The Politics Lab

Bill and Phil reflect on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and assess two decades of US foreign policy that emerged in response to the attack… the good, the bad and the ugly.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on the final US troops leaving Afghanistan and Biden officially ending the nearly 20 year war in Afghanistan. We also take a look at the political dynamics surrounding the Covid surge and mask mandates.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil take a deep dive into the situation in Afghanistan. What to make of the chaotic situation on the ground? What does that mean for the overall decision to withdraw? And who ultimately bears responsibility for the tragedy in Afghanistan?

We're on one last summer vacation, so we're reposting our interview with Erica Chenoweth this week. Enjoy!

Erica Chenoweth, the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, joins Bill and Phil this week to discuss the practice of civil resistance.

This week, Bill and Phil uncover what Mauritius can teach us about the international rules-based order, then discuss the recent climate change report, troubling developments in Afghanistan, and the global ethics of booster shots.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on truth and the January 6th Committee, recent covid troubles in Florida and Texas, challenges to US nuclear policy, and what to make of Tucker Carlson broadcasting from Hungary. 

The Lab is on vacation this week, so we’re rebroadcasting our interview with Professor Roland Paris.

Roland Paris, Professor of International Affairs at University of Ottawa and former Senior Advisor on Global Affairs and Defense to the Prime Minister of Canada, joins us to discuss U.S. global leadership, the state of democracy, the rise of China and the difference between the academic and policy world. 

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on their experience last week at a summer institute on genocide studies and prevention, and then discuss what political science research can teach us about cults of personality and whether Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan will lead to the world’s next refugee crisis. 

We’re back! On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the contested history of the country’s founding, Israel ushering in the era of AI-based war, the death of Donald Rumsfeld, India’s use of Covid to undermine democracy, and where historians placed Donald Trump in their latest rankings.

The Lab is on vacation this week, so we’re rebroadcasting our interview with Professor Jim Waller.

The threat of mass violence is on the rise in the United States, as demonstrated by the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Dr. James Waller, noted expert on mass violence and genocide, joins us this week to talk about the risk factors that contribute to widespread political and ethnic violence and to wrestle with the warning signs present in the United States today.