Why does democracy often fall apart?, with Thomas Carothers
An interview with Thomas Carothers, an expert on foreign policy, democracy, and political polarization. He is co-author/editor of the book Democracies Divided, a summary of the national situations of ...
13 Nov 202054min
Skepticism that social media plays a big role in polarization, with Levi Boxell
A talk with Levi Boxell about his research showing that older Americans, who use social media less than younger Americans, have become more antagonistic towards the opposite political party than young...
11 Nov 202040min
Are some political party stances due to random chance?, with Michael Macy
I talk with Michael Macy, whose research on “opinion cascades” show how some political group stances on issues can be rather arbitrary and due to initial conditions. Similar to how in many complex sys...
6 Nov 202048min
Is Facebook amplifying polarization and contempt?, with Jaime Settle
A talk with Dr. Jaime Settle, a political scientist who has studied how social media may be increasing political animosity and division. She's the author of "Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes Amer...
22 Okt 202045min
How extreme polarization plays out, here and in other countries, with Jennifer McCoy
Jennifer Lynn McCoy, a specialist on political polarization, talks about polarization in the U.S. and how our problem compares to other polarized countries. Topics discussed include: the causes and dy...
9 Okt 20201h 18min
Does militant protesting and rioting make people vote more conservatively?
An interview with Omar Wasow, author of a paper titled "Agenda Seeding: How 1960s Black Protests Moved Elites, Public Opinion and Voting," in which he found that civil rights-related violent activity ...
17 Sep 20201h 13min
Why they riot: A Portland-based antifa explains their militant actions
An interview with a self-described anti-fascist who has taken part in the more militant and unlawful aspects of the BLM-focused protests and riots that have occurred in Portland, Oregon in the wake of...
2 Sep 20201h 47min
Was the Cambridge Analytica scandal mostly bullshit?
You've probably heard about how Cambridge Analytica used access to the Facebook data of millions of U.S. citizens and advanced digital advertising wizardry to essentially “hack” Americans’ minds and d...
22 Aug 20201h 23min
