Pizza, Pod, & Politics

In a bonus episode of Pizza, Pod, & Politics Season 1, Co-Chairs Michael Marotta and Rachel Sabnani hit the studio for one last time together before graduation to interview three outstanding seniors about their theses. Former Student Body President Rachel Ingal shares her experience working with women's issues in  presentation of her thesis on mechanisms for political socialization to increase electoral ambition in adolescent girls in the department of Political Science. Senior Class Council President, Sam Cannova, shares stories from his time in South Africa in presenting his thesis from the Program of Liberal Studies on the roles of hip hop culture in post-Apartheid Cape Town social discourse. Future Marine Corps judge advocate Evan Muller also presents his thesis in the department of Political Science on Political Interference on the Military Justice Process in the wake of war crimes. Give us a listen for the last time this semester!

Join NDVotes Co-Chair Rachel Sabnani and Chair of Community Engagement Patrick Aimone in discussing the role of religion in American politics, the 2020 election and the future of the secular surge with David Campbell, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame and the chairperson of the political science department. Prof. Campbell has co-authored many successful books on these topics including Secular Surge: A New Fault Line in American Politics, Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics and American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. NDVotes offers a look into Prof. Campbell's course, Religion in American Politics, with this fascinating interview in our TENTH episode of Pizza, Pod, & Politics!

Join NDVotes Dorm Liaisons Grace Scartz and Marty Kennedy, Chair of Dorm Liaisons Madeline Ward and Co-Chair Michael Marotta as they share their hometown civic stories---from the tales of an Atlanta suburb to an independent voter in a swing state to the Latinx community of San Antonio and back home to our very own South Bend. This episode takes a more personal look at how we understand community engagement. Hosted by NDVotes Co-Chair Rachel Sabnani.

Episode 8 features Co-Chair Rachel Sabnani and Campus Engagement Chair Matt Cotner sitting down with Professor Ranjan Rohatgi of St. Mary’s College Department of Mathematics & Computer Science. Prof. Rohatgi explains the mathematics of voting and describes his work on the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission in advance of the ICRC’s public forum for Indiana’s 2nd district on Tuesday, March 30th from 7-9 pm. Register for the forum here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5VQihioMQw2Mysl3HyK6kg 

Join Campus Engagement Chair, Matt Cotner, and Social Media Chair, Adair Molinsky as they break down education policy with Prof. Chloe Gibbs in Episode 7 of Pizza, Pod, & Politics. Prof. Gibbs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and a faculty affiliate with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities. Her research focuses on measuring the effects, both intended and unintended, of policies and programs targeted at disadvantaged children and families. Listen in to learn more about education policy in the U.S. and how it has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This episode features Professor Matt Hall, Professor of Political Science and Law and Professor Richard Jones, Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Director of the John W. Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy at the University of Notre Dame. Prof. Hall breaks down the freedom of speech protections afforded by the Constitution while Prof. Jones touches on the freedom of the press, both within the 21st century contact of social media. Hosted by Co-Chair Rachel Sabnani and Chair of Community Engagement, Patrick Aimone. 

In the fifth episode of Pizza, Pod, & Politics, Co-Chair Rachel Sabnani and Chair of Campus Engagement Matt Cotner give a brief history of the First 100 Days of the American Presidency and discuss the promise and pitfalls of a 50/50 Senate with Prof. Jeff Harden. Prof. Jeff Harden is the Andrew J. McKenna Family Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Concurrent Associate Professor in the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Notre Dame. Prof. Harden specializes in American politics and political methodology. He conducts research focused on political representation, public policy diffusion, and state politics. He is the author of Multidimensional Democracy: A Supply and Demand Theory of Representation in American Legislatures and has also published articles in several journals, including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and Political Analysis. 

In the fourth episode of Pizza, Pod, & Politics, Co-Chairs Michael Marotta and Rachel Sabnani sit down with Hall of Fame Coach Muffet McGraw to discuss the intersection of politics and sport. Coach McGraw coached Notre Dame Women's Basketball from 1987 until 2020, leading the team to 26 NCAA appearances, 9 Final Fours, 7 Championship game appearances and 2 National Championships. Upon announcing her retirement in 2020, Coach McGraw committed to becoming more involved in the community and continuing to fight for gender equality. NDVotes had the great honor and privilege to work with Coach McGraw this summer and fall to register Notre Dame student-athletes to vote leading up to the 2020 Presidential Election. In this episode, we discuss the importance of voting on a local level, the opportunity that lies within the intersection between politics and sport, and Coach McGraw's hopes for the future of women's equality in the workplace. 

In our third episode of Pizza, Pod, & Politics, Co-Chair Rachel Sabnani and Social Media Chair Adair Molinsky debrief the presidential election with Christina Wolbrecht, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. Professor Wolbrecht is also the director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy and the Notre Dame Washington Program. Professor Wolbrecht has authored or co-authored articles on such topics as women as political role models, the representation of women, and partisan position-taking on education policy. She has co-authored A Century of Votes for Women: American Elections Since Suffrage and Counting Women's Ballots: Female Voters from Suffrage Through the New Deal, and authored The Politics of Women’s Rights. Professor Wolbrecht is a longtime supporter of NDVotes and as such we thought of no one better to help us debrief the most ~unprecedented~ presidential elections of our time. Listen for a discussion of what was expected vs. what wasn't,  voting turnout and trends, and what this could mean for future elections. 

This episode hosts the audio from a debate NDVotes and BridgeND hosted between representatives from College Democrats and College Republicans. Representing College Democrats was Patrick Aimone and Zach Holland and representing College Republicans was Adam Morys and Charles D. Yockey. Rachel Sabnani, Co-Chair of NDVotes, and Greg Miller, BridgeND Co-President, moderated. This debate occurred live on NDTV in partnership with ND Student Media and Student Government’s department of National Engagement during Civic Engagement Week. The goal of this debate was voter education, as much of the debate was focused on policy and civil discourse.