Best Uspolitics Podcasts (2024)

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73. Eyewitness accounts from al-Shifa Hospital 26:43

1h ago26:43

26:43

When the Israeli military left the al-Shifa Hospital complex earlier this month, Gaza’s largest medical facility was left in ruins. International medical and aid groups declared it completely destroyed and totally non-operational. Shortly after, stories began to emerge of the horrors those inside the facility experienced at the hands of the Israeli…

1
Should Policy Match Voters' Preferences? 42:55

1d ago42:55

42:55

How do we know if our democracy is healthy? For political scientist, the answer often comes down to things we can measure like responsiveness to voter’s wishes. But is that really the right thing to measure? There are two camps in this debate. The empiricists want to focus on what and how we can measure things like the health of our democracy, ofte…

1
72. Engineering social collapse in Palestine 1:12:34

14d ago1:12:34

1:12:34

Mondoweiss' Managing Editor, Faris Giacaman, and Palestine staff writer Qassam Muaddi join us to discuss key developments in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and events in the West Bank. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical, independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mon…

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Are Too Many Political Appointments Harming Our Bureaucracy? 49:42

15d ago49:42

49:42

When it comes to our federal bureaucracy, there are two schools of thought. One says that an insulated group of career bureaucrats have created a deep state that corrupts the performance of government. The other says that our bureaucracy is dysfunctional because there is too much turnover or positions left vacant. Both rest on an underlying feature…

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71. How Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah has been changed by the Gaza genocide 48:23

20d ago48:23

48:23

Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah was among the last group of people to enter Gaza through Egypt on the morning of Monday, October 9, immediately before the Rafah crossing was shut down and the territory was sealed off from the world. He started operating at al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s medical epicenter, as soon as he’d arranged safe passage to the medical comp…

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Should Judges Be Elected or Appointed? 49:53

29d ago49:53

49:53

There is a long running debate in political science: do we get better judges by letting the public vote in elections or by giving our leaders the power to appoint them? One side says that judges should be insulated from the influence of politics involved in elections, focusing entirely on the rule of law. The other side says that our judges should …

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70. U.N. experts say “Israel has been intentionally starving” Gaza 35:43

1M ago35:43

35:43

In mid-December 2023, two and a half months into Israel’s war on Gaza, a UN-affiliated committee of famine experts reported that over half a million Gazans faced catastrophic hunger, all 2.3 million were in crisis, and the situation was “deteriorating rapidly.” On the eve of the Famine Review Committee’s follow-up assessment, forced starvation in G…

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69. Girl Scouts tells troop to shut down Gaza fundraiser 13:02

1M ago13:02

13:02

A Girl Scout Troop in Missouri recently broke away from the organization after it made legal threats against the group. For the Girl Scout's “Agents of Change” capstone project, a St. Louis county troop decided to make and sell bracelets to raise money for children in Gaza. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri said the move was “political" and instr…

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Why Women Are Underrepresented in U.S. Politics 50:18

1M ago50:18

50:18

Despite making up roughly half of the U.S. population, women only make up about one-quarter of representatives and senators. And this trend is not just national—it holds true globally as well. What explains why women are underrepresented in politics? If women are just as likely to win elections as men do, then why are they less likely to run for of…

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What Makes A Legislator Effective? 44:10

2M ago44:10

44:10

When it comes to passing actual legislation, putting it forward and getting it all the way through the process, it can be difficult to measure exactly which legislators are effective. Not to mention which types of legislators tend to be more effective, moderates or extremists? And does majority-party membership increase effectives? In an innovative…

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68. Noura Erakat on the collective trauma of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza 36:50

2M ago36:50

36:50

Last month, Frank Barat spoke with Noura Erakat on our new YouTube show, Witnessing Palestine. As we recorded that program, Gaza had been under Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea for 70 days. At that time, 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza were known to have been killed by the Israeli military. Today, that number is over 28,000. More than 68…

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Do Conservatives Sabotage The Administrative State? 52:08

2M ago52:08

52:08

When we talk about the interpretation and ultimately implementation of policy we’re not talking about Congress so much as the Administrative State. But what happens when those who work in those agencies decide through their positions to not only sabotage a policy they’re meant to carry out, but perhaps the whole agency? In a recent paper titled “Ad…

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Who Gets Heard On Redistribution, The Rich Or Poor? 49:12

3M ago49:12

49:12

When we talk about policy choices around redistribution there is an assumption so obvious that most people never question it. That politicians are more responsive to the desires of the rich, and that policy preferences of the poor don’t hold as much sway. But what if that assumption was wrong? In a recent paper by Boston University Economist Raymon…

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67. Diana Buttu on watching the Gaza genocide on our mobile phones 46:32

3M ago46:32

46:32

In this episode, Mondoweiss’s Yumna Patel speaks with Palestinian lawyer and political analyst Diana Buttu about the genocide in Gaza and the role social media is playing in how it unfolds. Israeli soldiers on the ground in Gaza are undermining Israel’s carefully crafted public image as a victim through their social media posts, which show them jok…

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Can We Believe Political Surveys? 46:06

3M ago46:06

46:06

Hello listeners! Our team took some end of the year time off, but we know your holiday travel wouldn’t be complete without some in-depth political science research. So, we’re release some episodes we think are going to be very relevant as we move into an election year. And thanks to everyone who listened to our podcast this year. We don’t make mone…

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66. Mohammed El-Kurd and Ahmad Al-Naouq on the complicity of mainstream media in Israel's genocidal attack on Gaza 33:03

4M ago33:03

33:03

In this episode Mondoweiss’s Culture Editor Mohammed El-Kurd speaks with journalist and co-founder of We Are Not Numbers Ahmad Al-Naouq. Despite having 21 members of his family murdered by Israel in the past few months, Al-Naouq has been on the forefront of advocating for Palestinian liberation. In this conversation they talk about the complicity o…

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Should It Be Illegal Not To Vote? 36:47

4M ago36:47

36:47

Hello listeners! Our team took some end of the year time off, but we know your holiday travel wouldn’t be complete without some in-depth political science research. So, we’re release some episodes we think are going to be very relevant as we move into an election year. And thanks to everyone who listened to our podcast this year. We don’t make mone…

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65. Ryan Grim on The Squad vs. the Israel Lobby and Students for Justice In Palestine vs. Columbia University 35:51

4M ago35:51

35:51

In this episode, we have two interviews with our U.S. Correspondent, Michael Arria. First, Michael talks to Ryan Grim, Washington D.C. Bureau chief for The Intercept. Ryan has a new book out titled, “The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution.” In it, he reports on the fight between the squad of progressive Democrats first elected to Con…

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Is There A "Spiral of Silence" On Campus And In Our Politics? 48:10

4M ago48:10

48:10

The recent crisis in the Israel and Palestine conflict has added fuel to the already heated debate over free speech in our politics and on college campuses. Does the scientific literature having anything to tell us about the health of public discourse in these domains? A recent paper by Harvard Ph.D. candidate Yihong Huang titled “Breaking the Spir…

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64. Katie Halper: Why Jews should support Palestine, lessons from the holocaust, and a message to Amy Schumer 46:40

4M ago46:40

46:40

The so-called "humanitarian pause" in Israel's assault on Gaza ended just days ago, and already nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli military released a map dividing Gaza into over 2,000 small sections. They say they will notify Palestinians in each of these sections when they plan to bomb or invade it so that the Palestinians ca…

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The Bargaining Strategies of Extremists 50:04

5M ago50:04

50:04

There is a political puzzle that has become prominent in the last few decades, especially with the recent turmoil over the Republican led Speaker of the House: how do a small group of extremists manage to get their way despite being a minority of members? In a recent paper, “Organizing at the Extreme: Hardline Strategy and Institutional Design” Uni…

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Is Gridlock Causing Polarization? 49:49

5M ago49:49

49:49

We often say on this podcast that the American electorate is not polarized but the elites are, and that this polarization causes policy gridlock. But what if it’s the other way around? Is it possible that gridlock in government is actually causing polarization and a turn toward extremist candidates? That’s the assertion of a paper called “From Grid…

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63. But We Must Speak: On Palestine and the Mandates of Conscience 2:00:15

5M ago2:00:15

2:00:15

Israeli bombs continue to rain down on the Palestinian residents of Gaza. As of this recording, over 9,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, a figure that includes over 3,700 children. Multiple experts on international law and the history of genocide have said that Israel’s actions do indeed amount to genocide. In this episode of the podcast,…

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Partisan Identities vs Anti-Establishment Orientations 56:44

6M ago56:44

56:44

When political commentators talk about polarization, they often mean a partisan ideological divide: the left vs the right, republicans vs democrats, progressives vs conservatives. But what if there is a different dichotomy driving our political disagreements that is orthogonal to ideological differences? That’s what University of Miami political sc…

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LIVE: Does Money Distort Our Politics? 48:21

6M ago48:21

48:21

If there is one thing the right and left seem to agree on it’s that money distorts our politics. It allows the rich to shape policy, choose who gets elected, and escape consequences. But what if this common belief isn’t as true as you think? On our second live episode, we look back to famous paper in the political science literature, “Why Is There …

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Presidential Power, Parties, And The Rise Of The Administrative State 46:52

7M ago46:52

46:52

One of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign promises is to upend the modern civil service through an executive order called “Schedule F”. Democrats and Republicans have been fighting over this administrative state since its conception, but why is this area of government so divisive and what power does it really hold? The history of the civil services’ orig…

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62. Antony Loewenstein on Israeli exports of weapons and surveillance tech around the world 24:40

7M ago24:40

24:40

The impact of the Israeli occupation of Palestine extends far beyond the disputed borders of the region. Israeli companies – many with close ties to the government and military – export weapons and surveillance technology across the globe. Palestinians and their communities serve as test subjects, where potential clients can witness the impact of I…

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Does Social Media Polarize Our Politics? 59:01

7M ago59:01

59:01

It’s one of the most common refrains in political discourse today: social media is the source of polarization. It’s a difficult proposition to empirically study because companies like Meta and X don’t share their data publicly. Until now. In a landmark series of papers, three in Science and one in Nature, Princeton political scientists Andy Guess a…

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61. Mohammed El-Kurd and Raeda Taha on Palestinian identity, martyrdom, and revolutionary honesty 32:41

7M ago32:41

32:41

Earlier this summer, we announced that Mohammed El-Kurd, the Palestinian poet, journalist, and activist, was joining our staff as the Culture Editor. This is the first podcast episode Mohammed has produced for us, and we're excited to share it with you. He is joined by the playwright Raeda Taha. – – – Support our work Help us continue our critical,…

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Is Partisan Gerrymandering As Bad As You Think? 55:42

8M ago55:42

55:42

There is no political topic that can get people’s blood boiling quite like partisan gerrymandering. Many even go so far as to call it an afront to our democracy. But what do we know about how effective it is and what the data shows about its outcomes? In a new paper, “Widespread Partisan Gerrymandering Mostly Cancels Nationally, But Reduces Elector…

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60. Unpacking Christian Zionism with Rev. Dr. Don Wagner 1:44:31

8M ago1:44:31

1:44:31

Today we’re excited to share an episode from the Latitude Adjustment Podcast looking at the role Christian Zionism plays in continuing persecution of Palestinians. Eric Maddox completed his graduate research in Conflict Transformation from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank, collecting oral histories from the 1948 War. He is the founde…

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Does Ousting Incumbents Improve The Economy? 51:54

8M ago51:54

51:54

The assumption in political science has always been that electing challengers can lead to a downturn in performance. It takes time to do all the hiring involved in establishing a new government, and there is always a learning curve about processes and procedures. But a surprising new paper shows the opposite might be true. In “Electoral Turnovers”,…

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59. Conditioning U.S. aid to Israel and anti-Palestinian smears at Florida State University 33:55

8M ago33:55

33:55

Today we have two interviews from our US correspondent, Michael Arria. First he speaks with Josh Ruebner about the shifting politics around U.S. aid to Israel, and later, he checks in with the victim of an anti-Palestinian smear campaign at Florida State University. We begin with U.S. aid to Israel. The fight in Congress continues to build over the…

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Do Partisans Really Believe Different Facts? 48:19

8M ago48:19

48:19

The common refrain in political coverage today says that each side of the aisle is living in an information bubble. There is a partisan knowledge gap between the facts Democrats know and the facts Republicans know. May believe this gap could be the downfall of our democracy. But what if that gap isn’t as large as we think? In a new paper by indepen…

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Is Voter Rationality A Test Of A Health Democracy? 48:07

9M ago48:07

48:07

There’s a long tradition in political science of using voter rationality to test the health of our democracy. But could this myopia be misguided? Are there any situations where irrational and uninformed voters could actually generate a healthier democracy? We’re taking a short summer break to catch up on some incredible episodes we have in the work…

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58. Miko Peled and Phil Weiss on centering Palestinians and saving Jewish culture from Zionism 1:11:36

9M ago1:11:36

1:11:36

Mondoweiss was founded by Phil Weiss, a career journalist, while he was on staff at The New York Observer. In 2006 a wealthy young man named Jared Kushner bought the Observer. After tolerating Phil’s writing on Israel for a brief period, Phil was forced out by Kushner, but he was allowed to keep his blog. Phil is a magnanimous guy and he credits Ku…

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When Fox Viewers Watch CNN Instead 49:48

10M ago49:48

49:48

Partisan misinformation. Many people think it comes from the news people watch. When it comes to cable news, Fox and CNN have pretty partisan viewers. So, what would happen if Fox viewers tuned into CNN for a month? Would they suddenly adopt different views more aligned with CNN? We’re taking a short summer break to catch up on some incredible epis…

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57. Unpacking Israel’s attack on the Jenin refugee camp 38:21

10M ago38:21

38:21

Israel’s military invasion of the Jenin Refugee Camp, dubbed “Operation Home and Garden” came to an end late Tuesday night. It left at least 12 Palestinians dead, and one Israeli soldier. Israel has, predictably, declared the operation a success. They say 120 Palestinians were arrested and weapons caches were destroyed, including bomb making materi…

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Do White Americans Favor White Politicians? 47:55

10M ago47:55

47:55

As the Supreme Court debates whether to end affirmative action, concerns about the power of implicit racial bias to shape who gets ahead in America are as salient as ever. But what do we know about the extent and power of this racism to drive voting decisions? Is there a scientific way to measure it? In a new paper “Disfavor or Favor? Assessing the…

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Do Stimulus Checks Buy Votes? 46:50

11M ago46:50

46:50

We’ve become deeply familiar with stimulus checks in the last few years, but what isn’t clear is what affect these transfers may have on elections. Could stimulus checks be enough for citizens to change their votes to the party handing out the money and if so, is this a way for politicians to buy votes? Northwestern Professor of economics Silvia Va…

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Can You Judge A Politician By Their Looks? 43:20

11M ago43:20

43:20

We all know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but if we’re being honest we all do it on occasion anyway. Could it be that we also elect our politicians just based on how they look? Of course, there’s the old idea of looking “presidential”, but how much power does that really have to sway an election? A famous paper by University of …

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Can Citizen Appeals Change Government Action? 43:51

11M ago43:51

43:51

When citizens directly appeal to their government, are their concerns ignored or taken seriously? It’s an important question for understanding norms around accountability, especially in authoritarian regimes. To find some answers, University of Chicago Professor of Public Policy Shaoda Wang helped develop a clever field experiment evaluating how Ch…

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Does Bad Government Breed Populism? 49:16

12M ago49:16

49:16

Why is populism on the rise across the globe? One story says this movement is driven by anti-elite and anti-establishment sentiment, that they just want to throw the bums out. Another says it’s driven by identity politics, an anti-immigrant pro-nativist ideology. Both stories don’t leave room for much hope. But what if there was another story that …

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56. Alice Rothchild on bringing the Palestine story to young adult fiction 1:04:05

12M ago1:04:05

1:04:05

Alice Rothchild is doctor, writer, filmmaker and activist who has spent decades in key social justice movements. She is the author of three books, Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience was released in 2007, On the Brink: Israel and Palestine on the Eve of the 2014 Gaza Invasion, came in 2014, and Co…

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55. The impact of Israel's raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan 49:53

1y ago49:53

49:53

The Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem encompasses several key sites central to Islam, including the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site for Muslims, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have ascended to heaven, where he spoke to God. The compound sits on the Temple Mount, where the ancient Hebrew temple once stood. Today we have a conv…

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Do Political Endorsements Undermine Trust In Science? 47:25

1y ago47:25

47:25

In the runup to the 2020 election, the academic journal Nature made the unprecedented decision to endorse Joe Biden for President. During an era when trust in science has never seemed more crucial, this decision led many to wonder if explicitly political statements increase or decrease public trust in science. Luckily, one PhD graduate from the Sta…

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54. What do the protests in Israel mean for Palestinians living under apartheid? 18:35

1y ago18:35

18:35

Protests continue in Israel. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked back his government’s push to overhaul the Israeli judicial system, but did not abandon the effort. Instead, the government will take it up again in a few months when the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, returns from its spring recess. As part of the agreement to delay…

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Do Politicians Spend Money Differently Depending On Its Source? 47:00

1y ago47:00

47:00

Paper link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3273001By University of Chicago Podcast Network

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53. Students for Justice in Palestine’s 12th annual conference; Stop Cop City in Atlanta 42:55

1y ago42:55

42:55

In February, Students for Justice in Palestine held their 12th annual conference in Los Angeles for a weekend of critical discussion, movement building, and political education. Michael Arria spoke with a member of the group's steering committee about the themes of the conference, the state of Palestine activism on U.S. campuses, and the victories …