The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

Not so long ago, it appeared to many observers that economic globalization, political liberalization and geopolitical stability were an unstoppable trio. They supported each other and created an economic and political environment that countries around the world couldn’t help but want to be a part of.
Some called it “the great moderation,” some, “the end of history.” Whatever name you want to give it, it seemed like it was here to stay.
Which, of course, it wasn't.
Today, according to this episode’s guest, instability in all three of these realms — economics, domestic politics and geopolitics — is creating just the opposite: a vicious cycle of economic and political disorder, which we seem ill-equipped to get ourselves out of.
Eswar Prasad, is a professor of Trade Policy and Economics at Cornell University, and author of the new book “The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder.” In this episode, he speaks with Mark Blyth and Brown University Assistant Professor of Political Science Aditi Sahasrabuddhe about the “doom loop” — what caused it, why it’s so hard to stop, and what it means for the future of our global order.
Learn more about and purchase “The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder.”
Transcript coming soon to our website.

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

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