Hero of Hotel Rwanda Arrested

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

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

Further Reading:

1. Russia ready to freeze nuclear warheads in exchange for New START extension
2. Japan rejects nuclear ban treaty; survivors to keep pushing
3. Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons Passes Important Threshold

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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

Further Reading:

1. Explaining Thailand’s volatile politics
2. Thailand Threatens to Censor Media Outlets as Protests Swell
3. Thailand’s king seeks to bring back absolute monarchy

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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

Further Reading:

1. Inside the plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer — CNN
2. How to Beat the Nazis in 2020
3. Germany Disbands Special Forces Group Tainted by Far-Right Extremists

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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

Further Reading:

1. Macron on the Spot With Brexit Talks Snagged on French Red Line
2. Internal market bill: what it says and the UK hopes to achieve
3. Brexit Negotiators Brace for Summit Showdown as Talks Drag

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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

Further Reading:

1. Nagorno-Karabakh clashes continue, prompting emergency UN talks
2. Unfrozen Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
3. Armenia and Azerbaijan fight over Nagorno-Karabakh again

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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! 

Further Reading:

1. China Raises Conflict Risk With Breach of Taiwan Buffer Zone
2. To China’s alarm, America modestly upgrades ties with Taiwan
3. Even in death, Lee Teng-hui is helping shape Taiwan’s identity

Photo by Rovin Ferrer on Unsplash

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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!

Photo by Pat Whelen on Unsplash

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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

Further Reading:

1. Rwanda arrests the man who shielded people from genocide
2. ‘Hotel Rwanda’ Hero, Paul Rusesabagina, Is Held on Terrorism Charge
3. Rebooting Rwanda

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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

Further Reading:

1. Japan’s New Leader Will Likely Keep Big Stimulus Rolling
2. Abe Defied Expectations to Build a Better Japan
3. How Japan Could Go Nuclear

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