The world witnessed two major leadership shakeups this week in Brazil and Germany, and both seem to signal personality politics are the flavor of the moment.

This week we’ll talk to a Brazilian political scientists about that country’s new far-right president, a biographer of Angela Merkel about the German chancellor’s slow transition out of power and an expert on populism to consider how global political sentiments are changing an age of anxiety.

Our guests are:

• Cesar Zucco Jr., political scientist at Brazil's Fundação Getúlio Vargas
• Joyce Marie Mushaben, distinguished professor of comparative politics at the University of Missouri St. Louis, author, "Becoming Madam Chancellor"
• Benjamin Moffitt, senior lecturer in politics at Australian Catholic University, author, "The Global Rise of Populism"

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Taped: October 30-November 1, 2018.

Hosted by Luke Vargas.