Circumscription

Rose McDermott is the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor of International Relations at The Watson School of International and Public Affairs, at Brown University. She’s also a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. McDermott studies a variety of topics, including international relations, nuclear strategy, gender, the role of emotion in decision-making, and genetic contributions to political attitudes and behaviors. We discuss a range of topics, including (a) whether her work is more psychological political science or political psychology, (b) what her work has to say about the Russia-Ukraine war, and (c) what smell has to do with politics. OTHER LINKS --Volodymr Zelenskyy's 2025 address to the UN General Assemply (transcript and video) --"Assortative mating on ideology could operate through olfactory cues," (2014) by Rose McDermott, Dustin Tingley, & Peter K. Hatemi, in the American Journal of Political Science --Wikipedia entry on Amos Tversky --Wikipedia entry on Robert Jervis --Richard Wrangham's Harvard online bio --"Drivers of female power in bonobos," (2025) by Martin Surbeck et al., in Communications Biology --Wikipedia entry on the "tradwife" MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Afrikaans," by C. Scott --"Belview," by C. Scott --"Determinate," by C. ScottSpecial Guest: Rose McDermott.

Guy-Uriel Charles is the Charles J. Ogletree Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he also directs the Charles Hamilton Institute for Race and Justice. Along with a coauthor, he’s also working on a book that focuses on the past and future of voting rights. He was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. Rick Hasen is Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, and he also directs the Safeguarding Democracy Project. He is an expert on election law, and is the author of A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy. We discuss Section 2 of the Voting Rights, and the aftermath of the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision. OTHER LINKS --"House Majority Leader William Lamberth cannot answer several questions from Rep. Jesse Chism (D)," from YouTube --Louisiana v. Callais (et al.), Supreme Court opinion, decided April 29, 2026 --"Pathological racism, chronic racism, & targeted universalism," (2021) by Guy-Uriel Charles and Luis Fuentes Rohwer, in the California Law Review --Social dominance, (1999) by Jim Sidanius & Felicia Pratto, Cambridge University Press --Wikipedia summary of Rucho v. Common Cause --"Callais confusion, power-sharing, and the inevitability of proportional representation," (2026) by Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Michael Latner & Carlos Algara, in the Yale Law Journal --Wikipedia summary of proportional representation --A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy, (2024) by Rick Hasen, Princeton University Press --the Safeguarding Democracy Project website MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Monsters of the past," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Funky end," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Caress me to sleep," by ruiSpecial Guests: Guy-Uriel Charles and Rick Hasen.

Brandon Yoder is Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University. He holds a Ph.D. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He studies a range of topics, including foreign policy, international security, US-China relations, and signaling and credibility. He’s the author of a 2025 article in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, titled, “Will there be war over Taiwan? Structural stability and policy pitfalls in cross-Strait deterrence.” Yoder and I discuss stability in the relations between China and Taiwan. OTHER LINKS --"Wen and Bush in Oval office," from YouTube --"Obama tells Trump to 'think it through' on China," from YouTube --"Biden reaffirms 'One China Policy' after talks with Xi | ANC," from YouTube --"Will there be war over Taiwan? Structural stability and policy pitfalls in cross-Strait deterrence," (2025) by Yoder, in The British Journal of Politics and International Relations --"The Taiwan tightrope: Deterrence Is a balancing act, and America is starting to slip," (2025) by Mastro and Yoder, in Foreign Affairs --"Iran war complicates contingency plans to defend Taiwan, some U.S. officials say," (2025, April 23) by Ward et al., in The Wall Street Journal MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Precisamos de um plano," by rui --"Post Drone," by Uuriter --"Monsters of the past," by Pawel FeszczukSpecial Guest: Brandon Yoder.