2020: It's an election year like no other. In this episode of EJB Talks, we get back to national politics. The Bloustein School's Director of Engagement and Special Projects Amy Cobb MPAP '18 returns to ask Professor Stuart Shapiro some pressing questions concerning the presidential and congressional races.  Where does the race stand?  How will the conventions, and VP Biden's selection of a running mate, affect the race?  Stuart and Amy discuss these questions, and more, about the craziest election year in a generation.

Stuart Shapiro welcomes Associate Professor of Public Policy Julia Rubin to our next episode of EJB Talks.  She shares her personal experience starting an NJ based educational grassroots organization, that exposed her to the various institutional aspects of New Jersey politics. She discusses her recent article on the role of political machines in New Jersey and how the design of ballots favor some candidates over others.

Will the nature of college be forever changed by the pandemic and the ensuing recession? This is just one of the questions discussed on EJB Talks this week. Stuart Shapiro and Marc Weiner, Executive Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Bloustein School, examine why the sudden, emergency transition to online education was not an easy one. They also discuss how schools like Bloustein, which employ  faculty already cross-trained in hybrid learning, were able to better maintain the quality of teaching as it moved to online learning. Recorded just before a federal judge rescinded the ICE announcement barring foreign students from online study in the U.S., they also touch upon what the move by ICE would have meant for colleges and universities, as well as how enrollments may change as America likely heads into another multi-year recession.

Professor Stuart Shapiro speaks with senior research specialist Charles Brown of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center on the subject of disparities in transportation planning this week on EJB Talks. Mr. Brown, also an instructor in transportation policy and planning for the school, connects transportation to social disparities, social justice, equity, and COVID-19. In addition to considering the "pracademic" approach to these intersectional crises, they discuss why it is imperative to teach people about the links between transportation planning and these critical issues and the need to prioritize equity in transportation planning and decision making.

This week on EJB Talks Stuart Shapiro sits down with Bloustein School Senior Policy Fellow and former New Jersey Budget Director Richard Keevey, who reflects on his years of budgeting at both the state and national levels. Mr. Keevey gives his take on how the pandemic, and the ensuing economic downturn, have put enormous pressure on state governments. The pandemic has increased the needs of residents, while the recession has dramatically decreased the revenue sources that the state government relies upon. Given the magnitude of New Jersey's fiscal crisis, what options do the state's leaders have for making spending cuts without negatively affecting those who need services the most?

EJB Talks welcomes Jeanne Herb, executive director of the Bloustein School's Environmental Analysis and Communications Group to talk about the intersection of the climate crisis, COVID, and economic inequality with Stuart Shapiro. They discuss the work that her center and the University are doing to help New Jersey address the disparate impacts of climate change on our most vulnerable populations, and how no longer viewing climate change as separate from our other crises may allow us to write and implement effective policy solutions.

Stuart Shapiro welcomes Lisa Gulla, epidemiologist, disease investigator, and Bloustein lecturer in this week's episode of EJB Talks for a candid discussion about the challenges facing local level disease investigators during the COVID-19 pandemic. She reveals how data can be misconstrued and misinterpreted by well-meaning officials, information-hungry media, as well as "arm-chair" epidemiologists.

Over a period of four days in 1967, Newark was one of over 150 U.S. cities rocked by rioting, looting, and property destruction, with 26 deaths and hundreds injured. This week on EJB Talks Associate Dean Stuart Shapiro takes a look back at those tumultuous events with Linda Stamato and Sandy Jaffe, co-directors of the Bloustein Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. Sandy chaired the Lilley Commission which recommended changes in the wake of the riots and Linda has spent a career advocating for the improvement of conflict resolution. They draw lessons from their experiences to discuss the protests in recent weeks, and discuss the parallels between two very different eras, the importance of educating leaders about long-standing disparities, and the necessity of building community in order to move forward.

In this episode of EJB Talks, Associate Dean Stuart Shapiro speaks with Bloustein School alumnus Storm Ervin MPP '18.  Now an analyst for The Urban Institute in Washington D.C. Ms. Ervin was a central organizer for the protests at the University of Missouri after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson MO in 2014. She shares her experiences from the Missouri protests and draws lessons for the current protests going on nationwide over the murder of George Floyd.

The murder of George Floyd has resulted in protests across the country.  In this episode of EJB Talks, Associate Dean Stuart Shapiro, author of the Not Normal blog on the Trump Administration, discusses the president's response to the protests and the likely electoral implications.  With the protests layered on top of a still-persistent pandemic and a deepening economic recession, will the president's militaristic response to civil disobedience result in more unrest?  Will it help him win re-election?