Scholars Strategy Network's No Jargon

The 2020 presidential election brought disinformation – defined as false information with the intent to mislead – to the forefront of public conversation. Subsequent events, such as the January 6 riot, reveal the serious danger disinformation can pose to democracy. To learn more about the far-reaching consequences of digital disinformation, we spoke with nationally recognized election law expert Rick Hasen, a Professor of Law and Political Science at University of California, Irvine. During the conversation, Professor Hasen shared tangible solutions to combat the rise of disinformation campaigns during US elections.  For more of Rick Hasen’s work: Check out his new book coming out on March 8th Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics – and How to Cure It Read another one of his recent books on this topic  Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy

The postpartum experience can be challenging enough for American mothers in normal times, but add a pandemic to the equation, and you may be left with a postpartum nightmare. To better understand what the birthing and postpartum experiences looked like in the early days of the pandemic and how the current Omicron surge mirrors those early days for new mothers, we spoke with Dr. Tova Walsh, an Assistant Professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Walsh has spent the last two years interviewing women who gave birth in the earliest days of the pandemic - an experience she shares with her research subjects. She explained the challenges these new mothers faced and laid out policy recommendations to improve postpartum care going forward.   For more of Tova Walsh’s work: Check out her recent opinion article published in NBC News: As COVID surges, health officials must remember that in-person postpartum care is essential  Listen to her interviews about the experience of early parenting during the pandemic, on Wisconsin Public Radio and Slate’s parenting podcast.

Amidst the dizzying onslaught of crises facing the nation – and the world – over the past several years, we are starting the new year by reflecting on how Americans react and respond to traumatic events, both as individuals and as groups. How do frightening circumstances facing our communities impact us psychologically? Why does so much disparity exist in the ways we process the same harmful events? How can we connect and find unity amidst all the chaos? These are some of the questions we explored with Dr. Maurice Stevens, a professor of comparative studies whose critical trauma theory research focuses on ways individuals and communities react to overwhelming events.   For more of Maurice Stevens’s work: Check out their SSN brief on this topic: Getting Beyond Trauma. Read a similar piece they published in Oppositional Conversations titled Contesting Catastrophes.

Tribal communities are entitled to federally funded healthcare under treaties signed with the U.S. government. And yet, Native Americans often struggle to access  quality healthcare, creating health disparities that take a tremendous toll on their lives . In this episode, research scientist Dr. Emily Haozous explains what those health disparities have looked like over the past few decades, where they stand now, and what needs to be done to better meet the health needs of tribal communities.   For more of Emily Haozous’s work: Read her SSN brief on this topic: Challenges on the Horizon for Native American Sovereignty and Healthcare   Learn about some of her past research on the health needs of the Native population in Santa Fe, in The Santa Fe Reporter.

The decades-long childcare crisis in America -- worsened by the pandemic -- continues to deepen: parents all across the nation have been facing immense challenges in finding quality, affordable childcare, all while childcare providers continue to deal with poor working conditions and cripplingly low wages. This month, we spoke to labor economist Mary King, who focuses on the public provision of high quality preschool and childcare. During our conversation, Dr. King offered a detailed examination of the crisis and explained the many advantages of creating a universal preschool program.     For more of Mary King’s work: Check out her article in The American Prospect: On Universal Preschool, Multnomah County, Oregon, Moves to the Head of the Class Read her three SSN briefs on this topic: New Preschool Program in Oregon is a Model for the Nation -- But Challenges Remain, The Labor Force for Needed Investments in Public Childcare Already Exists, and To Address the Childcare Crisis, Talk to Low Wage Moms

With a near-total abortion ban that was recently passed in Texas and Mississippi’s request to overturn Roe v. Wade making its way to the Supreme Court, many are asking what the uptick in abortion restrictions in the US will mean for reproductive health and justice. On this latest episode, Professor Amanda Stevenson draws on her new research to show how abortion bans lead to an increase in pregnancy-related deaths and steps policymakers can take to expand greater access to reproductive health services.  For more on Amanda Stevenson’s research and this topic: Check out her latest opinion piece published in Salon: Pregnancy is Much More Dangerous Than Abortion -- Meaning Abortion Bans Like Texas’ Will Be More Deadly Take a look at the CDC”s Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System page that provides stats on pregnancy-related deaths.

Join us for the official relaunch of the No Jargon Podcast! For our first episode since our eleven-month hiatus, we take on Big Tech and government. Tech giants like Amazon and Facebook have been in the news a lot lately, especially after the House Judiciary Committee approved several antitrust bills this past summer that aim to curb the power of the tech industry. We decided to have a conversation with Margaret O’Mara, a renowned historian who has spent most of her career examining the love/hate relationship between Big Tech and government. Dr. O’Mara shares colorful stories about Silicon Valley – from its early beginnings to the days of the internet boom – all while explaining the Valley’s ever-present intersection with US politics. She takes us on a journey through the ups and downs of the intensely eventful relationship between the two.   For more of Margaret O’Mara’s work: Read her most recent book The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. Check out her opinion pieces about the tech industry in The New York Times.

The 2020 election is quickly approaching and there is no lack of challenges for election administrators to overcome. From a pandemic that’s made finding poll workers difficult, to a massive influx of vote-by-mail ballots that are likely to delay results, to perhaps the biggest challenge of them all: the false rhetoric coming from the White House around the validity of the entire process. In this special episode, Professor Thessalia Merivaki lays out how election administrators are addressing these challenges, what we can expect come November, and what types of voter suppression to watch out for. For more on this topic: Read Merivaki’s piece in The Conversation, Poll workers on Election Day will be younger – and probably more diverse – due to COVID-19 Read her piece in Forbes, Building Civic Engagement Capacity From The Ground: Voter Registration On College Campuses Check out her SSN brief, What Provisional Ballots Tell Us about the Remaining Challenges in America's Local Voting Systems Find her new book, The Administration of Voter Registration: Expanding the Electorate Across and Within the States    

No Jargon is back for a special episode featuring Dr. Emma Sandoe. Medicaid has become the largest source of health care coverage in America. Just this year, even more states expanded their Medicaid programs, meaning that this trend is only going to continue. And yet, many people still don’t know much about this program. Dr. Sandoe explains how we got here, what lessons we can learn from the history of this program, and what the future of Medicaid looks like amidst the coronavirus pandemic. For more on this topic: Check out Sandoe’s article mentioned in the interview, How Foundational Moments In Medicaid’s History Reinforced Rather Than Eliminated Racial Health Disparities Read her other public writing at the Health Affairs Blog

Since the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police at the end of May, the United States has been rocked by weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality, and it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere anytime soon. Professor Vesla Weaver dives into how this movement is different from protests of the past, what brought us to the current situation, how our nation’s police system has affected Black and Brown people’s lives and understanding of our democracy, and what to make of calls for changes, such as abolishing the police. For more on this topic: Check out the Portals Policing Project and the research coming out of it Read Weaver’s pieces in The Washington Post and Vox Find her two SSN briefs, How Harsh Policing and Mass Imprisonment Create Second-Class American Citizens and How Mass Imprisonment Burdens the United States with a Distrustful Civic Underclass Note: This episode includes some explicit language.