Big World

What does a career as a conflict resolution professional look like? School of International Service professor Anthony Wanis-St. John joins Big World to reflect on his career journey as a conflict resolution professional, break down what makes ceasefire agreements succeed or fail, and provide insight on how students can build careers in peacebuilding through mediation, diplomacy, and conflict resolution skills.

Topics covered:

• Wan...

When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the founders envisioned that the United States would become a powerful country committed to liberty and democracy. As America marks its 250th anniversary, what would the founders think of the U.S.’s role on the world stage today? SIS professor and author of Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy Jordan Tama joins Big World to analyze key moments in the 250-year arc of U.S...

In this episode of Big World, SIS alumnus and tech accountability advocate Zamaan Qureshi joins us to discuss the impact of AI and social media on teen mental health, the push for stronger regulation, and how U.S. tech policy compares to other countries.

Qureshi shares what drew him into tech advocacy (2:47) and how he came to co-found Design It For Us—a youth-led grassroots coalition pushing for safer online spaces (4:35). He...

In this new episode of Big World, SIS professor emeritus Philip Brenner joins us to discuss the politics behind the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and how it connects to the growing crisis in Cuba.

Brenner kicks off our episode by contextualizing the close alliance between Venezuela and Cuba (1:54) and the history of U.S. relations with both nations (4:31). Brenner also explains what was happening in the months leadi...

In this episode, School of International Service's Judy Gearhart joins Big World to discuss international labor organizing and the fight for workers' rights within the global supply chain.

Gearhart, a research professor at the Accountability Research Center and host of The Labor Link Podcast, begins the conversation by describing challenges and abuse that workers currently face in the global supply chain, highlighting forced labor i...

In this new episode, SIS visiting scholar in residence Laura Field joins Big World to discuss the intellectual backbone of the New Right.

Field is a writer, political theorist, and the author of the recently published book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right. In this episode, Field explains why she wrote this book (2:15) and what surprised her most in her research (3:30). Field also explains why Donald Trump was not the ...

In this new episode, School of International Service professor and former US Ambassador to Mongolia Piper Campbell joins Big World to share reflections on her 30-year career in diplomacy and provide practical advice for aspiring foreign service officers.

Campbell, the chair of the Department of Foreign Policy & Global Security, begins our conversation by explaining why she chose to pursue a career in diplomacy (2:01) a...

In this episode, School of International Service (SIS) professor Yerevan Saeed joins Big World to talk about Kurdish history, geopolitics, culture, and more.

Saeed, the director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace and Barzani Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of Politics, Governance, and Economics (PGE), begins the conversation by talking about the history of the Ottoman Empire and the struggles of the Kurdish people to ...

In this episode, School of International Service (SIS) professor William Akoto joins Big World to discuss the intersections of artificial intelligence and international affairs.

Akoto, a member of the SIS Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security and the director of research at the Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology, begins our conversation by explaining what is currently known about how governments are using...

In this episode, School of International Service (SIS) professor Jesse Ribot joins Big World to discuss his current research on migration, vulnerability, and the “hungry season” in West Africa.  

Ribot, a member of the SIS Department of Environment, Development, and Health, begins our conversation by discussing how a ship that sunk off the coast of Italy and killed hundreds of migrants on board was the precursory cl...

In this episode, School of International Service (SIS) professors Tazreena Sajjad and Maria De Jesus join Big World to discuss the history of US immigration policy and unpack how recent shifts are impacting our local DC community and beyond.   

Sajjad, a professor in the Department of Peace, Human Rights & Cultural Relations, begins our conversation by explaining common misconceptions surrounding the US immigratio...

In this episode, School of International Service (SIS) professor Michael Stanaitis joins Big World to discuss trade wars and tariffs during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Stanaitis, a member of the SIS Department of Global Inquiry and professor for SIS online graduate programs, begins our conversation by defining tariffs and explaining how the United States has historically used them (2:01). Stanaitis also explains the ...

In this new episode, School of International Service professor and anthropologist Scott Freeman joins Big World to discuss development, displacement, and international aid in Haiti.

Freeman, a professor in the Department of Environment, Development, and Health, begins our conversation by explaining the background of the 2011 Caracol Industrial Park development project that displaced more than 400 Haitian families (2:2...

In this new episode, School of International Service professor Johanna Mendelson Forman and University of Milan professor Andrea Borghini join Big World to discuss the power of the dining table.

Mendelson Forman, who teaches and researches culinary diplomacy and social gastronomy, and Borghini, an expert in food philosophy, begin our conversation by discussing the symbolism of the dining table and its role in trust building (1:58). ...

In this new episode, School of International Service professor Ken Conca joins Big World to discuss climate resiliency in the face of natural disasters.

Conca, a professor in the Department of Environment, Development, and Health, begins our conversation by explaining why he wrote his new book, After the Floods: The Search for Resilience in Ellicott City(2:19). Conca also discusses the issues that communities face followin...

In this new episode, School of International Service Distinguished Diplomat in Residence and former US Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne joins Big World to discuss Mexico’s recent election and US-Mexico relations.

Wayne, a professor in the Department of Foreign Policy & Global Security, begins our conversation by explaining why Mexico is important to the United States (1:55). Wayne also provides background on Cl...

Sara Jones, the director of the SIS Office of Career Development joins Big World to discuss the topic at the forefront of many international affairs students’ minds: how to get a job. Jones oversees career development support for SIS undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni, including events, advising, and employer relations.

Jones begins our conversation by sharing the best kinds of internships for international affairs ...

Cue the fanfare: in this new episode, School of International Service professor Robert Kelley joins Big World to talk about sports diplomacy and the soft power of the Olympic Games.

Kelley, an expert in new diplomacy studies who researches at the intersection of politics and culture, begins our conversation by defining and explaining the objections of both sports and public diplomacy (1:45). Kelley, an Olympics enthusiast, also disc...

*Note: This episode was recorded before the US Supreme Court in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine unanimously rejected a lawsuit challenging the FDA's rules for prescribing and dispensing the abortion medication mifepristone on the issue of standing.

American University School of Public Affairs professor, lawyer, and reproductive rights and policy expert Jessica Waters joins Big World to discuss the s...