LSE: The Ballpark

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)

Contributor(s): Marisa Lago | In this Extra Inning of the Ballpark, we are joined by Marisa Lago, the Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission. Alongside LSE Cities and LSE’s School of Public Policy, the LSE US Centre hosted Marisa Lago on the 5th of November 2019 for the event, Planning New York. Chris Gilson of the LSE US Centre spoke with Marisa Lago ahead of the event about what it’s like to work across three New York mayoral administrations, the big planning issues facing the city right now, and how city planning can help address inequality. They also spoke about the big challenges that New York City will be facing in the next few decades and how it plans to cope with climate change, increased automation, and an aging population. Marisa Lago is the Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission.

Contributor(s): Professor Theda Skocpol | In this Extra Inning of the Ballpark, your host Chris Gilson of the LSE US Centre talks with Professor Theda Skocpol about her recent research on the Republican Party. Professor Skocpol outlines the shift that the Republican Party has undergone in the last decade, driven by two distinct currents of right-wing extremism: ethno-nationalist resentment, and ultra-free-market fundamentalism. They also discuss her upcoming book, which traces the growing grassroots movement of suburban white women in left-wing politics. 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): Chris Murphy, US Senator for Connecticut | On March 20th 2019, the US Centre hosted Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut for his talk, "The Dangers of Brexit for the Special Relationship". Senator Murphy, who is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, spoke on the future of the US’s relationship with one of its oldest allies in the context of the UK's looming exit from the European Union. Senator Chris Murphy, is United States Senator for Connecticut. A member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Murphy has been an outspoken proponent of diplomacy, international human rights and the need for clear-eyed, forward-thinking American leadership abroad. He is currently the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, and previously served as Chairman of the European Subcommittee.

Contributor(s): Ashley Koning, Joe Miller, Scott Thompson | For this episode of the Ballpark, we head to New Jersey and take an in-depth look at the state’s recent politics and controversial former Governor, Chris Christie. We also discuss the state of policing in New Jersey with the chief of the Camden County Police Department, and we find out just why New Jersey is known as the Garden State.