9/24/24 - Mark and Carrie make an announcement
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Sep 24, 2024•2 min
Mark and Carrie
Mark Blyth, political economist at The Watson Institute at Brown University, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Master of Public Affairs program, share their take on the news. Subscribe now to hear Mark and Carrie cut through the media haze, and provide a thought-provoking, topical, and often hilarious conversation about the world today.
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Episodes
05/17/24 - A galactic implosion of incompetence
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: 2024 election update: Biden struggles to get his message to Americans, while Trump’s hush-money trial might be playing into his strengths What to think of US presidential polling 6 months out from November’s election SCOTUS term wraps u...
May 17, 2024•36 min
04/11/24 - Light banter and philosophical malaise
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: What Truth Social going public means for Donald Trump’s finances How Trump is navigating the complex politics of abortion within the Republican Party Looking ahead to congressional special elections, and how they could affect Washington...
Apr 11, 2024•36 min
02/29/2024 - Let’s close up shop and go home
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Democrats' and pundits' concern over the growing realization that President Biden is old Why, despite Biden’s weaknesses and the tough map for Democrats in 2024, control of Congress will likely still be up for grabs in November The Alab...
Feb 29, 2024•34 min
01/31/2024 - The Taylor Swift Marshall Plan
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Trump’s domination of the GOP primary, and what the MAGA-ficaiton of the GOP means for 2024 The politics of Trump's legal troubles Making sense of America’s “vibe-cession” and disinflation Claudine Gay’s resignation as Harvard’s preside...
Jan 31, 2024•38 min
12/21/2023 - Mark and Carrie dare you to say “everything is great” right now
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Trump potentially gets removed from the GOP primary ballot in Colorado, and the risks of involving the courts in a presidential election How the politics of immigration will affect the 2024 race in the US Elise Stefanik grills Universit...
Dec 21, 2023•33 min
11/17/2023 - Is the world worse because of Mark and Carrie?
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: The state of the Israel-Hamas War, and its geopolitical and economic implications Discouraging polls for Biden, promising victories of Democrats in November’s special elections – what does it mean for 2024? The new Speaker of the US Hou...
Nov 17, 2023•38 min
09/11/2023 - Allegedly: A Mark and Carrie end-of -summer triple feature
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Grading Mark and Carrie’s Supreme Court predictions A disturbingly warm summer for all, and the financial repercussions of it being too hot to go outside. Gender equality, austerity, and the financial time-bombs in English municipalitie...
Sep 11, 2023•34 min
06/01/2023 - Rogue AI, predicting the Supremes, and debt-ceiling dumbskullery: Mark and Carrie go all-in for summer
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: The US debt ceiling deal: nobody won, and it was all based on a deep ignorance of how the economy actually works DeSantis goes peak geek and launches his presidential candidacy with on a glitchy Twitter Spaces™ Will Trump’s future crimi...
Jun 01, 2023•39 min
05/06/2023 - Debts Coming Due
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Biden, Trump, and the upcoming “remaquel” to the 2020 election Fox settles with Dominion, fires Tucker Carlson, and will be just fine The debt ceiling crisis: America’s ‘Brexit’? Clarence Thomas is very corrupt, but will face no consequ...
May 06, 2023•31 min
04/07/2023 - Would banning Tik Tok spare us watching both Trump and Paltrow trials? If so, Mark and Carrie are on board.
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: What Trump’s indictment says about the state of American politics DeSantis’ cruel (and also a slightly boring) strategy for countering Trump Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s recent bro-out in Russia, and how it fits into China’s larger g...
Apr 07, 2023•31 min
03/08/2023 - Dominion, DeSantis, Demented
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Dominion Voting Machine’s lawsuit against Fox shows off the network’s underside, which we all knew was there anyway. Ron DeSantis continues to fight “woke” values like freedom of speech Mark and Carrie come up with a terrible political ...
Mar 08, 2023•34 min
01/24/2023 - Mars Is Lovely in the Summer
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Is there any way to reduce mass shootings in the US? ‘Atmospheric rivers’ and California’s weather woes The debt ceiling showdown in Congress, Kevin McCarthy’s shameful job hunt: life with a divided Congress is back. Mark’s invite to Da...
Jan 24, 2023•40 min
12/19/2022 - Carrie and Mark Predict the Future
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Unpacking the World Cup Finals on and off the field Elon’s rough few weeks at the helm of Twitter SBF gets arrested in the Bahamas, and we all learn too much about his crimes and lifestyle. Can Trump stay in the spotlight much longer? China, Russia, Iran -- a tough year fo...
Dec 19, 2022•40 min
11/30/2022 - It's Not Fraud...Until It Is
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: The geopolitics of the World Cup, and why we’re all implicated in the spectacle's dark underbelly Midterm elections come and go, yet paralysis and polarization remains in Washington Trump is back, eating dinner with a Nazi, hoping the Murdochs don’t care. Biden contemplate...
Nov 30, 2022•36 min
10/29/2022 - Elevate Yourself!
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Elon Musk buys Twitter. Will anything on the platform change? Musical chairs in UK politics; will Rishi Sunak’s term as MP outlast a head of lettuce? Xi Jinping further consolidates power in China. Can the US and China afford to lose each other? The most fabulously terribl...
Oct 29, 2022•41 min
09/30/2022 - Live from Mark's Basement
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Queen Elizabeth is dead, and the UK press can’t stop mourning Britain’s economic dumpster fire Biden and the Democrats doing surprisingly well (but not well enough to keep Congress) Elections in Italy and upcoming in Brazil don’t portend well for democracy Ukraine’s tripwi...
Sep 30, 2022•38 min
08/19/2022 - Far Too Clever and Overthinking It
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Unpacking the Inflation Reduction Act What this summer's good news for Democrats means for the midterms Liz Cheney's political future, and what it could mean for Democrats and Republicans Trump's Mar-a-Lago drama. What matters, what doesn't, and why it feels like we've bee...
Aug 19, 2022•35 min
07/29/2022 - No Normal Summers Ever Again
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Finding nuance in the inflation/recession panic Could climate legislation actually be passed in the US Congress?! Heat waves in…well, everywhere A long goodbye for Boris Johnson Russia, Germany, the US, and the politics of natural gas January 6 hearings: rave reviews, rene...
Jul 28, 2022•35 min
06/04/2022 - We Promise Not to Talk About Margaret Atwood at Davos
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: The mass shooting in Uvalde, TX, and America’s mourning rituals around gun violence What the potential end of Roe v. Wade means for the US, and what it says about the Supreme Court Transitioning from an old inflation myth to our current inflation reality 100 Days of grindi...
Jun 04, 2022•39 min
05/05/2022 - Despite the Despair, It Was Great Seeing You
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: The political implications of the Supreme Court’s leaked decision overturning Roe v. Wade Bipartisan support in Congress for arming Ukraine, and what the next phase of this war might look like Making sense of the Republican Senate Primary in Ohio, and the extent of Trump’s...
May 05, 2022•41 min
03/28/2022 - The 1970s: Good for Movies, Bad for Inflation
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: The economic and political ramifications of the war in Ukraine Why presidents shouldn’t ad lib foreign policy What the 1970s can and can’t teach us about handling inflation today The sighs and shrugs of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination hearings State legisl...
Mar 28, 2022•41 min
02/18/2022 - We Can’t Even Remember if We Have Done This Already
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: Making sense of Ukraine and questioning Putin’s motives (and height) Joe Rogan and the 'platform conundrum' Since when is Canada angry and weird? Carrie’s boycotting the Olympics – but NOT for the reasons you’re thinking! Will Boris Johnson get a sweet Spotify deal? The po...
Feb 18, 2022•43 min
01/22/2022 - Happy New Year: Mainly Stressful and Painful
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: how to think about Covid in the age of omicron; Biden's stalled legislative agenda; is The January 6 commission the new Mueller Report?; finding hope for American democracy in...Alaska; the charged politics behind how we explain inflation; Russia, Ukraine, the US, and NATO...
Jan 22, 2022•38 min
12/22/2021 - The Past is a Safe Space
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: living through another pandemic wave; Joe Manchin reveals who he's been all along; union movies at Starbucks, a strike at Kellogg's, and the state of organized labor in the US; making sense of Russia's aggression towards Ukraine; Boris Johnson has seen better days; reflect...
Dec 22, 2021•29 min
12/03/2021 - Is the Economy Really in the Tank, or is David Lynch to Blame?
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Brown University, share their take on the news. On this episode: what we know about the Omnicron variant; the politics behind the Supreme Court's current abortion rights case; Peng Shuai, and the problem of celebrities in authoritarian countries; why we feel bad about our pretty OK economy; the Not-So-Great Resignation; New Dune vs Old ...
Dec 03, 2021•28 min
11/12/2021 - Inflation, Infrastructure, and...Alpaca Cheese
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the news. On this episode: the illusion that is Infrastructure Week; Biden's agenda and early-onset midterm anxiety for Democrats; debunking the great inflation panic; G20, COP26, and the promises that countries won't keep; crisis at the Belarus/Poland border, and the weaponization of immigrants; Squid Game; Ma...
Nov 12, 2021•33 min
09/24/2021 - Where's America's Head?
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the news. On this episode: the newest Texas abortion law, and how it looks to the rest of the world; Biden's trip to the UN that no one watched; Republicans remember they hate debt in the face of Democrat's infrastructure bill; the multilayered crisis happening at the US-Mexico border; the Fed tries to please b...
Sep 24, 2021•40 min
08/19/2021 - Nothing Says Back to School Like "No Mask" Mandates
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the news. On this episode: the morality, strategy, and politics of America's Afghanistan withdrawal; how the 2020 Census is giving Republicans and Democrats something to fret over; humanity's collective shrug after the IPCC's 'Code Red for Humanity'; the fall of the House of Cuomo; mask mandates and mask debate...
Aug 19, 2021•31 min
07/30/2021 - There Is No Mean Reversion (Except for Bennifer)
Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown's Watson Institute, and Carrie Nordlund, political scientist and associate director of Brown's Annenberg Institute, share their take on the week's news. On this episode: the Delta variant spreads the globe; the economy is doing great and has reverted to the mean (or it isn't and it hasn't); Carrie's Olympic fever and Mark's Olympic skepticism; Haiti, South Africa, and fragile states in peril; billionaires in space; waiting for Prince Harry's memoir's Netf...
Jul 30, 2021•33 min
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