Litmus podcast is a community crowdsourced podcast that explores who we are and where we land on the proverbial scale on a particular topic at Brown University. 
The Litmus Podcast is a brand new pursuit for the Multimedia Labs at Brown, and this episode is a prototype of what we think could be a really great podcast for our community.  In this episode, we hear from some staff and Alumni about how to pick the best classes, a few awesome resources to check out on campus, some contrasting views on what the word community means at Brown, and some sage advice about success. 
Because this episode is a prototype, we hope to iterate or remake it with even more content and perspectives for Fall 2021, so we are keeping participation/submissions open during the summer! If you are a member of the Brown community and would like to add something, provide a counterpoint to what you hear, or take the topic in a completely different direction, consider visiting our website at brown.edu/go/litmuspodcast to find out how to submit your own Litmus Message.

Litmus Podcast Prototype Episode: What Should First Year Students Know About Brown?

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 G7's shaky promises on taxing the rich, and shaky relationships with China and Russia; regional variations in the Covid-19 recovery in the US; making sense of the tight US labor market; the Supreme Court talks Snapchat and labor organizing; Justice Stephen Breyer's work/life balance; voting rights, critical race theory, and the 2022 midterm elections; can Jeff Bezos just stay in space?

You can listen to Mark on Watson's podcast Trending Globally here: [https://soundcloud.com/watsoninstitute/earth-day-special-whats-missing-from-the-climate-discussion]

You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jeOI2Bi2pjZrvioInN4dvoILNNurLmN9/view?usp=sharing]

06/25/2021 - The Putative, Possible, Potential End of the Pandemic

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 Netflix adaptation.

You can learn more about the Watson Institute's other podcasts here: [https://watson.brown.edu/news/podcasts]

[Transcript forthcoming]

07/30/2021 - There Is No Mean Reversion (Except for Bennifer)

SOUNDCLOUD LISTENERS: We've moved Trending Globally to a new podcast platform and new website, so starting this fall, episodes will no longer be available on Soundcloud. You can still listen by subscribing to Trending Globally on your favorite podcast app, or online here: [trending-globally.captivate.fm/]. Thanks!

This fall marks the 20th year of American military engagement abroad following the events of 9/11. This year Trending Globally is teaming up with scholars at the Costs of War project to explore the effects of two decades of war. The Costs of War project is an interdisciplinary group of scholars who have stepped in where the government has often failed, working to measure the true financial, human, political, and environmental costs of America’s post-9/11 wars. 

On this episode Sarah Baldwin ’87 talks with Stephanie Savell, one of the project’s directors, about how the organization started and why its work is more necessary than ever. Dan Richards talks with David Vine about one of the most heartbreaking costs of these wars: the more than 38 million people who have been displaced from their homes in countries including Afghanistan and Iraq.

Transcript forthcoming. 

Learn more about the Costs of War Project: [https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/]

Learn more about and purchase David Vine’s book ​​'The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State': [https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520385689/the-united-states-of-war]

Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts [https://watson.brown.edu/news/podcasts]

After 20 Years, Measuring the True Costs of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

Trending Globally: Politics & Policy

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