Underreported with Nicholas Lemann
Columbia Global Reports
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Since 2015, Columbia Global Reports has been providing depth and clarity on global issues that are underreported. We don't just publish books, we use books to start conversations about topics that weren't getting the attention they deserved. At least, until we took them on. This podcast is your audio connection to these important topics.
Available episodes
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Feb 11, 2022
The Stories Chinese Fiction Reveals
Megan Walsh joins us to share what she found out researching her book The Subplot, and how she knew there was a bigger story to tell about fiction writing in China.
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Feb 9, 2022
The Nuanced Literary Voices in China
China is often seen as a monolith, especially by Westerners. Megan Walsh and Rosie Blau join us to help dispel the master narrative.
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Feb 7, 2022
An Open Talk on Censorship
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, one of America's leading China specialists, helps us wade into the intricate and nuanced realities of China.
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Feb 25, 2021
The Politics of Our Time
John B. Judis have charted a rise of a new and unexpected political mood produced by widespread dissatisfaction over results of the free-market policies that emerged in the late 20th century.
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Feb 24, 2021
What’s Different About the New Left
All over the country, the streets are full of protesters in unprecedented numbers. John’s new book, The Socialist Awakening, is an indispensable guide to this political moment.
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Sep 14, 2020
The Truth About Fracking’s Impact
Bethany McLean digs deep into the cycles of boom and bust that have plagued the American oil industry for the past decade.
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Aug 31, 2020
The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants
Bethany McLeans chronicles the story of Fannie and Freddie and tells us why homeownership finance is now one of the biggest unsolved issues in today's global economy—and why it must be placed on firmer ground.
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Aug 24, 2020
“The Cosmopolites” rerelease
[Rerelease] Atossa Araxia Abrahamian travels the globe to meet these willing and unwitting “cosmopolites,” or citizens of the world, who inhabit a new, borderless realm where things can go very well, or very badly.
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Aug 17, 2020
Ghosting the News | Part Two
Journalism is in crisis. Newspapers, traditionally the major generators of original reporting, are rapidly disappearing, leaving behind news deserts. Margaret Sullivan joins us to analyze the damage, and offer some hope.
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Jul 27, 2020
Ghosting the News | Part One
Margaret Sullivan joins us to talk about her book, Ghosting the News. The story Sullivan tells is not a happy one, but is meant to give rise to hope, as she points the way to solutions. But first, we must take a sobering and clear-eyed look at the problem.
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Apr 20, 2020
The Call | Part Two
In The Call, Krithika Varagur lays out what we really talk about when we talk about Saudi money, and illuminates the global sweep of its ambitions over the last century.
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Apr 13, 2020
The Call | Part One
In The Call, Krithika Varagur lays out what we really talk about when we talk about Saudi money, and illuminates the global sweep of its ambitions over the last century.
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Feb 18, 2020
Jeffrey Wasserstrom & “Vigil”
Drawing on a rich store of knowledge and wisdom, and writing with literary power as well as analytic rigor, Jeffrey Wasserstrom makes us understand the deep roots and the broad significance of the tragedy we see unfolding day by day in Hong Kong.
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Jan 13, 2020
William Wheeler & “State of War”
William Wheeler joins us to discusses the process of reporting his book State of War, the story of MS-13 and its American roots.
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Dec 2, 2019
Tim Wu & “The Curse of Bigness”
Host Nicholas Lemann sits down with Columbia University law professor, and author of The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age Tim Wu to discuss the politics of Louis Brandeis and Theodore Roosevelt as antitrust has reemerged this year as a major issue in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.
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Oct 30, 2019
New Kings of the World | Part Two
New Kings of the World examines the new arbiters of mass culture ―India’s Bollywood films, Turkey's soap operas, and South Korea's pop music.
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Oct 14, 2019
New Kings of the World | Part One
Acclaimed Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto joins us to talk about her book, New Kings of the World, which examines the new arbiters of mass culture ―India’s Bollywood films, Turkey's soap operas, and South Korea's pop music.
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Apr 12, 2019
Is Progressive Nationalism a Thing?
Veteran reporter John B. Judis joins us to talk about his book, The Nationalist Revival, which examines the recent worldwide wave of nationalism.
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Feb 11, 2019
“We Want To Negotiate” with Joel Simon
We're kicking off season two with guest Joel Simon, who in nearly two decades at the Committee to Protect Journalists has worked on dozens of hostages cases. He helps us tackle the question: Should governments pay ransom to terrorists?
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Sep 26, 2018
LIVE from Columbia: Bethany McLean & Joe Nocera
The recent booming fracking industry has led many to declare that America will soon be free of the influence of foreign oil and gas suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. But will we really? This discussion between Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera will persuade you to think about the power of oil in a new way.
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Jul 30, 2018
Business Gone Bad & the Art of Persistence
Via The Investor's Field Guide podcast: I’ve often heard that good investors are a bit like journalists: doggedly collecting evidence and building an understanding of how all the pieces of a company or investment fit together. My guest this week is one of my favorite writers and journalists, Bethany McLean.
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May 9, 2018
High-Speed Empire
Will Doig, author of High Speed Empire, traveled through Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore to chronicle the dramatic transformations taking place. Do ordinary people have a voice in this moment of economic, political, and cultural collision?
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Apr 11, 2018
LIVE from Columbia: Masha Gessen & Misha Friedman
This conversation between journalist Masha Gessen and photographer Misha Friedman is a can’t miss opportunity to hear one of the leading experts on Russia speak about the importance of memory rooted in history and facts.
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Feb 26, 2018
Erin Banco & “Pipe Dreams”
When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, the Bush administration promised that oil revenue would be used to win the war and to rebuild and democratize the country. But fifteen years later, those dreams have been shattered. Where did all the oil revenue go?
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Nov 1, 2017
Emily Witt on Nollywood
We sit down with Emily Witt, author of Nollywood: The Making of a Film Empire. Amid electricity cuts, fuel scarcity, and countless other obstacles, how did Nigeria create the second largest movie industry in the world?
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Oct 18, 2017
Atossa Araxia Abrahamian & “The Cosmopolites”
Atossa Araxia Abrahamian travels the globe to meet these willing and unwitting “cosmopolites,” or citizens of the world, who inhabit a new, borderless realm where things can go very well, or very badly.
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Oct 4, 2017
Helen C. Epstein & “Another Fine Mess”
Helen C. Epstein joins us to talk about her new book Another Fine Mess: America, Uganda, and the War on Terror. Is America to blame for decades of war in eastern Africa? Who is Yoweri Museveni? And where is Trump on all of this?
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Sep 27, 2017
So, What is Columbia Global Reports Anyway?
In the first episode of Underreported, we bring in the team to talk about Columbia Global Reports' mission, our lessons learned from entering the book business, and populism's role in the German election.
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