Pivotal States

Latest Episodes:

How to Launder a Cow | Barbecue Earth Feb 20, 2024

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You’ve probably heard of money laundering. But while some choose to launder dirty cash, others launder cows.Episode 3 tells the story of one Brazilian company’s entanglement with the smuggling and selling of illegal cattle throughout the Amazon—and explores how big meat companies around the world use their power to undermine climate goals.

Barbecue Earth Trailer Feb 13, 2024

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Meat isn’t just delicious. It’s also an important commodity, a politically powerful industry, and a big reason why our planet is overheating. Join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for our new podcast Barbecue Earth, as we explore the intersection of meat, climate change, and geopolitics.

The Farmers Strike Back | Barbecue Earth Feb 13, 2024

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Tractors blocking government buildings. Manure piled on highways. The birth of a populist political party. In the Netherlands, government regulations on agriculture’s nitrogen emissions have sparked backlash from Dutch farmers. In Episode 2, we tell the story of this quarrel. It holds lessons for all countries, in Europe and beyond, that are facing rising agricultural populism as they begin to implement stricter environmental regulations on farming.

Hog Country | Barbecue Earth Feb 13, 2024

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In the United States, agriculture plays by a different set of rules than other sectors. With its lax child labor laws and lack of environmental restrictions, the American farming industry operates in a uniquely under-regulated environment. Why? Episode 1 explores the history of agricultural exceptionalism and how it impacts the lives of North Carolina residents living close to factory farms.

Trouble in the Blue House | Behind Closed Doors Jul 31, 2023

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The third episode, "Trouble in the Blue House," dissects the corruption scandal often called "South Korea's Watergate." When former President Park Geun-hye was first elected in 2013, she held widespread conservative support and was internationally celebrated as the country's first female president. No one could have predicted that just 5 years later, she would end up embroiled in a corruption case that would leave her disgraced, impeached, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Although not without its controversy, Park Geun-hye's impeachment shows how anti-corruption movements can pursue accountability and reform while protecting democratic norms.

Seeing the Monster | Behind Closed Doors Jul 24, 2023

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The second episode, "Seeing the Monster," explores what some call the biggest corruption scandal in history—Brazil's Lava Jato scandal. The story begins at a small gas station in southern Brazil, where a single arrest for bribery in 2013 unleashed a domino effect that would topple hundreds of business executives, imprison a former head of state, and impeach the sitting president. The aftermath of the scandal shows how important it is for anti-corruption movements to not only expose corruption, but also to provide constructive ways to address it.

Behind Closed Doors Trailer Jul 17, 2023

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Introduction to Behind Closed Doors: Corruption in Democracies

If Men Were Angels, We Wouldn't Need Government | Behind Closed Doors Jul 17, 2023

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What is corruption in democracies? How has it changed over time? And, in what forms does it emerge in our society today? Episode 1, 'If Men Were Angels, We Wouldn't Need Government,' answers these questions through the lens of case studies in the United States, including the political scandal of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have eroded controls on influence-peddling, and other frequent tools used by leaders and groups to receive preferential treatment in the U.S. system of government.

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