Best Uspolitics Podcasts (2024)

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80. Progressive Congressmember Jamaal Bowman loses primary to AIPAC-backed candidate 32:48

1h ago32:48

32:48

Yesterday Jamaal Bowman, a member of the so-called Squad of progressive politicians in the U.S. House of Representatives, lost his hotly contested primary election in New York’s 16th District. This primary race between him and George Latimer broke records as the most expensive primary race for the House of Representatives in U.S. history. Political…

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How To "Get Out The Vote" 42:02

9h ago42:02

42:02

Hello Not Another Politics Podcast listeners. We’re taking some much needed time off as the school year comes to a close; but with the elections right around the corner we still wanted to share some incredibly relevant and important political science research. Every Presidential election, we talk about “getting out the vote”. But what really works …

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79. Progressive organizations launch Reject AIPAC to counter the pro-Israel lobby 25:31

7d ago25:31

25:31

AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is on its way to spending over $100 million this election cycle as it looks to punish candidates critical of Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza. Earlier this year a coalition of nearly two dozen progressive groups – including Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, Justice Democrats, the Democratic Soc…

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78. How Israel's massacre of 270 Palestinians in Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp unfolded 40:53

12d ago40:53

40:53

Hi, this is Dave, the host of the Mondoweiss Podcast. Before we get started with the new episode, I have an appeal to make. Mondoweiss is a nonprofit publication with writers around the world. Eighty percent of our budget comes from readers and listeners like you. We are launching our summer fundraising drive with an ambitious goal of raising $160,…

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How Powerful Are October Surprises? 36:25

13d ago36:25

36:25

Hello Not Another Politics Podcast listeners. We’re taking some much needed time off as the school year comes to a close; but with the elections right around the corner we still wanted to share some incredibly relevant and important political science research. This week we’re resharing an episode all about October Surprises that has some counter in…

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77. The Question of Hamas and the Left with Abdaljawad Omar 47:50

17d ago47:50

47:50

Mondoweiss’s Managing Editor, Faris Giacaman, speaks to Abdaljawad Omar about his article, “The Question of Hamas and the Left.” In it, Omar argues that Leftist critics in the West of Hamas fail to understand the complexity of Palestinian politics and resistance. He writes, “One cannot ground solidarity with Palestine on a politics that dismisses, …

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Does The Public View The Supreme Court As Legitimate In A Post-Dobbs World ? 43:43

28d ago43:43

43:43

The Supreme Court is supposed to be our non-political branch of government, making decisions solely on the constitutional soundness of laws. But in recent years it appears as though the Court has taken a shift to the right, most notably in the Dobbs decision in 2022. Which raises a question: does the public still the view the Court as legitimate? T…

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76. ICC arrest warrants sought for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant 51:40

1M ago51:40

51:40

On May 20, the Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, filed arrest warrant applications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three senior Hamas leaders. Mondoweiss correspondent David Kattenburg called the charges against the Israeli leaders a "bombshell." Khan said the two men…

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How Good Are We At Spotting Fake News? 48:26

1M ago48:26

48:26

If the media is to be believed, the US public has a tenuous at best grasp on accurate political news. They’re either consuming disinformation and fake news on social media or following biasedly inaccurate news outlets. Either journalistic truth is as good as dead or we’re living in separate informational universes. But is this too alarmist, could t…

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75. Hundreds of Palestinian bodies recovered from mass graves in Gaza 22:33

2M ago22:33

22:33

Hundreds of dead bodies were found at the Nasser Hospital’s surroundings in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Civil Defense said on Thursday. The Civil Defense announced in a press conference that since Wednesday alone, 392 bodies had been found in mass graves, many of whom had been identified as missing for weeks, while 58% of …

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Is Partisan Animosity Directed At Fellow Citizens Or Elites? 39:10

2M ago39:10

39:10

There is a fact of our political discourse so agreed upon that nobody thinks to question it: affective polarization…democrats and republicans disliking each other...has been getting worse, much worse. But what if that belief is actually based on polls measuring the wrong thing? That’s the argument made by Northwestern Political Scientist James Druc…

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74. Students protest Israel's genocidal war 27:11

2M ago27:11

27:11

Student protests over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza are spreading across the United States and around the world. Students at Columbia University in New York setup a protest encampment last week on the New York campus. In response, the university’s President, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, called in the New York Police Department and arrested several stu…

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

2M 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…

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Should Policy Match Voters' Preferences? 42:55

2M 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…

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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

4M 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

4M 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

4M 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

4M 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

5M 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

5M 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

5M 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

6M 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

6M 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

6M 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

6M 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

7M 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

7M 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

7M 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

7M 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

8M 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

8M 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

8M 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

9M 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

9M 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

9M 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

10M 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

10M 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

10M 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

10M 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

11M 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

11M 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

11M 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

12M 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

12M 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

12M 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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