Despite the devastation caused by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and 60-foot tsunami that struck Japan in 2011, some 96% of those living and working in the most disaster-stricken region of Tōhoku made it through. Smaller earthquakes and tsunamis have killed far more people in nearby China and India. What accounts for the exceptionally high survival rate? And w ... Show More
Mar 12
Cheng Li, "Contested Environmentalisms: Trees and the Making of Modern China" (Stanford UP, 2025)
For decades, tree planting and forestry have been pivotal to Chinese environmentalism. During the Mao era, while forests were razed to fuel rapid increases in industrial production, the “Greening the Motherland” campaign promoted conservationist tree-planting nationwide. Conteste ... Show More
50m 49s
Mar 8
Guoqi Xu, "The Idea of China: A Contested History" (Harvard UP, 2026)
What counts as China, and who counts as Chinese? China became a capitalist superpower by investing in globalization. Now that it has established its credentials—and emerged as a major US competitor—its leaders are looking within, focused on suppressing dissent and fostering cohes ... Show More
1h 11m
Mar 6
Patrick Chung, "Standardizing Empire: The US Military, Korea, and the Origins of Military-Industrial Capitalism" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2026)
Standardizing Empire: The US Military, Korea, and the Origins of Military-Industrial Capitalism (U Pennsylvania Press, 2026) by Dr. Patrick Chung traces the origins of today’s United States-led capitalist world economy. The nation’s foreign policy during the Cold War saw two unpr ... Show More
1h 1m
Jan 2025
Rick Caruso on LA’s Wildfires, Policy Failures, and the Path Forward
This week on No Priors, Elad sits down with Rick Caruso, LA real estate developer and runner-up in the 2022 mayoral race. With experience serving under three LA mayors, as well as on the police commission and the board of water and power, Rick offers a unique perspective on the s ... Show More
27m 11s
Aug 2023
Satsuki Takahashi, "Fukushima Futures: Survival Stories in a Repeatedly Ruined Seascape" (U Washington Press, 2023)
Both before and after the 2011 "Triple Disaster" of earthquake, tidal wave, and consequent meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, anthropologist Satsuki Takahashi visited nearby communities, collecting accounts of life and livelihoods along the industrialized seas ... Show More
53m 1s
Aug 2023
Satsuki Takahashi, "Fukushima Futures: Survival Stories in a Repeatedly Ruined Seascape" (U Washington Press, 2023)
Both before and after the 2011 "Triple Disaster" of earthquake, tidal wave, and consequent meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, anthropologist Satsuki Takahashi visited nearby communities, collecting accounts of life and livelihoods along the industrialized seas ... Show More
53m 1s
Aug 2025
08/17/2025: The Promise and The Land of Declining Sons
Twenty-three years later, over 1,000 families are still waiting for news of loved ones lost in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. Correspondent Scott Pelley looks at how efforts to search for and identify their remains have never stopped, driven by the promise made by the Ne ... Show More
44m 48s
Aug 2024
Why Rebuilding After Maui Fire Is Taking So Long
Cleanup after wildfires is inherently more difficult than recovery from other natural disasters, according to Brian Cavanaugh, a visiting fellow for Cybersecurity, Intelligence, and Homeland Security at The Heritage Foundation.
Unlike a hurricane, which mainly creates wind and wa ... Show More
19m 51s
Feb 2025
Arvid J. Lukauskas and Yumiko Shimabukuro, "Misery Beneath the Miracle in East Asia" (Cornell UP, 2024)
Misery beneath the Miracle in East Asia (Cornell University Press, 2024) challenges prevailing views of the East Asian economic miracle. Existing scholarship has overlooked the severity, persistence, and harmful consequences of the social-welfare crises affecting the region. Dr. ... Show More
1h 8m
Oct 2023
Devastating earthquakes hit Afghanistan
Lying atop a network of fault lines, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes. However, the Herat area has not seen an event for almost 1000 years. As such, it was the least likely area to experience the series of devastating earthqu ... Show More
26m 28s
Feb 2025
What a Black enclave lost in the Los Angeles wildfires
Altadena was the site of the Eaton fire, one of two major wildfires in Los Angeles County in January. The wind and flames destroyed more than 9,000 structures — and with them, the long-tenured Black community in the town. As efforts to recover and rebuild the town are underway, m ... Show More
30m 35s