracy plot involving Putin’s inner circle.
Scaling Up: Local Solutions to End Global Homelessness
Ray Suarez digs deeper into two homegrown, people-powered housing initiatives for urban and rural communities across South Asia. Then, Lydia Stazen shares how small-scale local programs can be scaled internationally to...
“Nixing” the Gold Standard: The Secret Meeting Behind Today’s Inflation
In the second episode of our two-part series on inflation, we return to a conversation between NPR’s Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley and Jeffrey Garten, an influential economist who served in multiple...
How To Save Diverse Democracies
Yascha Mounk joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart And How They Can Endure,” which challenges the assumptions of a modern pluralist society and imagines...
“Becoming American” with Wajahat Ali, Pt. 2
In the second part of his interview with Ray Suarez, author Wajahat Ali discusses how the war on terror shaped attitudes towards Muslims in the United States, and how the Muslim-American political identity evolved in its...
“Becoming American” with Wajahat Ali, Part 1
“The tragic history of America is that the rest of us have fought for a country and love a country when it doesn’t love us back,” Wajahat told Ray Suarez in a recent interview about his new memoir, Go Back to...
The Age of Disasters and the Future of Crisis Management
Ray Suarez speaks with "The Devil Never Sleeps" author, Juliette Kayyem, about what global communities can do to prepare before disaster strikes close to home.
NATO’s Past, Present & Future
Ray Suarez sits down with Ivo Daalder, former US Ambassador to NATO, to discuss the alliance’s evolution, the Russian “wake-up call” that placed it back in the news, and the future–and feasibility–of...
A Shadow Immigration System to Keep Migrants Out of Europe
KQED senior editor Rachael Myrow speaks with Sally Hayden, an Irish investigative journalist, about a shadowy immigration system funded by the E.U. which captures and imprisons North African migrants before they ever...
Remembering Dr. Paul Farmer
"On Shifting Ground" host Ray Suarez remembers Paul Farmer, the late physician and champion of global public health who inspired many by example.
