What is the role of the academic? Should university researchers be focused on engaging policymakers, or citizens? Are scholars succeeding in doing either? And does math have anything to do with any of this? Today we introduce the first of four episodes discussing international relations with Terry Chapman and Scott Wolford. Recorded soon after the British public voted to leave the European Union, these episodes look broadly at the international political and economic order in 2016, and discuss some ways that international relations scholars seek to analyze, assess, and explain world politics.