1050 Bascom

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were grateful for another opportunity to talk to Mikhail Troitskiy, Professor of Practice at UW-Madison. Our discussion focused on questions of Russian identity and Russian foreign policy over the last several decades. We also discussed the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine. We learned so much from our conversation with Prof. Troitskiy and hope you will too.

In this special episode of 1050 Bascom, we present our recording of an expert panel on the conflict in Israel-Palestine that was held on Nov. 29 and was hosted by the Department of Political Science and the Middle East Studies Program. The panel featured Professors Steven Brooke, Marwa Shalaby, and Nadav Shelef as speakers and was moderated by Professor Jon Pevehouse.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we are joined by Jessie Munson, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, to discuss the U.S. Congress. We asked Jessie about the power struggles that have made headline news around the world over the last several months as well as some of the key issues that Congress faces as the 2024 presidential primary season gets underway. Jessie studies American politics, political institutions, and elections. We learned so much from Jessie and had a lot of fun talking to her.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we are joined by Professor Allison Prasch to discuss the third Republican Presidential Primary Debate. The debate was held in Miami, Florida on Wednesday, November 8th. Dr. Prasch is an Associate Professor in the Communications Department where she studies and teaches on rhetoric, politics, and culture. We had a lot of fun talking to Dr. Prasch and learned so much. We hope you will too.

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were excited to talk to Josh Brown about social identity theory and political polarization. Josh is social psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Human Ecology. He is interested in understanding groups processes and intergroup relations in applied settings like politics. In particular, he studies what motivates people to identify with groups, self-uncertainty, and identification’s effects on behavior, cognition, performance, and health and politics. Josh is the co-author of a fascinating article, “Extreme party animals: Effects of political identification and ideological extremity.” We wanted to talk to Josh about the psychological mechanisms at play that might help us understand why our political environment has become so polarized - and we asked him if there are any remedies social psychology might offer us. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Josh, and learned so much. We hope you will too!

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we welcome UW-Madison Dean of Students Christina Olstad and UW Police Department Chief Kristen Roman to discuss campus safety resources following a recent high-profile event near campus that put some students on edge. We also take a look at protest guidelines for students, specifically how to protest safely and what UW officials do to support students who choose to participate in a demonstration.

Content warning: This conversation touches on a recent sexual assault near campus and may not be suitable for some listeners.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we wanted to bring back Jon Pevehouse, Professor and Chair of the Political Science department, to talk about the war that has erupted in the Middle East. An unprecedented surprise attack in southern Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, has led to an increasingly deadly conflict with no resolution in sight. Hamas launched its coordinated attack on southern Israel on October 7, firing rockets, invading Israeli towns and army bases, killing at least 1,400 people, many of them civilians, and taking Israelis hostage. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza that have also killed thousands of people, including civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas and united the Israel government that is gearing up for a potential ground invasion. We appreciated Prof. Pevehouse helping us understand the history and politics of the situation.

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we are excited to have the opportunity to speak with Annie Jones, professor of organizational development and a Tribal Nations specialist with UW-Madison’s Division of Extension. Prof. Jones, an enrolled member of the Menominee Nation, is also an affiliate faculty with the departments of American Indian Studies and Community and Environmental Sociology. She was named one of the most influential Native American Leaders in Wisconsin in 2023. We asked Annie about her research interests and her role as a Tribal Nationals Specialist and Liaison at UW-Madison. We had a wonderful conversation, and we learned so much. We hope you will too.

In this episode of 1050 Bascom, we are joined by Professor Mike Wagner to discuss the second Republican Presidential Primary Debate that was held on Wednesday, September 27th at the Reagan National Library in Simi Valley, California. Mike Wagner is a professor at the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research focuses on democracy and political communications. As always, we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with Prof. Wagner and learned so much. We hope you will too.

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were happy in late May to welcome back Erin Barbato, Director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School. As the Trump Administration’s Title 42 immigration policy came to an end, we invited Erin to tell us about what Title 42 was, why it ended in spring, and what this transition might mean for U.S. immigration policy. As always we enjoyed talking with Erin and learned so much.