In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the One Belt, One Road Initiative. The massive infrastructure project aims to link countries along the old Silk Road routes with Europe. China has spent close to $150 billion a year in the 68 countries that are taking part.

Such a large undertaking has immense implications for the environment. Duke University faculty member Alexander Pfaff has been detailing the potential environmental risks of the BRI and considering alternatives that would avoid environmental damage while still allowing for improved infrastructure.

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Read a transcript: sites.duke.edu/policy360/2019/02…-road-initiative/

Image: Duke University

Music: Open Flames by Blue Dot Sessions freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/ (Creative Commons License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ )

Venezuela is in the midst of a catastrophic economic crisis. According to Forbes, Venezuela’s yearly annual inflation reached 80,000% in 2018, up from 2,400% the year before.

The hyperinflation was so intense that officials revalued the currency at a rate of 100,000 to 1 – and even after that, the exchange rate with the US dollar is still nearly 3,300 to 1. People are spending hundreds of dollars on basic necessities and many still go hungry.

And now on top of this economic hardship, two men are both claiming to have the right to be President.

Patrick Duddy has plenty of experience with the divisiveness of Venezuelan politics, and with the concerns of the people.  He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and is currently the Director of Duke University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Subscribe to the Policy 360 podcast: www.policy360.org/
Read the CompleteTranscript (Link to come)
Image: Melissa Carrico
Music: Vittoro by Blue Dot Sessions/Creative Commons License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/