
LSE: The Ballpark
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.
Latest episodes

Feb 19, 2024 • 46min
LSE: The Ballpark | Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy with Dr Jordan Tama
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Dr. Jordan Tama | In January 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Jordan Tama, Provost Associate Professor at American University’s School of International Service about his new book, Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy: Cooperation in a Polarized Age. They also discussed how party control in the US government can influence foreign policy, the changing coalitions of the Democratic and Republican parties and why some foreign policy issues have bipartisan consensus while others don’t.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.
Contributor: Dr Jordan Tama (American University)

Feb 5, 2024 • 39min
LSE: The Ballpark | The Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery
Contributor(s): Dr. Coleman Bazelon, Rohan Janakiraman, Mary Olson, Chris Gilson | In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to the authors of the Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, which estimates reparations for the total harm from enslavement, including to those who were enslaved and to their descendants. Dr. Coleman Bazelon, Rohan Janakiraman, and Mary Olson discuss their report and how it can inform calls for reparations for enslavement.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

Jan 22, 2024 • 28min
LSE: The Ballpark | The Future of US-China Competition with Dr Ashley Tellis
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Dr. Ashley Tellis | In January 2024, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Ashley Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about how the US has engaged with China economically in recent decades. They discuss how the US’ strategy towards China has shifted across recent presidencies, the effectiveness of ‘friendshoring’ policies, and decoupling and de-risking relationships between China, the United States, and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

Jan 17, 2024 • 42min
LSE: The Ballpark | Why China Hawks are Wrong with Professor William Wohlforth
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson, Professor William Wohlforth | In 2023, the Phelan US Centre spoke to spoke to William C. Wohlforth, Daniel Webster Professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College, about the United States’ role as the world’s unipolar power. They also discuss the rise of China and what this means for the international role of the United States, and his upcoming book, with Jill Kastner, on great power subversion.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.
Contributor: Professor William C. Wohlforth (Dartmouth College)

Jan 4, 2024 • 44min
LSE: The Ballpark | Rust Belt Union Blues with Professor Theda Skocpol
Contributor(s): Professor Theda Skocpol, Chris Gilson | In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University about her new book, with Lainey Newman, Rust Belt Union Blues Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party. Using Western Pennsylvania as a case study, their book examines the decline of labor unions and the shift of working-class voters away from the Democratic Party. We also discussed the appeal of Donald Trump to blue-collar voters and how unions might regain their previous role in American community life.
This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.

Dec 11, 2023 • 39min
LSE: The Ballpark | Master’s students essay competition on climate change
Contributor(s): Chris Gilson | In 2023, the Phelan US Centre ran an essay competition for master’s students with the prompt, “What responsibility does the US have to the rest of the world on climate change?”. In this Extra Inning, we speak to the author of the winning essay, Oscar Parry, and the runners-up, Jibran Raja and Alia Yusuf. We discuss the essay competition, what it’s like for students to engage with a wider audience, and the opportunity they had to present their essays in the UK parliament to MPs and the British-American Parliamentary Group.

Nov 29, 2023 • 41min
LSE: The Ballpark | Religion over Race with Dr Amanda Sahar d’Urso and Dr Tabitha Bonilla
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Amanda Sahar d’Urso, Tabitha Bonilla | In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Amanda Sahar d’Urso, Assistant Professor at Georgetown University and Dr Tabitha Bonilla, Associate Professor at Northwestern University, about their recent article Religion or Race? Using Intersectionality to Examine the Role of Muslim Identity and Evaluations on Belonging in the United States in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, which they also wrote about on the US Centre’s USAPP blog. They discuss the role of religious and racial identity in America today.
This Extra Inning was produced by Mohid Malik and Anderson Tan.
Contributors: Amanda Sahar d’Urso (Georgetown University) and Tabitha Bonilla (Northwestern University)

Nov 13, 2023 • 54min
LSE: The Ballpark | In Quest of a Shared Planet with Dr Naveeda Khan
Contributor(s): Mohid Rehman Malik, Dr Naveeda Khan | In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Naveeda Khan, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University about her new book, In Quest of a Shared Planet: Negotiating Climate from the Global South, the role that UN Climate Change Conferences (or “COPs”) play in the global climate framework, and the relationship between the global north and south in taking responsibility for and mitigating the effects of climate change.
This Extra Inning was produced by Mohid Malik and Anderson Tan.
Contributors: Naveeda Khan (Johns Hopkins University)

Oct 27, 2023 • 1h 45min
The Future of Capitalism Conference: Panel 2 on Populism and Democratic Capitalism
Contributor(s): Professor Ian Shapiro, Professor Luigi Zingales, Professor Sheri Berman | On the 20th and 21st of October 2023, the London School of Economics' Phelan United States Centre hosted the Future of Capitalism in an Age of Insecurity Conference. Bringing together leading scholars and analysts, the conference examined the effects of geopolitical turmoil, democratic discontent, anti-globalism, and technological change on capitalist economies.
On Saturday the 21st of October, the second conference panel of the day was Populism and Democratic Capitalism. This panel featured Professor Sheri Berman of Barnard College, Professor Ian Shapiro of Yale University, and Professor Luigi Zingales of the University of Chicago. The panel was chaired by Professor Stephanie Rickard of the LSE Department of Government.
Contributors: Professor Sheri Berman (Barnard College), Professor Ian Shapiro (Yale University), Professor Luigi Zingales (University of Chicago), Professor Stephanie Rickard (LSE)

Oct 27, 2023 • 1h 32min
The Future of Capitalism Conference: Keynote Address: Rethinking Market Capitalism: Innovation and the Path to Shared Prosperity with Professor Daron Acemoglu
Contributor(s): Professor Daron Acemoglu | On the 20th and 21st of October 2023, the London School of Economics' Phelan United States Centre hosted the Future of Capitalism in an Age of Insecurity Conference. Bringing together leading scholars and analysts, the conference examined the effects of geopolitical turmoil, democratic discontent, anti-globalism, and technological change on capitalist economies.
On Friday the 20th of October, the conference keynote event, Rethinking Market Capitalism: Innovation and the Path to Shared Prosperity, was given by Professor Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor at MIT. The keynote event was chaired by Professor Peter Trubowitz, Centre Director of the LSE Phelan United States Centre and Associate Fellow at Chatham House.
Contributors: Professor Daron Acemoglu (MIT), Professor Peter Trubowitz (LSE)