2019 In the News

Chair of Political Science Wendy Schiller provided commentary about the political implications of Rhode Island losing a seat in the House of Representatives.

Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs Emily Oster discusses her data-driven approach to parenting outlined in her book, "Cribsheet."

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, penned this column detailing the effects that US-led wars have had on Christians in the Middle East.

Postdoctoral Fellow Sahana Ghosh co-authored this piece on The Conversation, "Those committed to justice and fighting fascism must recognize and reject the linked logics of weaponized citizenship in Kashmir and Assam."

Senior fellow at the Watson Insitute for International and Public Affairs penned this opinion piece regarding the role and involvement of the United States Senate in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

Watson faculty member Michael Kennedy joins Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller on an episode of "Story in the Public Square," providing a sociological perspective on the current national narrative.

In this article, faculty member at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Ashutosh Varshney, provides an anaylsis on the recent religious restrictions in India's citizenship laws.

Chair of Political Science Wendy Schiller provided commentary in this article about public opinion surrounding impeachment.

Richard Arenberg, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, joined Dan Yorke to discuss the next steps in the articles of impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, penned this column offering recommendations for timely and relevant books to gift to those on your Christmas list.

Visiting Professor of the Practice of Political Science Richard Arenberg appeared on this radio segment to discuss the direction in which Trump's impeachment process is headed.

Chair of Political Science Wendy Schiller appeared on this podcast to discuss the history of impeachment in the House and Senate.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and Neta Crawford, director of the Watson Institute's Cost Of War Project discuss a blockbuster investigative series from The Washington Post involving the Bush and Obama administrations with WGBH host Jim Braude.

Drawing on estimates and data from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Costs of War project, a team from the New York Times assessed how much the United States spent on different aspects of the war in Afghanistan and whether that spending achieved its aims.

This opinion piece by Professor of International Studies and Political Science Peter Andreas argues that Trump's plan to define Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations is ill-conceived and could have dire geopolitical consequences.

In this letter to the editor, Professor of Social Science, Anthropology and Italian Studies David Kertzer responds to a previous editorial and argues that the amount of financial aid available — and not the preference for alumni children in admissions — is the biggest factor in a school's economic diversity.

Deborah Gordon, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, provided commentary on the Spanish oil company Repsol SA's newly announced goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

In this article, faculty member at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Ashutosh Varshney, provides an anaylsis on the recent political events in Maharashtra, India.

Deborah Gordon, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs provided commentary for this story.

Richard Arenberg, a visiting professor of the practice of political science, interviews on WPRI.

Richard Arenberg, a visiting professor of the practice of political science, provided commentary for this story.

Aileen Teague, postdoctoral research associate at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, provided commentary in this article about Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's new "hugs, not bullets" policies on the drug war and violence plaguing Mexico.

This piece discusses Stephen Kinzer's new book, Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control, which examines the career of Sidney Gottlieb - the scientist who ran the CIA's damaging and possibly lethal experiments in drug-induced mind control.

Stephanie Savell, faculty fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs discusses the Costs of War Project and U.S. military deployments around the world in this interview with C-Span.

Marc Dunkelman, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, wrote this article examining the history of New York's Penn Station and the role government played in the legacy of crowded commutes.

Emily Oster, professor of teaching excellence, economics, and international and public affairs — and author of "Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting" — spoke with "Orange is the New Black" actress Danielle Brooks in this Netflix Family series debunking common myths and misconceptions about pregnancy and childbirth.

Timothy Edgar, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, appeared on Dan Yorke State of Mind to discuss the latest on Trump's impeachment inquiry.

J Brian Atwood, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, penned this column explaining how presidents have broad authority to condition the release of assistance packages, but they still have to follow the law.

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Michael Kennedy, Brown University Professor of Sociology and International and Public Affairs, joins Dan Yorke to discuss the impeachment hearings into President Donald Trump.

Cited in CNBC, "The report, from Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, also finds that more than 801,000 people have died as a direct result of fighting. Of those, more than 335,000 have been civilians. Another 21 million people have been displaced due to violence."

Timothy Edgar joins MSNBC's Ari Melber to discuss mounting bribery evidence against President Trump, including secret White House emails obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

Aileen Teague, postdoctoral research associate at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, penned this op-ed on why abruptly terminating drug-war-related policies, at least in the near term, is not the answer to reducing violence in Mexico.

Cited in Digital Journal, "The two reports were prepared by the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Catherine Lutz, Costs of War co-director and a Brown Professor who authored the projects' report on deaths said: "These reports provide a reminder that even if fewer soldiers are dying and the U.S. is spending a little less on the immediate costs of war today, the financial impact is still as bad as, or worse than, it was 10 years ago."

Cited in The Washington Examiner, "Brown University's Costs of War Project has unveiled its annual report on the budgetary costs and obligations the United States has incurred from the global war on terror. The report estimates that the federal government has spent $5.4 trillion thus far on our post-9/11 conflicts."

Prerna Singh in the Providence Journal, "Research shows that the popular association of the American flag is with the right. Yet steps toward reclaiming the flag are already being taken — in the artistic, activist and popular realms."

Cited in Common Dreams, "According to a pair of reports released Wednesday by the Costs of War project at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the so-called War on Terror launched by the U.S. in the wake of 9/11 has cost at least 801,000 lives and $6.4 trillion."

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Richard Arenberg on WPRI, "I think it's going to be harder for the hearings to shift public opinion than was true during the Nixon or even the Clinton period."

Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "Few in Washington, of either party, have much appetite for soiling the reputations of their old warhorses. It's far easier to pretend they are all innocent than to suggest they are all guilty."

Timothy Edgar, veteran National Security Intelligence official, joins Ari Melber to discuss the major security implications of Trump's call and new bribery impeachment evidence on MSNBC.

Ashutosh Varshney in Indian Express, "If Hindu consolidation goes further, Muslims will become electorally even more irrelevant."

Cited in The Hill, "As horrible as the wars' impacts are in this country, a new report released today by Brown University's Costs of War project shows that the magnitude of death, injury and trauma in the countries where the United States has fought its wars is far worse."

In his new book, Are Men Animals? Mathew Gutmann refutes the decades-old claim that "boys will be boys" and emphasizes that men are more than testosterone and Y chromosomes — a common idea proliferated by society.

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Emily Oster in Mashable, "There's this fetishization around this type of brain science where just the idea that we can see inside people's brains and what's happening in there is awesome, and we must be learning something really important...But whether it's screen time that causes those differences in the brain, or other features of the family, is really not something this study can disentangle."

Recounting the 90-minute talk put on by the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy. Susan Rice detailed her upbringing and foreign policy work in the Clinton and Obama administrations - both of which were referenced in her new book, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For.