Public Policy

Public Policy

episodes

Interviews with scholars of public policy about their new books.

Joy Knoblauch, "The Architecture of Good Behavior: Psychology and Modern Institutional Design in Postwar America" (U Pittsburgh Press, 2020)

September 18, 2024

The Architecture of Good Behavior

Joy Knoblauch
Hosted by Claire Clark

Inspired by the rise of environmental psychology and increasing support for behavioral research after the Second World War, new initiatives at the fed…

S4E6 Celebrating Constitution Day, Part. 2: A Conversation with Julia Mahoney

September 18, 2024

Celebrating Constitution Day, Part. 2

Julia Mahoney
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In this conversation, we dive into key issues shaping the legal landscape today: the complexities of constitutional interpretation, the evolving role …

Danny Sriskandarajah, "Power to the People: Use Your Voice, Change the World" (Headline Press, 2024)

September 17, 2024

Power to the People

Danny Sriskandarajah
Hosted by Nick Pozek

Power to the People: Use Your Voice, Change the World (Headline Press, 2024) is Danny Sriskandarajah‘s radical manifesto for change designed to inspir…

Kevin J. McMahon, "A Supreme Court Unlike Any Other: The Deepening Divide Between the Justices and the People" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

September 16, 2024

A Supreme Court Unlike Any Other

Kevin J. McMahon
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Many scholars and members of the press have argued that John Roberts’ Supreme Court is exceptional. While some emphasize the approach to interpreting …

Michael L. Walker, "Indefinite: Doing Time in Jail" (Oxford UP, 2022)

September 15, 2024

Indefinite

Michael L. Walker
Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Jails are the principal people-processing machines of the criminal justice system. Mostly they hold persons awaiting trial who cannot afford or have b…

Josh Cowen, "The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers" (Harvard Education Press, 2024)

September 10, 2024

The Privateers

Josh Cowen
Hosted by Meghan Cochran

School vouchers are often framed as a way to help students and families by providing choice, but evidence shows that vouchers have a negative impact o…

Raquel Velho on Disability, Infrastructure, and London's Public Transport System

September 9, 2024

Disability, Infrastructure, and London's Public Transport System

Raquel Velho
Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Raquel Velho, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a…

Anthony Michael Kreis, "Rot and Revival: The History of Constitutional Law in American Political Development" (U California Press, 2024)

September 9, 2024

Rot and Revival

Anthony Michael Kreis
Hosted by Susan Liebell

One of the great divides in American judicial scholarship is between legal scholars who take the justices at their word and assume that those words de…

Judge Frederic Block, "A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It" (The New Press, 2024)

September 5, 2024

A Second Chance

Judge Frederic Block
Hosted by Stephen Pimpare

The police officer who brutalized Abner Louima. A purveyor of child pornography. These are some of the defendants to have come before U.S. District Co…

Jonathan Gienapp, "Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique" (Yale UP, 2024)

September 3, 2024

Against Constitutional Originalism

Jonathan Gienapp
Hosted by Meghan Cochran

The legal theory of constitutional originalism has attracted increasing attention in recent years as the US Supreme Court has tilted with the weight o…

Manuela Moschella, "Unexpected Revolutionaries: How Central Banks Made and Unmade Economic Orthodoxy" (Cornell UP, 2024)

September 1, 2024

Unexpected Revolutionaries

Manuela Moschella
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Unexpected Revolutionaries: How Central Banks Made and Unmade Economic Orthodoxy (Cornell University Press, 2024), Dr. Manuela Moschella investiga…

Tadashi Dozono, "Discipline Problems: How Students of Color Trouble Whiteness in Schools" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024)

August 31, 2024

Discipline Problems

Tadashi Dozono
Hosted by Laura Kelly

Angel, a Black tenth-grader at a New York City public school, self-identifies as a nerd and likes to learn. But she’s troubled that her history classe…

Elizabeth A. Wahler and Sarah C. Johnson, "Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons (Bloomsbury, 2023)

August 28, 2024

Creating a Person-Centered Library

Elizabeth A. Wahler and Sarah C. Johnson
Hosted by Michael LaMagna

Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons (Bloomsbury, 2023) provides a comprehensive overview of various s…

Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria, "Mumbai on Two Wheels: Cycling, Urban Space, and Sustainable Mobility" (U Washington Press, 2024)

August 27, 2024

Mumbai on Two Wheels

Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria
Hosted by Sneha Annavarapu

Mumbai is not commonly seen as a bike-friendly city because of its dense traffic and the absence of bicycle lanes. Yet the city supports rapidly expan…

Joanna Wuest, "Born This Way: Science, Citizenship, and Inequality in the American LGBTQ+ Movement" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

August 27, 2024

Born This Way

Joanna Wuest
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Scholars often narrate the legal cases confirming LGBTQ+ rights as a huge success story. While it took 100 years to confirm the rights of Black Americ…

Hope Bohanec, "The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs" (Lantern Publishing, 2023)

August 26, 2024

The Humane Hoax

Hope Bohanec
Hosted by Kyle Johannsen

As consumers become increasingly aware of the animal agriculture industry’s cruelty and environmental devastation, clever industry marketers are adapt…

James Barrera, "'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas" (Texas A&M UP, 2023)

August 25, 2024

'We Want Better Education!'

James Barrera
Hosted by Rameen Mohammed

In 'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas (Texas A&M UP…

Damaging Rationality: Exxon-Funded Legal Research and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

August 25, 2024

Damaging Rationality: Exxon-Funded Legal Research and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Hosted by Gordon Katic

This is part #3 of a the (ir)Rational Alaskans, a Cited Podcast mini-series that re-examines the legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In the last e…

Gary Mucciaroni, "Answers to the Labour Question: Industrial Relations and the State in the Anglophone World, 1880–1945" (U Toronto Press, 2024)

August 24, 2024

Answers to the Labour Question

Gary Mucciaroni
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Since the mid-nineteenth century, public officials, reformers, journalists, and other elites have referred to “the labour question.” The labour questi…

Bruce W. Dearstyne, "Progressive New York: Change and Reform in the Empire State, 1900-1920: A Reader" (SUNY Press, 2024)

August 23, 2024

Progressive New York

Bruce W. Dearstyne
Hosted by Robert Snyder

In the first two decades of the twentieth century, New York State was a hotbed of change. Cities grew as immigrants arrived from Europe and African Am…