Reality Check With Élena: Episode 5 – The Silent Journey: Inside the Lives of Africa’s Displaced Youth

In this episode, we step into one of the most invisible and painful realities of our time: the journey of refugees, stranded between war, displacement, and an indifferent world. This 18-minute episode reveals the raw, unfiltered truth of young men and women fleeing South Sudan, Ethiopia, and other countries in Africa, only to find themselves … Read more

Reality Check With Élena: Episode 4 – The Man Behind the Market: Pablo Bustamante and Peru’s Quiet Economic Revolution

In this episode I have the privilege to talk with “the doer” Pablo Bustamante. The man who innovated finance and helped move Peru’s informal sector into the middle class. In this 26 min video podcast, recorded in the spirit of untold stories that drive change, Bustamante shares how Peru emerged from a collapsed state and … Read more

Reality Check With Élena: Episode 3 – The Hidden Key to Development: Charles Calomiris on Property Rights and Progress

Today, we sit with globally influential economist Charles Calomiris at the foothills of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, to discuss the foundations of economic development. In this 20-minute video podcast, Calomiris draws on decades of research and policy advise on economic equilibria, and international finance to deliver a compelling reality check on why secure property … Read more

Reality Check With Élena: Episode 2 – Why Informality Persists: Francis Fukuyama on Broken Systems and Bold Fixes

In this 10-minute video podcast, renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama — in his characteristically eloquent and succinct style — offers a sharp reality check on why informality continues to persist around the world. He unpacks how weak institutions, lack of trust, and structural barriers shape informal systems, and recognizes the concept of Reality Check Analysis … Read more

Reality Check With Élena: Episode 1 – “Will the Shrinking Middle Class Affect German Elections?” with Jörg Luyken

German elections are coming up. In our first episode we check reality with Jörg Luyken. We wonder how the crumbling of the Middle Class can affect elections.Jörg is a highly respected Berlin based journalist known for his spot on analysis of German Government and politics. He writes at thegermanreview.de We meet by a remaining piece … Read more