The Elucidators return after a week off to discuss the results of the presidential election in the United States, which, while decisive, are still playing out for some very irritating, unfortunate, and potentially dangerous reasons. While all of that nonsense fulminates, the entire world also received some excellent news on the COVID-19 vaccine front: Pfizer announced that its vaccine candidate (developed in collaboration with German firm BioNTech) is 90% effective, a truly spectacular result after less than a year of development.NOTE TO OUR AUDIENCE: We're going on hiatus for the holidays and may or may not return in the New Year, depending on how we're feeling. If this turns out to be our last episode, we want to thank each and every one of you for listening over the past 15 months. We hope that the show's been both informative and entertaining, although we'll settle for either one of those :)  Episode Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@element5digital?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Element5 Digital</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/election?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;The Elucidators return after a week off to discuss the results of the presidential election in the United States, which, while decisive, are still playing out for some very irritating, unfortunate, and potentially dangerous reasons. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While all of that nonsense fulminates, the entire world also received some excellent news on the COVID-19 vaccine front: Pfizer announced that its vaccine candidate (developed in collaboration with German firm BioNTech) is 90% effective, a truly spectacular result after less than a year of development.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NOTE TO OUR AUDIENCE: &lt;/strong&gt;We're going on hiatus for the holidays and may or may not return in the New Year, depending on how we're feeling. If this turns out to be our last episode, we want to thank each and every one of you for listening over the past 15 months. We hope that the show's been both informative and entertaining, although we'll settle for either one of those :) &lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Episode Photo by &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/@element5digital?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Element5 Digital&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/election?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Unsplash&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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Steve and Pete look back at a completely uneventful and frankly kind of boring two weeks in American politics.

What Just Happened In The United States?

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re digging into one of our very favorite topics: the future of nuclear weapons! As of this past weekend, 50 countries have ratified the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, a UN-backed effort to relegate nukes to the dustbin of history. But stuffing the nuclear genie back into its bottle won’t be easy, especially with a potential arms race brewing between the US, Russia and China, and new entrants to the nuclear club like North Korea upping their warhead counts. Will we ever get to full disarmament? Should we even want to? Let’s discuss! Episdoe Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@mcoswalt?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Maria Oswalt</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/nuclear?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>Further Reading:<ol><li><a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/policy/defense/521832-russia-ready-to-freeze-nuclear-warheads-in-exchange-for-new-start-extension%3Famp" target="_blank">Russia ready to freeze nuclear warheads in exchange for New START extension</a></li><li><a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/japan-rejects-nuclear-ban-treaty-114207435.html" target="_blank">Japan rejects nuclear ban treaty; survivors to keep pushing</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/world/americas/nuclear-weapons-prohibition-treaty.html" target="_blank">Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons Passes Important Threshold</a></li></ol>Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!<ul><li>theelucidators@gmail.com</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators</a></li></ul>

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re digging into one of our very favorite topics: the future of nuclear weapons! As of this past weekend, 50 countries have ratified the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, a UN-backed effort to relegate nukes to the dustbin of history. But stuffing the nuclear genie back into its bottle won’t be easy, especially with a potential arms race brewing between the US, Russia and China, and new entrants to the nuclear club like North Korea upping their warhead counts. Will we ever get to full disarmament? Should we even want to? Let’s discuss! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Episdoe Photo by &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/@mcoswalt?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Maria Oswalt&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/nuclear?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Unsplash&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further Reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/policy/defense/521832-russia-ready-to-freeze-nuclear-warheads-in-exchange-for-new-start-extension%3Famp" target="_blank"&gt;Russia ready to freeze nuclear warheads in exchange for New START extension&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/japan-rejects-nuclear-ban-treaty-114207435.html" target="_blank"&gt;Japan rejects nuclear ban treaty; survivors to keep pushing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/world/americas/nuclear-weapons-prohibition-treaty.html" target="_blank"&gt;Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons Passes Important Threshold&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;theelucidators@gmail.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank"&gt;https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

 </description>

A new effort is afoot to ban nuclear weapons once and for all. Will it succeed? Should we want it to?

Will We Ever Get Rid Of Nuclear Weapons?

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we journey to Thailand, which most Westerners associate with pristine beaches and a welcoming, peaceful culture. Little do most outsiders know that the “Land of Smiles,” despite its many charms, has long been one of the least politically stable countries in the world. This year, tens of thousands of protestors have been in the streets of Bangkok and other major Thai cities, calling for changes to a supposedly constitutional monarchy that has been cooperating with the military to consolidate absolute power. Now Thailand stands on a knife’s edge between reform and escalation, and we’re here to give you the 411.Episode Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@cadop?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Mathew Schwartz</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/thailand?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>Further Reading:<ol><li><a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2015/09/11/explaining-thailands-volatile-politics" target="_blank">Explaining Thailand’s volatile politics</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-19/thai-parliament-to-decide-on-special-meeting-as-protesters-rally?sref=jC1eyo8e" target="_blank">Thailand Threatens to Censor Media Outlets as Protests Swell</a></li><li><a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/10/14/thailands-king-seeks-to-bring-back-absolute-monarchy" target="_blank">Thailand’s king seeks to bring back absolute monarchy</a></li></ol>Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!<ul><li>theelucidators@gmail.com</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators</a></li></ul>

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we journey to Thailand, which most Westerners associate with pristine beaches and a welcoming, peaceful culture. Little do most outsiders know that the “Land of Smiles,” despite its many charms, has long been one of the least politically stable countries in the world. This year, tens of thousands of protestors have been in the streets of Bangkok and other major Thai cities, calling for changes to a supposedly constitutional monarchy that has been cooperating with the military to consolidate absolute power. Now Thailand stands on a knife’s edge between reform and escalation, and we’re here to give you the 411.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Episode Photo by &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/@cadop?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Mathew Schwartz&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/thailand?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Unsplash&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further Reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2015/09/11/explaining-thailands-volatile-politics" target="_blank"&gt;Explaining Thailand’s volatile politics&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-19/thai-parliament-to-decide-on-special-meeting-as-protesters-rally?sref=jC1eyo8e" target="_blank"&gt;Thailand Threatens to Censor Media Outlets as Protests Swell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/10/14/thailands-king-seeks-to-bring-back-absolute-monarchy" target="_blank"&gt;Thailand’s king seeks to bring back absolute monarchy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;theelucidators@gmail.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank"&gt;https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

 </description>

We've got big trouble in the Land of Smiles, where a growing protest movement is squaring off against the country's retrograde monarch.

Thailand's Royal Mess

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we take a brief detour to one of the nastier places in modern politics: the Far Right. Right-wing extremists ranging from anti-government militias to neo-Nazi parties have been increasingly vocal in the United States and Europe in recent years, and this year’s chaos seems to have kicked extremist activity up another notch. Who are these people? Where are they active? What do they believe? And most importantly, how dangerous are they? Stay tuned for some answers!Episode photo: Anthony Crider / Wikimedia CommonsFurther Reading:<ol><li><a href="https://apple.news/AJArqpnRzQMyHQlURM2MkgQ" target="_blank">Inside the plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer — CNN</a></li><li><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/golden-dawn-greece-far-right/616642/" target="_blank">How to Beat the Nazis in 2020</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/world/europe/german-special-forces-far-right.html" target="_blank">Germany Disbands Special Forces Group Tainted by Far-Right Extremists</a></li></ol>Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!<ul><li>theelucidators@gmail.com</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators</a></li></ul>

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we take a brief detour to one of the nastier places in modern politics: the Far Right. Right-wing extremists ranging from anti-government militias to neo-Nazi parties have been increasingly vocal in the United States and Europe in recent years, and this year’s chaos seems to have kicked extremist activity up another notch. Who are these people? Where are they active? What do they believe? And most importantly, how dangerous are they? Stay tuned for some answers!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Episode photo: Anthony Crider / Wikimedia Commons&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further Reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://apple.news/AJArqpnRzQMyHQlURM2MkgQ" target="_blank"&gt;Inside the plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer — CNN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/golden-dawn-greece-far-right/616642/" target="_blank"&gt;How to Beat the Nazis in 2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/world/europe/german-special-forces-far-right.html" target="_blank"&gt;Germany Disbands Special Forces Group Tainted by Far-Right Extremists&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;theelucidators@gmail.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank"&gt;https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

 </description>

Far-Right extremists have infiltrated the German armed forces, plotted to kidnap the governor of Michigan, and have been found responsible for politically-motivated murders in Greece. What's coming next?

Warnings from the Far Right

This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re checking in on Brexit! The seemingly endless wrangling between the United Kingdom and the European Union to decide their post-divorce economic relationship is nearing a hard stop at the end of this year. The next few weeks may be the last, best chance for the two sides to avoid an economically catastrophic no-deal outcome. Will UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deliberately irrational negotiating style pay off, or is he trying to play chicken with a cliff? We’ve got answers!Episode photo credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/@maxvdo?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Max van den Oetelaar</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/gherkin?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>Further Reading:<ol><li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-07/macron-on-the-spot-with-brexit-talks-snagged-on-french-red-line?srnd=premium&sref=jC1eyo8e" target="_blank">Macron on the Spot With Brexit Talks Snagged on French Red Line</a></li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/09/internal-market-bill-what-it-says-and-the-uk-hopes-to-achieve" target="_blank">Internal market bill: what it says and the UK hopes to achieve</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-04/brexit-negotiators-brace-for-a-summit-showdown-as-talks-lurch-on?sref=jC1eyo8e" target="_blank">Brexit Negotiators Brace for Summit Showdown as Talks Drag</a></li></ol>Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!<ul><li>theelucidators@gmail.com</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators</a></li></ul>

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;This week on The Elucidators: Decoding Global News, we’re checking in on Brexit! The seemingly endless wrangling between the United Kingdom and the European Union to decide their post-divorce economic relationship is nearing a hard stop at the end of this year. The next few weeks may be the last, best chance for the two sides to avoid an economically catastrophic no-deal outcome. Will UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deliberately irrational negotiating style pay off, or is he trying to play chicken with a cliff? We’ve got answers!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Episode photo credit: &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/@maxvdo?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Max van den Oetelaar&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/gherkin?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"&gt;Unsplash&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further Reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-07/macron-on-the-spot-with-brexit-talks-snagged-on-french-red-line?srnd=premium&amp;sref=jC1eyo8e" target="_blank"&gt;Macron on the Spot With Brexit Talks Snagged on French Red Line&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/09/internal-market-bill-what-it-says-and-the-uk-hopes-to-achieve" target="_blank"&gt;Internal market bill: what it says and the UK hopes to achieve&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-04/brexit-negotiators-brace-for-a-summit-showdown-as-talks-lurch-on?sref=jC1eyo8e" target="_blank"&gt;Brexit Negotiators Brace for Summit Showdown as Talks Drag&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Follow and like us on the social medias, or drop us a question via email!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;theelucidators@gmail.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/theelucidators/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators" target="_blank"&gt;https://twitter.com/The_Elucidators&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

 </description>

We're in the final innings of the Brexit game. Is UK PM Boris Johnson going to deliver or get served?

Fishing For A Brexit Deal

Steve Palley and Pete Newsom dive deep into notable global affairs in this weekly podcast.

The Elucidators: Decoding Global News

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