On July 1st, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officially closed its operations. It was the culmination of a months-long effort by the Trump administration to dismantle the agency, which had been in charge of administering U.S. foreign aid for over half a century.

Why did President Trump make the dissolution of USAID a priority? And what will it mean for the people and places around the world that have relied on foreign aid from the U.S.?

To answer these questions, Dan Richards spoke with Jennifer Hadden, a political scientist and associate professor at the Watson School, as well as co-author, with Sarah Sunn Bush, of the new book “Crowded Out: The Competitive Landscape of Contemporary International NGOs.”

On this episode, they discuss the fate of USAID in the context of the broader international aid ecosystem. Specifically, they explore the evolving roles of international non-governmental organizations (INGO’s) in the foreign landscape, which have long worked with government agencies like USAID to deliver aid and assistance around the world.

To many, it was surprising that USAID became such a target of the Trump administration. But as Hadden makes clear, Trump’s moves are part of a larger shift in the world of foreign aid — one with truly global implications.

Learn more about and purchase “Crowded Out The Competitive Landscape of Contemporary International NGOs.”

On this episode, Dan Richards talks with Mark Blyth about his new book, co-written with Nicoló Fraccaroli, called “Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers.”

Mark and Dan discuss the competing theories for what causes inflation, the merits of each, and how they explain (or fail to explain) the inflation we saw post-pandemic. They also explore why inflation harms some parts of society more than others, and how to make sure that, the next time inflation rears its head, we fight it in a way that’s more effective and more fair.

Learn more about and purchase “Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers”

Transcript coming soon to our website.

Mexico, like the United States, has a gun violence problem. It has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and most of those murders come from firearms. In 2019, for example, almost 70% of the country's 35,000 murders involved firearms.

But unlike the U.S., Mexico doesn’t have tens of thousands of licensed firearms dealers.

It has two.

So how do so many guns make their way into Mexico? And how do these guns shape Mexican society?

These are two of the questions Ieva Jusionyte explores in her new book “Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence across the Border.” Jusionyte is an anthropologist at the Watson Institute and spent much of the last few years following people whose lives are shaped by guns in Mexico. Guns, which, by and large, come from the United States.

On this episode, which was originally broadcast in May 2024, Jusionyte discusses the impact of American firearms on Mexican society and the role they play in spreading violence and trauma on both sides of the border.

Learn more about and purchase "Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence across the Border."