Shattered Families, a Refugee Crisis and the United States’ Diminished Reputation as a Beacon to Newcomers
Release Date: 04/30/2025
How Corruption Undermines Elections
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Dr. Magnus Ohman of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) joins the podcast to discuss how corruption undermines free and fair elections. He discusses his recent publication "Vote for Free: A Global Guide for Citizen Monitoring of Campaign Finance," which provides an eight-step model for civil society organizations seeking to monitor campaign finance. This episode was originally published on 30 November 2022.
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Shattered Families, a Refugee Crisis and the United States’ Diminished Reputation as a Beacon to Newcomers
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In our last podcast before the US election, Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody describe with passion their work with the International Rescue Committee. They tell us what America as a haven means to them and mourn the news that 545 children separated from their parents on the US southern border cannot be restored to their parents. They conclude with a fervent appeal to Americans to turn out to vote in this election.
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A Syrian-Libyan Human Smuggling Scheme
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As Syria struggles to get on its feet after decades under the tyrannical father-son Assad regime, we're revisiting a story from 2024 when those desperate to leave Syria were preyed upon by a human smuggling ring. The story was brought to light by Mahmoud Elsobky, one of the two winners of the 2024 TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting. Originally posted on Jul. 10, 2024
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"Rigged: America, Russia and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference"
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We are revisiting an episode from 2020 with David Shimer. David discusses his that reviews the century of covert election interference by Russia and the U.S., the known impact of Russian meddling in 2016, and their growing capacity to interfere in future elections. This episode was originally published on 22 September 2020.
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Corruption, Sanctions and Putin's War Regime
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With these issues back in the headlines, we’re revisiting an important discussion with Leonid Volkov, originally recorded in 2022 at the TRACE London Forum. Leonid is the Political Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and was Alexei Navalny’s former Chief of Staff. He discusses the role of corruption in Putin’s Russia as well as the impact of sanctions and the toll that rampant corruption is taking on Russia. This episode was originally published on 5 October 2022.
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FCPA Year in Review (2024)
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This podcast is based on TRACE's recent Year in Review webinar with Kate Atkinson. Kate is a Member and the Chair of Miller & Chevalier, based in their DC office, and she reviews for us the FCPA highlights for 2024.
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Trump Hotel - Baku: Adam Davidson
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We’re reposting our 2017 podcast with Adam Davidson of the New Yorker who joined the podcast to talk about his research into the baffling Trump Hotel deal in Baku. This episode was originally published on 14 June 2017.
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"White House Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency Into a Business” (Last Time)
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In light of last week’s inauguration, we're revisiting a 2020 podcast episode with Dan Alexander, author and senior editor at Forbes, discussing his book about Trump’s business deals with foreign entities, including one very strange deal with the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar. This episode was originally published on 7 October 2020.
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Understanding Trump’s Executive Order on the Civil Service (It’s Much More Serious Than It Sounds)
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This inauguration week, we're revisiting a 2020 podcast on President Trump's assault on the civil service. In this episode, Harvard law professor, Matthew Stephenson, provides some context for understanding Trump's executive order on the civil service and then lists the three primary threats it poses for corruption. A more detailed discussion can be found on his . This episode was originally published on 4 November 2020.
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Governance in Space
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Our guest today, Dr. Rebecca Connolly, joins us to discuss her work on the legal governance of outer space relating to militarization, security and commercialization, drawing some interesting parallels to the law of the sea and making it clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.
info_outlineMandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody describe with passion their work with the International Rescue Committee. They tell us what America as a haven means to them and mourn the news that 545 children separated from their parents on the US southern border cannot be restored to their parents. They conclude with a fervent appeal to Americans to turn out to vote in this election.
This episode was originally published in October 2020.