Political economist Professor Jean-Paul Faguet talks to podcaster Sean Carroll about measuring the impact today of events from centuries ago: how Colombian communities are still affected by 16th-century encomienda, a colonial forced-labor institution. Listen to the Mindscape Podcast.

Professor Jo Beall has a new book, which is a novel partly based on her own experience in South Africa as a political prisoner in apartheid South Africa during the 1980s. Meadowlands Dawn is out in October, and is available to pre-order.

Sir Mark Lowcock shares his experiences at DFID as well as interviews with more former DFID ministers and staff in his latest book The Rise and Fall of the Department for International Development which will be out in October, but is available to pre-order. Informed by the authors’ own experiences at DFID as well as interviews with more than a hundred former DFID ministers and staff, The Rise and Fall of the Department for International Development offers an insider’s view into the successes, struggles, and lessons of a unique government department. As leaders worldwide consider the future of international development, the book provides critical insights into the institutional structures that work best to deliver results.