In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Sara Sadhwani joins Julia and Lee to discuss elections reform. Sadhwani is an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College and serves on California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission. She specializes in Asian American and Latino voting behavior, elections, interest groups, and representation. Her research has been published in Political Behavior, PS: Political Science and Politics, the California Journal of Politics and Policy, and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Sadhwani’s analysis of elections has appeared in the Washington Post, Vox, LA Times, and the NPR affiliate KCRW-Los Angeles.What’s wrong with our elections? Is gerrymandering the problem? Will independent redistricting commissions solve it? What lessons can we learn from states like California about the prospects for elections reform at the federal level. And what are the implications of elections reform for federalism? These are some of the questions that Sara, Julia, and Lee discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Yanna Krupnikov joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss independent voters and the impact they have on American politics. Krupnikov is Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University. Her research and teaching focuses on political psychology, political communication, political persuasion, political behavior, and empirical methodology. She is the co-author (with Samara Klar) of Independent Politics: How American Disdain for Parties Has Led to Political Inaction (Cambridge University press, 2016).What causes Americans to identify as political independents? What impact do they have on politics? And what does their rising number in recent years reveal about American politics more broadly? These are some of the questions that Yanna, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Nancy Rosenblum joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss conspiracism and the Republican Party. Rosenblum is the Harvard University Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita. She is the co-author of numerous books and articles, including, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy (Princeton University Press, 2019).What causes conspiracism? How does it threaten American democracy? And what can we do about it? These are some of the questions that Nancy, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss what makes democracy work in the United States. What is democracy? Can democracy’s meaning change across place and time? If so, which type of democracy is best suited for the American political system at present? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider who is responsible for disciplining bad behavior in government. Do voters, parties, or institutions decide what constitutes bad behavior in government? Where do they make that decision? How do they enforce it? And what are the consequences of not disciplining bad behavior when it occurs? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Adam Jentleson joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss what makes the Senate dysfunctional. Jentleson served as deputy chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. He is a frequent contributor to MSNBC and is the author of the new book, Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.To what extent is the filibuster responsible for the Senate’s current dysfunction? Where did it come from? Why does it persist? What role has partisanship played in exacerbating its use? And how can it be reformed? These are some of the questions Adam, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ethan Porter joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss the relationship between Americans’ trust in government and their willingness to pay for the things that government does. Porter is assistant professor at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. He is the author of The Consumer Citizen (Oxford University Press, 2021). What is a consumer citizen? How does it differ from the traditional understanding of citizenship? Does a consumer mindset alleviate the team mentality that is pervasive in American politics today? And what role has presidential rhetoric played in creating the consumer citizen? These are some of the questions Ethan, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss Joe Biden’s inauguration as the nation’s 46th president of the United States and Kama Harris as Vice President. Why do Americans celebrate presidential inaugurations? What did Biden’s inauguration accomplish? How will it define the Biden presidency moving forward? And was this a peaceful transfer of power? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Rachel Blum joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss the future of the Republican Party. Blum is an Assistant Professor in the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center and the Department of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. Her research examines how political parties interact with and shape U.S. political institutions. She is the author of How the Tea Party Captured the GOP: Insurgent Factions in American Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2020). What is the TEA Party? How did it come to dominate the Republican Party? Is it a radical force in American Politics? And to what extent is it connected with the rise of Trumpism in recent years? These are some of the questions Rachel, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ruth Bloch Rubin joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider how Congress may work in the new year. Bloch Rubin is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. She studies American politics, with a substantive focus on legislative institutions, political parties, and American political development. Bloch Rubin is the author of Building the Bloc: Intraparty Organization in the U.S. Congress (Cambridge University Press, 2017). She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.How will the 117th Congress function differently? Can the House and Senate change the way they operate? Will intraparty factions challenge both chambers’ centralized party structure? These are some of the questions Ruth, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.