Contested Politics

Global poverty remains one of the largest international crises, especially considering the economic fallout from COVID-19. While many recognize global poverty as a major problem, solutions vary wildly. One commonly proposed solution is US foreign aid to humanitarian organizations. While critics say this promotes US imperialism, proponents argue that it is highly effective at raising the quality of life for millions. Clint Borgen from the Borgen Project joins us to break it all down. 

When QAnon supporters stormed the National Mall on January 6th, many people were left wondering how this could have happened. What would drive someone to adopt such a crazy conspiracy theory? In the era of instant connectivity and unlimited social media websites, it's not hard to find someone else who can push your beliefs in one way or another. The theory of radicalization via social media and the Internet is not new, but its impact is getting bigger and bigger. Ethan Guttermna explains how people fall in the rabbit hole and how to get out.

It's very easy to feel overwhelmed by the pace of computer development. In just the past few decades, we have gone from simple word processors to talking, learning machines with artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence poses many questions, technical and not. To explore the developmental process, ethics, and questions surrounding artificial intelligence in the modern-day, I sit down with William Sepesi. From game theory to the possibility of a terminator-esque future, we cover it all.

In the past few years, the term "school-to-prison-pipeline" has been used more and more to describe racism in the American education system. Whether it be zero-tolerance drug policies or the lack of robust extracurriculars, many racial justice advocates point to failures in education as a reason for a booming prison population. While the two institutions seem unrelated, a breakdown of the policies at hand and their unequal application tells a fighting story. As French philosopher Michel Foucault points out, all of life is a prison.

In theory, at the heart of any democracy is winning a majority of the public's support. IAs such, elections are the most direct way for any citizen to influence politics. But in an era of hyper-partisanship, social media, and a global pandemic, running a political campaign has never been more challenging. To understand the ins and outs of how to run a progressive, grassroots campaign, I sit down with the host of The Youth Vote, Isaac-Goff Mitchell. For anyone considering running for office that isn't an establishment candidate, this episode is for you.

The Youth Vote is a podcast that interviews young people running for office and what they've learned from it all. Please check it out and support the great work Isaac is doing!

The United States' criminal justice system is highly technical and complex. With various burdens of proof, appeals courts, and legal remedies, it seems odd that the president could simply bypass the whole system. Trump's presidential pardons have become a hot-button topic of late but many of the conversations ignore an important element: the purpose of pardons. To understand why pardons exist and how they function in American democracy, I sit down with UCLA professor Mark Greenberg. Some of his writing on pardons has been published in major news outlets and I highlight recommend you read those if you are interested in this topic. Stay tuned...

This past election day, Oregon passed an initiative to decriminalize all drugs. In general, drug decriminalization has become a staple ballot initiative, with many states across the nation now permitting marijuana usage of some kind. But what is drug decriminalization and how is it different than drug legalization? To answer all these questions, Matt Sutton from the Drug Policy Alliance explains what happened in Oregon and where the conversation about drugs goes from here.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is arguably the most sensitive geopolitical issue today. With both Israeli and Palestinian immigrants living in the US, American institutions are often forced to confront this issue head-on. And oddly enough, colleges and universities have become a primary battleground with the debate focusing on "BDS". Boycott, Divest, and Sanction has become the main tool used by Palestinian activists in the US to protest Israel. But what is BDS and what does it all mean? I sit down with Thomas Schramm to break down BDS, anti-semitism, and everything around the conflict.

By now, it's likely that you have seen some sort of political infographic on social media. It has a pastel background, a few words in a bolded font and claims to break down a political issue in just a few sliding pictures. It's effective spread of information often comes at the cost of reliability and truthfulness. So, is getting our news and information from social media a net good? We sit down with infographic creator Teddy Alvarez-Nissen to understand the process behind infographics and the way to treat them going forward.

After days of waiting, it is now safe to say that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. While the win is easy to cheer or jeer on it's face, there is a lot to learned from this campaign cycle. From COVID-19 leading to record amounts of mail-in ballots to Georgia now being considered a swing state with Senate elections to come, Adam and Jared break down the lessons learned from the 2020 election.