The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

The global rise of authoritarianism today is a puzzle: democracies were supposed to be immune to such impulses, but the current political landscape of countries as diverse as India, Hungary, and the United States show that they’re not.
Why are we seeing a resurgence of authoritarianism? And why did it take so many experts by surprise?
In this episode, Mark Blyth looks for answers to these questions with Alexander Cooley and Alex Dukalskis, authors of the new book Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics. In the book, they explore how authoritarian countries today project their ideologies around the world, and why their strategies may look eerily familiar to anyone who has studied the spread of western liberalism in the 1990s and 2000s.
Guests on the episode:
Alexander Cooley is a professor of political science at Barnard College.
Alex Dukalskis is an associate professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin.

Learn more about and purchase Dictating the Agenda The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics
Transcript coming soon to our website

In December, the Rhodes Center hosted Sven Beckert, the Laird Bell Professor of History at Harvard University, to discuss his new book “Capitalism: A Global History.”
The title may sound dry, but in the hands of Sven, it is anything but. In it, he takes readers on a globe-trotting, centuries-spanning tour of the economic system we call “capitalism.” In doing so, he challenges many long-held assumptions about capitalism that readers might have - about its origins, its evolution, and how it has shaped our world.
On this episode, professor of American History at Brown University and Rhodes Center affiliate Seth Rockman sat down with Beckert for a discussion about the book, and about how it can help us to better understand capitalism’s past, present, and future.
Learn more about and purchase “Capitalism: A Global History”

For as long as this thing we call “capitalism” has existed, it has had its fair share of critics. (You’ve heard more than a few of them on this very podcast.)
On this episode, Mark talks with someone whose new book makes clear that when it comes to understanding this globe-spanning economic system - where it came from, how it’s shaped our world, and where it’s going – those critics might be some of our best guides.
John Cassidy is a staff writer at The New Yorker covering politics and economics, and his new book, “Capitalism and Its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI,” tells the story of capitalism in a way you haven’t heard before.
Learn more about and purchase “Capitalism and Its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI”

Lithium is an essential ingredient of most modern electronics. It helps to power our phones, our laptops, and increasingly EVs and other key parts of the green transition.
As Thea Riofrancos, a political scientist, environmentalist, and author of the new book “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism,” explains to Mark on this episode, the story of lithium — how it's mined, how it’s refined, and how it makes its way around the world — isn’t just a business story. It's a story of geopolitics and power.
On this episode, Mark and Thea discuss the surprising story of lithium extraction, how the race to electrify our energy supply is reshaping the global economy, and what it all means for the future of our planet.
Learn more about and purchase Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism
Watch Mark and Thea’s discussion at the Watson School

This is the second part of a two-part series featuring Leah Downey, a political economist at King’s College London and author of the new book “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.”
Mark Blyth and Leah discuss what has happened at the Federal Reserve since they first talked about Leah’s book in May, what Leah’s book has to say about it, and what it all means for the future of central banks in the US and beyond.
Learn more about and purchase “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.”