The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

Eswar Prasad, Cornell professor and author studying globalization and macroeconomics, unpacks the “doom loop” of economic, political and geopolitical instability. He maps how fragile institutions, China’s rise, currency dynamics and middle‑power choices deepen tensions. Short, sharp takes on why repair is hard and what resilience and reform would need to look like.

Alex Dukalskis, associate professor at UCD studying authoritarianism, and Alexander Cooley, Barnard political scientist on authoritarian influence, discuss how autocratic states learned and adapted since the 1990s. They cover stigmatizing NGOs, legal shields and censorship, corporate pressure from market access, media expansion, and sports as soft power. The conversation maps a five-stage playbook for projecting authoritarian power globally.

Sven Beckert, Laird Bell Professor of History at Harvard and author of Capitalism: A Global History, offers a globe-spanning, centuries-deep take on capitalism. He traces merchant origins, colonial and Atlantic transformations, the role of silver and plantations, and how institutions and ideas normalize capitalist orders. The conversation moves between local case studies and sweeping global synthesis.

Join John Cassidy, a Staff Writer at The New Yorker and author of "Capitalism and Its Critics," as he unpacks the historical tapestry of capitalism's critiques. From the East India Company to modern globalization, he reveals how figures like Marx and Hobson influenced economic thought. Cassidy explores Veblen's take on conspicuous consumption and dives into the insights of Piketty on inequality. Discover how Polanyi's theories on markets resonate with today’s political challenges, showcasing capitalism’s ongoing evolution and the critical perspectives that illuminate its path.

Thea Riofrancos, a political scientist and environmentalist, discusses her book on lithium extraction and its geopolitical implications. She reveals how lithium, essential for modern tech and the green transition, shapes global power dynamics. Thea highlights Latin America's resource nationalism, the community impacts of mining, and the contrasting strategies of the US and China in securing lithium supply. She critiques assumptions about rising demand, advocating for policy shifts to reduce reliance on mining. This compelling exploration merges environmentalism with politics.

Leah Downey, a political economist from King’s College London and author of "Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters," returns to explore the implications of recent Federal Reserve developments. She discusses how Trump targeted Fed leadership and what that means for presidential power. Leah weighs in on the debates surrounding quantitative easing and inequality. The conversation also delves into whether legislative reform is plausible, emphasizing the need for public discourse on monetary policy.

This is the first in a two-part series featuring Leah Downey, political theorist at King’s College London and author of the new book “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.” On this part (recorded in May) Mark Blyth and Leah discuss her book, and take a look at the historical evolution of the relationship between independent central banks and democratic politics. In the second part (which will come out next week) Mark and Leah explore how this relationship has changed in the US in the second Trump term, and what it might mean for US monetary policy and US politics going forward. Learn more about and purchase “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.”

Karin Wulf, a historian and director of the John Carter Brown Library, and Kevin McLaughlin, a literary scholar and director of the John Nicholas Brown Center, lead the 'Brown 2026' initiative celebrating the U.S. 250th anniversary. They discuss the essential role of universities in democracy and public good, stressing public support for education. The conversation dives into challenges like funding and privatization, while reflecting on historical movements that expanded access to higher education. Their insights emphasize how universities can drive societal innovation.

On this episode, Mark talks with two guests to try and understand why, despite growing right populist movements emerging and winning elections in countries around the world, the left seems to be stalling. It’s a simple question with an incredibly complex answer. Hopefully, though, these two guests will help you to see both the question and its possible answers in a new light. Guests on this episode:Björn Bremer: political scientist at Central European University, John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University, and author of “Austerity from the Left: Social Democratic Parties in the Shadow of the Great Recession”Paul Pierson: professor of political science at UC Berkeley and author of, most recently, “The American Political Economy Politics, Markets, and Power”  Learn more about the Watson Institute's other podcasts

On this episode, Mark Blyth talks with Małgorzata Mazurek, a historian, associate professor of Polish Studies at Columbia University, and author of the forthcoming book “The Economics of Hereness: The Polish Origins of Global Developmentalism 1918-1968.”Mazurek explores how, between World Wars I and II, a group of thinkers led by economists Michał Kalecki and Ludwik Landau began to re-envision Poland’s economy – and future. Their work, and Mazurek tells it, threatened many of the assumptions held by those in power about economic development in the mid-20th century, and would go on to influence thinkers around the world in the decades to come. In telling the story of these thinkers, Mazurek also recounts a fascinating moment in Poland’s history, when a unique confluence of attitudes towards trade, immigration, and ethnic diversity created a laboratory for new economic ideas. Listen to other podcasts from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University