In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we are excited to welcome back Professor Tana Johnson from the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Political Science. Professor Johnson’s research and teaching interests span international institutions, environmental and economic policy, and the interaction of governments, businesses, and civil society. We asked her about some of the main topics she covers in her International Environmental Politics course as well as what’s working, and what’s not, in international environmental politics more generally. We learned so much and enjoyed our conversation. We hope you will too.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were excited to interview PS alum, Josh Shapiro. Josh graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2018 and earned a Master’s degree from the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy in 2021. Josh has built an impressive career in legislative affairs, progressing from campaign management and political internships to senior-level policy advising in the U.S. House of Representatives. Josh has gained expertise in drafting legislation and has a broad policy portfolio, focusing on energy, commerce, infrastructure, and telecommunications. We asked Josh about his time at UW-Madison as well as his fascinating career path and his current work on Capitol Hill. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Josh and hope you will too.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we welcome back Miranda Garcia-Dove and Abby Grabowski, co-Presidents of BridgeMadison, to talk about the role of AI in Education and Society. Miranda and Abby are joined by fellow students Elliott Bliss, Lexi Golding and Marissa Reude. They covered a lot of ground in their discussion of how AI is impacting education, the workforce, the environment and society more generally. It was a lively and engaging discussion that offered a variety of thoughtful student perspectives. Listen here.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were delighted to welcome Mark Copelovitch. Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, to talk about the Trump Administrations flurry of executive orders and job cuts across multiple government agencies and organizations in his first several weeks in office. A lot has happened in the political and economic world in a short amount of time, and we couldn’t think of anyone better to talk to than Prof. Copelovitch. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with him and learned so much. We hope you will too!

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were thrilled to interview Tom Beaumont, Senior National Political Correspondent for the Washington desk of The Associated Press. Tom earned a BA in Political Science from UW-Madison in 1989 as well as a MA from the J-School in 1993. In his career, Tom has covered six presidential campaigns, including the past four as a national correspondent for the AP. We had a wide ranging and fun conversation with Tom about his career path as well as his experiences and insights covering the last several presidential elections.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were excited to talk to Dominic Zappia, the ASM Chair. Dom is a senior at UW-Madison and has been the ASM Chair since the start of this school year. We discussed ASM's structure and powers and why students' participation in ASM's Spring 2025 elections is crucial for effective shared governance. We enjoyed our conversation with Dominic and hope you do too! Listen here.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were delighted to talk to Garrett Jones, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science. Garrett is currently teaching our department’s The American Constitution: Powers and Structures of Government course. We talked to Garret about the development of the US constitutional framework historically and with respect to the challenges of constitutionalism in contemporary U.S. politics and government. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Garrett and learned so much. We hope you will too.

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were excited to sit down with David Olson, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science, to discuss not only his spring course, The Supreme Court as a Political Institution, but also his broader work in civic education. We talked to David about the history and evolution of judicial decision-making and its connection to contemporary political issues. We also asked him about his work at Retro Report – an independent nonprofit news organization - as well as his thoughts on the evolving role of civic education in today’s society. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with David, and hope you will too.

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were delighted to talk to Noah Stengl about his spring course, Native American Political Theory. We talked with Noah about some of the course themes and concepts and how they connect to broader issues of governance, sovereignty, freedom and land. We learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. We hope you will too

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, Honor Durham, Allison Keeley, and Nama Paney revisit favorite clips from three podcasts we especially enjoyed hosting this semester. The first is a conversation with Kai Prins on commodity activism in polarized politics. The second revisits a conversation we had with Professor Allison Prasch on the different rhetorical styles used by Donald Trump and Kamala Harris during their respective presidential campaigns. This last clip comes from our episode with Dr. Kathy Cramer, in which we discuss reimagining our democracy.