

LSE: The Ballpark
London School of Economics and Political Science
The Ballpark is the LSE Phelan US Centre's regular podcast on the politics and policy of the United States. Through features and interviews with academics from the LSE and elsewhere, The Ballpark looks more closely into what's going on behind the headlines.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 10, 2016 • 2min
The Ballpark needs your help!
Contributor(s): | Thanks for listening to The Ballpark. We hope you’ve enjoyed listening as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. We’d like to make it better, so we want you to tell us what you like about and what you don’t. So, we’ve put together a quick listener survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LSEBallpark. For an extra enticement, if you fill out our survey, you’ll go into a draw to win a £25 Amazon voucher. Thanks!

Sep 28, 2016 • 20min
Extra Innings: Conspiracy theories and Donald Trump
Contributor(s): Joe Uscinski | Donald Trump has brought conspiracy theories into the mainstream political debate. We spoke with political scientist Joe Uscinski, author of American Conspiracy Theories, about what impact this has had on American politics and elections.

Sep 16, 2016 • 46min
Episode 8: America's contentious and complicated criminal justice system
Contributor(s): Nicola Lacey and Michal McQuarrie | This episode takes us beyond the headlines to investigate what societal structures makes America's criminal justice system so different from those of other countries, and we take a look at what role the Black Lives Matter movement plays in this contemporary debate.

Aug 24, 2016 • 45min
Extra Innings: Has Obama been a transformative president?
Contributor(s): Jeffrey Tulis | In this instalment of Extra Innings, we bring you behind the scenes of the US Centre and present a full lecture from University of Texas Austin Professor Jeffrey Tulis. Jeffrey examined Obama's presidency and asked whether or not Barack Obama has been a transformative president. This event was held in collaboration with the Dahrendorf Forum.

Aug 1, 2016 • 57min
Extra Innings: Everything you wanted to know about Brexit but were too afraid to ask
Contributor(s): Sara Hagemann, Tim Oliver, and Tony Travers | It's clear that the UK has voted to leave the EU, but there are still many questions surrounding Brexit. We want to provide some answers for our listeners on the other side of the pond to all of the questions Americans have about Brexit but were afraid to ask. We’ve gathered some of the LSE’s top experts on the EU, the UK, and Brexit to hear about what’s going on here, the repercussions for the rest of the world, and what the US can learn from this historic vote.

Jul 25, 2016 • 40min
Episode 7: Federalism, the longest lasting debate in America
Contributor(s): Waltraud Schelkle, Sierra Smucker, Chris Parkes, Chris Gilson, Denise Baron | This episode, we dive into one of the oldest and longest lasting debates in American history: federalism vs. states' rights. Even though it's centuries old, this issue keeps popping up, and we walk you through the implications of this debate.

Jul 1, 2016 • 23min
Extra Innings: Gun Violence and Politics in the US
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Sierra Smucker, Sasha Milonova, Denise Baron | Following the recent horrific shooting in Orlando, Florida, we gathered three Americans to discuss their research and direct experience with the politics of gun violence. We contextualise the recent news with a statistical and research frame and then took a specific look at the gun safety policy and political fights that took place in Colorado in 2013.

Jun 23, 2016 • 46min
Episode 6: Place Matters
Contributor(s): Jonathan Rodden and Margaret Weir | Does where we reside influence how we vote or even how much it costs to live ? Or is it the other way around? This episode, we take a look at the role geography plays in politics, inequality, and more.

Jun 1, 2016 • 52min
Episode 5: What's a political poll got to do with it?
Contributor(s): Daniel Laurison, Larry Jacobs, Jamie Weinstein, Lauren Maffeo | This episode, we take a look at what political polling can tell us about democratic participation, public policy, and political priorities.

May 18, 2016 • 28min
Extra Innings: Monetary policy and more with Jeff Frieden
Contributor(s): Jeff Frieden, Professor of Government at Harvard University
Chris Gilson, host | We featured Jeff Frieden in our episode on the Almighty Dollar, but our interview with him covered so much more. So we decided to share the full interview on the past, present, and future of monetary policy.


