Best Publicgood Podcasts (2024)

1
Ep 14: Wall Street’s War on Workers with Les Leopold 49:27

4M ago49:27

49:27

In Episode 14 of Class Matters, Adolph Reed Jr. talks with labor educator Les Leopold about his new book, Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It.

1
Ep 13: Medicare Advantage: What Unions & Retirees Need to Know 44:55

9M ago44:55

44:55

In Episode 13 of Class Matters, we’re talking with labor activists Marianne Pizzitola, Rose Roach, and Mark Dudzic about Medicare Advantage (Disadvantage?) health plans and what they mean for union retirees, for collective bargaining, and for the future of traditional Medicare. And we get the scoop on how retirees in New York City are fighting back…

1
Ep 12: Power and Participation in Negotiations and Politics with Jane McAlevey 50:57

1y ago50:57

50:57

In Episode 12 of Class Matters, we’re talking with labor organizer Jane McAlevey about how to democratize union negotiations and build significant worker power by practicing transparent, big, and open negotiations. That’s the focus of McAlevey’s latest book, Rules to Win By: Power and Participation in Union Negotiations. McAlevey talks with Gordon …

1
Ep 11: Labor on the Rise? A Conversation with UE’s Carl Rosen 40:07

1+ y ago40:07

40:07

With public approval of unions at its highest since 1965, organizing drives bringing in 200,000 new union members, union election petitions to the NLRB up 51 percent, 60 million workers who want a union, and low unemployment spurring strike actions and gains in wages and benefits, many have declared that labor is on the rise. Yet in 2022, the overa…

1
Ep 10: Millionaires Tax on the Ballot in Massachusetts 37:59

1+ y ago37:59

37:59

Can a union-backed "Millionaires Tax" win at the ballot box in Massachusetts? It would raise $2 billion/year for quality public education, for repair and maintenance of roads and bridges and for public transportation. In Episode Ten, Adolph Reed Jr. talks with union leaders Eve Weinbaum and Dean Robinson on state-wide organizing for the amendment a…

1
Ep 9: Inflation: What Workers Need to Know 48:26

2y ago48:26

48:26

Inflation and the fight against it is on the public agenda today in a way not seen since the 1970s. In Episode Nine, Professor Adolph Reed Jr. leads a discussion with Sam Gindin and Samir Sonti, on what inflation means for the working class, and why anti-inflation policies have often come at the expense of workers. We also look at how this round of…

1
Ep 8: The Jim Crow South + Listener Qs - Part Two 49:20

2y ago49:20

49:20

In Part 2 of 2, Adolph Reed Jr discusses his new book, The South: Jim Crow and Its Afterlives, with Toure Reed. The Reeds explore how tendencies to romanticize Jim Crow undercuts our ability to address the root causes of racial inequality today. They also tackle questions from our listeners about race and about the labor movement.…

1
Ep 7: The Jim Crow South + Listener Questions 40:04

2y ago40:04

40:04

In Part 1 of 2, Adolph Reed Jr discusses his new book, The South: Jim Crow and Its Afterlives, with Toure Reed. The Reeds explore how tendencies to romanticize Jim Crow undercuts our ability to address the root causes of racial inequality today. They also tackle questions from our listeners about race and about the labor movement.…

1
Episode 6: Why the Supreme Court Matters to Working People 41:06

2y ago41:06

41:06

In Episode 6, we take a look at one of the recent Supreme Court rulings – West Virginia v. EPA. It turns out this case is about much more than climate change. As you will hear from Jenny Breen, Gordon Lafer, Adolph Reed Jr., and Samir Sonti, this ruling is the first time the Supreme Court has used the "major questions doctrine" in a majority opinio…

1
Ep 5: What's Ahead for Labor? 52:09

2y ago52:09

52:09

Adolph Reed Jr. talks with Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants/CWA and APWU President Mark Dimondstein about what's ahead for Labor in this moment that holds out both promise and peril. Worker organizing efforts are underway across the country including at Amazon and Starbucks. Public support for unions is a 57-year high …

1
What's Behind the Attack on Public Schools? 45:28

2+ y ago45:28

45:28

Adolph Reed Jr. talks with Chicago Teachers Union president Jesse Sharkey and Prof. Daniel Moak about what's behind renewed criticism of our public schools. Are our schools failing our students and communities? Or are these attacks fueled by efforts to privatize schools for private profit? And how are teachers' unions and parents working together t…

1
Need for Healthcare Reform: View from the Union Hall 38:24

2+ y ago38:24

38:24

Richard Hooker of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 623, Katie Murphy of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and Juan Ramirez of the United Teachers of Los Angeles talk about the need to reform our health care system to control skyrocketing costs, make employers pay their fair share, and take healthcare off the bargaining table.…

1
All Things Postal + Independent Working-Class Politics 42:40

2+ y ago42:40

42:40

Adolph Reed Jr. speaks with Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, on the importance of the public Postal Service to our democracy. Reed and Dimondstein share their concerns about the country's move toward authoritarianism, the role of the labor movement, and the need for independent working-class politics.…

1
Episode One: Have workers lost faith in government? 43:33

2+ y ago43:33

43:33

In Episode One of Class Matters, Adolph Reed Jr., Gordon Lafer, and Samir Sonti discuss the eroding trust in government among workers in the United States.

1
Anna Harvey 21:15

2+ y ago21:15

21:15

Jeff speaks with Anna Harvey, Professor of Politics; Affiliated Professor of Data Science and Law; Director, Public Safety Lab at NYU about research and more. Harvey’s research focuses on criminal justice, policing, judicial politics, and political economy. Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter…

1
Michael Olson 20:37

2+ y ago20:37

20:37

Jeff speaks with Michael Olson, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Washington University at St. Louis about research and more. Olson’s research focuses on political representation using historic and contemporary observational data. Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenterBy USC Bedrosian Center

1
Zhao Li 20:22

3y ago20:22

20:22

Jeff speaks with Zhao Li, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Li studies institutional and behavioral factors in donor decision making in contemporary American Politics. She recently gave a research talk at USC Price, looking at the connections between Fox News and GOP campaign rallies and finances. Recent wo…

1
Miguel Pereira 22:35

3+ y ago22:35

22:35

Jeffery speaks with new USC Dornsife assistant professor Miguel Pereira about research and experiments in political science. Pereira's research focuses on political representation and the behavior of political elites in established democracies, with a focus on causal inference. In addition, he shares some new research looking at responsiveness of l…

1
Rachel VanSickle-Ward and Kevin Wallsten 24:31

3+ y ago24:31

24:31

In this episode, Jeff speaks with Rachel VanSickle-Ward and Kevin Wallsten. In The Politics of the Pill, the two authors explore how gender has shaped contemporary debates over contraception policy in the U.S. Within historical context, they examine the impact that women and perceptions of gender roles had on media coverage, public opinion, policy …

1
Melissa Lee 24:09

3+ y ago24:09

24:09

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins speaks with Melissa Lee, Assistant Professor of Politics & International Affairs, Princeton University. They begin discussing a recent project in which Lee and co-author study the change in civic language reflecting the change in thinking about the U.S. as a collection of states to …

1
Clayton Nall 22:40

3+ y ago22:40

22:40

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins speaks with Clayton Nall, Assistant Professor UCSB. Nall looks to explain how spatial policies change American politics. These discuss Nall's research on housing policy preferences and party affiliation and how building highways in the 1950s worked to build Republican suburbs (incre…

1
Jared Rubin 38:07

4y ago38:07

38:07

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins speaks with Jared Rubin, Professor in the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University. Rubin is an economic historian interested in the political and religious economies of the Middle East and Western Europe. His research focuses on historical relationships betwee…

1
Christian Fong 28:12

4y ago28:12

28:12

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins speaks with Christian Fong, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. Fong's research focus is legislative politics. Recent work is on reciprocity in Congress questions the motivation for cooperation. They discuss recent research, Congressional leadership, as well as method…

1
Michael Hankinson 20:54

4y ago20:54

20:54

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with Michael Hankinson, Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. Hankinson's work focuses on how institutional spatial scale affects political behavior to undermine democratic representation. They discuss institutional scale and how institution…

1
Ryan Hübert 34:05

4+ y ago34:05

34:05

By USC Bedrosian Center

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J. Andrew Sinclair 26:07

4+ y ago26:07

26:07

By USC Bedrosian Center

1
Seth Hill 29:41

4+ y ago29:41

29:41

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with Seth Hill, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science UCSD. Hill studies how citizens motivate politician behavior. They discuss representation, elections, and some extras just for you! Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter…

1
Leah Stokes 31:12

5y ago31:12

31:12

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with Leah Stokes. Stokes, a public scholar, is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and affiliated with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara (…

1
Danielle Thomsen 25:27

5y ago25:27

25:27

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with Danielle Thomsen, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine. Her research in American Politics primarily falls into looking at Congress, parties, and gender & politics. They discuss why pipelines to primaries (and then to elected office) matter so much in term…

1
Abby K. Wood 21:54

5y ago21:54

21:54

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with a Bedrosian Faculty Affiliate, Abby K. Wood. Wood is Associate Professor of Law, Political Science and Public Policy. When she first started her career she noticed that program evaluation wasn't as robust as it could be, so she wanted to learn causal inference in order to…

1
Pamela Ban 21:06

5y ago21:06

21:06

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with Pamela Ban, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego. Ban discusses her recent research. First, she looks at how policy outcomes might change as Congress has a bit more gender representations. Then they discuss the revolving door and lobbying - how the coo…

1
Elisabeth R. Gerber 33:16

5+ y ago33:16

33:16

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins's guest is Elisabeth R. Gerber, Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement; Jack L. Walker, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy (UMich). They discuss the move from Political Science departments to public policy departments - how the focus has moved from theory developme…

1
Philip Potter 23:24

5+ y ago23:24

23:24

When do leaders pay penalties for backing down on promises? In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins's guest is Philip Potter, Associate Professor of Politics (UVA), and the Founding Director of the National Security Policy Center. Potter's work looks at how public opinion effects foreign policy, when do policymakers have …

1
Boris Heersink 24:30

5+ y ago24:30

24:30

National Party Committees and Political Power In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and political Boris Heersink, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Fordham University, look at the national party committees. What kind of power do the national committees have? What is the role of the committees…

1
Martin Gilens 24:15

5+ y ago24:15

24:15

Democracy & Inequality of Political Influence In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks economic and political inequality in democracies with Martin Gilens, Professor of Public Policy at UCLA Luskin. The degree of political influence is dramatically unequal for people within the United States, public policy can help i…

1
Gregory DeAngelo 27:00

5+ y ago27:00

27:00

PS You’re Busted: How bridging silos in research & practice can impact human trafficking irl In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks about human trafficking with Greg DeAngelo, Associate Professor of Economic Studies at Claremont Graduate University. How does an economist get data on human trafficking, and other bla…

1
D. Roderick (Rod) Kiewiet 22:31

5+ y ago22:31

22:31

America, Heck Yeah! Public Schools & Baseball In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and D. Roderick (Rod) Kiewiet, Professor of Political Science at Caltech, break down the long standing myth of the equalizing force of public education. We hold the idea that public schools present Americans with equal opportunity. Kiewi…

1
Benjamin A. T. Graham 32:18

6y ago32:18

32:18

Social Network Roles in Foreign Capital and Research In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and Benjamin A. T. Graham, assistant professor in the School of International Relations at USC, discuss the role that migrants can play in bringing foreign capital into countries. He uses case studies from the Philippines and Geor…

1
LaGina Gause 25:58

6y ago25:58

25:58

Political Influence of Public Protest In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and LaGina Gause, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego, discuss the pro-democracy (small d) results of her study on legislative responsiveness to collective action by marginalized groups. Her findings seem counterintuitive, i…

1
Benjamin Newman 38:24

6y ago38:24

38:24

Creativity, Energy, and Experimentation In this episode of the P.S. You're Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and Benjamin Newman, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at the UC Riverside, discuss creativity and experimentation in political science. As a young scholar, Ben was interested in figuring out why people have the opin…

1
Update from Our Producers 1:54

6y ago1:54

1:54

A quick update from our Producers: We will use this feed, for the Our American Discourse podcast, to bring you a new series of conversations. We will change the title to PS You’re Interesting. PS will be a series of conversations on new and novel research in political science. We’re conceiving this as a way to keep Anthony’s amazing work alive, and…

1
The End: Death, Cemeteries, and Remembering 1:05:48

6y ago1:05:48

1:05:48

Though we are sad to bid farewell to “Our American Discourse,” we welcome the opportunity to talk about farewells—indeed, the hardest farewells of all: those that happen after death. How do we say goodbye to the past? And what does our farewell mean for the lives gone before us and for the future that will come after them? It is time to break the “…

1
It’s Not Just Where You’re Going, It’s Also How You Get There 42:02

6y ago42:02

42:02

If the old saying is true that “life is a journey, not a destination,” then it stands to reason that the way we travel matters a great deal. In fact, that’s what the latest evidence has shown: Transportation choices and systems play a crucial role in our economy and our environment. You may think that your car or bike or walk or train ride is only …

1
The Eternal Struggle for Power on Capitol Hill 55:10

6y ago55:10

55:10

Power is up for grabs in Washington. A controversial President, an unpopular Congress, and a midterm election all make 2018 a battleground for political control. Who will win? How will they do it? And what role do you play? This is story of the most consequential game ever played, and it’s told by one of the leading Congressional experts of our tim…

1
How to Take Risks, Make the World a Better Place, and Get Paid 42:52

6y ago42:52

42:52

Think of all the public policy problems that the government hasn’t been able to solve. Now imagine that you had a solution for one of them. The government should be interested, right? If your solution really works, they should want to invest in it. They should want to encourage you to make it happen, perhaps monetarily if possible. Well, until rece…

1
Who Has the Ear of Your Legislators and Why They Can’t Seem to Get Anything Done 25:49

6y ago25:49

25:49

We’re six months away from one of the most consequential midterm elections in modern history, and Americans are fed up with Congress. Politicians have gotten a bad rap throughout history, but today’s legislators are setting record lows in approval ratings and public trust. What gives? Why do they disappoint us so often? Are they really ignoring our…

1
Millennials Knocking on the Door of the American Dream 40:10

6y ago40:10

40:10

At long last, Millennials have begun buying homes. Will they ever catch up to previous generations? Or will the market continue to hold them back with high rents, lingering student debt, and opposing pressure from Baby Boomers? Believe it or not, these forces are neither inevitable nor insurmountable. There is a third way, a bridge between the gene…

1
How Do the Rich Spend Their Money and Why Has It Changed? 32:00

6+ y ago32:00

32:00

It used to be that big mansions and fancy jewelry were the consummate signs of wealth, but new research shows that people are increasingly spending their wealth on less “conspicuous” forms of consumption. In today’s world, it pays more to signal your status with things like health care and education and nutrition. How did this change come about? An…

1
Speaking Your Truth 38:41

6+ y ago38:41

38:41

How It’s Possible to Talk About and Improve Diversity and Inclusion Diversity and inclusion sound like universally accepted ideas, but when we try to talk about how we fall short of them and how we can improve, they become two of the most controversial political sparks in the fire that rages around our American discourse. Many people believe they c…

1
Who Do Politicians Really Represent & Do We Notice? 33:28

6+ y ago33:28

33:28

With Donald Trump’s approval ratings at record lows, it’s worth asking how much this one number matters…and whether the people who approve really are better represented by him than the people who don’t. If our politicians really do represent some Americans better than others, it calls into question the very foundational ideals of our representative…

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