Explaining Brazil
News from Brazil, by The Brazilian Report — an independent media outlet uniquely positioned to offer an insider’s view of current affairs in Brazil.
Episodes
401 episodes
Brasília enters an election year on edge
Brasília is back to work — and the new legislative year has opened with all the familiar rituals: lofty speeches about stability, institutional balance, and dialogue, plus promises of an ambitious agenda ahead.But this is no or...
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38:49
Brasília enters an election year on edge (preview)
Brasília is back to work — and the new legislative year has opened with all the familiar rituals: lofty speeches about stability, institutional balance, and dialogue, plus promises of an ambitious agenda ahead.But this is no or...
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11:18
Banco Master and the Supreme Court: After the glory came the crisis (preview)
As the saying goes, the calm comes before the storm. In Brazil’s Supreme Court, the current crisis came after a period of glory and renown.In September 2025, the Supreme Court made history and became a global reference. Breakin...
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10:25
Banco Master and the Supreme Court: After the glory came the crisis
As the saying goes, the calm comes before the storm. In Brazil’s Supreme Court, the current crisis came after a period of glory and renown.In September 2025, the Supreme Court made history and became a global reference. Breakin...
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36:51
How the Mercosur-EU deal impacts Brazilian firms beyond exports (preview)
Amid a global context of eroding multilateralism and rising US trade wars, Mercosur and the European Union are trying to create
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11:35
How the Mercosur-EU deal impacts Brazilian firms beyond exports
Amid a global context of eroding multilateralism and rising US trade wars, Mercosur and the European Union are trying to create
Subscriber Episode
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34:00
What happened to Brazil-Venezuela relations? (preview)
Lula did not recognize Maduro’s 2024 election win, but his first two terms in office in the 2000s saw him make South American integration a top priority of Brazil’s foreign policy, and maintain close ties with the Hugo Chavez government of the ...
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15:19
What happened to Brazil-Venezuela relations?
Lula did not recognize Maduro’s 2024 election win, but his first two terms in office in the 2000s saw him make South American integration a top priority of Brazil’s foreign policy, and maintain close ties with the Hugo Chavez government of the ...
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49:17
Trump’s Venezuela play: How it reshapes South America’s risk map
In Latin America, 2026 quite literally got off to an explosive start.Just before sunrise on January 2, the city of Caracas was violently awoken by the sound of bombs, as US forces launched a sudden, high-intensity strike on the...
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43:04
Trump’s Venezuela play: How it reshapes South America’s risk map (preview)
In Latin America, 2026 quite literally got off to an explosive start.Just before sunrise on January 2, the city of Caracas was violently awoken by the sound of bombs, as US forces launched a sudden, high-intensity strike on the...
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12:34
Checks and balances turned into vendettas (preview)
In any democratic republic, it’s normal for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to clash. That’s a sign of mutual oversight. It’s also normal for politicians to make concessions to their adversaries. That’s a sign of democracy.
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10:28
Checks and balances turned into vendettas
In any democratic republic, it’s normal for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to clash. That’s a sign of mutual oversight. It’s also normal for politicians to make concessions to their adversaries. That’s a sign of democracy.
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30:33
What needs repair in Brazil's public sector machine?
In a country with 27 state governments, more than 5,000 city halls, and around 12 million people working in the public sector, calls to reform — or improve — Brazil’s civil service never really seem to go away.We talked to Brazil's speci...
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42:30
What needs repair in Brazil's public sector machine? (preview)
In a country with 27 state governments, more than 5,000 city halls, and around 12 million people working in the public sector, calls to reform — or improve — Brazil’s civil service never really seem to go away.We talked to Brazil's speci...
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11:31
Good COP? Bad COP? (preview)
Carlos Nobre, head of the Planetary Science Pavilion at COP30 in the Amazon, talks to us about the conference’s results, the climate emergency we are living through, and what Brazil can still do.
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11:00
Good COP? Bad COP?
Carlos Nobre, head of the Planetary Science Pavilion at COP30 in the Amazon, talks to us about the conference’s results, the climate emergency we are living through, and what Brazil can still do.
Subscriber Episode
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43:15
Brazil’s Central Bank led a revolution (preview)
Five years ago, Brazil launched a public digital payment infrastructure — and its impact on the financial market and society has been immense.
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9:59
Brazil’s Central Bank led a revolution
Five years ago, Brazil’s Central Bank launched Pix — a public, instant payment system that lets people send money to each other at no cost. And it was a real shake-up. Until then, Brazilians were used to paying fees for almost any transfer....
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41:41
Supreme Court to Brazilians: “Follow the money” (preview)
Over the past decade, Brazilian lawmakers have steadily built up procedures to expand their powers over the purse. That has included increasing the overall volume of congressional grants; making a large share of them mandatory spending; limitin...
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10:33
Supreme Court to Brazilians: “Follow the money”
Over the past decade, Brazilian lawmakers have steadily built up procedures to expand their powers over the purse. That has included increasing the overall volume of congressional grants; making a large share of them mandatory spending; limitin...
Subscriber Episode
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42:34
COP30: Will climate action take root? (preview)
Each passing year, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) gains more urgency. More and more biomes around the world are approaching what scientists call tipping points — the Amazon chief among them. Hosting the 30th edition of COP i...
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15:06
Who will be Brazil's next Supreme Court justice?
Justice Luís Roberto Barroso is retiring. We unpack how factors such as trust, political ties, and electoral considerations may guide President Lula’s next choice for the court.
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41:38
Who will be Brazil's next Supreme Court justice? (preview)
Justice Luís Roberto Barroso is retiring. We unpack how factors such as trust, political ties, and electoral considerations may guide President Lula’s next choice for the court. Listen to the full episode on
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9:18