Departures Podcast with Talia Lavin

By Editor | Published: December 1, 2020

While the Internet has given us a lot of good things, from comprehensive consumer choices to powerful movements to hold the powerful accountable, it also has its darker corners where hatred is thriving, where acts of terrible violence in the real world are inspired. As a Jewish writer who had often been targeted by anti-Semitic […]

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Departures Podcast with Erica De Bruin

By Editor | Published: November 20, 2020

This week we are pleased to welcome to the podcast Erica De Bruin, an Assistant Professor of Government at Hamilton College and the author of the new book, “How to Prevent Coups d’État: Counterbalancing and Regime Survival.” At the time of this conversation with Robert Amsterdam, the Michigan Republican Party board of electors had refused […]

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Departures Podcast with Philip Gordon

By Editor | Published: November 17, 2020

For the past 70 years, the United States has toyed with interventionism in the Middle East on numerous occasions, from Iran to Afghanistan (twice), Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Syria, among others. And yet, despite the consistently disastrous consequences of these efforts, the same policies continue to attract support, as US decision-makers consistently underestimate the costs […]

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Departures Podcast with Heidi Tworek

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: November 13, 2020

Having gone through the tumultuous experience of this past election in the United States, with provocative propaganda, disinformation, fake news, and pervasive and extreme distrust, many feel like we’re experiencing an unprecedented moment. But arguably, we’ve been here before. This week we are joined by Prof. Heidi Tworek, author of “News from Germany: The Competition […]

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Special Election Edition of the Departures Podcast featuring William Burke-White

By Editor | Published: November 7, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden has won the 2020 US Presidential elections, but outgoing President Donald Trump is continuing with a show of defiance. Right from the heart of Philadelphia where the final votes are being counted, we are joined by constitutional and international law expert, Prof. William Burke-White, who shares his view of what’s been happening […]

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Departures Podcast with Tobias Harris

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: November 4, 2020

Up until his recent resignation due to health concerns, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cast a long shadow as one of the most remarkable global statesman, shaping the country’s alliances and leadership position in an extremely difficult and threatening region of the world. Journalist and author Tobias Harris, author of “The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and […]

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Special Edition of the Departures Podcast with Dan Paget on Tanzania’s Botched Election

By Editor | Published: October 30, 2020

On Wednesday, October 28, 2020 the Republic of Tanzania held presidential elections. Though many feared that it would be neither free nor fair, what came to pass was much worse than could have been imagined. Robert Amsterdam, the host of this podcast, acts as an international attorney for the main opposition candidate in this election, […]

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Departures Podcast with Juan Méndez

By Editor | Published: October 26, 2020

From 1976-1983, a brutal military dictatorship disappeared some 30,000 citizens and arrested and tortured scores more in Argentina. As a young lawyer at the time known for representing dissidents and political prisoners, Juan Méndez himself was arrested and subjected to torture. The story of his career, rising to become the Special Rapporteur on Torture to […]

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Departures Podcast with Jun Yoo

By Editor | Published: October 24, 2020

Korea is a deeply unique, complex, and interesting place in the world. Upended by repeated waves of war and occupation throughout its history, the modern nation has propulsively launched itself in the stratosphere culturally and economically and grown perhaps faster than any other. This presents undeniable benefits and prosperity, but also a number of accompanying […]

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Departures Podcast with Susan Berfield

By Editor | Published: October 21, 2020

We often defer to superlatives when describing our current political age, but the truth is that in many respects, we have been here before. In the summer of 1901, the tycoon JP Morgan was assembling a merger that would give him a monopoly position over America’s railroads. His strong supporter in the White House, President […]

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