One of the most popular theories about Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 is that Trump appealed to an increasing number of Americans—especially white Americans without a college degree—with feelings of alienation and loneliness. In 2015, Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a landmark paper documenting a “marked increase” in deaths among middle-aged white Americans in the 21st century, at a time when mortality was decreasing for everyone else. Case and […]

32. Scott Winship on the Social Capital Project

American Wonk is the signature podcast of FREOPP, the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. On the show, FREOPP President Avik Roy explores the most important national issues of our time—like the economy, health care, technology, pandemics, and the Supreme Court—with the experts and political leaders who know them best.

News

Politics

On today’s episode of American Wonk, Avik Roy talks to Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee and author of a pathbreaking health care reform bill called the Hospital Competition Act. Should the GOP shed its big business reputation to help kitchen table voters? More on the Hospital Competition Act here. […]

E70. Rep. Jim Banks on a New Vision for Health Care Reform

The American Jobs Plan has been touted by Vice President Kamala Harris as the biggest jobs investment since World War II. But how exactly will we pay for $2 trillion in new spending on infrastructure, green energy, housing, and education reform? Do the benefits of increased spending outweigh the proposal’s impact on deficits and tax rates? Last week, Avik […]

E69. What’s in the Biden Spending Plan?

On May 1st, Texas will hold a special election to fill the seat of late U.S. Congressman Ron Wright, who passed away in February from COVID-19. The contentious, all-party election has 23 candidates vying for the seat, including Rep. Wright’s widow Susan. One of the Republican candidates, Michael Wood, joins Avik Roy, President of FREOPP, to discuss his […]

E68. Michael Wood & the Future of the GOP

On today’s episode of Covid in 19, Scott Immergut of Ricochet and Avik Roy talk about a new FREOPP report that ranks the pandemic performance of 31 countries, including the U.S. Which countries have moved up and down in the rankings, which country is number 1, and why is Europe having such a tough time? […]

E67. COVID in 19: Which Countries Have Fared Best in Pandemic Response?

Can conservative principles adapt to appeal to younger generations and minorities? What are realistic conservative policy goals for the 21st century? Is there a future for an inclusive, equal opportunity-oriented conservative movement? Patrick Ruffini from Echelon Insights, a next-generation polling, analytics, and intelligence firm, joins American Wonk to discuss. Patrick has a background as a […]

32. Scott Winship on the Social Capital Project

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