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All Episodes

The Science of Politics — 221 episodes

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Title
1

Can we improve trust in elections if the losers don’t concede?

2

Why rural areas vote Republican despite worse health outcomes

3

Can corporate scandals reinvigorate democracy?

4

The intellectual support for Trumpism

5

What Predicts Midterm Election Results?

6

Legislators are raising money instead of making policy

7

Can AI ‘vibe research’ replace social science?

8

How authoritarian parenting attitudes explain our political divides

9

Which groups win policy under each party?

10

How media incentives stoked the culture war

11

Who now directs spending: Congress or the president?

12

The backlash presidency

13

How the money chase governs our elections

14

The Supreme Court is enabling Trump’s executive power

15

The future of the democratic party

16

Will partisan redistricting tip Congress?

17

The fall of an independent Fed

18

Making AI policy: Are we falling behind or rushing in?

19

Is democracy failing education?

20

Reconciliation and rescission

21

How the president gained war powers

22

If we don’t like polarizing politicians, why do we get them?

23

Building a science of political progress

24

The backstory for presidential power grabs

25

Can liberals stop Trump in the courts?

26

How the 1st term trade war hurt Trump

27

Is Trump redirecting or deconstructing the administrative state?

28

Are the parties too focused on policy programs?

29

How policymakers and experts failed the COVID test

30

Can judicial review stop a lawless executive?

31

Why some Latinos support the Trump immigration agenda

32

Counterproductive interest group polarization

33

How racial realignment ignited the culture war

34

Threats to democracy in the 2nd Trump administration

35

Why Asian Americans did not swing to Harris

36

What the Trump nominations and transition foretell

37

Will Trump have unilateral power or just pretend he does?

38

Class, race, gender, and the 2024 election

39

Can we believe the polls?

40

Are Black voters moving to Trump?

41

How 'Woke' Are We?

42

How the campaigns battle for electoral college victory

43

How the diploma divide transformed American politics

44

Are American parties reviving or hollow?

45

What research on Black women candidates means for Kamala Harris

46

Can American identity reduce partisan animosity?

47

How think tanks drive polarization and policy

48

White racial sympathy

49

The impact of policy misinformation

50

When third parties matter

51

Why foreign policy is still bipartisan

52

Does the Biden economy have bad election timing or an unfair fed?

53

The Politics of Our Jobs

54

How will TikTok change politics?

55

How race makes us less punitive on opioid policy

56

Do Voters Dislike Old Candidates

57

Lessons from the COVID-era Welfare Expansion

58

How Bureaucrats Deal with Political Chaos Above

59

Elites Misperceive the Public

60

The Deterioration of Congress

61

The Two Sides of Immigration Backlash

62

Previewing 2024: How Voters Judge Presidents

63

Do presidents have the power to act alone?

64

Why presidents still spend their time raising money.

65

The decline of union Democrats

66

What explains the diploma divide?

67

Can state politicians be held accountable to the public?

68

Partisan election administrators don't tip the scales

69

Do the media drive presidential primaries?

70

Are claims that social media polarizes us overblown?

71

Don't expect extreme weather to spur climate policy change

72

Has American business turned left?

73

Will Supreme Court Opinions Provoke Public Backlash?

74

Are We Overproducing Elites and Instability?

75

How Parties Recruit and Limit Candidates

76

The causes and effects of budgeting under threat

77

How administrative burdens undermine public programs

78

How to reduce partisan animosity

79

Why Scandals Don’t Add Up to Damage Candidates

80

How Black voters choose candidates

81

How debates over diversity and equity came to dominate education politics

82

Racial minorities can win elections. Here's what's holding them back.

83

Changing how we elect presidents

84

How Congress communicates

85

Do moderate voters matter?

86

Judging Biden and Congress

87

The influence of Twitter on journalism and politics

88

How party leaders change Congress

89

How Early Voting is Changing American Elections

90

Does the 2022 election show how Democratic campaigns win?

91

How we connect our political beliefs

92

When partisanship forms our identity

93

How Misperceptions and Online Norms Drive “Cancel Culture”

94

When Information About Candidates Persuades Voters

95

When Public Opinion Goes to the Ballot Box

96

How primary elections enable polarized amateurs

97

Is democracy declining in the American states?

98

The past and future of polling

99

Why the baby boomers rule American politics

100

Did the Birchers win after all?

101

How much are polls misrepresenting Americans?

102

Abortion politics take center stage

103

Women in (and out of) Politics

104

Did economists move the Democrats to the right?

105

Descriptive Representation in Supreme Court Nominations

106

Putin’s War and Personalist Authoritarianism

107

Policymakers Follow Informed Expertise

108

How Does the Public Move Right When Policy Moves Left?

109

Does the Public Respond to Threats to Democracy?

110

U.S. Politics: The Hyper-Involved vs. The Disengaged

111

U.S. Democratic Decline in Comparative Perspective

112

Inflation Hurts Presidents, Especially Gas Prices—And It’s Not the Media’s Fault

113

How Politics Changes Our Racial Views and Identities

114

Childcare and Pre-K Expansion: Consensus or Polarization?

115

What Makes a Skilled and Conscious Mayor?

116

Can Democrats Design Social Programs that Survive?

117

The Future of the Biden Agenda in Congress

118

How the Left and Right Undermined Trust in Government

119

How the Media Economy Drives Political News

120

Why Lawyers Rule American Politics

121

The Growing Influence of the Non-Religious

122

The Role of Political Science in American Public Life

123

Why Rising Inequality Doesn't Stimulate Political Action

124

Reducing Polarization with Shared Values

125

Do Congressional Committees Still Make Policy?

126

Can TV News Keep Politics Local?

127

Is Demographic and Geographic Polarization Overstated?

128

How Voters Judge Congress

129

Conspiracy Beliefs are Not Increasing or Exclusive to the Right

130

The Resilience of the Filibuster and its Myths

131

Values and Racism in American Immigration Views

132

How Media Coverage of Congress Limits Policymaking

133

How Political Values and Social Influence Drive Polarization

134

When Partisans Endorse Violence

135

Right-Wing Extremism and the Capitol Insurrection

136

The Politics of School from Home

137

How Much Did Trump Undermine U.S. Democracy?

138

How Presidential Appointments Reveal Policy Goals and Elite Interests

139

Why Latinos Moved Toward Trump (and Why Most Are Still Democrats)

140

Compromise Still Works in Congress and with Voters

141

Interpreting the Early Results of the 2020 Election with G. Elliott Morris

142

How Court Nominations Polarize Interest Groups and Voters

143

Why Do Americans Accept Democratic Backsliding?

144

Racial Protest, Violence, and Backlash

145

How Rich White Residents and Interest Groups Rule Local Politics

146

How the Plutocrats Win from the Populist Right

147

The Roots of the Parties' Racial Switch

148

How Donor Opinion Distorts American Parties

149

How the Supreme Court Shapes (and is Shaped by) its Public Support

150

How Overpoliced Communities Become Politically Engaged

151

How Republicans Lost 2018 by Being Too Close to Trump

152

How Protests Change Parties and Elections

153

How Much Do Vice Presidential Running Mates Matter?

154

What Became of Never Trump Republicans?

155

Republicans Successfully Politicized Ebola. Can They Do it Again in 2020?

156

Why are Black Conservatives Still Democrats?

157

How Anxiety and Crises Change Our Political Behavior

158

How News and Social Media Shape American Voters

159

How Record Television Advertising Is Shaping American Elections

160

How to Build Institutions, Not Political Hobbies

161

Can America Become a Multiparty System?

162

Did Americans' Racial Attitudes Elect Trump?

163

Women's Voting Over 100 Years

164

Will Trump Anger Motivate Black Turnout?

165

Do Republicans and Democrats Get Different Results?

166

Do Early Primary States Still Pick Presidents?

167

The Electoral Effects of Impeachment

168

How Trump Politicized Refugees

169

How Bureaucrats Make Good Policy

170

Have Conservatives Transformed the States?

171

The American Public's Growing Ideological Sophistication

172

Why Americans Dislike Government, Even When It Works

173

How Presidential Debates Influence Voters

174

Ep 48: Will a Good Economy Save Trump?

175

Explaining the Urban-Rural Political Divide

176

Can Diversity and Liberalism Rise Together?

177

Do the Parties Favor White Male Candidates?

178

If Moderates are Electable, Why are Ideologues Winning?

179

How Medicaid and Obamacare Drive Voting

180

How Not-In-My-Backyard Politics Keep Housing Costs High

181

When and Where Can Climate Policy Succeed?

182

Higher Education: An Engine of Social Mobility...or a Driver of Inequality?

183

Episode 39: Is White Identity Causing an Immigration Backlash?

184

How Philanthropy Diverts Social Movements

185

Why Governments Give Away Economic Incentives That Increase Inequality

186

How Online Media Polarizes and Encourages Voters

187

Does Diversity in Congress Translate into Representation?

188

Did Chinese Trade Competition Increase Nativism and Elect Trump?

189

Are Divided Governments the Cause of Delays and Shutdowns?

190

How Public Policy Intentionally Segregated American Homeowners

191

Does Anyone Speak for the Poor in Congress?

192

Interpreting the 2018 Election

193

How Americans' Politics Drives Their Religious Views

194

How TV and Service Projects Impact What Americans Believe About Inequality

195

How the Democrat and Republican Parties Are Changing

196

How Marriage and Inequality Reinforce Political Polarization

197

How the Tea Party Paved the Way for Donald Trump

198

How Citizens Match their Issue Positions to Candidates and Causes

199

How Campaign Money Has Changed Elections After Citizens United

200

How the Federalist Society Changed the Supreme Court Vetting Process

201

Does Nationalized Media Mean the Death of Local Politics?

202

Did Facebook Really Polarize and Misinform the 2016 Electorate?

203

Who’s More Afraid of Democracy: the Center or the Right?

204

When Liberals and Conservatives Use Genetics to Explain Human Difference

205

How Labor Unions Impact Inequality - And Whether That Justifies the Legacy Costs They Leave

206

Anti-Immigration Politics: Is California's Past the Republicans' Future?

207

How Debt Finance Leads to War and Defense Spending

208

How Racial Stereotypes Impacted Voting for Obama and Trump

209

Are Red and Blue States Making Red and Blue Policies?

210

Are Americans Becoming Tribal, with Identity Politics Trumping All?

211

Do Americans Implicitly Trust Government, Despite our Public Anger?

212

The Resistance: Who is Protesting Trump and Are They Changing Public Views?

213

Congressional Primaries: How the Parties Fight Insurgents

214

Does the Tax Law Signal Change in How Parties use Tax Credits and Deductions?

215

Rules Around the Senate Filibuster

216

Multi-Racial Electoral Coalitions for Minority Candidates

217

How Gun Politics and Gun Policy Polarize America

218

How the House Freedom Caucus Gains Power in Congress

219

Polarized Opinion on Climate Change and Messages that Move Conservatives

220

Why Republican Women Don't Run for Office and Why It Matters for the Gender Gap in Voting

221

How Fox News Channel Spreads its Message and Persuades Viewers