The Elucidators: Decoding Global News

What Just Happened In The United States?

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:31:32 +0000

The Elucidators return after a week off to discuss the results of the presidential election in the United States, which, while decisive, are still playing out for some very irritating, unfortunate, and potentially dangerous reasons.

While all of that nonsense fulminates, the entire world also received some excellent news on the COVID-19 vaccine front: Pfizer announced that its vaccine candidate (developed in collaboration with German firm BioNTech) is 90% effective, a truly spectacular result after less than a year of development.

NOTE TO OUR AUDIENCE: We're going on hiatus for the holidays and may or may not return in the New Year, depending on how we're feeling. If this turns out to be our last episode, we want to thank each and every one of you for listening over the past 15 months. We hope that the show's been both informative and entertaining, although we'll settle for either one of those :)

Episode Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Will We Ever Get Rid Of Nuclear Weapons?

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 02:33:08 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re digging into one of our very favorite topics: the future of nuclear weapons! As of this past weekend, 50 countries have ratified the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, a UN-backed effort to relegate nukes to the dustbin of history. But stuffing the nuclear genie back into its bottle won’t be easy, especially with a potential arms race brewing between the US, Russia and China, and new entrants to the nuclear club like North Korea upping their warhead counts. Will we ever get to full disarmament? Should we even want to? Let’s discuss!

Episdoe Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash

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Thailand's Royal Mess

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:19:32 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we journey to Thailand, which most Westerners associate with pristine beaches and a welcoming, peaceful culture. Little do most outsiders know that the “Land of Smiles,” despite its many charms, has long been one of the least politically stable countries in the world. This year, tens of thousands of protestors have been in the streets of Bangkok and other major Thai cities, calling for changes to a supposedly constitutional monarchy that has been cooperating with the military to consolidate absolute power. Now Thailand stands on a knife’s edge between reform and escalation, and we’re here to give you the 411.

Episode Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

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Warnings from the Far Right

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 03:07:05 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we take a brief detour to one of the nastier places in modern politics: the Far Right. Right-wing extremists ranging from anti-government militias to neo-Nazi parties have been increasingly vocal in the United States and Europe in recent years, and this year’s chaos seems to have kicked extremist activity up another notch. Who are these people? Where are they active? What do they believe? And most importantly, how dangerous are they? Stay tuned for some answers!

Episode photo: Anthony Crider / Wikimedia Commons

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Fishing For A Brexit Deal

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 8 Oct 2020 23:00:00 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re checking in on Brexit! The seemingly endless wrangling between the United Kingdom and the European Union to decide their post-divorce economic relationship is nearing a hard stop at the end of this year. The next few weeks may be the last, best chance for the two sides to avoid an economically catastrophic no-deal outcome. Will UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deliberately irrational negotiating style pay off, or is he trying to play chicken with a cliff? We’ve got answers!

Episode photo credit: Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

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Rumble In The Caucasus

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 1 Oct 2020 23:00:00 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we step into the Caucasus, a mountainous Eurasian region where an ongoing rivalry between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh has erupted into open fighting. Could neighboring Great Powers Turkey and Russia be drawn into a larger war that neither really wants to fight? Boy... We sure hope not!

Episode art credit: Achemish / Wikimedia Commons

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Taiwan In China's Crosshairs

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 23:00:14 +0000

This week on the Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we journey to one of the most dangerous places on Earth, the Taiwan Strait, a narrow body of water that separates the island nation of Taiwan from the People’s Republic of China. This past weekend, China sent dozens of warplanes across the Strait’s median line, sending an unmistakably threatening message to the vibrant democracy it has always regarded as a renegade province. Does this mean war? Stay tuned and find out!

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Decoding the COVID Economy With Prof. Ryan Weldzius

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, ryan weldzius, pete newsom) — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 23:00:05 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, friend of the show Prof. Ryan Weldzius of Villanova University swings by to give us the 411 on the global economy in 2020 and beyond. The COVID pandemic has disrupted every major economy in the world, from the United States to the European Union to China, and kicked off what appears to be a new era of fragmentation in international economic relationships. What does all this mean for us in the short, medium, and long terms? We’ve got answers!

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Hero of Hotel Rwanda Arrested

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 22:59:46 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re checking into the situation in Rwanda, where Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager whose heroism during the 1994 Genocide inspired the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda, has been arrested and accused of terrorism. What does this surprising move on the part of authoritarian President Paul Kagame mean for this small country that is sometimes called “the Switzerland of Africa,” belying its tragic history? Stick with us and we will Elucidate!

Episode Photo by Adam Jones on Wikimedia Commons

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Sayonara Shinzo-San: Japan's Longest-Serving PM Steps Down

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 3 Sep 2020 23:02:59 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we go to Japan, where Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Prime Minister in modern Japanese history, is stepping down after eight years in office. After Japan suffered through decades of economic stagnation and decline, Abe attempted to make major reforms in both the domestic and foreign policy arenas to get the country moving again. Has he succeeded in bringing America’s most important military ally, which is also still the world’s third-largest economy, into the 21st century? Let us elucidate!

Episode Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash

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Everyone (Doesn't) Love Erdogan!

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 23:00:12 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we dive into the deep blue waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey’s strongman President Erdogan is in a dispute with historic enemy (and fellow NATO member) Greece, along many other neighboring countries, over access to newly discovered oil and gas resources on the sea floor. Is Erdogan still making Turkey great again, or has he bitten off more beef than he can chew this time?

We’ll also get into Putin’s poisoned political nemesis Alexei Navalny, who is lying in a medically induced coma in a Berlin hospital.

As always, thanks for listening, and if you want to help us grow, please tell your friends about us. Onward and upward!

Episode Photo by Fatih Yürür on Unsplash

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The Abraham Accord Between Israel and UAE

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 23:00:23 +0000

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re going to discuss a big, symbolic diplomatic move that occurred in the Middle East last week: the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, two countries that have been in a formal state of hostilities for decades.

In one of the few successes the Trump Administration can claim for its foreign policy, it looks like the Arabs and Israelis may be putting aside their longstanding enmity to confront the nascent Iranian threat.

We’re also going to delve into the situation in Belarus, which might just be on the brink of a democratic “color revolution” after a fixed election, and we’ll also talk about how an Arctic heat wave is causing scientists to bump up their timelines for climate change — and not in a good way.

Episode Photo by Sander Crombach on Unsplash

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The Beirut Blast

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley, Pete Newsom) — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 23:43:44 +0000

This week on the Elucidators, we’re recording on Tuesday August 11th, a week after a massive blast hit Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut, one of the most culturally important metros in the Arab world, and a place that was once known as “The Paris of the Middle East.”

Sadly, a lethal blend of incompetence, corruption, oligarchic politics and explosive industrial chemicals has left Beirut and Lebanon on the brink of collapse.

Also this week, we’ll elucidate the next stage of the International Thermal Experimental Reactor, a fusion power project that has the potential to be a big piece of the climate change solution, and check in on which foreign powers are meddling in the 2020 US presidential election, and what they seem to be after.

As always, thanks for listening, and if you have any questions or comments, hit us up on our Facebook page or email us at theelucdiators@gmail.com.

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The Russian COVID-19 Vaccine(?), Hong Kong's Crackdown Goes International, Trump's TikTok Ban

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley, Pete Newsom) — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 23:00:11 +0000

This week on The Elucidators, we’re hitting three topics of note across the world of international relations. First off, the Russians claim to have won the race to a coronavirus vaccine... but they may have cut a few important corners on the way to first place. Second, in a predictable but still shockingly fast development, Hong Kong has used its new National Security Law to issue arrest warrants for 6 pro-democracy activists based in Western countries, including a lobbyist who has been a United States citizen for nearly 25 years. And finally, we’ll discuss President Trump’s threat to ban the explosively popular social media app TikTok from the United States for its connections to the Chinese Communist Party, if it doesn’t sell to Microsoft or another major US corporation in the next 45 days.

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Episode Photo by visuals on Unsplash

China And Ethiopia Do The Dam Thing

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 23:43:19 +0000

Modern hydroelectric dams are among the most economically consequential structures countries build. When they work well, they can protect downstream areas from devastating floods, while also providing steady water flow for agriculture and vast amounts of electricity for economic development.

On the other hand, their construction is often politically controversial, both within states and between them — and should one of these massive structures ever collapse, it can lead to truly catastrophic outcomes.

This week, we’re taking a look at two important dams that have come under different kinds of pressure: the Three Gorges Dam in China, which has entered the structural danger zone after two months of torrential rain, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia, which sits astride the Blue Nile river and has caused major tensions between East African powers Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

As always, thank you so much for listening —if you get a chance and you feel so inclined, please leave us a five star review or share us on social media.

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Will The European Union Throw Away Its Shot?

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, pete newsom) — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 22:53:30 +0000

Most Americans’ direct experience with the European Union is probably limited to the colorful Euro bills--featuring pictures of Roman arches and statues and such--that we use to buy stuff when touring Athens, or Paris, or Berlin, saving us from having to change money into a new national currency every time we switch cities.

But the European Union is so much more than the Euro: it’s a supranational institution of 27 different countries, and within that huge group it has a major say in everything from agricultural subsidies to data privacy to national debt.

And if the EU were a country, it would have the world’s largest economy and third-largest population, even now that the United Kingdom has brexited.

This week on the Elucidators, we’re going to discuss a historic step taken by the EU’s member states to try to rescue some of its financially weaker members from pandemic-related economic catastrophe. Will it bring the EU closer towards a United States of Europe, or are we maybe watching the beginning of the end for the EU? We have thoughts.

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Episode Cover Photo by Tabrez Syed on Unsplash

Not-So-Little Fires Everywhere in Iran

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley, Pete Newsom) — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:17:34 +0000

Iran's not in great shape.

A deeply unpopular government run by aging Islamic theocrats... a bad economy crippled by American sanctions... and a runaway COVID-19 pandemic have already combined to push this big, important Middle Eastern power towards the edge.

And now, on top of everything else, some of Iran's most sensitive military sites -- including the research center where the regime builds advanced centrifuges for potential use in a nuclear weapons program -- are blowing up and burning down.

Some of these incidents probably aren't accidents. Who's behind them (cough cough ISRAEL cough), and what does it mean? Steve and Pete investigate and elucidate!

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China Squashes Hong Kong With National Security Law

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley, Pete Newsom) — Thu, 9 Jul 2020 22:59:06 +0000

We've been keeping an eye on the situation in Hong Kong since last year, when hundreds of thousands of mostly youthful Hong Kongers hit the streets to demonstrate for increased autonomy and democracy. About a week ago, China's response arrived in the form of a very powerful new National Security Law, the import of which can be boiled down to one word: NOPE. In terms of basic freedoms like speaking one's mind, access to a jury trial, and warrants being required for searches, Hong Kongers literally went to sleep in the West on June 30 and woke up in Xi Jinping's China on July 1. What does this mean for Hong Kong's unique position between East and West? How about China's relationship with Western democracies, which has been under increasing strain in recent years? Steve and Pete elucidate (hey, that almost rhymes)!

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A Slightly Premature Yearly Retrospective

theelucidators@gmail.com (steve palley, soumi chatterjee, pete newsom) — Thu, 2 Jul 2020 22:29:47 +0000

This week, Steve and Soumi conduct a quick look back at 11 months of The Elucidators.

We started all the way back in August 2019, when giants walked the Earth, with our hot take on a mysterious nuclear explosion in northern Russia.

Then over the course of 44 near-weekly episodes, we jumped through every continent but Antarctica -- which is kind of lame so no big loss there -- tackling protests, pandemics, policy (of the foreign variety) and presidential elections, among many other topics.

And now we're here, once again in semi-quarantine, taking stock and thinking about how we're going to move forward with the show. Hint: when one titan of podcasting falls (hopefully temporarily), a new hero rises...

Black Lives Matter Everywhere

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 21:18:54 +0000

Black Lives Matter.

Due to social media technology, the filmed police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis traveled around the world in minutes. Now, what started out as a homegrown American movement a few years ago has gone global, with very large (and peaceful) anti-racism protests rippling from South Africa to South America.

Is this merely a striking moment that is destined to fade away over time? Or are we seeing the birth of a new international norm towards anti-racism and fair treatment of minorities?

This week, Steve and Soumi talk about this and much, much more!

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Is NATO Still Great-O?

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 02:29:17 +0000

@RealDonaldTrump threatened to pull out 1/3 of the American troops stationed in Germany…without telling Congress…or Ze Germans. Nice guy!

What does this mean for the future of NATO—the world’s oldest multinational military alliance—and the United States military presence in Europe? If we end up leaving, should we care? Why or why not?

This week, Steve, Soumi, and Galen discuss this…And MUCH MUCH MORE!

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Is China Making a Play for Hegemony, or is it Just the World's Biggest, Grouchiest Neighbor?

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 5 Jun 2020 02:37:44 +0000

You’re China. (Hi, China!)

In the last 8 months, you were the source of this century’s worst pandemic, bungled the early management of the outbreak at home, and mislead the international community about it for months.

But now that things are under control health-wise in the Middle Kingdom and the United States is distracted by major internal issues it's apparently time to settle some scores, starting with Hong Kong… and Taiwan… and India… and WHO ELSE WANTS SOME OF CHINA!?

This week Steve, Soumi, and Galen talk about China’s rise, whether or not it can be peaceful, and on what terms it can be successful given what's currently happening in the United States. And MUCH MUCH MORE!

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Donnie & The Deepfakes: Disinformation, COVID-19 and the 2020 Election

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 29 May 2020 01:32:25 +0000

Lies.

Malarkey.

Propaganda.

Fake news.

Misinformation.

Disinformation.

Weaponized Nonsense.

The internet has all of these… as well as… real public information and actual news!

This week, Steve and Soumi talk about the deluge of disinformation and how we all play part in spreading it, whether it comes from foreign governments or homegrown conspiracy theorists.

And, of course, we have to talk about the world’s most notable purveyor of fake news, President Donald Trump and the upcoming 2020 U.S. Presidential election...and much MUCH MORE!

Trump vs Xi Jinping vs Tedros: WHO Needs This During COVID-19?!

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 22 May 2020 00:41:51 +0000

Q: How did a mild-mannered Ethiopian microbiologist end up one of the most talked about people in the ongoing pandemic?

A: International politics.

This week, Steve and Soumi discuss how Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General, found himself in @RealDonaldTrump’s political crosshairs, as well as:

What is the WHO?

What did they know about the coronavirus outbreak?

Are they covering up for China?

What does all the fighting over COVID-19's origins portend for the emergence and implementation of a vaccine?

We cover this and much, much more!

Coronavirus in China: The Wuhan Flu, Man

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:26:02 +0000

Since we first discussed the #coronavirus outbreak in China last week, A LOT has changed:

There are now more than 7,800 confirmed #nCoV2019 cases and 212 deaths worldwide... as well as over a hundred full recoveries.
The vast majority of this activity remains in China, but we're seeing a handful of cases elsewhere, including other Asian countries, Germany, France, Australia, the United States, and Canada.
National health organizations are on high alert and WHO has declared a Global Health Emergency.
And China's major cities, including Wuhan, Shanghai, and Beijing, are entering progressively tougher states of quarantine and lockdown.

In this week’s episode, we discuss 3 big emerging challenges:

Xi Jinping has a serious dilemma on his hands: he must balance fighting a massive public health crisis against minimizing economic impacts that could damage the Communist Party politically.
In an information-sensitive environment, the spread of fake coronavirus news is running rampant, which will magnify the panic generated by an already serious situation.
If the world's second-largest economy shuts down for an extended period of time, which now seems likely, is a global recession around the corner?

Please like and subscribe… and more importantly, be safe out there and wash your hands all the freaking time, even if you're not in China, because it's flu season!

Further reading:

1. https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf62. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-29/coronavirus-timeline-from-wuhan-china-to-global-crisis/119032983. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2020/01/28/coronavirus-outbreak-airport-screening-seattle-detroit-la-chicago-jfk-dallas/4596689002/4. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/01/china-coronavirus-twitter/605644/5. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/01/how-fast-and-far-will-new-coronavirus-spread/605632/6. https://time.com/5772134/coronavirus-mild-symptoms/

Pandemic in China: Crouching Virus, Frightened Planet

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:34:15 +0000

This week, Steve and Soumi discuss the new #Coronavirus, the threats of pandemics in a globalized world, and what countries can do to handle problems that are bigger than nations.

Buckle up cuz #pandemics can come at you fast! Observe what's happened in the last three weeks:

December 31: China tells the World Health Organization (#WHO) about concerning pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan—the hub of central China’s (population 8-ish million). A quarantine and search for the sickness’s origins begin.

January 1: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#CDC) isolates the virus's origin to a Wuhan open-air livestock market; it’s promptly closed.

January 9: #WHO announces the sickness is new kind of coronavirus (like #SARS or #MERS). For now, it’s called #2019-nCov.

January 11: #2019-nCov claims its first life—a 61-year-old native of Wuhan; 41 Chinese diagnosed.

January 13: First #2019-nCov case reported in Thailand.

January 16: First #2019-nCov case reported in Japan.

January 17: Second #2019-nCov fatality reported. CDC starts screening Wuhan-passengers arriving into American airports (SFO, LAX, and JFK).

January 20: 3rd #2019-nCov fatality reported. 200+ cases reported in China. Chinese leaders publicly confirm that #2019-nCov is transmitting from person-to-person.Cases reported in #USA and #SouthKorea.

January 22: Airports around the world begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan. The WHO weighs declaring a global health emergency.

January 23: China confirms 17 dead and 500+ cases. #LunarNewYear celebrations, China’s biggest holiday (January 25th), cancelled in several cities including Beijing. Travel in and out of Wuhan is severely restricted.

Additional reading:1. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/21/health/wuhan-coronavirus-first-us-case-cdc-bn/index.html2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-20/asian-stocks-poised-to-drift-oil-pares-gains-markets-wrap3. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/02/07/512634375/map-find-out-what-new-viruses-are-emerging-in-your-backyard4. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-virus-factbox/what-we-know-about-the-new-coronavirus-spreading-in-china-and-beyond-idUSKBN1ZM0C75. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-21/coronavirus-how-we-should-prepare-for-the-next-pandemic6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2636331/7. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/23/coronavirus-timeline-from-wuhan-to-washington-state

Iran vs. USA: It Can Always Get Worse!

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:48:33 +0000

January 8: The Iranian regime says Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed a couple hours prior because of "mechanical errors."

January 11: Actually… we shot it down because we mistook it for an incoming missile. Also this is America’s fault! We will not take any questions about why a commercial flight was allowed to take off while we were launching missiles at the American troops in Iraq. Ahem. Yes.

Also January 11: Turning on a dime from mourning assassinated General Qassem #Soleimani to focusing rage on a hidebound regime, the Iranian people resume protesting in face of goons firing live ammo, even though 1500+ citizens have already died.

Now: These are extremely hard times in #Iran, where the 40-year-old Islamic Republic looks like it could be tottering. And you know what they say: a cornered foe can be more dangerous than a confident one...

This week, Steve and Soumi talk about the Islamic Republic's many difficult challenges, as well as how things in the Middle East could somehow be even scarier now than they were a month ago, even though everyone's stopped paying attention!

Further reading:1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-510690902. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-14/soleimani-strike-shows-trump-plan-for-iran-is-regime-disruption3. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/14/796260687/iran-makes-arrests-over-accidental-downing-of-ukrainian-airliner4. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/business/economy/iran-economy.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article5. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/world/europe/iran-nuclear-deal.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage6. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2020-parliamentary-election-causing-anxiety-tehran-191213162204935.html

Iran vs. USA: Tensions Drone On

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 9 Jan 2020 22:45:34 +0000

Follow this maze, if you can.

Last week, #Trump ordered the assassination of #Iran General Qassem #Soleimani as payback for Iran-linked Shia militias protesting in front of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, #Iraq.

The Iraqi parliament then passed a symbolic, non-binding measure to have the #Americans leave their country over this violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Meanwhile, after three days of official mourning for Soleimani, #Ayatollah # Khamenei violated Iraq’s sovereignty AGAIN by launching non-lethal missile attacks on Iraqi bases where American troops operate.

All this while folks all over the world were terrified that 41 years of tensions between Iran and the US would finally escalate into a proper, conventional war… or even #WW3!

At time of recording, it seemed as though tensions had receded somewhat, with Iran stating it had retaliated in a manner compliant with international law. Trump has come out and said that it's time to give diplomacy a chance. The Iraqis remain stuck in the middle.

BUT NOW, it appears that in this fog of almost-but-not-quite war, the Iranians may have accidentally(?) shot down a commercial flight filled with Iranians AND Canadians! Using Russian antiaircraft missiles!

This week, Steve and Soumi chip away at elucidating this incredibly tense and crazy situation.

Further Reading:

1. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander2. https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-dangers-posed-by-the-killing-of-qassem-suleimani3. https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/middleeast/us-strikes-iraq-syria-analysis-intl/index.html4. https://www.ft.com/content/40dc36ee-2b15-11ea-a126-99756bd8f45e5. https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-finally-fires-back-at-iran-115776620296. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/contractor-whose-death-trump-cites-was-a-naturalized-us-citizen-born-in-iraq/2020/01/07/afa7e774-31ac-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html7. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/07/middleeast/plane-crash-iran-intl-hnk/index.html

Iran vs. USA in Iraq: Green Zone Blues

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 3 Jan 2020 15:43:13 +0000

*BREAKING NEWS ALERT*

Just before we were about to post this episode Thursday evening, President Trump ordered a targeted assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike on Baghdad Airport.

Welp.

Soleimani was a) not a good guy in any way, shape or form, being responsible for Iran's proxy militias and therefore countless deaths across the Middle East over the course of decades; b) a major Iranian military hero and a beloved political figure who may himself have been Ayatollah someday.

Make no mistake: this is a choice, on the part of the Trump Administration, for escalation and probable war in the Middle East.

No doubt we will have more details for you soon.

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Are the United States and Iran on the verge of war?...Because of conflicts in Iraq?...Even though neither country wants war? ESPECIALLY in Iraq?...And do you need a flowchart to follow all the groups, interests, and possibilities entangled herein?

These questions are at the center of what looks like @RealDonaldTrump’s 1st big international crisis after a violent demonstration at U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.

The militias have since withdrawn, but relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States remain at their tensest point in years and close Middle East watchers are starting to warn that these two countries might be about to sleepwalk into a large-scale military conflict.

This week, Steve and Soumi elucidate this mess by going over the history of U.S.-Iraq-Iran relations and what lies ahead in this very central part of the Middle East.

Further Reading:

1. https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/irans-iraqi-militia-proxy-kataeb-hezbollah-explained?amp2. https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/middleeast/us-strikes-iraq-syria-analysis-intl/index.html3. https://www.ft.com/content/40dc36ee-2b15-11ea-a126-99756bd8f45e4. https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/30/state-department-iraq-airstrikes-us-troops-0912835. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/world/middleeast/iraq-airstrikes-us-iran-militias.html6. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iran-backed-militia-supporters-converge-on-us-embassy-in-baghdad-shouting-death-to-america/2019/12/31/93f050b2-2bb1-11ea-bffe-020c88b3f120_story.html

Episode 19: India Modi-fies Citizenship Laws

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 22:14:33 +0000

Q: How can a law offering a path to citizenship for religious refugees from neighboring countries lead to nationwide protests?

A: When the law excludes Muslims from that path... and there are already 200 MILLION Muslims in your country.

This week, Steve and Soumi discuss mass protests in India over Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.

Since the law passed last week, Indians of all religions have taken to the streets to voice their displeasure. Social media and news reports showed awful video of police entering one Muslim university's library and beating students who appeared to be doing homework.

For his part, Modi, who has his own checkered past vis-a-vis Hindu-Muslim violence, has not done nearly enough to tamp down tensions, adding to suspicions that this is all part of his plan to Make India Hindu Again (even though it already largely is).

Further Reading:

1. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/india/2019-09-11/roots-hindu-nationalisms-triumph-india 2. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/16/21024306/india-protests-muslim-citizenship-amendment-bill 3. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50805092 4. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/citizenship-amendment-act-protest-hartal-live-updates-december-17-2019/article30326650.ece 5. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-16/india-protests-show-modi-s-hardline-agenda-may-hurt-economy 6. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/world/asia/india-citizenship-protests.html

PS: this will be our final show for 2019! See you (perfectly, har har) in 2020, fam.

Episode 18: More Brexit, Friday the 13th Edition

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 22:08:12 +0000

Much like the well-known horror film franchise (albeit with fewer hockey masks and machetes), Brexit is scary and just doesn’t seem to end. In this latest installment of UK Democracy: Endless Madness, the world will find out who the UK’s next Prime Minister will be on the appropriately (actually randomly) chosen date of Friday, December 13th.

Either the right-wing Conservative Party’s controversial bon vivant Boris “BoJo” Johnson or the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn, a socialist doing very little to pretend to be a center-left pol, will be the next resident of 10 Downing Street. And, weirdly, the socialist is in favor of maintaining free trade with the European Union, while the supposedly free-market Tory wants out… which doesn't make sense. But here we are!

In this week’s episode of The Elucidators, Steve and Soumi discuss the long and winding road to this election, as well as what the potential outcomes mean for the Brexit process, the United Kingdom (and the peoples of the British Isles more generally) as well as Europe!

Further Reading:

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2019/12/infographic-uk-election-191207103305507.html2. Financial Times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xi-6rzpFqw3. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/10/30/brexit-endgame-parliament-agrees-to-december-elections/4. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-numbers-factbox/factbox-how-will-britains-dec-12-brexit-election-work-idUSKBN1XL1125. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2019/dec/08/election-polls-uk-2019-latest-opinion-poll-tracker-tories-labour

Episode 17: Arresting Climate Change at COP25

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 5 Dec 2019 17:23:33 +0000

Q: What annual event is the biggest, most important, and least fun party in the world?

A: It's the United Nations' Conference of Parties (COP) to combat climate change.

(Fine. It's more of a conference than a party…let it go, nerd.)

Through December 13th, representatives from 200-ish nations are meeting in Madrid, Spain to discuss rising carbon emissions levels, carbon trading, the financing of climate change mitigation, and other initiatives to achieve a carbon neutral world by 2050. Despite the big achievement that was the 2015 Paris Agreement… things frankly are not looking amazing right now.

In this week's episode, Steve and Soumi talk about COP 25, how we got here, experimental initiatives to combat climate change, and the political and economic difficulties the United States, China, and everyone else need to overcome in order to stem the tide of a changing climate.

Further Reading:

Episode 16: Hong Kong (Still) Going Wrong

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:03:11 +0000

Back in August, we checked in on #Hong Kong eleven weeks into the city's millions-strong pro-democracy protests. Fourteen weeks later, those protests are still rolling, with even greater intensity -- and they are now generating electoral consequences too!

Local district counsel elections this past week registered MASSIVE victories for the pro-democracy movement... while the U.S. Congress has passed legislation to have Hong Kong’s back. All of which is to say Xi Jinping and the People’s Republic of China can’t be happy with the way things are headed in the increasingly restive city-state of Hong Kong.

In this week's episode, Steve and Soumi discuss the past, present, and future of China's “One Country, Two Systems” policy towards Hong Kong, and what all of this might mean for China, Hong Kong, and the U.S.

If you like what you're hearing, please like, share, subscribe, and rate us 5 stars on your podcast store! And if you have thoughts or questions, write us at theelucidators@gmail.com. We're lonely and we want to hear from you!

Further reading:

Brookings: Hong Kong’s precarious future
South China Morning Post: Eating out in Hong Kong: Protesters declare eateries ‘yellow’ or ‘blue’
NPR: Warnings, Wariness Mingle With Joy After Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Landslide

Episode 15: Iran Into Trouble (Problems of Persia)

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 00:15:57 +0000

Q: What do you get when you raise fuel prices in Iran by 50-300%?A: Major protests all over the country.

Q: So then what’s the government do?A: Shut down the internet and attack protesters with live ammo!

Iran is two countries at the same time: a young, modern, and cosmopolitan nation of 80 million hoping to join the international community, AND a very conservative, older, and rural theocracy that wants to export its Islamic Revolution and dominate the Greater Middle East.

Increasingly, these two countries do not mix, so when the Trump Administration applies "maximum pressure" in the form of extremely stringent sanctions, the results can be as violent and unpredictable as a hacked Iranian uranium centrifuge.

This week on The Elucidators, Steve and Soumi discuss how Iran got here, what the United States had to do with it, and what might come next for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Further Reading:

Bloomberg.com: Iran’s Protests Are About More Than Rising Fuel Prices
Atlantic Council: Iran protests -- Something has to give
Foreign Affairs: America’s Great Satan -- The 40-Year Obsession With Iran

Episode 14: (Bolivia) Coup Story, Bro

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 17:36:49 +0000

If a nation’s leader loses the support of his military and resigns, but no one steps into replace him… has there been a coup?

This is no riddle. It’s one of the main political questions facing Bolivians days after their long-serving and (by all accounts) effective leader Evo Morales resigned, along with his Vice President, amid (well-supported) accusations of vote rigging, as well as other attempts to weaken the country’s democratic processes. Now, Bolivia is leaderless and the country’s political future is cloudy to say the least.

This week, we try to elucidate this complex challenge with the help of our friend and Latin American politics expert, Dr. Jesse Acevedo of the University of Denver’s Political Science Department.

Further reading:

Episode 13: Narcos vs. Mormons

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 7 Nov 2019 17:29:18 +0000

This week, a horrific tragedy unfolded in the high desert of Northern Mexico, where three SUVs full of women and children were gunned down with automatic weapons and subsequently burned to ashes. The fact that these folks were members of a Mormon fundamentalist sect that emigrated to the area in the late 19th century and still hold dual US / Mexican citizenship has refocused US attention on the ongoing Mexican Drug War -- an ongoing low-intensity conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of innocents (as well as plenty of not-so-innocents) and disrupted one of the world's largest economies for the past 15 years or so.

Steve and Soumi peer through the lens of this outrage to examine Mexican and American policies towards the cartels; the basics of supply and demand; endemic violence and state failure; and who we think is ultimately to blame (hint: they're not in Mexico).

Further reading:

Episode 12: ISIS Loses Its Head

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 23:33:39 +0000

On October 26, 2019, American special forces raided the compound belonging to Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi (ABaB), the leader of the Islamic State in Syria’s (ISIS) and self-anointed caliph or head of all Muslims, resulting in an explosive fatality. In this week’s episode, Steve and Soumi delve into who this guy was, where he came from, what he did, how he died, and what might be coming next from the world of jihadism.

(Spoiler Alert!)

None of this would have come about without a stolen pair of underwear.

Further Reading:

FDD: The Battle of Baghdadi
WaPo: Baghdadi hid among rivals and enemies in rebel-held Syrian province
Daily Beast: How US Commandos IDed a 'Mutilated' al-Baghdadi So Quickly

Episode 11: Red Hot Chile Protests

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:38:54 +0000

On October 17th, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera was bragging to the international media about his country's status as a socioeconomic "oasis" in a sea of instability.

Less than 48 hours later, violent protests were roiling Chile's major cities and the Chilean army was in the streets, shooting at protestors with live ammo and running people over with armored vehicles.

What the heck happened?! Find out this week on The Elucidators, where Steve and Soumi discuss economic inequality, the Pinochet dictatorship, 21st century protest movements, populism vs. plutocracy, corrupt capitalism, and oh so much more!

Further reading:

ProMarket: How Economic Concentration and Crony Capitalism Lead to the Chaos in Chile
Bloomberg: Chile's Violence has a Worrisome Message for the World
NYTimes: Chile Unrest Spreads, with 15 Deaths Reported in Violence

Episode 10: Venezuelan Victimization

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 21:18:57 +0000

Q: What does a 275% increase in your monthly wage get you?

A: If you’re a Venezuelan depending on minimum wage, it gets you the equivalent of $8.That’s enough to buy about nine pounds of meat… for the entire month. And that's after after eight previous minimum wage hikes!

In this week's episode of The Elucidators, Steve and Soumi discuss the long and sad path that has led South America’s formerly most-prosperous nation into near-total economic and social collapse. Domestic corruption, incompetence, and autocracy, along with a surprisingly wide array of international actors -- including Cuba, Russia, China, India, Turkey, Iran, Hezbollah, and of course the United States -- have all played a role in bringing this oil-rich nation to its knees. Also discussed in this episode: the "resource curse" / "Dutch Disease," petrostates, narcostates, left-wing populism, and much more!

Here's some additional light reading on this slow-motion disaster:

Bloomberg - Venezuela’s Maduro Hikes Minimum Wage Again, This Time by 275%
Council on Foreign Relations - Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate
CBS News - Understanding the Venezuelan presidential crisis: Who are Juan Guaido and Nicolas Maduro?

Episode 09: Kurd Stomped!

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 23:15:06 +0000

Q: How do you spell betrayal?A: R-O-J-A-V-A—ROJAVA. That’s the name of the nascent Kurdish state in northern Syria that’s currently being bombed by Turkey.Q: Who are the Kurds?A: The largest ethnic group in the world without an official state of their own and the warriors most-responsible for forcing ISIS out!Q: Why is Turkey doing this?A: Well…because President Trump said they could.We tackle these questions and many, many more in this week’s episode: Kurd Stomped!

Episode 08: Septuagenarian Superpower

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Sat, 5 Oct 2019 00:10:18 +0000

Happy Birthday to the PRC, Happy Birthday to the PRC... it doesn't really flow that well, does it? But if you live in China and you know what's good for you, you were singing along to Xi Jinping's tune this week, when the Chinese Communist Party celebrated the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China's founding. Since 1949, the PRC has come from abject poverty and starvation all the way to the doorstep of global hegemony -- only to run smack into an increasingly hostile United States, which isn't exactly ready to vacate the premises! This week, we dig into China's troubles from Hong Kong to Xinjiang, China's big military modernization, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Great Firewall of China, Trump's trade war, and oh so much more!

As always, if you like what we're doing, please share, rate, and subscribe :) KTHXBYE!

Episode 07: It's Getting Hot in Herre, So Turn Off All Your Coal (Power Plants)

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 01:24:06 +0000

This past week, both in protests around the world and at the annual meeting of the United Nations, demonstrators young and old demanded immediate action to combat climate change. But what would that really, concretely mean -- and is it politically possible? In this week’s episode, Steve and Soumi delve into the history of climate change and its predicted impact on the environment and humanity. The Elucidators ask, “how are governments going to handle a challenge that’s on a scale bigger than any other international issue in the history of our species?”

Please remember to rate, review and share! Hugs and kisses, we love you guys!!!

Episode 06: Boom Goes The Saudi Dynamite

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 20:59:04 +0000

BOOM! Faster than you can say "Happy Saturday," Saudi Arabia's main oil processing facility goes up in a big drone and cruise missile strike, global oil prices go vertical, and Saudi Prince Mohammad Bin Salman's big IPO plans for Saudi Aramco go horizontal. Who the heck are these Houthi guys claiming credit for the strike... and why are the Iranians over here playing dumb? In this episode, we get into proxy wars, regional hegemony, Sunni vs. Shia Islam, the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, the new pay-as-you-go model for U.S. alliances, and much much more!

Episode 05: AfGONEistan

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 18:18:10 +0000

This week we get into the thorny problem of the United States' "Forever War" in Afghanistan. We're 18 years in. Is there an end in sight? It may actually have been, unbeknownst to almost everyone, until President Trump announced that he had canceled secret peace talks in literally the least secret way possible -- on Twitter! Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, isn't it? In this episode, we discuss nation-building in difficult places, the sad(?) fate of John Bolton, civil-military relations, counterinsurgency policy, the allure of international summitry, and much more!

Episode 04: BoJo Takes (And Loses) The Wheel

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Fri, 6 Sep 2019 00:44:35 +0000

We had really hoped to delay our first Brexit episode to the point that Brexit failed and we wouldn't have to talk about it... but we didn't quite get there :( Thanks a lot, Boris Johnson! In this episode, we delve into BoJo's Brexit-related tricksiness vis-a-vis the British Parliament, along with the governing structures of the United Kingdom and the European Union, the status of Northern Ireland and Scotland, the connection between populism in the UK and the Great Recession, and quite a bit more.

Special Bonus: an update on the goings-on in Hong Kong, where Carrie Lam desperately wants to quit her job as Head Administrator and go live her best life.

Episode 03: Hot Times Down South

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:14:01 +0000

Don't look now, but the Amazon Rainforest -- which is the size of the entire continental United States -- is on fire in an unusually big and dangerous way. Is the Brazilian government under right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro to blame, or is the story much more complicated than that? Probably the latter because we're talking about it! In this episode, Steve and Soumi discuss national sovereignty vs. globalism, developing vs. developed countries, the international security implications of widespread climate change, twitter diplomacy, trade sanctions, and oh so much more!

As always, we value all questions and feedback, please send it along to theelucidators@gmail.com. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe!

Episode 02: Hong Kong Gone Wrong

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 16:24:14 +0000

Eleven straight weeks of massive protests have paralyzed Hong Kong, one of the wealthiest and most politically important cities in the world. In this episode we discuss: "One Country, Two Systems," Shenzhen, Xi Jinping, income inequality, the Umbrella Movement, Opium Wars, and so very much more! Bonus: Russia's turned off its (voluntary) international radiation monitoring equipment after last episode's nuclear disaster. Hmm....

If you like what you're hearing, please like, share, subscribe, and rate us 5 stars on your podcast store! And if you have thoughts or questions, write us at theelucidators@gmail.com.

Episode 01: From Russia With Radiation

theelucidators@gmail.com (Steve Palley and Soumi Chatterjee) — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 16:33:05 +0000

Uh oh, something blew up in a village in Russia's Far North. Steve and Soumi investigate. Topics covered this week include: nuclear weapons strategy, arms control, the Cold War, shirtless Putin, Kim Jong Un's hair.