Thanks to demand from big emerging economies, most South American governments have become increasingly “resource nationalistic” and have ramped up social spending to meet the needs of the poor and the indigenous, causing poverty levels to drop – at the same time as poverty has been on the increase in the United States. Will the U.S. continue losing influence in Latin America? Will China soon dominate the area both commercially and strategically? Can the U.S. do business with countries from Mexico to Argentina without interfering in their internal affairs? Journalist Hal Weitzman provides an in-depth analysis of these questions in Latin Lessons: How South America Stopped Listening to the United States and Started Prospering.

Thanks to demand from big emerging economies, most South American governments have become increasingly “resource nationalistic” and have ramped up social spending to meet the needs of the poor and the indigenous, causing poverty levels to drop – at the same time as poverty has been on the increase in the United States. Will the U.S. continue losing influence in Latin America? Will China soon dominate the area both commercially and strategically? Can the U.S. do business with countries from Mexico to Argentina without interfering in their internal affairs? Journalist Hal Weitzman provides an in-depth analysis of these questions in Latin Lessons: How South America Stopped Listening to the United States and Started Prospering.

“Latin Lessons: How South America Stopped Listening to the U.S. and Started Prospering” (video)

As senior adviser to Madeleine Albright and then as President Clinton’s ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, David Scheffer was at the forefront of the efforts that led to criminal tribunals for the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia, and that resulted in the creation of the permanent International Criminal Court. All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals is Scheffer’s gripping insider’s account of the international gamble to prosecute those responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and to redress some of the bloodiest human rights atrocities in our time.Introduction by Susan Gzesh, Executive Director of the University of Chicago Human Rights Program and Senior Lecturer in the College.

As senior adviser to Madeleine Albright and then as President Clinton’s ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, David Scheffer was at the forefront of the efforts that led to criminal tribunals for the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia, and that resulted in the creation of the permanent International Criminal Court. All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals is Scheffer’s gripping insider’s account of the international gamble to prosecute those responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and to redress some of the bloodiest human rights atrocities in our time. Introduction by Susan Gzesh, Executive Director of the University of Chicago Human Rights Program and Senior Lecturer in the College.

“All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals” (video)

Since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was established in 1994, efforts to secure international agreement on climate policy have gained increasing attention, but compromise on the issues has not been easy to achieve.

"Climate Change & the International Negotiations" (video)

For the last decade, Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Revolution” has captured international attention. Poverty, inequality, and unemployment have all dropped, while health, education, and living standards have seen a commensurate rise. Venezuela Speaks! is the real, bottom-up account of the country's bloodless uprising and reorganization.Co-editor Carlos Martinez will explain how the stories in Venezuela Speaks! offer a different perspective than that of the international mainstream media, which has focused predominantly on Venezuela’s controversial president, Hugo Chavez.

For the last decade, Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Revolution” has captured international attention. Poverty, inequality, and unemployment have all dropped, while health, education, and living standards have seen a commensurate rise. Venezuela Speaks! is the real, bottom-up account of the country's bloodless uprising and reorganization. Co-editor Carlos Martinez will explain how the stories in Venezuela Speaks! offer a different perspective than that of the international mainstream media, which has focused predominantly on Venezuela’s controversial president, Hugo Chavez.

"Venezuela Speaks!" (video)

A talk by Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. In their book "Cutting the Fuse", Robert A. Pape, James K. Feldman and the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism examine every suicide terrorist attack worldwide from 1980 to 2009, nearly 2200 attacks in all. In this talk, Robert Pape presents their finding that contrary to popular and dangerously mistaken belief, religion alone motivates only a tiny minority of these attacks. Instead, the root cause is foreign military occupation, which triggers secular and religious people to carry out suicide attacks.

“Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It” (video)

Rodolfo Pastor is Minister of Culture, Arts and Sports of Honduras, and, since the coup of June 28 that overthrew the government of President Manuel Zelaya, he has also been Visiting Professor of History at Harvard University. Pastor discusses the current political situation of Honduras, the Honduran political system, as well as the upcoming election.

"International Reactions to the Coup in Honduras" (video)

Imtiaz Gul is the Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad. He is the author of three books on the ongoing security concerns in South Asia: The Unholy Nexus, The Al-Qaeda Connection, and The Most Dangerous Place. Gul addresses the longer term political and social consequences of the floods in Pakistan of July of this year.

"The Flood Disaster in Pakistan: Socio-economic Consequences and Potential Geopolitical Ramifications" (video)

Raman Sukumar is the author of three books on the ecology and conservation of elephants, and the recipient of the International Cosmos Prize in 2006. He is presently completing a cultural history of the Asian elephant that will be published in late 2010. Using literary sources and artistic representation of elephants in painting and sculpture, Sukumar's talk traces the changing paradigms in the elephant-human relationship through history, and provides possible ecological explanations for the same.

"Elephants, Gods and People: The Cultural History of the Asian Elephants" (video)

A talk by Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, South Asian Languages and Civilizations and the College, University of Chicago and David Archer, Professor in the Department of Geophysical Science at the University of Chicago on the global climate crisis. As part of the quarterly Workshop on the Global Environment, historian Dipesh Chakrabarty and geophysicist David Archer meet to discuss human-environmental relationships. Archer served as discussant of Chakrabaty's presentation titled "Between Globalization and Global Warming: The Long and the Short of Human History".

"Between Globalization and Global Warming" (video)

Robert Glennon is a nationally-renowned water expert, and the author of Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What To Do About It (2009). His previous books include the highly-acclaimed Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America's Fresh Waters (2002). Glennon is the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.  Glennon explores potential water futures for the U.S. — one driven by passivity, the other by foresight.

"America's Water Crisis" (video)

The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source is intended as a resource for students, teachers, and the general public. It makes available recordings of conferences, lectures, and performances sponsored and organized by: the Center for International Studies; the Human Rights Program; the Center for East Asian Studies; the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies; the Center for Latin American Studies; the Center for Middle Eastern Studies; and the South Asian Language and Area Center. It is funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [video]

A panel discussion with Steven Wilkinson, Martha Nussbaum, Tarini Bedi, Robert Pape, and Manan Ahmed.On November 26, 2008, the world watched while terror attacks paralyzed Mumbai, India's financial capital and largest city. Mumbai bounced back, but the bold, new strategies of the attacks shifted the discourse of the global war on terror. The panelists discuss the consequences of terror in Mumbai for the region and the world. Introductory remarks by Steven Wilkinson.Steven Wilkinson is an Associate Professor of Political Science and an expert in colonization, ethnic conflict and nationalism in India.Martha Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics and an expert on rights, justice and democracy.Tarini Bedi is a cultural anthropologist who conducted her research with the Shiv Sena party in Mumbai and is the Associate Director of the South Asia Language and Area Center and the Committee on Southern Asian Studies.Robert Pape is a Professor of Political Science specializing in international security affairs and the author of Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism.Manan Ahmed, recently minted PhD in the history of Islam in South Asia, blogs on international affairs at Chapati Mystery with a focus on media and Pakistan.This event was presented by the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, and the Center for International Studies, and co-sponsored by the International House Global Voices Lecture Program.

A panel discussion with Steven Wilkinson, Martha Nussbaum, Tarini Bedi, Robert Pape, and Manan Ahmed. On November 26, 2008, the world watched while terror attacks paralyzed Mumbai, India's financial capital and largest city. Mumbai bounced back, but the bold, new strategies of the attacks shifted the discourse of the global war on terror. The panelists discuss the consequences of terror in Mumbai for the region and the world. Introductory remarks by Steven Wilkinson. Steven Wilkinson is an Associate Professor of Political Science and an expert in colonization, ethnic conflict and nationalism in India. Martha Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics and an expert on rights, justice and democracy. Tarini Bedi is a cultural anthropologist who conducted her research with the Shiv Sena party in Mumbai and is the Associate Director of the South Asia Language and Area Center and the Committee on Southern Asian Studies. Robert Pape is a Professor of Political Science specializing in international security affairs and the author of Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Manan Ahmed, recently minted PhD in the history of Islam in South Asia, blogs on international affairs at Chapati Mystery with a focus on media and Pakistan. This event was presented by the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, and the Center for International Studies, and co-sponsored by the International House Global Voices Lecture Program.

"Terror in Mumbai: Reflections on the Aftermath" (video)

A talk by New York Times journalist Neil MacFarquhar. His book, "The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday" reveals a cross-section of unsung, dynamic men and women pioneering political and social change. There is the Kuwaiti sex therapist in a leather suit with matching red headscarf, and the Syrian engineer advocating a less political interpretation of the Koran. MacFarquhar interacts with Arabs and Iranians in their every day lives, removed from the violence we see constantly, yet wrestling with the region's future. Cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series.

"The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East" (video)

A presentation and discussion with University of Chicago Professors Roger Myerson, Department of Economics &amp; Marshall Sahlins, Department of Anthropology.Roger Myerson: "A Field Manual for the Cradle of Civilization"Marshall Sahlins: "On the Anthropology of the Counterinsurgency Field Manual"Part of the April 2009 conference on "Reconsidering American Power". In the STSS Workshop's 2008 conference on "Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency", participants analyzed and interrogated new relations among American power, geopolitics, military interventions and anthropological practice. This year, the issues were broadened to include the future of American power and the social sciences generally. "Reconsidering American Power" asks a difficult, timely question: In the face of two ongoing hot wars and after a potentially transformative election, what now?Organized by The Workshop on Science, Technology, Society, and the State, and the Center for International Studies.

A presentation and discussion with University of Chicago Professors Roger Myerson, Department of Economics &amp; Marshall Sahlins, Department of Anthropology. Roger Myerson: "A Field Manual for the Cradle of Civilization" Marshall Sahlins: "On the Anthropology of the Counterinsurgency Field Manual" Part of the April 2009 conference on "Reconsidering American Power". In the STSS Workshop's 2008 conference on "Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency", participants analyzed and interrogated new relations among American power, geopolitics, military interventions and anthropological practice. This year, the issues were broadened to include the future of American power and the social sciences generally. "Reconsidering American Power" asks a difficult, timely question: In the face of two ongoing hot wars and after a potentially transformative election, what now? Organized by The Workshop on Science, Technology, Society, and the State, and the Center for International Studies.

“Reconceptualizing the Question: Intervention Strategies” (video)

A demonstration by John Kuo, Director of the Chicago ensemble Balkanske Igre.Presented in Angelina Ilieva's class on Balkan Folklore.Co-sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, and the University of Chicago Arts Planning Council.

A demonstration by John Kuo, Director of the Chicago ensemble Balkanske Igre. Presented in Angelina Ilieva's class on Balkan Folklore. Co-sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, and the University of Chicago Arts Planning Council.

"Music and Dance Rhythms from the Balkans" (video)

A presentation by Adrián Lajous, Former Pemex CEO.Adrián Lajous is Chairman of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, President of Petrométrica, SC and non-Executive Director of Schlumberger, Ternium, Trinity Industries and Grupo Petroquímico Beta. He is senior energy advisor to McKinsey &amp; Company. In 2003-04 he was a Senior Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and a Visiting Fellow in the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame during the first quarter of 2005. In 1994 Adrián Lajous was appointed Director General of Pemex (CEO) and Chairman of the boards of the Pemex group of operating companies. He stepped down from this position in December 1999 after 29 years in public service.Adrián Lajous taught at El Colegio de México (1971-76), joined the Ministry of Energy in 1977, where he was appointed Director General for Energy. In 1983 he moved on to Pemex where he held a succession of key executive positions: Executive Coordinator for International Trade, Corporate Director of Planning, Corporate Director for Operations (COO) and Director for Refining and Marketing. He also served on the Board of Repsol-YPF. Mr. Lajous holds degrees in Economics from the National University of Mexico and Cambridge University.Event organized by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies and co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.

A presentation by Adrián Lajous, Former Pemex CEO. Adrián Lajous is Chairman of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, President of Petrométrica, SC and non-Executive Director of Schlumberger, Ternium, Trinity Industries and Grupo Petroquímico Beta. He is senior energy advisor to McKinsey &amp; Company. In 2003-04 he was a Senior Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and a Visiting Fellow in the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame during the first quarter of 2005. In 1994 Adrián Lajous was appointed Director General of Pemex (CEO) and Chairman of the boards of the Pemex group of operating companies. He stepped down from this position in December 1999 after 29 years in public service. Adrián Lajous taught at El Colegio de México (1971-76), joined the Ministry of Energy in 1977, where he was appointed Director General for Energy. In 1983 he moved on to Pemex where he held a succession of key executive positions: Executive Coordinator for International Trade, Corporate Director of Planning, Corporate Director for Operations (COO) and Director for Refining and Marketing. He also served on the Board of Repsol-YPF. Mr. Lajous holds degrees in Economics from the National University of Mexico and Cambridge University. Event organized by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies and co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.

"Mexican Oil and Gas Policies" (video)

Carlos Fernando Chamorro is the son of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, editor of the independent daily La Prensa who was assassinated during the Somoza dictatorship. Chamorro is among the nation's most respected TV journalists, and a leading voice for press freedom and the protection of independent journalism in Nicaragua.

"Democracy in Nicaragua" (video)

A talk by Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz. The current global financial crisis carries a "made in America" label. In "Freefall", Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz explains how America exported bad economics, bad policies, and bad behavior to the rest of the world, only to cobble together a haphazard and ineffective response when the markets finally seized up. Drawing on his academic expertise, his years spent shaping policy in the Clinton administration and at the World Bank, and his more recent role as head of a UN Commission charged with reforming the global financial system, Stiglitz then outlines a way forward building on ideas that he has championed his entire career: restoring the balance between markets and government; addressing the inequalities of the global financial system; and demanding more good ideas (and less ideology) from economists. "Freefall" combines an account of the current crisis with a discussion of the broader economic issues at stake. From the World Beyond the Headlines series.

“Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy” (video)

A talk by Antonia Juhasz, author, policy expert, and activist. Antonia Juhasz is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies, a fellow with Oil Change International, and a senior analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus. The author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time (2006), Juhasz has also written extensively on various aspects of globalization. Her articles and commentary on politics and policy have appeared in New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Petroleum Review Magazine, In These Times, and Washington Post, among other sources. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do to Stop It" (video)

Greg Beckett, Anthropology PhD and Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences, and Ann Clark, Principal at Nicholas Clark Architects, Ltd, contextualize US-Haitian relations and Port-au-Prince itself, and discuss the nature of Haitian political and social life before the earthquake.

"Teach-in on the Haiti Emergency" (video)

A talk by author and Earth Policy Institute founder Lester Brown. As fossil fuel prices rise, oil insecurity deepens, and concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging. Wind, solar, and geothermal energy are replacing oil, coal, and natural gas, at a pace and on a scale we could not have imagined even a year ago. For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, we have begun investing in energy sources that can last forever. Plan B 4.0 explores both the nature of this transition to a new energy economy and how it will affect our daily lives. Cosponsored by the Program on the Global Environment. From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series.

"Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization" (video)

Santiago Levy is Vice President for Sector and Knowledge at the Inter-American Development Bank and author of the book Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes: Social Policy, Informality and Economic Growth in Mexico. Mr. Levy speaks on the growth of Mexico’s informal economy.

"The Informal Economy in Mexico" (video)

A multi-disciplinary panel, held at the Shedd Aquarium, provided a public examination and discussion of the threat of Asian carp to Chicago and the Great Lakes. Experts in biology, economics and policy shared the most up to date information about how these species threaten the ecology of the Great Lakes, how closing Chicago waterways would affect the regional economy, and the broader implications for the Great Lakes region and environmental management. Cosponsored by the Program on the Global Environment and the Chicago Council on Science and Technology.

“Asian Carp Invasion: Potential Economic and Ecological Impacts in the Great Lakes” (video)

A talk by political scientist Gilles Dorronsoro, visiting scholar in the Carnegie Endowment's South Asia Program. His research focuses on security and political development in Afghanistan, particularly the role of the International Security Assistance Force, the steps required to achieve a viable government in Kabul, and the conditions necessary for withdrawal scenarios. From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series. Cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asian Language &amp; Area Center, and the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.

“The Consequences of the Escalation of War in Afghanistan” (video)

A talk by American University professor Deborah Brautigam. Is China a rogue donor, as some media pundits suggest? Or is China helping the developing world pave a pathway out of poverty, as the Chinese claim? This well-timed book provides the first comprehensive account of China's aid and economic cooperation overseas. Deborah Brautigam tackles the myths and realities, explaining what the Chinese are doing, how they do it, how much aid they give, and how it all fits into their "going global" strategy. Will Chinese engagement benefit Africa? Using hard data and a series of vivid stories ranging across agriculture, industry, natural resources, and governance, Brautigam's fascinating book provides an answer. Cosponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies. From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series.

“The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa” (video)

Dain Borges, Director, Center for Latin American StudiesMark Hansen, Dean, Social Science DivisionAmbassador João Almino, Consul General of Brazil in ChicagoMarina Silva, Senator, Green Party (from Brazil via video)

Dain Borges, Director, Center for Latin American Studies Mark Hansen, Dean, Social Science Division Ambassador João Almino, Consul General of Brazil in Chicago Marina Silva, Senator, Green Party (from Brazil via video)

Opening Remarks (video)

Special Address: Sônia Guajajara, Vice-Coordinator of COIAB: Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira. Cosponsored by the University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies and the Project on the Global Environment.

"Special Address:Perspectives from an Amazonian Social Movement" (video)

A talk by journalist and author Roger Thurow. For more than thirty years, humankind has known how to grow enough food to end chronic hunger worldwide. Yet while the "Green Revolution" succeeded in South America and Asia, it never got to Africa. Now, an impending global food crisis threatens to make things worse. In the west we think of famine as a natural disaster, brought about by drought; or as the legacy of brutal dictators. But in this powerful investigative narrative, Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman argue that in the past few decades, American, British, and European policies conspired to keep Africa hungry and unable to feed itself. As a new generation of activists work to keep famine from spreading, Enough sheds light on a humanitarian issue of utmost urgency. From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series. Cosponsored by the Program on the Global Environment.

“Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty” (video)

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Best Episodes on Self Improvement, Growth & Development

The best podcast episodes of the most interesting stories and things. From skyping someone while they're in space, to tracking down and meeting a telephone scammer in person, to the story of a Galapagos. These episodes will keep you and all your friends entertained and captivated for hours. Learn something new in every episode! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!