LSE: The Ballpark

Contributor(s): Professor Dana Fisher | On the 6th of October, 2020 Ballpark host Chris Gilson spoke with Professor Dana Fisher about her new book American Resistance: From the Women's March to the Blue Wave, the rise of distributed organizing in the United States, and the impact that Black Lives Matter & climate protests may have on the November 2020 presidential election. Professor Dana Fisher is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland and the Director of the Program for Society and the Environment at the University of Maryland. She is the author of National Governance and the Global Climate Change Regime, Activism, Inc., and her most recent book, American Resistance: From the Women's March to the Blue Wave. Her research focuses on environmental policy, civic participation and activism more broadly. She has written extensively on activism and protest.   Contributors: Professor Dana Fisher (Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, Director of the Program for Society and the Environment at the University of Maryland), Chris Gilson (LSE US Centre)

Contributor(s): Dr Clive James Nwonka | In this special episode of the Ballpark we’re giving you a preview of our upcoming new podcast series, The Politics of Race in American Film. Chris Gilson interviews the podcast’s host, Dr. Clive James Nwonka, about what you can expect from the series, why film is such a useful lens for understanding race and society, and why taking a close look at film is especially relevant today.  Dr. Clive James Nwonka is a Visiting Fellow in the International Inequalities Institute at LSE. His research is situated at the intersections of contemporary realism and film policy, with particular interests in Black British film, international cinema and American Independent film. His published research includes writings on contemporary social realism, Black British cinema, film and architecture, and diversity policy. He is the co-editor of Black Film British Cinema II and author of the forthcoming book, Black Boys: The Aesthetics of British Urban Cinema, which will be out later this year.

Contributor(s): Professor Kathleen Jamieson | The LSE US Centre’s Chris Gilson is joined for this Extra Inning by Professor Kathleen Jamieson. In this interview, Professor Jamieson talks about the impact of Russian interference on the 2016 US Presidential election, the tactics used to influence voters, and what we should be thinking about ahead of the 2020 Presidential election. Professor Kathleen Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of its Annenberg Public Policy Center. She is also the author of Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President - What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know. You can also find audio of Professor Jamieson’s LSE US Centre event, “Russian Hackers, Trolls and #DemocracyRIP,” on this feed. Contributors: Professor Kathleen Jamieson (Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania); Chris Gilson (LSE US Centre)

Contributor(s): Professor Kathleen Jamieson | On the 27th of February 2020, the LSE US Centre hosted Professor Kathleen Jamieson for the event Russian Hackers, Trolls and #DemocracyRIP. In this lecture, Professor Jamieson brought together what is known about the impact of the Russian interventions in the 2016 US presidential election, outlined the contours of the #DemocracyRIP Russian plans to undercut the presidency of Hillary Clinton, and asked what’s next and what can we do about it. Professor Kathleen Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of its Annenberg Public Policy Center. She is also the author of Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President - What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know. You can also find a one-on-one conversation between Ballpark host Chris Gilson and Professor Jamieson on this feed. Contributors: Professor Kathleen Jamieson (Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania); Professor Peter Trubowitz (LSE US Centre)

Contributor(s): Professor Leah Wright Rigueur | In this Extra Inning, Ballpark co-host Michaela Herrmann is joined by Professor Leah Wright Rigueur, who discusses the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) scandal of the 1980s, the experiences of Black Republicans in the last 50 years, the racial politics of the Reagan administration, and how #BlackLivesMatter protests can be linked back to long-standing trends like inequality and policing practices. Professor Leah Wright Rigueur is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Harry S. Truman Associate Professor of American History at Brandeis University. She is the author of The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power and is currently working on the book manuscript Mourning in America: Black Men in a White House. You can also find audio of Professor Wright Rigueur’s lecture, “African Americans in a 'White' House: Presidential Politics, Race, and The Pursuit of Power,” on this feed. Contributors: Professor Leah Wright Rigueur (Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Harry S. Truman Associate Professor of American History at Brandeis University); Michaela Herrmann (LSE US Centre)

Contributor(s): Professor Anne Cizmar | Welcome back to Season 4 of The Ballpark from the LSE US Centre! This season we’re continuing our State of the States theme and exploring some fascinating US states and the key policy issues within them. For our Season 4 premiere, we’re heading to the Bluegrass State – Kentucky – to talk about the state’s geography, state politics, and political realignment with Professor Anne Cizmar, Associate Professor of Government at Eastern Kentucky University. Produced by Michaela Herrmann (LSE US Centre) with contributions from Chris Gilson (LSE US Centre) and Professor Anne Cizmar (Eastern Kentucky University). Title theme, ‘Take me out to the Ball game’ by Ranger and the "Re-Arrangers" (https://rangerswings.com/) used with permission; Excerpts from Great River Road (ID 360) and Lucky Hans (ID 361) are by Lobo Loco (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/NIce_Nowhere/2016111153942403), (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/NIce_Nowhere/Lucky_Hans_ID_361_1261) and are used under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Germany License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/de/); This podcast series is supported by the Phelan Family Foundation.

Contributor(s): Professor Theda Skocpol | On 14 October 2019, the US Centre hosted Professor Theda Skocpol for the event “Donald Trump and the Roots of Republican Extremism in the US.” At the event, Professor Skocpol discussed her recent research explaining how sets of organizations expressing two separate currents of right-wing extremism – billionaire ultra-free-market fundamentalism and popularly rooted ethno-nationalist resentment – have worked in tandem to remake the Republican Party. Professor Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. Her ongoing research focuses on U.S. conservatives and the Republican Party, the politics of health care policy, and citizen reactions to the Obama and Trump presidencies. Skocpol is also the Director of the Scholars Strategy Network, a nationwide U.S. organization with more than a thousand members and forty chapters that makes the work of university researchers understandable to civic groups, policymakers, and the media.

Contributor(s): Joseph Sternberg | In this Extra Inning from the LSE US Centre, Ballpark host Chris Gilson talks with The Wall Street Journal’s Joseph Sternberg about his new book, The Theft of a Decade: How the Baby Boomers Stole the Millennials’ Economic Future. Joseph Sternberg outlines the effects of the Great Recession on Millennials and talks about Millennials’ economic and political future. They also discuss the policy issues that will continue to challenge Boomers and Millennials as the former ages out of the working population and puts economic pressure on the latter. Joseph Sternberg is a member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, where he writes the Political Economics Column. He’s also the author of the new book, The Theft of a Decade: How the Baby Boomers Stole the Millennials’ Economic Future. Contributors: Joseph Sternberg (The Wall Street Journal), Chris Gilson (LSE US Centre)

Contributor(s): Joseph Sternberg | On the 9th of October 2019, the US Centre hosted Joseph Sternberg of The Wall Street Journal at our public event, “How Millennial Economics Will Shake Up US Politics”. At the event, he presented an overview of Millennial economics in America and outlined how the Great Recession affected Millennials in particular. He also discussed the continuing effects of the recession even as economic conditions have improved, and some of the political issues that will continue to challenge Americans across the Boomer-Millennial divide. Joseph Sternberg is a member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, where he writes the Political Economics Column. He’s also the author of the new book, The Theft of a Decade: How the Baby Boomers Stole the Millennials’ Economic Future. Contributors: Joseph Sternberg (The Wall Street Journal), Professor Peter Trubowitz (LSE US Centre)

Contributor(s): Professor Stephen Walt | Your host Chris Gilson of the LSE US Centre is joined on this Extra Inning of the Ballpark by Professor Stephen Walt. In this interview, Chris and Professor Walt discuss the differences in US foreign policy between Presidents Trump and Obama. They also discuss Professor Walt’s new book, The Hell of Good Intentions, and why he thinks American foreign policy since the Cold War has been a failure. Stephen Walt is the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has previously taught at Princeton University and the University of Chicago, serves on the editorial boards of Foreign Policy,Security Studies,International Relations,and Journal of Cold War Studies, and is the author of works including The Origins of Alliances, and Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy. You can also find audio of Professor’s Walt’s recent talk at LSE, Can America Still Have a Successful Foreign Policy?, on the LSE: Public Lectures and Events podcast feed. Contributors: Professor Stephen Walt (Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government), Chris Gilson (LSE US Centre)