Over Here, Over There

Crossroads in Italy: New Pope, New Deals

• Dan Harris and Claudia Koestler • Season 3 • Episode 27

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From Bari with Updates: Get ready for a whirlwind tour of global headlines-straight from the sun-soaked streets of Bari, Italy! In this special episode of Over Here, Over There, Dan Harris and Claudia Koestler dive into the historic election of Pope Leo XIV, unpacking the drama, tradition, and global impact of the Vatican’s latest conclave. But that’s not all: they´re also breaking down the latest twists in the US-UK trade deal and what it means for politics, business, and ordinary people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Join two friends from different worlds as we bridge borders, share local flavor from southern Italy, and offer fresh, informed takes on the stories shaping our world right now. Whether you’re a news junkie, a politics buff, or just curious about how global events connect us all, this episode is your passport to insight and lively debate.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe-tell us what you think about the new pope and the future of transatlantic relations!


Claudia Koestler (00:00.0)
Hello and welcome back to Over Here, Over There, your podcast across borders and I'm Claudia Koestler. 

Dan Harris (00:24.551)
I'm Dan Harris.

Claudia Koestler: 

And look at that backdrop. It's Bari, Italy. When I heard a couple of days ago, Italy, an election of the Pope, and it's gonna be an American, I thought, Dan, what have you done? 

Dan Harris (00:36.43)
Well, I think the vote was rigged. 

Claudia Koestler (00:41.173)
The cat is out of the bag. 

Dan Harris (00:42.912)
Yeah, it's not me. It's not me. But you know what? They made the right choice. They made the right choice. No, I think it's an excellent choice in the end and the correct choice. And we can talk about why. he's a very, to me, a very brilliant man. Speaks many languages. Has spent a lot of time in Peru. I guess he got a second citizenship in Peru. So he's very good for South America. Very, very popular, obviously from North America. So you got two continents right away. 

Dan Harris (01:12.902)
And he's liberal. He's a liberal pope in a way. But strangely enough, that didn't seem to bother the conservative members of the papacy. So there's a nice balance to it all. Also, kind of, although the Catholic Church won't say this, a counter balance to right-wing extremism, maybe even to Trump in the White House. 

Claudia Koestler (01:35.16)
How political is it to be a pope? Is that going to be just a microcosm for Catholics and a moral instance? Or can he actually influence politics, especially the US one? 

Dan Harris (01:48.622)
Well, I think it's political just to get out of bed nowadays, but it's always political no matter what religion you're talking about. So, you know, this mixture of religion and politics. But it certainly has an influence over the morals and values across Christians, across the world. I think it is very significant and will have an impact. And does he have power? Yes, he has a lot of power. Is it sometimes direct or indirect? Well, it's mostly indirect. 

Claudia Koestler (02:15.852)
Well, you are a Catholic. What do expect the church is going to do? Is your local priest going to directly get messages from the Pope that will be distributed all over the churches. 

Dan Harris (02:27.814)
You haven't gone to church in a while have you? 

(laughter)

Claudia Koestler (02:29.952)
I'm a raised Christian, I've kind of... I have to confess that I kind of lost faith. I was raised Protestant, actually, so I'm not Catholic. 

Dan Harris (02:38.862)
My view about priests, local priests, that they're like little popes. They rule their patch. So will it affect them? Well, certainly they followed the divine teaching coming down from the pope. will it affect it significantly? No. But the fact that he's liberal will affect women's rights in the church, certain issues about priests, and the abuse scandal. What's going to happen there? 

Dan Harris (03:06.488)
But also major political issues like climate change or wars, craning and elsewhere. Popes do comment on that and pray for it. So it is very significant. It is one of the major roles in the world. Having a pope who is on the liberal side of things will play a big part in international relations. 

Claudia Koestler (03:25.206)
You say liberal, but how liberal can you be as a Catholic pope? I mean, is there some sort of limit because they have hardly changed in 2000 years and that is, some say, their success story. How liberal is he going to be in Europe? 

Dan Harris (03:38.702)
I don't know how it all depends. We'll see what his negotiating skills are within the Vatican. Obviously, the Vatican has its bureaucracy, and how much he can deal with that, how well he can deal with that, we'll see. That is really to be determined. I don't know, but the fact that he brings that perspective, like Pope Francis did to make a change from the past of philosophy. We'll see. I'm sure he's going to continue with lot of initiatives that Pope Francis had. So, it's good that there's some continuity there. There's one other significant element that happened over the past week since we last recorded, and that is the UK-US trade deal. 

Claudia Koestler (04:19.554)
Trade deal. Well, a big word, isn't it? Trade deal. Is it really a deal, or is it something that Trump likes to say, but it's more of an agreement, and we will only see down the line what really happened. 

Dan Harris (04:23.37)
Yeah, it's great. 

Dan Harris (04:34.142)
The latter. Well put. Well put. I think it's an agreement, and because you don't know, I think the worry is that Trump will hold to his word? Will he follow what was signed and agreed to, or will there be further changes? I think that's what both sides are just looking at, especially the UK. Will this be abided by? And really the benefits to both sides, number one thing is access to each other's markets. It probably amounts to about $15 billion in trade boost. 

Dan Harris (05:03.118)
between the US and UK. But to the UK, it's probably about 2 3 billion and it's coughers. Is that significant? Well, it's good. You give me pound, I'll take a pound. But if you say 2 to 3 billion in the greater scheme of things, no, it's not. Is it a replacement for it? This was supposed to be a significant deal that would help counterbalance being out of the EU. Is it doing that? No, certainly not. Will it do so in the future? At this point with that deal, no, I don't see that. 

Dan Harris (05:31.0)
kind of scale happening through this deal. And the other thing from an American point of view, are you happy with this deal? Trump has trumpeted that this is significant. Well, he wasn't getting the deals or announcing deals around his tariffs. He comes to the White House and or sits in the White House and says, you know, I've got a great deal with the UK. He promotes that. Is it significant? Well, what's really important is China. What are they going to do? The UK deal is very small comparison. So Americans are really wondering what's going to happen with China. 

Dan Harris (06:00.056)
The UK deal does not move the dial so much for the UK consumer. Is it important to both sides? Symbolically, certainly. But there's so much more work to be done. 

Claudia Koestler (06:11.118)
Well, you mentioned China, but what about the EU? Is that going to be important to the EU? 

Dan Harris (06:15.278)
I 

Dan Harris (06:15.818)
think that yes, and it's a very good point, the British hope is that this will help when they just then turn to the EU, because the UK is looking to reset that relationship with the EU. Now that they have at least some kind of agreement with the United States, and that's mostly steel, cars, and aluminum, they still have a 10 % tariff, though, on British exports going to the United States. But at least it's an agreement. And when they turn to the EU, 

Dan Harris (06:44.844)
They now can focus on how do we relate to that deal, how we can access the EU market on more favorable terms. Maybe a little bit more freedom of movement, but certainly with exports and goods, what can be done? And so that gives them probably a little bit more leverage or at least more to talk about. So it looks possible, there. 

Claudia Koestler (07:04.942)
Thank you very much, very insightful. I hope you find it too. Thank you very much, and don't forget to like and subscribe. 

Dan Harris (07:12.132)
I didn't get a chance to ask her questions, I'll do that next episode. 

Claudia Koestler (07:15.47)
Yeah, come back, more to come, of course. Like and subscribe, and tell everyone about this podcast. We need you and we want to see you on YouTube, on our other platforms like 'Over Here, Over There.org. And of course, you can find us everywhere where there are podcasts. Thank you. Cheers. Bye. And enjoy this view for one more second. Come on, you.