Ashraf Ghani has taught at Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, and Kabul University, worked at the World Bank, served as Finance Minister of Afghanistan, and been credited with a range of successful reforms in Afghanistan in the years following 9/11. He is currently the Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness. Clare Lockhart is Director […]

Rana Mitter talks about his Very Short Introduction to Modern China

Paul Hockenos looks at the criticism of the 1968 German student movement.

Adrienne L. Kaeppler, author of The Pacfic Arts of Polynesia and Micronesia, tells us a little about traditional Polynesian tattooing

Goldman reflects on Medvedev’s recent victory in the Russian elections and on what it means for Russia.

Howard Jones takes a close look at Cuba.

Tim Bent introduces Tim Judah.

Ben’s place of the week is Priština, Kosovo.

George Weisz is a Professor of Social Studies of Medicine at McGill University. In his book, Divide and Conquer: A Comparative History of Medical Specialization he traces the origins of modern medical specialization to 1830s Paris and examines its spread to Germany, Britain, and the US, showing how it evolved from a feature of […]

David Perlmutter introduces us to Military blogs.