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American Politics
Writ Large August 10, 2022

On Walter Lippmann's "Public Opinion"

A Discussion with Heidi Tworek

Heidi Tworek

Hosted by Zachary Davis
What is the role of the press in a democracy? For nearly a century, scholars, media critics, and politicians have debated this question—in a large part thanks to Walter Lippmann …

American Politics

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Interviews with scholars of American politics about their new books.

Law August 10, 2022

Who Decides?

States As Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation

Jeffrey S. Sutton

Hosted by William Domnarski
Everything in law and politics, including individual rights, comes back to divisions of power and the evergreen question: Who decides? Who wins the disputes of the day often turns on …
Politics & Polemics August 10, 2022

Paths of Dissent

Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Forever Wars

Andrew Bacevich and Daniel A. Sjursen

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
Compiled by New York Times bestselling author Andrew Bacevich and retired army officer Danny A. Sjursen, Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America’s Misguided Wars (Metropolitan Books, 2022) collects provocative …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones August 9, 2022

The Future of Political Anger

A Conversation with Mark Blyth

Mark Blyth

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
Trump’s voters. The yellow jackets in France. Putin’s base in Russia. The Brexiteers. One thing all these groups have in common is anger – anger at being left behind, anger …
Darts & Letters August 8, 2022

January 6th and the Myth of the Mob

The Pervasive Power of Crowd Theory

Hosted by Gordon Katic
This week, we’re showcasing some of our favourite past episodes of Darts and Letters themed around “Activism & Academia”. Today’s episode originally aired a little earlier this summer. In the …
American Studies August 5, 2022

Living the Dream

The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Daniel T. Fleming

Hosted by James West
Living the Dream: The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (UNC Press, 2022) tells the history behind the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the battle …
Darts & Letters August 5, 2022

American Chernobyl, Part 2

The Most Poisonous Place in the USA

Hosted by Gordon Katic
Hanford is the most-polluted place in America. In our last episode, you heard about the nuclear plant's largely-forgotten history--how it poisoned the people living downwind. On our season finale: a …
Biography August 4, 2022

The Enigma of Clarence Thomas

Corey Robin

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
Most people can tell you two things about Clarence Thomas: Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment, and he almost never speaks from the bench. Here are some things they …
Darts & Letters August 4, 2022

America's Chernobyl, Part 1

Living in a Poison Town

Hosted by Gordon Katic
In this episode of Cited: What it means to live in a place where your home can give you cancer. Richland, Washington is a company town that sprang up almost …
Politics & Polemics August 3, 2022

Goliath

The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy

Matt Stoller

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
In Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy (Simon & Schuster, 2019), Matt Stoller explains how authoritarianism and populism have returned to American politics for the first time …
General History August 3, 2022

Left in the Center

The Liberal Party of New York and the Rise and Fall of American Social Democracy

Daniel Soyer

Hosted by Robert Snyder
The history of small political parties and the history of the American left are closely intertwined, especially in the book Left in the Center: The Liberal Party of New York …
Education August 3, 2022

Why They Hate Us

How Racist Rhetoric Impacts Education

Lindsay Pérez Huber and Susana M. Muñoz

Hosted by Autumn Wilke
Why They Hate Us: How Racist Rhetoric Impacts Education (Teachers College Press, 2021) examines how racist political rhetoric has created damaging and dangerous conditions for Students of Color in schools …
Darts & Letters August 3, 2022

The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed

The Intellectual Culture of Twitch Streamers

Hosted by Gordon Katic
It was billed as “the biggest event in the history of the terminally online.” A debate: socialism vs. capitalism. On your left side, the esteemed Marxist economist Richard Wolff. On …
Popular Culture August 3, 2022

Teenage Dreams

Girlhood Sexualities in the U.S. Culture Wars

Charlie Jeffries

Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan
Utilizing a breadth of archival sources from activists, artists, and policymakers, Charlie Jeffries' Teenage Dreams: Girlhood Sexualities in the U.S. Culture Wars (Rutgers UP, 2022) examines the race- and class-inflected battles over …
Darts & Letters August 2, 2022

Socialise the Series of Tubes

Toward a Democratic Internet

Ben Tarnoff

Hosted by Gordon Katic
Recently a major outage took nearly a third of Canada offline. No phone, no internet… even access to 911 got shut down in some places. So why does one company …
Critical Theory August 1, 2022

Producing Politics

Inside the Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics for All of Us

Daniel Laurison

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Who runs American politics? In Producing Politics: Inside the Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics for All of Us (Beacon Press, 2022), Daniel Laurison, an associate professor …
African American Studies July 29, 2022

Insurrection

Rebellion, Civil Rights, and the Paradoxical State of Black Citizenship

Hawa Allan

Hosted by Brittney Edmonds
The little-known and under-studied 1807 Insurrection Act was passed to give the president the ability to deploy federal military forces to fend off lawlessness and rebellion, but it soon became …
Gender Studies July 29, 2022

Sex Is as Sex Does

Governing Transgender Identity

Paisley Currah

Hosted by Sohini Chatterjee
Every government agency in the United States, from Homeland Security to Departments of Motor Vehicles, has the authority to make its own rules for sex classification. Many transgender people find …
Political Science July 28, 2022

Ugly Freedoms

Elisabeth R. Anker

Hosted by Lilly Goren
Freedom is often considered the cornerstone of the American political project. The 1776 revolutionaries declared it an inalienable right that could neither be taken nor granted, a sacred concept upon …
Education July 28, 2022

The Privileged Poor

How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students

Anthony Abraham Jack

Hosted by Joao Souto-Maior
The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors—and their coffers—to support a more diverse student body. But is it …