Her parents were teenagers when they were forced leave their homes, bid their fathers farewell and live far away, behind barbed wire, for no good reason. In spite of this history, Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas says, she inherited from her family an “irreverent love” for America.

“We cannot take democracy for granted,” our guest says on this next show in our occasional series “The Power of Many.” He should know. He worked under Nicaraguan administrations that disappointed. Then the next one threw him in jail.

Shock therapy is President Javier Milei’s prescription for Argentina. But his far-right policies are already faltering — against the courts, a hostile Senate and tens of thousands of citizens who have taken to the streets. Milei’s nickname: the Madman.

Joining us from Karachi, anthropologist Arsalan Khan assesses the mood of a country on edge. Recent elections put the powerful Pakistani military on notice: the people will not be cowed. While the establishment regroups, a growing movement for change is alleging massive fraud.

Gun sales in America took off in the Cold War, and they’ve grown exponentially. Two experts on the culture of firearms in the United States say this phenomenon has a lot less to do with the Second Amendment than it does with the marriage of economics and politics.

An architectural historian considers the way walls real and imagined have shaped belonging, exclusion and citizenship across time — starting with the walls erected by enslaved laborers at the University of Virginia.

Chinese leaders are keen to project their country’s military and economic power on the global stage. As part of that playbook, our guest says, they have been recalling — rather selectively — the story of China’s involvement in the Second World War.

Against the odds, even against hope, African American poets, artists and intellectuals have believed in the democratic project. It’s a dim flame they’ve kept alive for all to nourish. Our guest urges you to meet that challenge.

For all the fans, haters and closet admirers — we bring you our Taylor Swift episode. Siva sits down with a few Swifties, while Emily chats with Tressie McMillan Cottom. Together they hash out the pros and cons of T-Swift’s influence on American political culture. And, yeah, lots of good music.