Best Notanotherpoliticspodcast Podcasts (2024)

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
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…

1
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 …

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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 …

1
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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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”,…

1
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…

1
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…

1
When Fox Viewers Watch CNN Instead 49:48

9M 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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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 …

1
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…

1
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 …

1
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…

1
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

1
How Does Representation Work? 41:02

1y ago41:02

41:02

Paper: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1952717By University of Chicago Podcast Network

1
The Polarization Of State Legislatures 49:00

1y ago49:00

49:00

Paper link: https://ideas.repec.org/a/now/jnlpip/113.00000063.htmlBy University of Chicago Podcast Network

1
Are We In A Period Of Global Democratic Decline? 50:06

1y ago50:06

50:06

The popular narrative these days is that democracies around the globe are backsliding. If we turn to countries like Hungary, Poland, and Venezuela, this threat certainly is true — authoritarian dictators have contributed to democratic decline. But what does the global picture reveal? Does the claim hold true? A new paper by Anne Meng and Andrew Lit…

1
Political Brokers In India’s Most Marginalized Communities 49:56

1y ago49:56

49:56

On this show, we focus a lot on ideological polarization but it’s important to remember that politics is about more than ideology or even policy victories. It’s about distribution and redistribution of goods and services in return for party support, votes. This view of politics is called clientelism, and it often goes overlooked. One of the landmar…

1
An Algorithm for Detecting Election Fraud 37:21

1y ago37:21

37:21

For better or worse, one of the biggest stories in US politics today is the detection of election fraud, or in many cases the lack of election fraud. But determining whether fraud happened in an election can be difficult, even while proving the validity of elections for some has become increasingly important. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could j…

1
Why The U.S. Isn’t As Polarized As It Seems 30:21

1+ y ago30:21

30:21

As we approach the anniversary of the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, we wanted to reflect on where we are as a country and whether politics are really as polarized as they seem. Our co-host Will Howell recently joined another University of Chicago podcast called Big Brains to discuss these very questions. We're going to share that episode wi…

1
Why Aren't the Majority Of Voters Getting What They Want? 45:30

1+ y ago45:30

45:30

Lately it feels like politicians are favoring smaller groups of their constituents over the majority of them. If you've been skeptical about whether this favoritism exists, there's a new theory that supports it. Some voters who are more vocal or intense about political issues are more likely to get their local politician's attention, and these smal…

1
An International Look At Affective Polarization 44:57

1+ y ago44:57

44:57

Paper: https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/doi/10.1162/rest_a_01160/109262/Cross-Country-Trends-in-Affective-Polarization?redirectedFrom=fulltextBy University of Chicago Podcast Network

1
Why Aren't There More Moderate Politicians? 45:11

1+ y ago45:11

45:11

We took some time off to enjoy the holiday with our families, but in the wake of the 2024 mid-terms, we’re going to re-share this crucial episode and relevant episode.When it comes to polarization, most people in American politics blame the voters. But much of the political science data suggests most voters are actually moderates. So, where are all…

1
LIVE: How Members Of Congress Forge Relationships With Their Voters 36:48

1+ y ago36:48

36:48

This episode was recorded live at the NASPAA conference in Chicago. With the midterms upon us, we decided to look back at a piece of landmark scholarship that may be able to tell us something about the dynamics of personal interactions between representatives and their constituencies. It’s by political scientist Richard Fenno called “U.S. House Mem…

1
What Can We Learn About Polarization From The UK? 48:02

1+ y ago48:02

48:02

One theme on our show is trying to make sense of why elites appear to be so polarized when the larger public is more moderate. We almost always study these trends in the U.S. but could we look to another country for insight? A country like the UK perhaps? In her paper “Has The British Public Depolarized Along with Political Elites?” University of O…

1
Are Legislators Beating The Market With Insider Information? 49:33

1+ y ago49:33

49:33

There might not be a more controversial political hack than members of Congress being legally allowed to trade stocks. Infamously, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, has been regularly accused of insider trading. Recently the House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would prohibit members of Congress, …

1
Do Primaries Cause Polarization? 48:48

1+ y ago48:48

48:48

For years, political scholars and pundits have claimed that primary elections are exacerbating polarization and with the 2022 midterm elections approaching this year has been no different. With many extremist candidates on both sides of the aisle, it certainly feels like this claim should be true, but does the political science back that up? To fin…

1
Can Fact-Checking Counter Misinformation? 51:42

1+ y ago51:42

51:42

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an era of misinformation. From social media to cable news, the spread of false or misleading information about COVID vaccines has been rampant. Some social media platforms have moved more aggressively by trying to flag misleading posts with disclaimers. Can fact-checking reduce the spread of misinformation? And perhap…

1
Do People Automatically Reject Policies Of The Opposite Party? 47:06

1+ y ago47:06

47:06

In our hyper-polarized climate, it is often said that partisans determine their policy positions not based on thought and reason but on opposition to the other party. If I’m a Republican and I hear that Nancy Pelosi supports a particular policy, I’ll reflexively take the opposite stance. There is a literature in political science that suggests this…

1
Does The Economy Affect Elections? 41:59

1+ y ago41:59

41:59

The midterm elections are fast approaching, and with rampant inflation one of the main concerns for Democrats is the state of the economy. It’s commonly accepted that some voters cast their ballots solely on the price of gas and bread, but does the science back that up? There is a classic paper by political scientist Gerald Kramer from 1971 that ca…

1
Best Of: Does Ranked Choice Reduce Strategic Voting? 48:28

1+ y ago48:28

48:28

Something curious has happened in American politics. Andrew Yang of 2016 presidential election fame has launched a third party, The Forward Party, and he's attracting some attention. A key feature of this party is a belief in ranked choice voting and raising up the possibility that through ranked choice voting, we might recover our our democracy.We…

1
Did Voter Turnout Drop in Communities of Color After Shelby? 40:08

1+ y ago40:08

40:08

Nearly a decade ago, the Supreme Court effectively removed the "preclearance" process in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. That process had been implemented for decades as part of the Voting Rights Act and required places with a history of racial discrimination to get approval from the Justice Department before changing their voting procedures.…

1
Do Local Minimum Wages Represent Local Preferences? 50:57

2y ago50:57

50:57

Advocates for the striking down of Roe by the Supreme Court say this will improve our politics by allowing people’s preferences to be better represented at the State level. But do State and local governments accurately match the preferences of their citizens when responding to their demands? It’s a difficult question to answer, but one paper by NYU…

1
Roe & Departure From Precedent In The Supreme Court 56:41

2y ago56:41

56:41

There’s long been a belief that the Supreme Court rarely departs from precedent. But as the court appears to intend to strike down Roe, we’re wondering what the data tell us about how consistent the Supreme Court has been at honoring precedent. And, is the Supreme Court more likely to depart from precedent in constitutional cases than other types? …

1
Revealing New Data On Who Donates To Campaigns 49:36

2y ago49:36

49:36

There are many questions surrounding the nature of money in politics, but one of the first order questions we should be asking is who exactly is donating that money? We now have access to more data than ever due to a dramatic increase in small donations through online fundraising platforms. Georgetown University Economist Laurent Bouton digs throug…

1
Best Of: Fixing the Filibuster 46:49

2y ago46:49

46:49

As the academic year draws to a close at The University of Chicago, our hosts are busy attending to the last minute activities of a professor. So, this week we wanted to re-share one of our favorite episodes interrogating a radically different proposal to fix the filibuster rather than abolishing it altogether. The filibuster is still one of the mo…

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