Politics in Question

In this week’s special live episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Didi Kuo about the evolution of political parties in America. Kuo is a Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and author of The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't (Oxford University Press, 2025).Why do we need strong political parties? What is the foundation for a “good” political party? And how do we get them? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and James talk with Jonathan Rauch about Christian nationalism and its relationship to democracy. Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and the author of Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press, 2025).How new and distinct is this version of Christianity in American public life? What has been the historical role of Christianity in American democracy? And what exactly is civic theology? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and James talk with Samuel Bagg about participation and democracy. Bagg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina and the author of The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2024).What are the origins of deliberative democracy? What is the role of participation in the 21st century? How should we think about democracy beyond individual decision-making? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Charles Hunt and Jaclyn Kettler about political scandals. Hunt is a Professor of Political Science at Boise State University (BSU), and Kettler is a Political Science Associate Professor at BSU. They are the hosts of Scandalized , a podcast where each episode unpacks a political scandal from American history.What's the difference between an honest mistake and a scandal? How does the political landscape contextualize how we think about corruption? When does corruption become framed as normalcy? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week's episode.Note: This episode was recorded in October 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee talks with Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler about the polarization of American politics and the emergence of a new constitutional order. Pierson is the John Gross Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Berkeley, and Schickler is the Jeffrey & Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science and co-Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at Berkeley. They are the authors of Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era (The University of Chicago Press, 2024).How has the rise of new institutions shifted our constitutional order? How does polarization today differ from other eras? What changes have occurred in local political parties from the 1960s to now? These are some of the Lee explores in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia and Lee talk with Stephanie Ternullo about the political shift among white working-class Americans. Ternullo is an Assistant Professor of Government at Harvard University and author of How the Heartland Went Red: Why Local Forces Matter in an Age of Nationalized Politics (Princeton University Press, 2024).How do people grow partisan attachments within their social groups? What are the crucial elements of class? How do national party politics translate to local party organizing? These are some of the questions Julia and Lee explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, James, Julia, and Lee discuss political dysfunction and how our perceptions of politics influence our views. They discuss Lee’s Substack piece We Need More (and Better) Parties and Julia’s Substack piece The Odds vs. The Stakes: In 2024, They Don't Seem to Be Related.How should media cover elections? In what ways is power being used to shape policy? Should we build political parties through existing social networks? These are some of the questions James, Julia, and Lee explore in this week’s episode.Note: This episode was recorded in September 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Zack Beauchamp about how we make sense of democratic threats. Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox and author of The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World (PublicAffairs, 2024).What are the risks to American democracy? How do social and economic hierarchies influence the functioning of democracy? Who defines democratic values? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode.Note: This episode was recorded in August 2024.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee talks with Kevin Morris about demographics, voting rights, and elections. Morris, a Senior Research Fellow and Voting Policy Scholar at the Brennan Center, is the co-author of the report Growing Racial Disparities in Voter Turnout, 2008–2022.How have voting rights laws, policies, and practices evolved over time? How has the Shelby County v. Holder decision impacted voting laws within states? Is there a correlation between state laws and voter turnout among communities of color? These are some of the questions Lee explores in this week’s episode.Note: This episode was recorded in July 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Scott Mainwaring, the Eugene and Helen Conley Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame, dives into the concept of multiparty presidentialism and its potential to revitalize U.S. democracy. He discusses how coalition fluidity can enhance representation and critiques current dysfunction in American politics. By comparing the U.S. with Latin American political systems, he reveals lessons on diversity and governance. The conversation also touches on the challenges of populism and the interplay between presidentialism and racial polarization, emphasizing the need for inclusive politics.