Explaining Brazil
News from Brazil, by The Brazilian Report — an independent media outlet uniquely positioned to offer an insider’s view of current affairs in Brazil.
Episodes
Carlos Nobre, head of the Planetary Science Pavilion at COP30 in the Amazon, talks to us about the conference’s results, the climate emergency we are living through, and what Brazil can still do.
Five years ago, Brazil launched a public digital payment infrastructure — and its impact on the financial market and society has been immense.
Over the past decade, Brazilian lawmakers have steadily built up procedures to expand their powers over the purse. That has included increasing the overall volume of congressional grants; making a large share of them mandatory spending; limiting the Executive’s discretion over when to release those funds, and creating ways to erase transparency and traceability from the process. A perfect recipe for corruption, which has now trickl...
Each passing year, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) gains more urgency. More and more biomes around the world are approaching what scientists call tipping points — the Amazon chief among them. Hosting the 30th edition of COP in Belém, one of the Amazon’s biggest cities, therefore represents one of the most significant responsibilities Brazil’s diplomacy has taken on in recent times.
This week, we are joined by exp...
Justice Luís Roberto Barroso is retiring. We unpack how factors such as trust, political ties, and electoral considerations may guide President Lula’s next choice for the court.
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or on The Brazilian Report.
President Lula’s popularity has risen. We examine how this might impact the political landscape ahead of the next presidential election.
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or on The Brazilian Report.
Brazil’s Congress is discussing a proposal for income tax reform. Backed by the Lula administration, the bill seeks to make the country’s system more progressive. But just how unequal are taxes in Brazil?
This week, we host economist Davi Bhering, who co-authored a Paris School of Economics study on Brazil’s tax income system. In our newly released episode of the Explaining Brazil podcast, he unpacks:
- Why Brazil’s income inequ...
Crowds on Sunday fanned out across Brazil’s 27 state capitals to denounce two measures moving through Congress: a constitutional amendment proposal that would essentially shield lawmakers from prosecution, and a bill that could forgive or soften penalties for those convicted of a coup attempt masterminded by former President Jair Bolsonaro and his acolytes.
The demonstrations, initially organized in a spontaneous, online f...
A massive police operation exposed how deep Brazil's largest criminal organization has penetrated the legitimate economy.
Rafael Alcadipani, a professor at the FGV’s School of Public Administration and a member of the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety, unpacks:
- How the PCC evolved into a mafia-like organization, with multiple economic activities.
- The impacts of this expansion on democracy.
- Brazil’s federal and state-...
The Brazilian Supreme Court has reached a majority to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro of leading a conspiracy to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat.
The trial is about to bring an end to a political career long marked by authoritarian views and practices. To review Bolsonaro's political path, the Explaining Brazil podcast invited journalist Juliana Dal Piva. She is the author of the book “O Negócio do Jair” (...
The final stage of Jair Bolsonaro’s coup trial kicked off on September 2 in Brasília. After months of evidence-gathering, arguments and testimonies, the justices are expected to deliver their ruling by September 12, in what is arguably the most consequential trial in Brazil’s recent history.
At the center of the case are the riots that occurred on January 8, 2023. They looked eerily like January 6 in the United States — bu...
At a time when US President Donald Trump is pressuring Brazil on both trade and military fronts, the country’s digital vulnerabilities have come into focus. The notion of sovereignty now extends beyond borders to the infrastructure, systems and data that underpin the digital world.
How prepared is Brazil to secure its digital sovereignty?
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or on The Brazilian Report.
A political drama has unfolded inside Congress. It started with a show of force: after former President Jair Bolsonaro was placed on house arrest, lawmakers loyal to him occupied both chambers, bringing the legislature to a halt. But beneath the theatrics, something more profound is unraveling — a leadership crisis. Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or on The Brazilian Report.
In this edition of #InsiderTalks, we’ve invited experts on law, democracy and electoral trends to analyze the trial of Bolsonaro and his allies for an alleged coup plot. Subscribe to Explaining Brazil Plus on Apple Podcasts for the full episode or go to The Brazilian Report and subscribe to get all of our content.
Professor Felipe Campante of Johns Hopkins sees little room for success in negotiations between Brazil and the US, as only the former is following the rule of law. Subscribe to Explaining Brazil Plus on Apple Podcasts for the full episode or go to The Brazilian Report and subscribe to get all of our content.
In this episode of Explaining Brazil Plus, we analyzed Donald Trump’s threat of a 50% tariff on Brazil and its possible impacts on the country's economy and politics. Subscribe to Explaining Brazil Plus on Apple Podcasts for the full episode or go to The Brazilian Report and subscribe to get all of our content.
A major social security scandal causes a government headache. Brazil’s beef sector needs major changes to hit emissions goals. And Lula is off to Rome for the pope’s funeral, but who’s going with him?
In this Explaining Brazil Plus episode, Lise Tupiassu of the Federal University of Pará gives us her on-the-ground perspective on what should be in the spotlight regarding COP30 in the Amazon
Rio’s mayor looks to El Salvador for inspiration on public security. Brazil’s agro jobs are less and less done on farms. And Bolsonaro goes under the knife again in a 12-hour surgery.
Trump and the US become less popular in Brazil. Embraer wades into the aerial arms race. And the pro-gun caucus wants to take firearms away from Lula’s security team
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com