In February 1999, nine months before anti-globalization protesters brought the WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle to a grinding halt, Pietra Rivoli witnessed a precursor on the campus of Georgetown University. A group of about 100 students had gathered, and a young woman with a microphone spoke with moral certitude about the deplorable conditions in developing world sweatshops. “How did she know this?” thought Rivoli, skeptically. Thus began Rivoli’s five-year research project into the people, markets, and politics of globalization. What can a T‑shirt teach us about globalization? As it turns out, quite a lot.

Please join us for a discussion of the book with the author, as well as comments by Adam Davidson of National Public Radio.