American Politics

American Politics

episodes

Interviews with scholars of American politics about their new books.

Andrew J. Kirkendall, "Hemispheric Alliances: Liberal Democrats and Cold War Latin America" (UNC Press, 2022)

March 16, 2024

Hemispheric Alliances

Andrew J. Kirkendall
Hosted by Ethan Fredrick

Hemispheric foreign policy has waxed and waned since the Mexican War, and the Cold War presented both extraordinary promises and dangerous threats to …

Janine Giordano Drake, "The Gospel of Church: How Mainline Protestants Vilified Christian Socialism and Fractured the Labor Movement" (Oxford UP, 2023)

March 13, 2024

The Gospel of Church

Janine Giordano Drake
Hosted by Matt Simmons

In 1908, Unitarian pastor Bertrand Thompson observed the momentous growth of the labor movement with alarm. "Socialism," he wrote, "has become a disti…

Reading Taylor Swift as a Cultural and Political Text

March 11, 2024

Reading Taylor Swift as a Cultural and Political Text

Hosted by UConn PopCast

It’s the UConn Popcast, and Taylor Swift is by some measures the most popular person on the planet. Her periodic reinventions set the mass cultural te…

Amy Paeth, "The American Poet Laureate" A History of U.S. Poetry and the State" (Columbia UP, 2023)

March 11, 2024

The American Poet Laureate

Amy Paeth
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The American Poet Laureate: A History of U.S. Poetry and the State (Columbia University Press, 2023) by Dr. Amy Paeth shows how the state has been the…

Sharon D. Wright Austin, "Political Black Girl Magic: The Elections and Governance of Black Female Mayors" (Temple UP, 2023)

March 11, 2024

Political Black Girl Magic

Sharon D. Wright Austin
Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Political Black Girl Magic: The Elections and Governance of Black Female Mayors (Temple UP, 2023) explores black women's experiences as mayors in Amer…

Benjamin J. Pauli, "Flint Fights Back: Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis" (MIT Press, 2019)

March 9, 2024

Flint Fights Back

Benjamin J. Pauli
Hosted by Patricia Houser

Originally published in 2019, Benjamin Pauli’s book, Flint Fights Back offers lasting insights into one of the most important drinking water-caused pu…

On America’s Blind Spot Towards the Palestinians: A Discussion with author Khaled Elgindy

March 9, 2024

On America’s Blind Spot Towards the Palestinians

Khaled Elgindy
Hosted by Paul Starobin

In their handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process over the decades, U.S. officials have displayed a “systemic blind spot” by alleviating pres…

Jacqueline Kennelly, "Burnt by Democracy: Youth, Inequality, and the Erosion of Civic Life" (U Toronto Press, 2023)

March 9, 2024

Burnt by Democracy

Jacqueline Kennelly
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Burnt by Democracy: Youth, Inequality, and the Erosion of Civic Life (University of Toronto Press, 2023) by Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly traces the politic…

Freedom in the Academy: A Conversation with Niall Ferguson

March 5, 2024

Freedom in the Academy

Niall Ferguson
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Finishing off our series on freedom of speech, renowned historian Niall Ferguson discusses ideological conflict both between America and China and wit…

Alvita Akiboh, "Imperial Material: National Symbols in the US Colonial Empire" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

March 3, 2024

Imperial Material

Alvita Akiboh
Hosted by Lachlan McNamee

This is an ambitious history of flags, stamps, and currency—and the role they played in US imperialism over the 20th century. In Imperial Material: Na…

David P. Gushee, "Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies" (William B. Eerdmans, 2023)

March 2, 2024

Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

David P. Gushee
Hosted by Meghan Cochran

Why do some devout Christians support authoritarian leaders who threaten the very democracies that protect religious freedoms? The resounding suppor…

Carly Goodman, "Dreamland: America's Immigration Lottery in an Age of Restriction" (UNC Press, 2023)

February 29, 2024

Dreamland

Carly Goodman

In a world of border walls and obstacles to migration, a lottery where winners can gain permanent residency in the United States sounds too good to be…

Gerald Epstein, "Busting the Bankers' Club: Finance for the Rest of Us" (U California Press, 2024)

February 28, 2024

Busting the Bankers' Club

Gerald Epstein
Hosted by John Emrich

Bankers brought the global economic system to its knees in 2007 and nearly did the same in 2020. Both times, the US government bailed out the banks an…

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad: A Conversation with Dave McCormick *96

February 28, 2024

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad

David McCormick
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Dave McCormick *96 has enjoyed incredible success in a wide variety of arenas: after graduating from West Point, where he competed as a varsity wrestl…

How Democracies Die . . . and How They May Survive with Daniel Ziblatt

February 27, 2024

How Democracies Die . . . and How They May Survive

Daniel Ziblatt

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard…

Christopher J. Devine, "I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote: How Presidential Campaign Visits Influence Voters" (Columbia UP, 2023)

February 24, 2024

I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote

Christopher J. Devine
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

During presidential campaigns, candidates crisscross the country nonstop—visiting swing states, their home turf, and enemy territory. But do all those…

Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson, "American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15" (FSG, 2023)

February 20, 2024

American Gun

Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
Hosted by Chris Holmes

In the 1950s, an obsessive firearms designer named Eugene Stoner invented the AR-15 rifle in a California garage. High-minded and patriotic, Stoner so…

Max Felker-Kantor, "DARE to Say No: Policing and the War on Drugs in Schools" (UNC Press, 2023)

February 17, 2024

DARE to Say No

Max Felker-Kantor
Hosted by Jeffrey Lamson

With its signature "DARE to keep kids off drugs" slogan and iconic t-shirts, DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) was the most popular drug educatio…

Norman Hill and Velma Murphy Hill, "Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain: The Extraordinary Story of Love, Civil Rights, and Labor Activism" (Regalo Press, 2023)

February 17, 2024

Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain

Norman Hill and Velma Murphy Hill
Hosted by Thomas Discenna

The remarkable story of a couple who came together during the civil rights movement and made fighting for equality and civil and workers' rights their…

Steven Harvey, "The Beloved Republic" (Wandering Aengus Press, 2023)

February 15, 2024

The Beloved Republic

Steven Harvey
Hosted by Dan Hill

Steven Harvey is the author of numerous books, including his latest collection of essays The Beloved Republic (Wandering Aengus Press). Besides being …