The Looking Glass

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Istanbul's Next Earthquake May 29, 2025

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Welcome back everybody to the SAIS Review’s The Looking Glass Podcast. I am your host Davide Donald. On today’s episode we are going to be talking about disaster management in Turkey. Istanbul lies at the heart of the Eurasian and Anatolian tectonic plate fault lines. The prospect of another major earthquake hitting the city of over 16 million people is a question of when, not if. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Istanbul a few weeks ago on April 23rd–which luckily resulted in only injuries and minor building damage–was a reminder of just how imminent a major quake could be. To discuss the government’s current preparedness and management approach, and the possible consequences of when an earthquake strikes Istanbul in the future, joining us on the podcast today is Dr. Lisel Hintz.

Lisel Hintz is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her research explores how identity struggles interact with domestic politics and foreign policy, focusing on Turkey and its neighboring regions. Drawing on fieldwork and a diverse range of sources, including pop culture and social media, Dr Hintz brings unique insights into how state-society relations evolve in times of crisis. She is a frequent commentator in outlets like Foreign Policy and The Washington Post, and we are eager to have her join us today to discuss the political and societal dimensions of disaster response in Turkey. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Looking Glass Podcast.

Host: Davide Donald

Additional Editors: Sloan Askins, Sophie Haas-Goldberg, Juliette Legein, Magdalena Paddock

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Radioactive Roots: Life Finds a Way (Even if it Glows a Bit) May 27, 2025

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Nuclear catastrophes like Chernobyl and Fukushima serve as a stark reminder of the risks that come with harnessing atomic energy — we hear about the evacuations, the health impacts, the geopolitical consequences. But what about the landscapes left behind? What happens to plants, animals, and entire ecosystems when exposed to high levels of radiation over days, months, or even years? To help us unpack these questions, we're joined by Dr. Timothy Mousseau.
Dr. Timothy Mousseau is an evolutionary biologist and leading expert on the effects of radiation on wildlife in Chernobyl and Fukushima. He was the first U.S.-based biologist to begin research in Fukushima, starting in July 2011, and his pioneering work in Chernobyl has revealed a wide range of radiation-related impacts on organisms—shifting how we understand the vulnerability of natural populations to environmental contaminants. Most recently, his research has expanded to explore the effects of cosmic radiation in space. With years of fieldwork across continents, Dr. Mousseau’s findings have offered critical insights and sparked ongoing debate within the field of radioecology. Let’s explore what nuclear fallout really means for the natural world — and why this research matters now more than ever. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Looking Glass Podcast.

Hosts: Meya Lee and Matthew Dowden

Additional Editor: Jacob Wright

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Making It Rain? The Promises and Pitfalls of Cloud Seeding May 23, 2025

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Welcome back, everyone, to the SAIS Review’s The Looking Glass Podcast. We are your hosts, Nassim Ali Ahmad and Rachel Fink. As the world confronts new and novel future crises, among the most concerning will be environmental challenges, driven in many places by the sheer scarcity of water. One answer to that dilemma comes from geoengineering, or the shaping of the environment through technological feats like cloud seeding. To discuss what cloud seeding is, why it has become controversial, and its implications for some of the world’s driest regions, joining us on the podcast today is Dr. James Fleming.
Dr. James Fleming is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology and Society, Emeritus at Colby College. His research focuses on the history of weather, climate, technology, and the environment. Of particular relevance to today's topic, his book, "Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control" addresses the promise and potential pitfalls of cloud seeding. We hope you enjoy today’s episode of The Looking Glass Podcast.

Hosts: Nassim Ali Ahmad and Rachel Fink

Additional Editors: Gabriel Davis and Sara Sylvan

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Lessons from the Myanmar Earthquake May 20, 2025

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Hello and welcome to today’s episode of the SAIS Review’s The Looking Glass Podcast. We are your hosts Talita Fernandes and Hantong Wu. Natural disaster relief can pose many challenges, and we have seen that they are only exacerbated by domestic conflict in the area. Since 2021, when the military deposed the democratically elected government, Myanmar has been in a brutal civil war. In the midst of this conflict, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 28, complicating the relief efforts and pushing the casualties higher. To discuss the challenges a conflict-ridden area faces when natural disaster strikes, along with the particular implications for Myanmar and its latest disaster, today on the podcast, we are joined by Professor Gregory Gottlieb.
Professor Gregory Gottlieb is an expert on humanitarian aid in conflict areas. He formerly served as the director at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University and as Acting Assistant Administrator at the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In particular, he extensively participated in the US response to the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, where ultimately, US humanitarian assistance was denied. Following the disaster, he testified on the Death, Displacement, and Humanitarian Aid to Myanmar in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Looking Glass Podcast.

Hosts: Talita Fernandes and Hantong Wu
Additional Editors: Fauvé Liggans-Hubbard and Nourane Awadallah

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Beneath the Black River-Oil Spills in Ecuador’s Amazon Rainforests May 15, 2025

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The March 2025 oil spill in Ecuador’s Esmeraldas province is one of the country’s worst recent environmental disasters. Over 25,000 barrels of crude oil leaked from the SOTE pipeline, contaminating rivers, farmland, and coastal mangroves. This spill destroyed local biodiversity, poisoned water supplies, and disrupted the lives of more than half a million people, including Indigenous and rural communities, highlighting the urgent need for environmental justice and stronger protections for Ecuador’s people and ecosystems. To discuss these topics, joining us today is Mr. Paul Paz y Miño.
BPaul Paz y Miño is a human rights and environmental justice advocate, currently serving as Deputy Director of Amazon Watch, where he has been since 2007. Since 1995, he has volunteered as the Colombia Country Specialist for Amnesty International USA, monitoring human rights conditions and organizing campaign activities. He previously directed community development and human rights programs with indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico, and Guatemala as Program Director at the Seva Foundation. He has also served as an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and has been involved with organizations such as Peace Brigades International USA and the Oil and Gas Action Network. Paz y Miño has lived and worked in Ecuador, Mexico, and the United States, and is recognized for his advocacy on behalf of indigenous rights and environmental protection in the Amazon. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Looking Glass Podcast.

Hosts: Max Shannon and Khadija Taufiq
Additional Editors: Yan Shen

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Politics of Disaster Miniseries: Disaster Capitalism in Lebanon May 13, 2025

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Welcome back everybody to the SAIS Review’s The Looking Glass Podcast. We are your hosts, Nadia Sleiman and Amber Escudero-Kontostathis. Today, we are diving into the critical topic of disaster capitalism in Lebanon amidst its ongoing financial crisis. As Lebanon grapples with currency collapse, inflation, and government paralysis, important questions arise about how these conditions have been exploited economically and politically. To help us unpack the systemic vulnerabilities, the role of elites, and the international dynamics shaping Lebanon’s recovery efforts, joining us on the podcast today is Dr. Hicham Saffadeine.
Dr. Hicham Safieddine is Canada Research Chair in the History of the Modern Middle East and Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia. He is a scholar of financial systems, political economy and intellectual history (19th and 20th centuries) with an emphasis on the Middle East and North Africa region. He is author of Banking on the State: The Financial Foundations of Lebanon (SUP, 2019), editor of Arab Marxism and National Liberation: Selected Writings of Mahdi Amel (Brill, 2020), and co-editor of The Clarion of Syria: A Patriot’s Call against the Civil War of 1860 (CUP, 2019). In addition to his academic research and teaching, he is the co-founder of e-zines Al-Akhbar English and The Legal Agenda’s English Edition. His press writings have appeared in The Toronto Star, Al-Jazeera English, The Monthly Review, Le Monde Diplomatique, Al-Adaab, Middle East Eye, Egypt Independent, Assafir, al-Akhbar, Jadaliyya, and Al-Ahram Weekly. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Looking Glass Podcast

Hosts: Nadia Sleiman and Amber Escudero-Kontostathis

Additional Editors: Joveria Javed

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Spotlight on Burma: The Future of the Military Junta Apr 22, 2025

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Since 2022, the global media has heavily concentrated on two major conflicts—the Russia-Ukraine War and the conflict in Gaza. While these wars have significant implications, this narrow focus often obscures other conflicts that continue to shape international security, governance, and regional stability. On our Forgotten Wars series, to discuss Burma’s domestic conflict, from the 2021 coup and the failure of the military to consolidate power, the current resistance groups and opposition in 2025, and attempts for brokering peace, joining us on the podcast today is Billy Ford.
Billy Ford is a peacebuilding and governance specialist affiliated with the Southeast Asia Peace Institute with 13 years of experience working on Burma. Most recently, Billy served as Burma Program Officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where his work focused on conflict governance, intra-resistance peacebuilding, and military defection. He worked at USIP for 6 years after having held positions with The Asia Foundation, Freedom House, and numerous Burmese organizations. We hope you enjoy today’s episode of The Looking Glass Podcast.

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Miniseries on Contemporary Egypt: Geopolitical Landscape Apr 21, 2025

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From the heart of the Arab world to the crossroads of Africa and Europe, Egypt stands at the center of some of today’s most complex and consequential shifts. Under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the country has undergone profound transformations—economic, political, and social. In this mini series, we step behind the headlines and take a closer look at Egypt’s evolving role on the global stage. We explore the choices it’s making, the pressures it’s facing, and how these forces are shaping its future. Over five episodes, The Looking Glass will offer an in-depth look into the architecture of modern Egypt under Sisi.
In Episode 1, we unpack Egypt’s geopolitical landscape—how its strategic location has made it both a bridge and a buffer zone in a region gripped by conflict. We examine the ripple effects of the war on Gaza, the growing insecurity across the region, and how decades of instability have indirectly weighed on Egypt’s economy, governance, and global position.

To explore these issues in depth, we are joined by Dr. Abdallah Al Dardari, the United Nations Assistant Secretary General and the Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States of the UNDP

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Sanctions and Economic Warfare Apr 10, 2025

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Welcome back to the SAIS Review’s The Looking Glass Podcast. I’m your host Vinayak Kalra. Sanctions are a misunderstood policy tool, rooted in a complex history, deemed by some as a lever of soft power and by others as a form of deadly warfare. In the 2020s, sanctions regimes continue to be implemented and enforced as a means of exerting influence on other nations, but often yield unexpected impacts upon sanctioned societies. To help us make sense of sanctions and the broader world of economic warfare, joining us on the podcast today is Dr. Narges Bajoghli.
Dr. Narges Bajoghli is a Media Anthropologist focusing on the Middle East at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is a scholar, public intellectual, and award-winning author whose work explores the intersections of media, power, and resistance in global politics. Narges’ work has been featured in prominent outlets, including Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair. She is the director of the film, The Skin That Burns, on survivors of chemical warfare, and her graphic novella, Sanctioned Lives, visually captures the everyday realities of life under sanctions. Most recently, Narges along with Vali Nasr, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, and Ali Vaez, wrote the book, “How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare,” a critically acclaimed, ground-up look, at the human impact of sanctions.

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Spotlight on Sudan: The Unending Civil War Mar 25, 2025

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Welcome back everybody to the SAIS Review’s The Looking Glass Podcast. I am your host Jiwon Lim. Since 2022, the global media has heavily concentrated on two major conflicts—the Russia-Ukraine War and the conflict in Gaza. While these wars have significant implications, this narrow focus often obscures other conflicts that continue to shape international security, governance, and regional stability. On our Forgotten Wars series, to spotlight the conflict in Sudan since the 2023 civil war, what has changed since then, the international reaction and interference in its developments joining us on the podcast today is Mr. Ahmed Kodouda.

Ahmed Kodouda is a policy, advocacy, and governance specialist with an extensive background in conflict and post conflict settings. Between 2019 and 2021, he served as an advisor to the civilian-led transitional government in Sudan. He has over 15 years of experience working with, and consulting for, governmental, national and international non-governmental organizations in the US, Africa and the Middle East. His peer reviewed publications have appeared in the Journal of Democracy, World Development, and Demography, and his other writing and commentary have been showcased on Foreign Affairs and The Washington Post, among others. He was awarded fellowships from The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Political Science Association. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Looking Glass Podcast.

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