Episodes
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Myanmar's Coup
If Myanmar’s history has been a long march towards democracy, the Southeast Asian nation faced a major setback earlier this year. The military recently ousted the de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, and has begun a crackdown on its own citizens. To make matters much worse, the nation…
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Putin's Russia
Understanding and sparring with Russia has been a goal of American diplomacy since the 1950's. But Putin has brought his country to a new level of post-Soviet grandeur. The largest nation in the world is making its presence felt by the ex-KGB man turned politician. Understanding Putin is the main...
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Digital Vaccine
This is a vaccine you've never heard about. University of Cambridge Professor of Social Psychology Sander van Der Linden on inoculating the public against misinformation, and the battle for truth in climate change, the pandemic, and American politics. Plus, how Medicare's Hospital Trust Fund is...
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Carbon Capture
In America, regulation is often pitted as the enemy of economic growth. But Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky (that's two PhD's to be exact) disagrees. The author of over 300 publications and 15 books, the designer of the first ever global carbon market in the Kyoto Protocol, a lead author in the...
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Space Exploration
The final frontier has long fascinated humanity. Why humans are exploring, how emperor penguins breathe, how the Big Bang happened, and what a year in space feels like, on this installment of Extempore, featuring the 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics and Senior Astrophysicist at NASA Goddard, Dr.…
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Food Inequity
Guess who didn't cause this climate change problem? The places with the highest population growth. They didn't do it- it was me. Dawn King is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and a Senior Lecturer in the Institute for Environment and Society at Brown University and joins us on this second...
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Redefining Climate
Is there such thing as a perfect climate? Will we ever solve climate change? What even is climate change? Oh, and how did it enable Donald Trump to get elected? Mike Hulme, Professor of Human Geography and Fellow of Pembroke College at Cambridge University, is one of the most cited climate...
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School Reopening
On August 20th, one of the largest and oldest public universities in the United States, the University of Georgia, opened its doors to 50,000 students and staff. Spotlighting student and faculty advocates, and featuring interviews from our in-house staff, this episode exposes the juxtaposition...
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American Voting
As with every cycle, this is the most consequential election of our lifetime. But this time, it actually is. Mail-in voting during a pandemic, voter disenfranchisement, technology for waiting in line, and the census, are all on this episode of The Finch featuring: Juan Gilbert, the Banks Family...
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Yemen's Famine
Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. And the US is playing a major role. Gregory Aftandilian is a former Pentagon and State Department Middle East expert and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at George Mason, Boston, and American Universities. Scott Paul is the Humanitarian…
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Heritage 6: Jonathan Wallace (Part 2)
These next few months are going to decide the future of America for generations. Former State Representative and current Democratic candidate for Georgia House Seat 119, Jonathan Wallace, is on this installment of Heritage. In Part 2, we have conversations about firearm regulation, LGBTQ and...
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Heritage 6: Jonathan Wallace (Part 1)
Courage is on the ballot this year. It's also on this episode of The Finch. Former State Representative and current Democratic candidate for Georgia House Seat 119, Jonathan Wallace, is on this installment of Heritage. In Part 1, we discuss environmental regulation, education reform,...
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Special Episode: Coronavirus Then and Now (feat. Dr. Neal Priest)
Two interviews. Three months apart. On this special episode, the last of the COVID-19 series (for now), Alex and Will talk with Dr. Neal Priest, Chief of Emergency Medicine at St. Mary's in Athens, Georgia about this pandemic- what has and hasn't changed. Listen to "The Virus 1" with Dr. Neal...
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Heritage 5: Deborah Gonzalez
Her race is back on. Deborah Gonzalez, a former state representative for Georgia House District 117, took on the Governor- and won. This is the story of how she got back on the ballot, her platform, and the seat she is seeking. The ACLU calls the district attorney the most powerful elected…
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The Virus 16: Vaccine Development (feat. Dr. Biao He)
Dr. Biao He is an internationally-acclaimed expert in parainfluenza viruses leading an effort at the University of Georgia to create a Trojan horse vaccine: using part of an old MERS vaccine and equipping it with COVID-19 components. On this Season Finale of The Virus, Alex and Will sit down with...
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The Virus 15: Vaccine Trials (feat. Kim Fowler)
It's a long road to getting a vaccine on the market. Kim Fowler, Director of the Human Research Protection Program at the University of Georgia, is our guide. On this episode we talk about human challenge trials, discuss the ethics behind expediting research, and make predictions about when we…
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The Virus 14: Business History (feat. Dr. Laura Phillips Sawyer)
We are entering an unprecedented time in economic history. Unemployment rate is at an all time high, the most progressive stimulus bills in modern history are on the table, and standards of industry and competition are being dismantled in a frenzy to provide necessary equipment and salvage the...
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Heritage 4: Sgt. John Q. Williams
John Q. Williams has served as a dispatcher, instructor, resource officer, police officer, and investigator. Now he's running for sheriff. On this fourth installment of our Heritage series, Alex and Will talk with John about his platform to reform the Athens police department and the disputes at...
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The Virus 13: Sociology (feat. Dr. Diana Graizbord)
Society will forever be changed. Just how much is the question we asked Dr. Diana Graizbord, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Georgia. On this episode of The Finch, we draw parallels with the AIDS epidemic, discuss the emergence of the...
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Extempore 2: Police Brutality
Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, John Rappaport, talks about qualified immunity, unions, and police liability insurance. Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Virginia, Dr. Brian Williams, discusses police-community relations, the Black Lives Matter...
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The Virus 12: Health Economics (feat. Dr. David Bradford)
Dr. David Bradford discusses the flaws within America’s healthcare system, the future of minimum wage, the likeliness of inflation, the length of the recession, and the economic and public health ramifications of reopening prematurely. The views of Dr. David Bradford do not reflect the views of…
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Heritage 3: Peter Dale (The National, Seabear, Condor, Maepole)
Peter Dale is an Athens-native half-Greek Ecuadorian award-winning chef and owner of The National, Seabear, Condor, and Maepole. Alex, Will, and Peter talk about the farm-to-table movement, Gambas al Ajillo, the future of pandemic dining, and the making of some of the finest restaurants in the…
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The Virus 11: Social Psychology (feat. Dr. Richard Slatcher)
Will and Alex talk with Dr. Richard Slatcher, the Gail M. Williamson Distinguished Professor in Behavior and Brain Sciences in the University of Georgia's Department of Psychology, about the impact of COVID-19 on romantic and platonic relationships, communications and human interaction, and…
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The Virus 10: Public Policy (feat. Dr. Eric Zeemering)
Dr. Eric Zeemering, MPA Director and Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy at UGA, discusses the interaction between different levels of government, as well as the factors that influenced local responses to COVID-19. Complete your Census here: https://www.census.gov Find out how...
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The Virus 9: Public Health (feat. Dr. Justin Ingels)
Director of Research at the Economic Evaluation Research Group and Professor of Public Health at the University of Georgia, Dr. Justin Ingels, discusses preventative measures and their costs, the impact of bereavement, pandemic jurisdiction, as well as long-term healthcare reforms. The views of…
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Extempore 1: Institutional Racism
Alongside Sandra Mayson, Assistant Professor at the UGA School of Law and former public defendant, and Susan Haire, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Criminal Justice Studies Program, Alex and Will discuss the failures of the judicial proceedings for Ahmaud Arbery’s case. Ways…
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Heritage 2: Hugh Acheson (Five & Ten)
Hugh Acheson is an award-winning author, former Top Chef judge, participant on Iron Chef Canada, and owner of several restaurants, including 5 & 10 in Athens. But his interests do not simply reside in the kitchen- Hugh talks politics and policy in our second installment of Heritage. Five & Ten:...
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Heritage 1: Michael Ripps (Jittery Joe's)
The Heritage Series of The Finch premiers an interview with Michael Ripps, President and Co-Owner of Jittery Joe's Coffee. How a musician's late-night coffee fix next to the 40 Watt Club 26 years ago became the multinational coffee company we love and call Joe's. Jittery Joe's:...
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COVID-19 Announcement
The Finch (Will & Alex) is submitting this summary of some of our most insightful interview clips related to social distancing to the New York Times' Third Annual Student Podcast Contest. Will and Alex talk with a psychologist, a sociologist, a government economist, a health economist, a business...
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About The Finch
Alex and Will talk about The Finch, its beginnings, and its future directions. The Finch has just wrapped up part one of its coverage on COVID-19. For the next three weeks we will be releasing two new types of episodes. Heritage episodes will feature short interviews with local businesses,...
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The Virus 8: Epidemiology (feat. Dr. John Drake)
Dr. John Drake, Director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Disease at the University of Georgia, discusses the factors that impact contagion, the construction of statistical models to track and predict COVID-19 cases, and the threat of future pandemics. You can check out the CEID's...
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The Virus 7: Philosophy (feat. Dr. Melissa Fahmy)
Dr. Melissa Fahmy contemplates some of the toughest questions in biomedical ethics: who gets prioritized for ventilators, should individual freedoms come at the expense of societal good, is it okay to voluntarily infect people, and are all humans truly equal? The views of Dr. Melissa Fahmy do not...
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The Virus 6: History (feat. Dr. Timothy Yang)
Dr. Timothy Yang reflects on past pandemics, the Japanese and Chinese biomedical industries, a rise in anti-Asian American rhetoric, and the political and economic status of China that mapped out the course of this pandemic early on. The views of Dr. Timothy Yang do not reflect the views of his...
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The Virus 5: Drug Development (feat. Dr. Scott Pegan)
Dr. Scott Pegan explores the prospects of converting a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic vaccine to fit the needs of COVID-19, the science behind immunity and symptoms, novel drug development, the cutting edge research at UGA's College of Pharmacy, and the possibility of mutations and seasonality. The...
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The Virus 4: Macroeconomics (feat. Dr. Scott Atkinson)
Dr. Scott Atkinson discusses the economic ramifications of both sheltering-in-place and reopening businesses too quickly, health economics, environmental prospects, and America’s recovery from its impending recession. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter = @thefinchpodcast Follow us on Spotify =...
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The Virus 3: Mayor Kelly Girtz
Mayor Girtz discusses both local and state government responses to COVID-19, specific challenges faced by Athens-Clarke County, and the metrics that will be used to determine when to reopen the county. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter = @thefinchpodcast Follow us on Spotify =...
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The Virus 2: Behavioral Psychology (feat. Dr. Michelle vanDellen)
Dr. Michelle vanDellen talks about her international survey on the psychological toll of COVID-19, why humans need one another, why hoarding isn't all that it seems, how political and demographic differences cause tensions, learned helplessness, and the danger of uncertainty. PsyCorona Project:...
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The Virus 1: Emergency Medicine (feat. Dr. Neal Priest)
Dr. Neal Priest describes his experiences as St. Mary’s Hospital Chief of Emergence Medicine, the possibility of a second resurgence of COVID-19 cases and deaths, vaccine development, symptoms and treatments of COVID-19 patients, reopening the economy, and pandemics in the near future. Follow The...