In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider what could have been if things happened differently at key moments in American political history. What would politics look like today if Richard Nixon defeated John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election? Would Barack Obama’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election alter the trajectory of American politics over the last ten years? What impact do individuals have on politics? Do events matter? Or is politics determined by forces beyond our control? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.

Politics in Question Podcast

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CPF Director Bob Shrum joins U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski to discuss her decades-long efforts to bridge partisan divides and promote sustainability efforts, and her thoughts on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Featuring:

• Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife
• Lisa Murkowski - U.S. Senator (R-AK)

The Bully Pulpit Podcast

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Mónica Guzmán is the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who strongly support Donald Trump. We hear her warm personal story of how Mónica set out to understand what divides America and discovered ways to overcome divisions that hurt our relationships and society.

In this episode of "Let's Find Common Ground", we discuss ways to use our own sense of curiosity to have rewarding cross-partisan conversations with colleagues, friends, and family. 

Mónica Guzmán is the author of the new book, "I Never Thought Of It That Way". She serves as an advisor to the depolarization organization, Braver Angels. Our interview shows listeners how to cross boundaries and find common ground with others from different viewpoints and life experiences.

Let's Find Common Ground Podcast

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Elections across the country are run by dedicated full-time elected officials and by a huge and diverse group of citizens who serve as poll workers — people who might very well be your neighbors, your teacher, or your child’s baseball coach.

These folks are the backbone of our elections system, and are the reason that the 2020 election went so smoothly and was called the “most secure election in American history” with the highest turnout in over a century. But since Election Day in 2020 — and because of a systematic campaign of disinformation designed to undermine trust in our elections — the people who make our democracy work have been the target of repeated attacks on their character and integrity, and have even been threatened with violence.

In episode 38, Weston chats with current and former election officials about the threats they and other election workers have received since the 2020 election, and the problematic trend of election administration being politicized across the country.

Guests:

• Natalie Adona, Assistant Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters for Nevada County, CA
• Brian Corley, Supervisor of Elections in Pasco County, FL
• Al Schmidt, Former City Commissioner of Philadelphia
• Elise Wirkus, Legislative Director at Issue One

Swamp Stories Podcast

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Daniel Beers, Colleen Moore, John Hulsey and Bernie Kaussler join us to provide historical and political context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.

See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2022/01-news.shtml

Democracy Matters Podcast

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows how the incentives and views of dangerous leaders drive world events. The efficacy of the international community’s response depends on how regimes like Russia’s work. Erica Frantz finds that personalist regimes like Russia are more likely to initiate conflicts and suffer from misperceptions in a close inner circle. Putin’s actions follow authoritarian patterns elsewhere. This conversational edition features research and commentary on the war, the sanctions, the behavior of other regimes like China, the global implications of the rise in personalist authoritarianism, and the direction of research on harder-to-observe countries. 

Guest: Erica Frantz, Michigan State University

Studies: How Dictatorships Work, Authoritarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know

Science of Politics Podcast

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Was the war in Ukraine inevitable? What is Vladimir Putin trying to achieve? What does the conflict say about Ukraine as a democracy? Those are just a few of the questions Michael Berkman explores this week with Donna Bahry, professor emerita of political science at Penn State and an expert in  Soviet and post-Soviet politics and democratization. 

Donna has studied Russia and the Soviet Union for decades and traveled to the country dozes of time from late Gorbachev era through 2018. She also talks about the challenges of doing scholarly work in the region and how that task will become even more difficult in the wake of the current crisis. 

Democracy Works Podcast

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This week on Our Body Politic, Farai looks back on the 2016-2017 Dakota Access Pipeline protests with investigative journalist Jenni Monet to discuss activism among indegeonous peoples in America and across the globe. Farai also talks with MacArthur Grant Award winner, Harvard professor and author Tiya Miles about one family heirloom from the enslavement period that remarkably stood the test of time. Then in our weekly segment "Sippin' the Political Tea" Farai is joined by Christina Greer, political scientist and Associate Professor at Fordham University and Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a Ph.D. student in History at the University of Pennsylvania, as they examine the discrimination and other barriers international students and also non-white Ukrainanians are facing in result of Putin's invasion.

Our Body Politic Podcast

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This week we bring you an episode from  Democracy Paradox's Patreon. You can subscribe for more content like this at https://www.patreon.com/demparadox

Featured guest: Liz Joyner, CEO of the Village Square

As the political landscape has devolved into a Mad Max hellscape of blame and retribution (and sometimes even worse), can we find a way to wrestle up a little empathy for our fellow human, even the ones who we don’t agree with — liberal or conservative; Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist; black, white or brown and everyone in between? Is it possible to find humanity amidst the age of political ruin? We’ll find out.

We’ll be joined by God Squad originals Pastor Betsy Ouellette Zierden of St. George Island United Methodist Church, Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, and Rabbi Jack Romberg, author of "A doorway to Heroism: A decorated German-Jewish Soldier who became an American Hero."

The Village SquareCast Podcast

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