World Views from KGOU

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss news about Spain's Basque separatist group and political protests in Armenia. Then Suzette Grillot talks with Amnesty International's Matt Wells about his work documenting violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s leaders deny human rights abuses against its Rohingya Muslim population. But international organizations like Amnesty International have documented systematic, military-led violence against the country’s religious minority following insurgent attacks in August 2017. “What we've seen over the last seven months is the Myanmar military has really launched an attack on the [Rohingya] population as a whole,” said Matt Wells, a human rights investigator with Amnesty International. Wells’ job involves documenting and corroborating human rights abuses. During recent trips to refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, he spoke directly with survivors of attacks that range from sexual violence to the burning of entire villages. His organization has corroborated firsthand accounts using technologies like satellite imagery. “We've documented more than 350 villages that have been totally or partially destroyed in the last seven months. And the results of this has been more than 670,000

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss political uprisings in Nicaragua and French president Emmanuel Macron's visit to the United States. Then, Suzette Grillot speaks with linguist Marcia Haag about the extinction of the world's indigenous languages.

Linguists generally agree that almost half of the world’s nearly 7,000 languages will be extinct within the next century as dominant languages take over and indigenous languages die with their last remaining speakers. The United States is no different. Linguist Marcia Haag says many Native American languages are on the verge of extinction. “Small languages, the languages of people without political power, the people without economic power, or just the people who are few in number are always going to be at risk of being taken over by dominant, big economies and big political systems,” Haag said. Throughout her career, Haag has focused specifically on indigenous languages spoken in Oklahoma, like Choctaw and Cherokee. “My work has been about finding the last of the speakers, sitting down with them, learning how the language works, describing it, analyzing it, and then making materials so that other people can learn,” said Haag. But, according to Haag, saving a language is far more

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss new developments in North Korea and Cuba in light of a lack of U.S. diplomats. Then Rebecca Cruise talks with Dr. Peter Hotez about Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Despite the rapid pace of medical advancements like gene therapy, treating many of the world’s most devastating diseases is a matter of economics and political will, not science. That’s according to Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of Baylor University’s National School of Tropical Medicine. Hotez says this is particularly true for a group of parasitic and bacterial infections collectively known as Neglected Tropical Diseases, or NTD’s. These diseases, says Hotez, have more to do with economics than climate. “They're not even rare diseases. They're very common,” Hotez said. “ But they're hidden. They're hidden among the poor.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than one billion people — approximately one-sixth of the world's population — suffer from at least one NTD. These diseases, which range from Dengue Fever to Leprosy, don’t always lead to death. But their effects can last a lifetime. “They tend to be chronic and debilitating infections,” Hotez said. “So

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss the death of Winnie Mandela and an Indian Supreme court case involving “love jihad.” Then, Suzette Grillot speaks with American University professor Mark Langevin about the polarizing corruption scandal in Brazil ahead of the country’s 2018 presidential election.

Last week former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva began serving a 12 year sentence for corruption and bribery. Prior to his surrender , thousands of Lula’s supporters gathered in São Paulo, insisting the charges are meant to prevent him from running, and likely winning, Brazil’s upcoming presidential election. The scandal has deeply divided the country, but professor Mark Langevin says corruption in Brazil runs deeper than Lula and his left-leaning Worker’s Party. “We have to recognize that it's not just Lula,” Langevin said. “Most of the major political parties, major political figures, including Lula, have had investigations and prosecutions regarding what some of us would define as the Petrobras procurement kickback scheme.” Langevin heads the Brazil Initiative at George Washington University. He explained that the kickback scheme, often referred to as “Lava Jato” or “Car Wash,” is the result of systemic corruption extending into Brazil’s citizenry. “In order to run a

Roughly one million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe in 2015, fleeing violence and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa. Germany accepted the great majority of asylum seekers — 890,000 according to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. In the midst of political backlash that followed, German author Jenny Erpenbeck sought to humanize the crisis in her 2017 novel, “Go, Went, Gone.” In it, she tells the story of a retired German academic who befriends a group of North African migrants in Berlin. Prior to writing the book, Erpenbeck spent time with migrants, including a Nigerian man named Bashir who became the inspiration for one of her main characters. “He was a bit like the president of the group, but of course, he was no president and the group was made of different people from different countries in Africa,” Erpenbeck said. “And he really fought for his people.” Bashir, like many migrants, lost loved ones on the treacherous journey from Africa to Europe across

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss the implementation of a UK law concerning the gender pay gap and how Oklahoma teachers are making international news. Then, Rebecca Cruise will talk with German author Jenny Erpenbeck about how she tries to humanize tense political issues, like the 2015 European refugee crisis, through works of fiction.

This week the Federal Trade Commission confirmed it is investigating Facebook over its handling of user data. The U.S. Department of Homeland security also published a report revealing that Russia hacked the U.S. electricity grid. And a cyber attack shut down the city of Atlanta for over a week. Unbeknownst to many, American University professor Derrick Cogburn says there is actually a system for governing the internet, which enables things like cyber attacks and data breaches. It just doesn’t revolve around government actors. “There are a whole range of organizations that contribute to internet governance,” Cogburn said. “Governments play a role but they're not at the center of it.” Since the internet’s inception in 1990, governments have been given a voice through the annual Internet Governance Forum . “This is where we have these debates that take place and where you have a convergence of expectations,” Cogburn said. “No decisions are being taken within the Internet Governance Forum

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss how the Chinese National People's Congress eliminated term limits, and what that decision might mean for this week's decision by the Trump administration to levy tariffs on Chinese imports. And they'll explore a new initiative in South Korea to reduce the number of hour that workers work each year. Then, Rebecca Cruise will talk about U.S.-China relations with Chinese politics expert Joseph Fewsmith.

Rebecca Cruise talks with Paul Richards and Esther Mokuwa about the Ebola crisis, and the lessons that the international community learned about fighting the epidemic. Richards is the author of the book "Ebola: How a People's Science Helped End An Epidemic."

When the Ebola virus spread rapidly throughout parts of West Africa in 2014, epidemiologists faced the challenge of containing a disease they knew little about. But their biggest blind spots were cultural and historical realities in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia that should have been taken into account during the crisis. That’s according to anthropologist Paul Richards, who wrote about the topic in his recent book, “Ebola: How a People's Science Helped End an Epidemic.”

Iranian-born Trita Parsi advised the Obama administration during the restoration of diplomacy between Iran and the United States. It began with a phone call between President Obama and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani in 2013 and culminated with what’s known as the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. Parsi’s latest book, "Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy," offers an inside look at the deal.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss Sinn Fein's new leadership in Ireland and the push for women's rights among Kurds in Northern Syria. Then, Suzette talks with Trita Parsi about his new book, "Losing and Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy."

The glitz and glamor of Hollywood will gather on March 4 for the 90th Academy Awards . This year’s ceremony boasts several tight races, including for Best Foreign Language Film . Meanwhile, the #MeToo movement , which brought down several prominent Hollywood figures,will likely play a leading role in award speeches and commentary . This year’s five nominees for Best Foreign Language film offer diversity in themes and styles. Three come from Europe, one from the Middle East and one from South America. And the nominees are: A Fantastic Woman - Chile This Chilean film, directed by Sebastián Lelio, tells the story of a transgender woman named Marina who is in a relationship with Orlando, an older man. When Orlando unexpectedly dies, his family and government officials confront Marina with prejudice and hostility. “This seems, perhaps, out of all the films, the most timely, as we think about them the #MeToo movement, as we think about the activists that are pushing for more attention to

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise preview this year's Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film . The 2018 nominees are A Fantastic Woman (Chile), The Insult (Lebanon), Loveless (Russia), On Body and Soul (Hungary) and The Square (Sweden).

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, has called for elections several times since he took power following a military coup in 2014. And he has found a way to delay them each time.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss the Winter Olympics, Canada's Own the Podium program and sexual harassment allegations against U.S. snowboarder Shaun White. They also talk about the resignation of UNICEF deputy director Justin Forsyth over accusations of inappropriate behavior with female staff members when he was director of Save the Children. Then, Suzette will talk with Paul Chambers , director of research for the Institute of South East Asian Affairs, about Thailand's military junta and why the ruling military wants to call elections.