Scholars Strategy Network's No Jargon

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.

The 2020 election was already shaping up to be one of the most consequential and contentious in recent memory, and then came the COVID-19 pandemic. While much about the future is uncertain, we know this: the election cannot be run as originally planned. Professor Amel Ahmed lays out what policymakers can do to ensure that all voters can exercise their right to vote, what research can tell us about these various proposals, and how we can ensure that the public knows everything they need to vote before November comes. For more on this topic: Check out Baker's policy recommendation, Ensure Safe Elections for All Read her SSN brief, When Election Rules Undermine Democracy

Even at the best of times, accessing abortion care in the United States can be an arduous process. During a pandemic, the challenges only mount further. Clinics are closed down and, in some places, politicians have begun using COVID-19 to block abortion, calling it "nonessential" healthcare. Professor Carrie Baker explores whether telemedicine abortion could provide a solution, what barriers exist to implementing it, and what this all means for the future of reproductive rights in the United States. For more on this topic: Check out Baker's policy recommendation, Increase Access to Abortion Pills via Telemedicine Read her column in Ms. Magazine

In cities and towns across the country, protests have erupted following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and others. While many of the protests remained peaceful, others turned violent, with buildings being destroyed or looted and clashes breaking out between the police and protestors. In this archive episode, Professor Ashley Howard explains the history behind these protests, why protests sometimes turn violent, how governments often respond, and what the role of social media is in all of this. For more on this topic: Check out Howard's interview in The Chronicle of Higher Education and her multiple pieces in The Black Scholar. Read her SSN brief, How U.S. Urban Unrest in the 1960s Can Help Make Sense of Ferguson, Missouri, and Other Recent Protests This episode originally aired on February 14, 2017.

Being a college student can be stressful enough, but when you're an undocumented immigrant, there are many additional hurdles in your way. Dr. Sayil Camacho unpacks what it's like to be an undocumented student at our nation's colleges and universities, what more university administrators and faculty can do to support them, and how DACA and the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the program factor into it all. For More on This Topic: Read the report Camacho worked on with Roberto Gonzales, Kristina Brant, and Carlos Aguilar, "The Long-Term Impact of DACA: Forging Futures Despite DACA's Uncertainty" Check out the webinar Camacho put together on Scholar Allyship with and for the Undocumented Community Find the essay by Itziri Gonzalez-Barcenas mentioned in the episode, Growing Up Undocumented