This is an abridged, 20-minute excerpt of the interview with Boston College professor of political science Shep Melnick posted for paid subscribers only. Become a paid subscriber to hear the rest of this episode and maintain access to a growing archive of independent study sessions.

This is the third episode in the Syllabus series, wherein I do a deep dive into a subject with an academic expert.

R. Shep Melnick, Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Professor of American Politics at Boston College and co-chair of the Harvard Program on Constitutional Government, has put together a syllabus of readings that we will be working through on the subscriber-only Syllabus podcast series. Every 3-4 weeks we’ll do another reading together.

This week, we’re discussing Hugh Heclo’s essay “The Sixties’ False Dawn: Awakenings, Movements, and Postmodern Policymaking,” Journal of Policy History, vol. 8, 1996.

Become a paid subscriber and get a head start on our next reading: Samuel Huntington, American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony (Harvard University Press, 1983), chs. 1-3.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wesleyyang.substack.com/subscribe