The Finch Podcast

If Myanmar’s history has been a long march towards democracy, the Southeast Asian nation faced a major setback earlier this year. The military recently ousted the de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, and has begun a crackdown on its own citizens. To make matters much worse, the nation had already been undergoing and executing what the United States calls a genocide. Joshua Kurlantzick is a Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations studying the collapse of...

Understanding and sparring with Russia has been a goal of American diplomacy since the 1950's. But Putin has brought his country to a new level of post-Soviet grandeur. The largest nation in the world is making its presence felt by the ex-KGB man turned politician. Understanding Putin is the main purpose of this episode. His desires, his weaknesses, his endgame. And there is no better a witness to each than Dr. Angela Stent. The Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern...

Asked what's wrong with the country, many Lebanese will say "mafi dawla," there is no state. Princeton University Associate Professor of History and Near Eastern Studies Max Weiss on sectarianism in Lebanon following last year's deadly explosion at the Port of Beirut. Joined by Lebanese student advocates at the Simply Youth Podcast, we discuss corruption, Hezbollah, and the Revolution. Then, 2020 may have had record turnout, but millions of Americans still didn't vote, and not for the...

This is a vaccine you've never heard about. University of Cambridge Professor of Social Psychology Sander van Der Linden on inoculating the public against misinformation, and the battle for truth in climate change, the pandemic, and American politics. Plus, how Medicare's Hospital Trust Fund is depleting an alarming rate. And how the January 6th white supremacist mob was not the first time blood was spilt in the Capitol—how precedent can predict what happens next. The Cambridge Social...

Is genocide the crime of all crimes? UNC Chapel-Hill Distinguished Professor of Global Human Rights History Dirk Moses on the Problems of Genocide, the symmetry of warfare, and permanent security in America. Plus, a French suburb for artists in exile, the evolution of fingernails and hair, Kazuo Ichiguro's eerie orphanage, and the future of the Republican Party. Find more from The Finch at https://www.thefinchpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter = @thefinchmedia ---...

In America, regulation is often pitted as the enemy of economic growth. But Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky (that's two PhD's to be exact) disagrees. The author of over 300 publications and 15 books, the designer of the first ever global carbon market in the Kyoto Protocol, a lead author in the Nobel-winning 2007 IPCC, a professor at Columbia University, and the founder and CEO of Global Thermostat, a 1 trillion dollar market venture, Graciela Chichilnisky knows the power that 6th element of the...

The final frontier has long fascinated humanity. Why humans are exploring, how emperor penguins breathe, how the Big Bang happened, and what a year in space feels like, on this installment of Extempore, featuring the 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics and Senior Astrophysicist at NASA Goddard, Dr. John Mather, and Astronaut Jessica Meir, one of two women to partake in the first all-female spacewalk onboard a 204 day ISS stay earlier this year. It's good to be back, even if we aren't covering our...

Guess who didn't cause this climate change problem? The places with the highest population growth. They didn't do it- it was me. Dawn King is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and a Senior Lecturer in the Institute for Environment and Society at Brown University and joins us on this second installment of Season Two on Climate Change to discuss food deserts and insecurity, climate inequity and injustice, urban and indoor agriculture, and how your tomato plant is a cop out. This episode...

Is there such thing as a perfect climate? Will we ever solve climate change? What even is climate change? Oh, and how did it enable Donald Trump to get elected? Mike Hulme, Professor of Human Geography and Fellow of Pembroke College at Cambridge University, is one of the most cited climate scientists in the world. He joins us on this premiere installment of Season Two on Climate Change to discuss the culture and history of climate change, rebuke the immunity of science, and debate the...

On August 20th, one of the largest and oldest public universities in the United States, the University of Georgia, opened its doors to 50,000 students and staff. Spotlighting student and faculty advocates, and featuring interviews from our in-house staff, this episode exposes the juxtaposition between student wellbeing and institutional profit and provides insight as to what we can expect in the weeks ahead. This episode is brought to you by the Ashley Wilson Piano Studio, offering private,...

As with every cycle, this is the most consequential election of our lifetime. But this time, it actually is. Mail-in voting during a pandemic, voter disenfranchisement, technology for waiting in line, and the census, are all on this episode of The Finch featuring: Juan Gilbert, the Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida, and Charles Stewart III, the Kenan Sahin Distinguished...

Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. And the US is playing a major role. Gregory Aftandilian is a former Pentagon and State Department Middle East expert and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at George Mason, Boston, and American Universities. Scott Paul is the Humanitarian Policy Lead of Oxfam America, a nonprofit dedicated to tackling the roots of poverty globally. On this episode, we explore the cultural, political and religious causes of the war in Yemen and analyze the...

These next few months are going to decide the future of America for generations. Former State Representative and current Democratic candidate for Georgia House Seat 119, Jonathan Wallace, is on this installment of Heritage. In Part 2, we have conversations about firearm regulation, LGBTQ and women's rights, policing and militarization, immigration, and the upcoming general election. In Part 1, we discuss environmental regulation, education reform, transportation, and the pandemic response....

Courage is on the ballot this year. It's also on this episode of The Finch. Former State Representative and current Democratic candidate for Georgia House Seat 119, Jonathan Wallace, is on this installment of Heritage. In Part 1, we discuss environmental regulation, education reform, transportation, and the pandemic response. In Part 2, we have conversations about firearm regulation, LGBTQ and women's rights, policing and militarization, immigration, and the upcoming general election. Learn...

Two interviews. Three months apart. On this special episode, the last of the COVID-19 series (for now), Alex and Will talk with Dr. Neal Priest, Chief of Emergency Medicine at St. Mary's in Athens, Georgia about this pandemic- what has and hasn't changed. Listen to "The Virus 1" with Dr. Neal Priest to get a comparison of how this virus has progressed over this summer. Our next season will be on global warming. Learn more about what we do at www.thefinchpodcast.com The views of Dr. Neal...

Her race is back on. Deborah Gonzalez, a former state representative for Georgia House District 117, took on the Governor- and won. This is the story of how she got back on the ballot, her platform, and the seat she is seeking. The ACLU calls the district attorney the most powerful elected official you've never heard of. On this fifth installment of our Heritage series, Alex and Will talk with Deborah, a Democratic candidate for DA in Athens and Oconee, about ending mass incarceration,...

Dr. Biao He is an internationally-acclaimed expert in parainfluenza viruses leading an effort at the University of Georgia to create a Trojan horse vaccine: using part of an old MERS vaccine and equipping it with COVID-19 components. On this Season Finale of The Virus, Alex and Will sit down with Dr. He, a GRA Eminent Scholar and the Davidson Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine, to talk about what may be our only way out of this pandemic. The views of Dr. Biao He do not...

It's a long road to getting a vaccine on the market. Kim Fowler, Director of the Human Research Protection Program at the University of Georgia, is our guide. On this episode we talk about human challenge trials, discuss the ethics behind expediting research, and make predictions about when we can expect a COVID-19 vaccine. The views of Kim Fowler do not reflect the views of her employer, the University of Georgia, or any affiliated organization. Learn more about The Finch =...

We are entering an unprecedented time in economic history. Unemployment rate is at an all time high, the most progressive stimulus bills in modern history are on the table, and standards of industry and competition are being dismantled in a frenzy to provide necessary equipment and salvage the supply chain. Dr. Laura Phillips Sawyer knows business, history, and business history. She talks with Alex and Will on this COVID-19 episode for the books. The views of Dr. Laura Phillips Sawyer do...

John Q. Williams has served as a dispatcher, instructor, resource officer, police officer, and investigator. Now he's running for sheriff. On this fourth installment of our Heritage series, Alex and Will talk with John about his platform to reform the Athens police department and the disputes at the intersection of law enforcing and racial bias. Campaign Site: http://johnqforsheriff.com Register to Vote: https://vote.gov --------------------------------------------- Follow us on...