

Politicology
Politicology
Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 27, 2022 • 1h 6min
19 Empty Beds — The Weekly Roundup
Communications expert Susan Del Percio and Democratic strategist Liz Gilbert join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(02:04) The school shooting in Uvalde, TX and red flag laws(22:34) The biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s primary elections(37:04) The Russian blockade stopping Ukraine’s grain exports and the dire consequences for global food security[Politicology+ Members Only] The Democrats not-so-secret-search for an alternative to Joe Biden to top the ticket in 2024// To get your private, ad-free Politicology+ podcast feed with extra episodes, go to politicology.com/plus or subscribe in Apple Podcasts.Are you learning from Politicology? Help us expand by pitching in now: https://politicology.com/donateFollow this week’s panel on Twitter:https://twitter.com/RonSteslowhttps://twitter.com/DelPercioShttps://twitter.com/_lizgilbert Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 25, 2022 • 59min
Behind The Filter Bubble
To unlock exclusive content, visit: https://politicology.com/plusAlgorithms are the secret sauce of Silicon Valley startups and social media giants. They are complex sets of rules—written in code—that dictate your experience when you’re scrolling through Twitter or Facebook or Instagram in your own digital ‘filter bubble.’ In this episode, Stanford Professors Mehran Sahami and Rob Reich join Ron Steslow to discuss Elon Musk’s proposal to make Twitter’s algorithms open source and what algorithmic transparency could mean for users, for civil society, and for democracy.(02:21) What social media algorithms do and how they impact what you see on platforms(05:01) The embedded values on social media platforms(11:07) How algorithmic transparency could help bad actors (12:23) What algorithms look for and what they’re trained to do (15:05) Content moderation and algorithmic amplification(23:53) Transparency without going open source(28:01) Algorithmic choice through “middleware”(32:27) Consumer Choice, misinformation, and filter bubbles (48:43) Whether Democracy can withstand thisPurchase System Error: https://systemerrorbook.com/ Politicology is supported by listeners like you. Can you pitch in right now at https://politicology.com/donate?Follow Mehran, Rob, and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/mehran_sahamihttps://twitter.com/robreich https://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 20, 2022 • 1h 11min
The Great Replacement — The Weekly Roundup
Political strategist Lucy Caldwell and social policy expert Lanae Erickson join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(02:28) The biggest stories coming out of Tuesday’s primary elections (21:01) Great Replacement Theory(43:20) DHS’s warning of political violence after the draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade[Politicology+ Members Only] Elon Musk the dynamist // To get your private, ad-free Politicology+ podcast feed with extra episodes, go to politicology.com/plus or subscribe in Apple Podcasts.Are you learning from Politicology? Help us expand by pitching in now: https://politicology.com/donateFollow this week’s panel on Twitter:https://twitter.com/RonSteslowhttps://twitter.com/madrid_mikehttps://twitter.com/JamesGLynch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 18, 2022 • 44min
Encore: Celeste Headlee on Having Better Conversations
To unlock Politicology+, visit politicology.com/plusTo contribute to Politicology, visit politicology.com/donateJournalist, Public Speaker and Author Celeste Headlee (@CelesteHeadlee) joins host Ron Steslow (@RonSteslow) to reveal the science and history behind human communication, share keys to unlock deeper conversations, and explain how critical empathy is for our ability to listen and connect. For more information, to contact us, or to contribute to Politicology, visit Politicology.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 13, 2022 • 1h 8min
The Intimidation Game — The Weekly Roundup
Political strategist Mike Madrid and communications consultant James Lynch join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(03:20) The stock market tumble, interest rate hikes, and voter concerns over gas & groceries (19:07) Abortion rights protests after the leak of the draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade(38:18) The DNC’s newly announced ad spend to reach Latino Voters[Politicology+ Members Only] Elon Musk’s pledge to restore Donald Trump’s banned Twitter account// To get your private, ad-free Politicology+ podcast feed with extra episodes, go to politicology.com/plus or subscribe in Apple Podcasts.Are you learning from Politicology? Help us expand by pitching in now: https://politicology.com/donateFollow this week’s panel on Twitter:https://twitter.com/RonSteslowhttps://twitter.com/madrid_mikehttps://twitter.com/JamesGLynch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 11, 2022 • 47min
Modeling Victory — Part 2
In the second episode of this two part series, Øptimus co-founder and Data Science Director for Decision Desk HQ Scott Tranter joins Ron Steslow to talk about data science, polling, and modelingTo unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus(00:59) The non-response bias and how data scientists must deal with it (02:55) The decrease in response rates over time(10:47) Likely vs eligible voters in polls and how to predict who’s likely to vote(15:55) Finding respondents to fill cohorts (28:05 ) Innovations in data science(31:14) The numbers Scott is watchingMy conversation with Mike Madrid about Latino Voting Trends: https://link.chtbl.com/CgkltIhGFollow Scott and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/stranterhttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 7, 2022 • 1h 10min
The End of Roe? — The Weekly Roundup
Former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, political strategist Lucy Caldwell, and social policy expert Lanae Erickson join guest host Liz Gilbert to unpack the most important story of the week:(02:15) Politico’s bombshell scoop that Justice Alito drafted a majority opinion overturning Roe v Wade(14:23) The impact the decision could have on women(17:45) The unprecedented leak from SCOTUS and what it could mean for the Court(30:18) How this could impact the midterm elections(52:39) What this could mean for other rights built on the same legal framework (58:51)What listeners can do [Politicology+ Members Only] We discuss the Ohio primary election and // To get your private, ad-free Politicology+ podcast feed with extra episodes, go to politicology.com/plus or subscribe in Apple Podcasts.Are you learning from Politicology? Help us expand by pitching in now: https://politicology.com/donateFollow this week’s panel on Twitter:https://twitter.com/_lizgilberthttps://twitter.com/lucymcaldwellhttps://twitter.com/LanaeEricksonhttps://twitter.com/wendydavis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 4, 2022 • 4min
A Note from Ron
Ron checks in while on the road headed to Ukraine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 4, 2022 • 53min
Modeling Victory — Part 1
In this two part series, Øptimus co-founder and Data Science Director for Decision Desk HQ Scott Tranter joins Ron Steslow to talk about data science, polling, and modelingTo unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus(01:00) The role of a data scientist on a campaign (04:20) What message testing is and how it’s used(11:15) Understanding voters you need to persuade and voters you need to turn out(15:16) Explaining sampling (34:36) Polling vs modeling(37:15) Why pollsters choose the cohorts they doFollow Scott and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/stranterhttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 30, 2022 • 1h 12min
“A Moment Of Alignment” — The Weekly Roundup
Political strategist Mike Madrid and Psychology Professor Catherine Sanderson join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(02:02) Mark Meadows’ texts and the recently leaked Kevin McCarthy calls(35:18) Elon Musk’s deal to acquire Twitter[Politicology+ Members Only] We discuss a discuss a Politicology+ listener's email about hasty uses of the terms “misinformation” and “disinformation.”// To get your private, ad-free Politicology+ podcast feed with extra episodes, go to politicology.com/plus or subscribe in Apple Podcasts.Are you learning from Politicology? Help us expand by pitching in now: https://politicology.com/donateFollow this week’s panel on Twitter:https://twitter.com/RonSteslowhttps://twitter.com/madrid_mikehttps://twitter.com/SandersonSpeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


