American Politics

Political scientist Amy Lerman explores the roots of why trust in government has declined over time even as its performance has improved around the country. She gives examples of how some services are evaluated differently, based on whether they were perceived as being run by public or private organizations. To change these negative attitudes, Lerman suggests that public officials do a better job at explaining what governments do in this conversation with Henry E. Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33484]

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and Goldman School of Public Policy Dean Henry E. Brady discuss free speech and hate speech in America. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Show ID: 33584]

Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the country’s preeminent constitutional scholars and dean of the University of California, Berkeley’s law school, looks at the intersection of the First Amendment and higher education in this talk sponsored by Student Affairs, the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, and the Law and Society Program at UC San Diego. Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 33388]

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and Goldman School of Public Policy Dean Henry E. Brady discuss free speech and hate speech in America. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 33584]

UC San Diego political scientist and noted Kremlinologist Philip Roeder takes a look at the history of Soviet and Russian propaganda and disinformation techniques in this fascinating and sobering talk sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC San Diego.

Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33340]

In "Confronting Political Intimidation and Public Bullying: A Citizen's Handbook for the Trump Era and Beyond," author and Literature professor emeritus Roddey Reid traces the origins of the current toxic environment back some 30 years to a culture of abuse in the workplace, media and the political arena. In conversation with sociologist Akos Rona-Tas, Reid reviews the strategies and dynamics of contemporary bullying: how it works, the danger it causes, and the lessons to be learned in pursuit of a more civil public life. Reid is presented by the Division of Social Sciences, the Division of Arts and Humanities

along with the Program in Jewish Studies and the Department of Literature at UC San Diego. Series: "Library Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 33230]

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explains in colorful detail how the gap in income and wealth has grown so vast in the United States and warns of consequences for democracy if this fundamental divide is not addressed. He references his new Netflix documentary, "Saving Capitalism," as he describes the frustration of voters who see the system as rigged against them. In this conversation with Henry E. Brady, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, Reich ends with signs of optimism, noting that the rise in political engagement around the country is critical to enacting reforms that will save capitalism for the many, not just the few. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33173]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes New Yorker staff writer George Packer for a discussion of the US political landscape. Packer recounts the insights he derived in researching and writing The Unwinding, his 2013 book about the US in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse. In the conversation, he traces the rise of the white working class, the failure of the Democratic Party to address their interests, and the emergence of Trump as a representative of enraged voters in the 2016 election. He identifies the 4 narratives that define the divisions in the US today. Packer concludes with an analysis of leadership and ideas that might change America in the future. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33175]

Economist William Easterly describes how the fight against global poverty is linked to the migration from poor to rich countries and how the war on terror perpetrates a stereotype of poor people as violent, unintentionally fueling xenophobia and travel bans. The good news is that economic ideas are the best antidote to xenophobia, opening the door again to migration as a powerful vehicle for global poverty reduction. Easterly, a professor of economics at New York University, is a visiting scholar at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32993]

The Trump Presidency is a symptom of the fracturing in American society that goes deeper than economics and politics to the meaning of being an American. George Packer, Staff Writer for the New Yorker, argues that none of the currently available narratives of national identity point a way out of our failure and asks if there is another way to think of ourselves as Americans. George Packer is a contributor for numerous journals and magazines, including The New York Times magazine, Dissent, Mother Jones, and Harper’s. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33000]