Politics in Question

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Sara Wallace Goodman joins Julia and Lee to discuss citizenship and its impact on politics. Goodman is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Her research examines citizenship and the shaping of political identity through immigrant integration. She is the author of Citizenship in Hard Times: How Ordinary People Respond to Democratic Threat (Cambridge University Press, 2022), co-author of Pandemic Politics (Princeton University Press, 2022), and author of Immigration and Membership Politics in Western Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Her work has also appeared in the Journal of Politics, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, International Organization, and other venues.What does it mean to be a good citizen? Can it be taught? Do conservatives and liberals define citizenship differently? How does partisanship influence Americans’ citizenship definitions? These are some of the questions Sara, Julia, and Lee ask 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, Sanford Levinson joins Lee and James to discuss constitutional reform. Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. He is also a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas. Levinson is the author of numerous articles and books, including Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It) and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Government. His most recent book is Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Graphic Novel (Macmillan, 2020).Is the United States Constitution undemocratic? Does its complex institutional structure prevent Americans from doing big things in politics? Or does it ensure that no one rules America? What would a more democratic Constitution look like? What does it take to change the Constitution? And can Americans change it without empowering a majority to rule? These are some of the questions Sandy, Lee, and James ask 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, Jack Santucci joins Lee to discuss electoral reform. Santucci is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Politics at Drexel University. His research examines American political institutions in comparative and historical perspectives. He is the author of More Parties or No Parties: The Politics of Electoral Reform in America (Oxford University Press, 2022).What makes an electoral reform successful? How is it sustained? What can Americans learn from the history of efforts to advance proportional voting in the United States? And what mistakes does that history help them to avoid? These are some of the issues Jack and Lee ask 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, Kevin Munger joins Lee to discuss the generation gap in American politics. Munger is the Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor of Political Science and Assistant Professor of Political Science and Social Data Analytics at Penn State University. His research has appeared in leading journals like the American Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Political Communication, and Political Science Research & Methods. Munger is the author of Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture (Columbia University Press 2022).Is there a generational divide in American politics? What issues do young people care about most? How can they influence what’s happening in Washington, D.C.? And is it time for an older generation to pass the torch? These are some of the issues Kevin and Lee ask 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, Matt Germer joins Julia and Lee to discuss election reform. Germer is a resident elections fellow for the Governance Program at the R Street Institute. Before joining R Street, he was a policy counsel and strategic planning coordinator at the Washington House of Representatives. Prior to that, Germer served as nonpartisan staff in the Oregon state legislature.What are primary elections and why do they exist? Do primary elections help polarize American politics? And if they are a problem, how should primary elections be reformed? These are some of the questions Matt, Julia, and Lee ask 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, Seth Market joins Julia and James to consider how losing an election affects partisans. Market is a professor of political science and the director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver. He is the author of several books and articles on political parties, campaigns and elections, and state legislatures. His most recent book is Learning from Loss: The Democrats 2016-2020 (Cambridge 2020). Market contributes regularly at FiveThirtyEight, Mischiefs of Faction, and the Denver Post. He is currently working on a book project examining the Republican Party’s interpretations of the 2020 election and its preparations for 2024.Who holds power in the Democratic and Republican parties after an election defeat? Does the location of power vary between the two parties? How do partisans explain losing an election? And how do party leaders and partisan activists try to frame election defeats to gain leverage on their intra-party rivals? These are some of the questions Seth, Julia, and James discuss 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 consider why Americans are so upset about politics. Why are Americans so angry when it comes to politics? What is upsetting them? And what can Americans do to change politics when the political system doesn’t work as they want it to work? These are some of the questions Lee and James ask 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, Hans Noel joins Julia and James to talk about political parties. Noel is an associate professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, where he conducts research on political coalitions, political parties, and ideology. He is the author of Political Ideologies and Political Parties in America, and a co-author of The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform. Noel also blogs on political parties at Mischiefs of Faction and the Monkey Cage.How have events over the last decade shaped our understanding of political parties? Should we think about parties differently today than how we thought about them ten years ago? Why are the Democratic and Republican parties comprised of certain groups and interests? And does the conventional view of ideological polarization distort political reality when it comes to parties? These are some of the questions Hans, Julia, and James ask 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, E.J. Dionne and Miles Rapoport join Lee to discuss their new book, 100% Voting: The Case for Universal Voting. Dionne writes about politics for The Washington Post. He is also a government professor at Georgetown University, a visiting professor at Harvard University, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and a frequent commentator on politics for National Public Radio and MSNBC. Rapoport is Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to his appointment to the Ash Center, Rapoport was president of the independent grassroots organization Common Cause and headed the public policy center Demos.What would happen if everybody voted? How would democracy change? In some countries, voting is mandatory. Should the United States become one of those countries? These are some of the questions E.J., Miles, and Lee ask 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, Lee, and James discuss the Supreme Court and democratic legitimacy in front of a live audience at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. How does public opinion influence the Supreme Court? What role does the Court play in the federal government? Is it the ultimate arbiter of controversial policy questions? And should it be reformed? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James discuss 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.