Best International Horizons With John Torpey @ RBI Podcasts (2025)

1
Globalization's Backlash: Echoes of the Interwar Era in Today’s World 35:03

4d ago35:03

35:03

This week on International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey interviews historian Tara Zahra, author of Against the World: Anti-Globalism and Mass Politics Between the World Wars (W.W. Norton, 2023). Zahra reflects on the historical parallels between the current backlash against globalization and the anti-globalist movements of the interwar period…

1
The Good Father Syndrome: Why Strongmen Still Seduce 32:50

18d ago32:50

32:50

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey speaks with Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Kopstein, co-authors of The Assault on the State: How the Global Attack on Modern Government Endangers Our Future (Polity Press, 2024). In this conversation, they discuss how today’s right-wing movements, from the United States to Hungary, are…

1
Populism, Power, and the Crisis of Globalism: A Conversation with Wolfgang Streeck 39:28

1M ago39:28

39:28

What explains the growing divide between elites and the broader public in democracies across Europe and the United States? In this episode of International Horizons, sociologist Wolfgang Streeck joins RBI director John Torpey to discuss the rise of populism, the limits of globalism, and the tensions between democracy and capitalism. Drawing from hi…

1
Walls, Warnings, and the War on Fentanyl: Peter Andreas on Trump’s Border Politics 35:01

1M ago35:01

35:01

In this episode of International Horizons, Peter Andreas, John Hay Professor of International Studies at Brown University and author of Border Games: The Politics of Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide, 3rd edition (Cornell UP, 2022) and The Illicit Global Economy (Oxford UP, 2025), joins RBI Director John Torpey to unpack the myths and realities of bo…

1
Human Rights in the Trump Era: A Conversation with Kenneth Roth 32:47

2M ago32:47

32:47

In this episode of International Horizons, Kenneth Roth, former longtime executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins RBI director John Torpey to discuss Roth’s recent book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abuse of Governments (Knopf, 2025), which reflects on strategies for defending civil, political, economic, and soc…

1
Fractured Alliances: Trump, Ukraine, and Europe's Security Dilemma 32:14

2M ago32:14

32:14

In this episode, RBI director John Torpey speaks with Estonian parliamentarian and defense expert Kalev Stoicescu about the recent tensions between the United States and Ukraine following a contentious meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky. Stoicescu critiques Trump's transactional diplomacy, emphasizing the critical role of alliances such …

1
Coup Attempts and Democratic Resistance: Lessons from Brazil 37:59

2M ago37:59

37:59

As Brazil moves toward trying former president Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup against democracy, the United States grapples with constitutional challenges from the new administration as well. Are these two cases of democratic backsliding comparable? In this episode of International Horizons, John Torpey speaks with José Maurício Domingues, Prof…

1
The Internet, Power, and the Deep State: Zeynep Tufekci on Technology and Democracy Today 46:20

3M ago46:20

46:20

As the second Trump administration reshapes the U.S. government and its role in the world, how do technology, media, and political power intersect? In this episode of International Horizons, host John Torpey speaks with Zeynep Tufekci—New York Times columnist, Princeton professor, and author of Twitter and Tear Gas—about the evolving relationship b…

1
TrumpWorld: Canada, South Africa, Germany, and the Global Far-Right 38:18

3M ago38:18

38:18

In this episode of International Horizons, John Torpey talks with Heribert Adam, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, to unpack the global ripple effects of Donald Trump's return to power. From his startling proposal to make Canada the 51st state to his controversial foreign aid cuts targeting South Afric…

1
American Higher Education Under the Second Trump Administration 32:24

3M ago32:24

32:24

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey speaks with Steven Brint, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at UC Riverside, about the early days of the second Trump administration and its impact on higher education. Brint discusses the administration’s aggressive efforts to reshape federal governance, inclu…

1
Trump’s Second Term and Europe: Nationalism, NATO, and the Future of Transatlantic Relations 34:13

3M ago34:13

34:13

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome, about the implications of Donald Trump’s second administration for Europe. The discussion explores how Trump’s approach to foreign policy—characterized by protectionism, nationalism, and disdain …

1
Transatlantic Tensions: Trump’s Return and Europe’s Far-Right Resurgence 41:03

5M ago41:03

41:03

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews journalist Mattia Ferraresi about the implications of a potential second Trump presidency for European politics. Ferraresi discusses how Trump’s rhetoric and policies, including his stance on NATO and trade, might influence transatlantic relations. The conversation explo…

1
Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan: Can He Really Do It? 30:26

6M ago30:26

30:26

Kitty Calavita, Chancellor’s Professor Emerita of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine, discuss the historical context and implications of Operation Wetback, a 1954 U.S. mass deportation of Mexican immigrants, and its relevance to President-elect Donald Trump's proposed mass deportation plans. Calavita explains that …

1
Middle East on the Brink: Escalation, Diplomacy, and the Search for Stability 39:13

6M ago39:13

39:13

Recent developments in the Middle East have raised concern about the potential for a wider regional war. What do escalating tensions in Gaza, Lebanon, and beyond mean for the future? Join RBI Director John Torpey as he discusses the complexities of the contemporary Middle East with Win Dayton, a retired senior member of the U.S. Foreign Service and…

1
Shared Paths: Exploring Jewish and Muslim Experiences in America 41:42

7M ago41:42

41:42

This week on International Horizons, John Torpey, Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, speaks with sociologists Mucahit Bilici and Samuel Heilman about their book, Following Similar Paths: What Jews and Muslims Can Learn From One Another (University of California Press, 2024). Bilici and Heilman explore how Judaism and Islam, as minority religio…

1
The UN and its Discreet Diplomacy in Peacemaking 33:38

7M ago33:38

33:38

This week on International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey interviews Bertrand Ramcharan, former top UN diplomat and author of the recent book, The UN Security Council and Its Protective Function (Melrose Legal Publishers, 2024). Ramcharan describes the many instances in which the UN Secretaries-General worked discreetly to secure peace agreemen…

1
The Far-Right Threat in German Politics: A Discussion with Marcus Böick 36:50

8M ago36:50

36:50

The recent elections in eastern Germany, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the first far-right party to win a parliamentary election at the state level in postwar Germany, raised significant concern internationally about what’s happening in Germany. Should we be concerned? In this episode of International Horizons, RBI Director John To…

1
Are We Experiencing a Crisis of Culture? 41:28

8M ago41:28

41:28

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey spoke with Olivier Roy, professor of social and political sciences at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and author of The Crisis of Culture: Identity Politics and the Empire of Norms (Oxford University Press, 2024). Roy argues that neoliberal globalization is di…

1
Notes from the Field: A Personal View of the War on Gaza 44:43

9M ago44:43

44:43

We start this season of International Horizons with an interview with Dr. Eli Karetny, an American political scientist and administrative director of the Ralph Bunche Institute who spent the last academic year in Israel with his family. The plan was to do research on the Israeli Bedouin in the Negev desert – until the Hamas attacks of October 7 ups…

1
The Complexities of the EU Parliament Elections 46:05

11M ago46:05

46:05

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey spoke with Francesco Ronchi and Udo Zolleis, two European Parliament officials and analysts. With the European Parliament elections taking place shortly after we spoke, they share their insights on the direction that politics in Europe may take in the coming months and years, espec…

1
We Should Not Take the UN For Granted: A Discussion with Abiodun Williams 33:54

11M ago33:54

33:54

In times where conflicts around the globe are an everyday topic, the place of the United Nations in resolving these conflicts is constantly being questioned. In this episode of International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey discusses this issue with Professor Abiodun Williams, Professor of the Practice of International Politics at Tufts Universit…

1
The Social Acceptance of Inequality 32:01

12M ago32:01

32:01

On this episode of International Horizons, Francesco Duina, Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Bates College and Luca Storti, Associate Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Turin in Italy and a Research Fellow of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, discuss the rise of inequalities around the globe and the di…

1
The Climate Crisis as a Problem of Collective Action: A Discussion with Dana Fisher 40:34

12M ago40:34

40:34

In this episode of International Horizons, Professor Dana Fisher, Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity (CECE) and Professor in the School of International Service at American University, discusses with RBI Director John Torpey her approach to dealing with the climate crisis. Fisher explains how the climate crisis is really a …

1
What does Biden’s temporary suspension of offensive arms transfers mean for US-Israeli relations? 30:47

1y ago30:47

30:47

Charles Blaha, a former State Department expert on the vetting of U.S. weapons transfers to other countries, helps us understand this important moment in the Israel-Hamas conflict. After an extended period of tension between U.S President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden has decided to freeze some transfers of weapons …

1
The Rhetoric of Crisis in Israel-Palestine: A Discussion with Amos Goldberg 51:57

1y ago51:57

51:57

This week, RBI Director John Torpey speaks with Amos Goldberg, Professor of Holocaust History at the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Among other rhetorical aspects of the conflict, Goldberg reflects on the meaning of such slogans as “From the …

1
Words of Attack: Rhetoric Against Liberal Democratic Values with James McAdams 32:56

1y ago32:56

32:56

With a presidential campaign in the US just around the corner and populist and authoritarian thinkers gaining broader platforms, University of Notre Dame political scientist A. James McAdams shines a light on the terms being used today by the Far Right to undermine liberal democracy. How successful are these thinkers in changing public views? And h…

1
Why Should We Preserve Memory of the Holocaust? 44:35

1y ago44:35

44:35

Wojtek Soczewica has led the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation since 2019, near the site of the killing fields. The Foundation aims at the preservation of the remains of the concentration and extermination camp and of all the personal items that belonged to victims and survivors. Today they serve as material witnesses of the tragic history safeguarding…

1
Citizenship Across Time and Space with David Jacobson 44:14

1y ago44:14

44:14

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey discusses the past and future of citizenship with David Jacobson, Professor of Sociology at the University of South Florida (Tampa). They discuss the origins of the concept of citizenship in the ancient Near East a few thousand years ago and how kinship notions shape the debate on …

1
How Can We Reach International Consensus on AI Regulation? 43:13

1y ago43:13

43:13

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Gabriele Mazzini, a lawyer and officer of the European Commission and expert in AI regulation. Mazzini discusses the means through which European countries have found agreement on the definition of AI and how to regulate it. Moreover, Mazzini stresses that the fears of a…

1
The Pioneering Life of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 46:47

1y ago46:47

46:47

Manu Bhagavan and Ellen Chesler discuss Bhagavan’s latest book on Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (Penguin, 2023), admired sister of India’s founding Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and a pioneering public servant, diplomat, and women's rights advocate, in her own right. They talk about the Nehru’s privileged upbringing and elite education, their conversio…

1
How Democracies Die . . . and How They May Survive with Daniel Ziblatt 42:05

1y ago42:05

42:05

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard University and co-author (with Steven Levitsky) of the bestsellers How Democracies Die (Crown, 2019) and The Tyranny of the Minority (Crown, 2023). Ziblatt emphasizes the crucial role played by conse…

1
Why is Right-Wing Extremism so Widespread in Italy? 36:41

1y ago36:41

36:41

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Marla Stone, a historian of Italian fascism at Occidental College, on the resurgence of the far right in Italy. The conversation delves into the origins of this resurgence and how Italy, a fairly homogeneous society, became a recipient of hundreds of thousand migrants, a…

1
"War is what you make of it" with Neta Crawford of Oxford University and the Costs of War Project 36:40

1y ago36:40

36:40

We begin this new season of International Horizons with an interview by RBI Director John Torpey with Neta Crawford from Oxford University and the Cost of War Project. Prof. Crawford argues that conflict is less lethal than in the past, although the overall costs of war exceed the duration of previous wars in many dimensions. The conversation delve…

1
Is Poland Back on Track? The Challenges for the New Government 46:58

1+ y ago46:58

46:58

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI's Director John Torpey interviews Grzegorz Ekiert, Chair of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, a propós of the recent election in Poland that installed a centrist government led by former prime minister and president of the European Council Donald Tusk. Ekiert starts by discussing t…

1
Everyday Life Behind the Berlin Wall 34:02

1+ y ago34:02

34:02

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews historian and journalist Katja Hoyer about her book Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany (Basic Books, 2023). The conversation begins with a discussion of the personal reasons that the author, herself born in the GDR, wanted to cover the untold stories of her nativ…

1
Israel, Hamas, and American Jews in a Time of War 37:28

1+ y ago37:28

37:28

On today’s episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey speaks with Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of the Forward magazine, about the situation in Israel and Gaza. She notes that Hamas’s incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023, shattered the paradigm of how Israel and even the Arab world understood what Hamas was all about. The resul…

1
The US State Department and Ever-Changing Global Politics 32:44

1+ y ago32:44

32:44

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Bill Russo. Assistant Secretary Russo commented on the role of the United States in the ever-changing dynamics of global politics and how it is perceived as a leader in conflict resolution and often called to act as …

1
Hamas, Iran and Israel: The Perils of Overreaction 34:35

1+ y ago34:35

34:35

In this episode of International Horizons, Colin Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Center, discusses the possible trajectories of the Israel-Palestine conflict with RBI director John Torpey. Clarke introduces the linkages of Hamas with Iran and the way in which the Iranian government backs a number of different proxy groups in the Middle E…

1
Woodrow Wilson: Patrick Weil’s "The Madman in the White House" 40:51

1+ y ago40:51

40:51

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Patrick Weil, author of The Madman in the White House: Sigmund Freud, Ambassador Bullitt, and the Lost Psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson (Harvard University Press, 2023). Weil discusses the beginnings of a book published in 1960 by Ambassador William C. Bullitt, who wrot…

1
From the Invention of the Passport to the Golden Passport 36:27

1+ y ago36:27

36:27

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Kristin Surak, professor at the London School of Economics, about her new book, The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires (Harvard University Press, 2023). The conversation starts with the contrast of Torpey’s The Invention of the Passport (Cambridge UP, 2018…

1
AI, Post-Truth, and Cultural Transformation 41:49

1+ y ago41:49

41:49

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey talks with economists Luciana Lazzaretti and Stefania Oliva of the University of Florence about the role of artificial intelligence in contemporary cultural transformation. The authors discuss the genesis of computer culture from the garages of California hippies who dreamed of a c…

1
Resentment: The Complexity of an Emotion and its Effect on Politics 39:08

1+ y ago39:08

39:08

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Rob Schneider, Professor of History at Indiana University-Bloomington, about the political effects of resentment. Schneider begins by discussing the psychological complexity of resentment and then delves into its understanding by other authors such as Nietzsche and its r…

1
Should We Be Optimistic About Global Governance? 30:45

1+ y ago30:45

30:45

This week on International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviewed Richard Gowan, UN director of the International Crisis Group. Gowan discusses the different views of the UN on the occasion of the annual meeting of the General Assembly. The absence of a number of key figures was widely noted, but most major world leaders, such as Biden, Sch…

1
Global Inequality: Are We Really Measuring What We Should Be Measuring? 43:12

1+ y ago43:12

43:12

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviewed Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, about different debates surrounding inequality. Ghosh criticizes the flaws in some inequality indicators that are focusing only on measuring how the poor are doing and not on how the ric…

1
India, a Non-Aligned Member of the International System? 33:42

1+ y ago33:42

33:42

We kick off our Fall 2023 season of International Horizons with Upendra Choudhury from Aligarh Muslim University discussing the role of India in the contemporary international system. Prof. Choudhury argues that India’s vision of a multipolar world order consists of acting as a balancing mediator between the traditional West and a rising China. In …

1
Negotiating Decolonization: The Limits of a Fairy Tale 34:26

2y ago34:26

34:26

In this episode of International Horizons, Valerie Rosoux, Research Director at the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) discusses the disagreements in the historiography of Belgium's human rights violations during its colonial activities in Congo, and how Belgium's case differs from those of Netherlands and France in coming to terms with th…

1
The Whys and Wherefores of Migration 42:09

2y ago42:09

42:09

This week on International Horizons, James Hollifield, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Tower Center for Political Studies, Southern Methodist University (SMU), discusses the epistemology of migration studies and delves into some of its foundational works. Hollifield addresses how modern migration regulation is related to the inve…

1
Algeria and France: Grievances and the Effects of Decolonialism 41:30

2y ago41:30

41:30

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI's director, John Torpey interviewed Laetitia Bucaille about the factors that explain variation in resentment and grievances in former colonies drawing from the cases of Algeria and South Africa. Bucaille delves deeper into the case of Algeria and the affected populations whose identities were crossed c…

1
The Everyday Feminist with Latanya Mapp Frett 46:05

2y ago46:05

46:05

Equality between the sexes has long been recognized as a fundamental moral and legal objective of the UN, and more recently of many governments and international financial and development institutions. Women's empowerment has long been recognized as essential to the larger development objectives of the UN and the international community. Extensive …

1
What Can China's Identity Politics Tell Us About Affirmative Action? 39:49

2y ago39:49

39:49

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Yan Sun, Professor of Chinese politics at Queens College and the Graduate Center, to discuss the origins of the ethnic divisions in China and their contemporary effects. Yan addresses the imperial administrative system and the historical incorporation of non-core peoples…

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