The McGill International Review

Review Radio: How Our Attention Spans Work

Host Ines Fahmi sits down with Dr. Gloria Mark, the Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. They discuss her research on the decline of our attention spans, and the impact that new technologies have had on our productivity.

Femininity Through the Ages: Anti-Aging Tweens and Coquette Women?

This episode explores a few current trends around femininity on social media and beyond. Senior Editor Clare and Staff Writer Charlotte join hosts Alison and Teodor in discussing Sephora tweens and coquette “tradwives” and what kinds of femininity are valued and what this may say about the state of patriarchy today.

MIR Meets: Claudia Sahm

Host Theo Shouse sits down with Substack writer, former Federal Reserve economist, and Bloomberg opinion columnist Claudia Sahm, to discuss inflation, consumer sentiment, Biden's stimulus package, and the Federal Reserve.

 

References

"Decomposing Supply and Demand Driven Inflation" by Adam Shapiro, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

"Is the Landing Soft? Will It Stay That Way?" by Paul Krugman, The New York Times

"The Quasi-Inflation of 2021-2022: A Case of Bad Analysis and Worse Response" by James K. Galbraith, Institute for New Economic Thinking

Review Radio: IFAD's East and Southern Africa Division

Host Anzhu Wei sits down with Sara Mbago-Bhunu, the Regional Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)'s East and Southern Africa Division. They discuss smallholder farmers, and the role of agricultural investment in adapting to climate change.

 

MIR Meets: Melissa Kearney

Host Andrew Xu sits down with Melissa Kearney, the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. They discuss her recent book The Two-Parent Privilege, which examines the economic advantages that two-parent households have over one-parent households.

 

References

"The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind" by Melissa Kearney

"‘The Two-Parent Privilege’ gets caught in the trap of convention" by Becca Rothfeld, The Washington Post

"What Relationships Would You Want if You Believed They Were Possible?" from The Ezra Klein Show

Review Radio: The Politics of the International Film Oscar

The Best International Feature Film Oscar has a strange set of nomination rules that have resulted in intrigue, controversies, and international soft power plays. To unpack this awards season enigma, host Anzhu Wei sits down with Professor Laura Isabel Serna of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.

 

Correction: Totem was shortlisted for the 2024 Best International Feature Film Award.

 

References

"The Oscars’ International Feature Film Category Needs a Total Overhaul. Here’s a Simple Fix" by Peter Debruge, Variety

MIR Meets: Matthew Rosenberg

Host Theo Shouse sits down with Matthew Rosenberg, a Pulitzer Prize–winning correspondent at the New York Times. They discuss the Afghanistan war, which Rosenberg reported on for many years, and the conflict between US forces and Iranian proxies in the Middle East. Finally, they discuss political violence in the United States and the upcoming presidential election.

MIR Meets: Will Stancil

Host Andrew Xu sits down with Will Stancil, a research fellow on the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity. They discuss the state of the US economy, concerns surrounding Biden's age, and the incentives of mainstream journalism.

MIR Meets: Nadim Houry

Host Theo Shouse sits down with Nadim Houry, the executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative, a think tank advocating for social justice and democracy in the Middle East. They discuss Israel's offensive in Gaza, tensions between Iranian proxies and US forces, and American military interventionism.

Review Radio: McGill Students on Strike

From January 31st to February 2nd, 500 McGill students went on strike to oppose the Québec tuition hike. In this episode, host Anzhu Wei talks with striking students on the picket line and student leaders, to understand the situation.