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)

It’s been 12 months since a mob of American citizens, driven by the false belief that the presidential election had been stolen  from Donald Trump, attacked the US Capitol. The insurrectionists couldn’t overturn the election results, but they did make us question basic assumptions about the state of American democracy.  

On this episode, host Sarah Baldwin ‘87 and producer Dan Richards talked with experts at Watson and Brown about the attack. They asked scholars of political science and international affairs: what did the insurrection teach us about the state of American politics? How has it changed us? And, perhaps most important: what do we need to do to protect our institutions going forward?

Guests featured on this episode:

- Wendy Schiller, Professor of Political Science and Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy
- Juliet Hooker, Professor of Political Science at Brown University 
- Rose McDermott, Professor of International Relations at the Watson Institute
- Stephen Kinzer, Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs at the Watson Institute

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

Read what other experts at Watson had to say in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection here: [https://watson.brown.edu/news/explore/2021/UScapitolattack]

Episode transcript coming soon.

January 6: One Year After the Capitol Insurrection, What Have We Learned?

Trending Globally: Politics & Policy

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