

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

Apr 27, 2022 • 55min
France’s Mainstreaming Extremism
French Journalist Karen Lajon joins Ron Steslow to discuss France’s presidential election last weekendTo unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus(01:43) Karen’s work covering France and the world (03:50 The climate heading into the elections (05:08) The sentiment around Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron (09:33) Le Pen’s push to de-demonize the National Rally(19:23) Le Pen’s ties to Putin (25:34) What a LePen victory would have meant for FranceFollow Karen and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/karenlajonhttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 22, 2022 • 1h 16min
The Long Game — The Weekly Roundup
Political strategists Mike Madrid and Lucy Caldwell join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(01:52) The Democratic groups pushing to elect local election officials in anticipation of 2024(21:34) The shift to a longer term war in Ukraine, and the US and allies sending heavier, more advanced weaponry(46:56) How Dems are pushing back on “Defund the Police”[Politicology+ Members Only] “Lighting Money On Fire” — Democratic donations flowing into unwinnable races // 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/lucymcaldwell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 20, 2022 • 1h 13min
420 Special: Cannabis Politics with California’s ‘Pot Girl’
Amy O’Gorman Jenkins joins Ron Steslow to discuss cannabis policy and how public opinion on marijuana has changed. To unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus(01:56) How Amy became “Pot Girl” (04:32) An overview of cannabis laws in the U.S. (06:16) How public opinion has changed since CA legalized medical marijuana in 1996(09:36) How cannabis laws have changed since 2012(24:55) The myths of cannabis legalization (30:05) State benefits for legalizing cannabis (32:17) Concerns over legalization and the need for more research (37:38) Barriers for entering the legal cannabis entry (46:55) Predictions for Federal legislation (54:01) An eye on hemp products Follow Amy and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/amysjenkinshttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 15, 2022 • 1h 19min
‘We Control Them All’ — The Weekly Roundup
Social policy and politics expert Lanae Erickson and crisis communications expert and MSNBC political analyst Susan Del Percio join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(02:06) The DOJ’s investigation into Donald Trump and Don Jr.’s plan to overthrow the government(25:35) The rise in crime across the country and Joe Biden’s move to regulate ghost guns (45:25) How rising inflation is impacting the housing market and what that could mean at the ballot box[Politicology+ Members Only] The Supreme Court dissent pushing back on the use of the shadow docket // 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/LanaeEricksonhttps://twitter.com/DelPercioS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 13, 2022 • 57min
Encore: System Error — Part 2
To unlock exclusive content, visit: https://politicology.com/plusIn the second part of this two-episode conversation, Stanford Professors Mehran Sahami and Jeremy Weinstein join Ron Steslow to discuss their book System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot. (07:11) The modern day trolley problem(16:54) Reorienting invention toward problem solving(23:16) The other skills tech companies need(28:53) The problem of the inventor/CEO(39:57) What companies and governments can do to reshape how big tech operatesPurchase 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 and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/mehran_sahamihttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 13, 2022 • 53min
Encore: System Error — Part 1
To unlock exclusive content, visit: https://politicology.com/plusIn this two-episode conversation, Stanford Professors Mehran Sahami and Jeremy Weinstein join Ron Steslow to discuss their book System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot. (05:42) Why they decided to write their book(10:56) How venture capital has shaped Silicon Valley(19:04) Optimization mindset meets Democracy(37:36) Our privacy boundaries when it comes to government and private companiesPurchase 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 and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/mehran_sahamihttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 8, 2022 • 1h 25min
"Crap Information Universe" — The Weekly Roundup
Political strategists Lucy Caldwell and Mike Madrid, and national security writer Molly McKew join Ron Steslow to unpack some of the most important stories of the week:(02:13) The Bucha Massacre and the slew of news about Putin’s War(50:52) Republicans vowing to attack corporations and advance authoritarianism if they take back the control of congress[Politicology+ Members Only] What would happen if FOX news viewers watched CNN? We’ll talk about the impact changing the channel had in a 2020 study // 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/lucymcaldwellhttps://twitter.com/MollyMcKewhttps://twitter.com/madrid_mike Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 8, 2022 • 39min
It’s Numbers Season — Part 2
In the second part of this two part episode, Mike Madrid breaks down some recent polling numbers and discusses what it might mean during the midterm elections. To unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus(00:56) NBC News polling on candidate issues positions and how that can shape midterm races(10:04) The negative impact of endorsements (17:49) The negative impact of a Mitch McConnell or Marjorie Taylor Greene endorsement in Republican primary races(24:33) How Biden’s low approval numbers in Arizona could shape their 2022 electionsFollow Mike and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/madrid_mikehttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 6, 2022 • 42min
It’s Numbers Season — Part 1
In this two part episode, Mike Madrid joins Ron Steslow to discuss how political campaigns use polling data to make decisions and how pollsters gather data to measure public opinion.To unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus(01:00) What do you mean, “it’s numbers season?” (03:54) What polling data does and doesn’t tell us(07:19) Looking for trends in polling(10:57) How polling data drives decisions on political campaigns(16:33) the importance of sampling(23:23) How pollsters weight their dataFollow Mike and Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/madrid_mikehttps://twitter.com/RonSteslow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 1, 2022 • 28min
[+] Hunter Biden's Laptop [Members Only]
The Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden and the once-censored stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop we now know to be true—and why they matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


