Public Affairs (Audio)

Hear remarks by Joshua Dickson to Berkeley's graduate seminar "Poverty and Communities of Faith in the Politics of 2021," taught by David Beckmann. Josh was the National Faith Engagement Director of the Biden-Harris campaign and is now Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Josh discusses the importance of persuading, mobilizing, and listening to faith voters; presents data on voting patterns across faith groups; and explains the Biden-Harris campaign's commitment and strategy to reach voters in diverse faith communities. He shows how an electoral campaign translated faith-grounded concerns into a dramatic shift in public policy to the benefit of people in poverty. He joins students in his unofficial, personal capacity, and not as a White House representative. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36987]

David Beckmann explains the purpose of his “Poverty, God, Politics” series—to highlight spiritual and political strategies that can move us from the current crisis in a way that puts us on track to end hunger and poverty. They are drawn from a joint seminar on poverty, communities of faith, and politics cosponsored by UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

David then discusses two foundational insights from his years as president of Bread for the World—that dramatic progress against poverty is possible, and that faith communities can help change the politics of poverty. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36986]

With the Biden Administration there is the growing prospect of a potential reversal of sanctions and regulations imposed by the Trump Administration that resulted in restricting travel, investment and remittances. At the same time, President Biden faces a challenging political landscape with Cuba as human rights abuses continue to be a serious problem in the country, its intelligence service continues to support Venezuela’s autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro, and unanswered questions about the strange brain trauma injuries experienced by U.S. diplomats and their families in Cuba linger. Additionally, pressure from the American Cuban community against a possible détente between Washington and Havana remains, adding a domestic political dimension. The recent San Isidro Movement led by Cuba’s artistic community provides hope that a new re-set in U.S-Cuba relations could lead to social and political changes on the island that would otherwise not be possible if current sanctions remain.

Panelists: Richard Feinberg, UC San Diego; Michael Bustamante, Florida International University; Javier Corrales, Amherst College; Ted Henken, Baruch College, CUNY; William LeoGrande, American University. Moderator: Margaret Crahan, Colombia University. Series: "Hemisphere in Transition" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36855]

A panel of domestic experts in election security practices focus their discussion on how we can advance our own election security practices by using the knowledge we’ve gained from our experiences in 2020 as well looking at best practices in other countries to improve our system overall. Panelists: Wayne Williams, former Colorado Secretary of State; Jennifer Morrell, former local election official and Partner at The Elections Group; Kammi Foote, Clerk Recorder and Registrar of Voters for Inyo County, CA; Philip Stark, Professor of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. Moderator: Henry Brady, Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36936]

Elected officials in some of the key battleground states in the 2020 election discuss their experiences, lessons they learned, and how we can better prepare for 2024. Panelists: Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, Michigan; Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State, Arizona; Josh Shapiro, Attorney General, Pennsylvania; Matthew Masterson, Former Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at CISA, Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moderator: Janet Napolitano, Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36935]

A panel of experts looks at election security from an international comparative aspect focused on election security practices in Brazil, India, and Sierra Leone. What might the United States be able to learn from what’s being done in these three countries to protect against election interference and voter fraud? Panelists: Katherine Casey is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Thomas Fujiwara is an Associate Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Gianmarco León-Ciliottais an Associate Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Aila M. Matanock is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Moderator: Susan Hyde, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36934]

Following the police murder of George Floyd, there have been calls to “Abolish, Defund, and Reform” the police. Elected officials around the country have called for 50% reductions in the police budgets that account for much of local government spending. At the same time, there is little agreement on the meaning of what could or should be defunded or what can be reformed; in many cases, the very language of this movement has impeded the necessary public debate about the appropriate role of police and policing in our society. This panel brings together experienced police, elected officials and faculty experts at UC Berkeley to address these critical, and timely, issues. Panelists: Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Council President; Jack Glaser, Professor at the Goldman School for Public Policy and expert on police bias and police reform; Danielle Outlaw, Chief of Police in Philadelphia. Moderator: Dan Lindheim, Goldman School of Public Policy Professor. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36879]

With Amazon's Alexa spying on her owners, a massive data breach masterminded by Cambridge Analytica, and evidence of election interference promulgated by Facebook, tech policy has never had more significant implications for our society and democracy. Roger McNamee—noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, and Facebook investor—talks with Henry Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, about how he came to realize the serious damage that Facebook and other social media giants are doing and how he has committed to try to stop them. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 36880]

Four former Secretaries of Homeland Security discuss current issues in homeland security, the overlap between security and politics, and how our country can move forward by embracing the challenges—and opportunities—the Biden-Harris administration will face in their first year. Panelists: Michael Chertoff (2005-2009), Jeh Johnson (2013-2017), Janet Napolitano (2009-2013), Tom Ridge (2003-2005). Moderator: Doug Wilson. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36811]

The People’s Republic of China has become a major investor, lender and actor across the energy sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, loans and investments from China have financed an impressive array of projects in infrastructure, energy and mining. Cecilia Aguillon, Energy Transition Initiative Director and Jeremy M. Martin, Vice President, Energy & Sustainability at the Institute of the Americas present an overview of the Energy & Sustainability program’s report followed by a discussion with Matt Ferchen, Head of Global China Research at Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) and Michael Davidson, Assistant Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) at UCSD. Series: "Hemisphere in Transition" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36789]