The Andrea Mitchell Center Podcast

Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE. In this episode of the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy podcast, host JOSHUA ROSE speaks with Penn Law and History Professor SERENA MAYERI about her book Marital Privilege: Marriage, Inequality, and the Transformation of American Law. Mayeri unpacks how Supreme Court decision-making around family and privacy can defy ideological expectations, why challenges to marriage's legal primacy were often fragmented rather than movement-coordinated, and how today's "traditional family values" revival intersects with longstanding conservative legal projects and post-Dobbs uncertainty.

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Over the past decade we have witnessed an unfolding global crisis of democracy, in its liberal-democratic, representative, capitalist form. As elite power has continued to grow without constraints, classical democratic theory has struggled to keep pace with these momentous changes. In this episode, political theorist SAMUEL BAGG sat down with RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN to discuss how elites gain systematic advantages in modern society, and why resisting this state capture is crucial for thinking about the future of democracy.

Episode recorded in February 2025.

Interviewer: MATT BERKMAN. Journalist and anti-corruption investigator JOSH STANFIELD joins host MATT BERKMAN to unpack Virginia's feverish election season, discussing campaign cash, a runaway data-center boom, and ethics enforcement. Drawing on his FOIA work, Stanfield details lawsuits over nondisclosure by statewide officials, ICE activity, and government surveillance, reflecting on what all of this means for democracy in Virginia today.

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Philosopher SCOTT SEHON joins the podcast to discuss his book Socialism: A Logical Introduction (Oxford University Press). Sehon presents a "master argument" for socialism and defines socialism along two axes: collective economic control and egalitarian distribution. He addresses common critiques of socialism based on rights, the sanctity of private property, and concerns about exploitation. The discussion spans Hayek and Friedman, climate change as the clearest market failure, and how logical reasoning can cut through today's polarized debates.

*This episode was recorded last year.

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. Anti-vaccine rhetoric is on the rise in the U.S., encouraged now by MAHA-dominated health policies emerging from Washington. It is tempting to paint this as a top-down process, but neonatologist and immunologist BENJAMIN A. FENSTERHEIM argues that the problem runs deeper and is rooted in the institutional arrangements of our healthcare system. In his conversation with historian Matthew Roth, he describes his work caring for newborns, the increasing pushback by parents against routine preventive measures, and his reflections on how the relationship between doctors and patients must fundamentally change to ensure that the best medical...

Interviewer: CARRIE WELSH. Why does the American criminal justice system produce unreliable knowers? In this episode, host CARRIE WELSH is joined by philosopher and prison education director JOHN FANTUZZO and re-entry consultant and executive director RAYMOND POWELL for a conversation about the epistemological foundations of mass incarceration. Drawing on a forthcoming paper and lived experience, they unpack how the prison's economy of credibility systematically undermines the efforts and perspectives of incarcerated people and extends punishment far beyond prison walls. Their conversation ends with a call to center the knowledge of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in efforts to reduce society...

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. In their 2024 book Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos, Professors RUSSELL MUIRHEAD (Dartmouth) and NANCY ROSENBLUM (Harvard) analyze the emergence of "ungoverning," a political trend aimed at limiting or dismantling key functions of the administrative state. They situate this development within broader shifts in American politics, tracing its roots to earlier debates over the role of government and examining how it has been intensified in the Trump era.  In conversation with historian Matthew Roth, they reflect on what makes this movement distinctive, the challenges it poses for democratic governance, and the...

Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE.  Historian and Penn Professor SOPHIA ROSENFELD discusses her new book The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, exploring how choice became central to modern ideas of freedom — and why our obsession with it can leave us anxious, overwhelmed, and divided. From the rise of shopping and religious freedom to romance, politics, and reproductive rights, she traces the surprising history and complicated legacy of living in an "age of choice."

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. When the Sars-CoV-2 spread across the world in the spring of 2020, it triggered unprecedented lockdowns in nearly every country, including democracies where such drastic measures were previously considered unlikely to be feasible. The hope was that the virus could be stopped and eventually eliminated, and that deaths could be minimized in the meantime. In their new book, In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us, political scientists FRANCES LEE and STEPHEN MACEDO examine the sequence of decisions that led to these policies and conclude that not only did they not work as envisioned, but that the...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. In this episode, host Rafael Khachaturian speaks with sociologist and political theorist NARA ROBERTA SILVA about the trajectory of Brazil's left over the past two decades. Together, they unpack the rise and contradictions of the Workers' Party (PT), Brazil's role in the Latin American "pink tide," and the tensions between grassroots mobilization, state power, and neoliberal constraint. From participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre to Lula's turn to pragmatic governance, Silva offers a sharp, historically grounded reflection on the promises and limits of leftist rule in the Global South. The conversation also turns to the reactionary surge...

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. In an era that has seen the rise of right-wing populism, which has often pitted itself against the institutions of liberal democracy, recent election outcomes in Canada and Australia hint at a counter-trend. Political scientist LORI TURNBULL, an expert on not just Canadian politics but of the nuts-and-bolts of Canadian democracy, guides us through her country's recent election, which in many ways was similar to that of the 2024 US election. A highly unpopular leader was dragging down the electoral prospects of his party as it was challenged by an insurgent conservative movement. The outcome, however, was...

INTERVIEWER: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. In this episode, Rafael Khachaturian speaks with IRA ALLEN, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media Studies at Northern Arizona University, about his latest book, Panic Now: Tools for Humanizing. Allen explores panic as a vital, practical response to the unfolding crises of climate, capitalism, and colonial legacies. He argues for embracing panic as a catalyst for solidarity, novel social forms, and collective resilience in the face of civilizational collapse—offering a provocative rethinking of how we might navigate and even thrive amid uncertainty.

INTERVIWER: YARA DAMAJ. Author SARAH TOWLE discusses her book, Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands.

INTERVIEWER: CATHY BARTCH. In this episode of the Andrea Mitchell Center Podcast, host Cathy Bartch is joined by environmental experts CAROLINA ANGEL BOTERO and FERNANDA JIMENEZ to explore innovative approaches to democracy that extend beyond traditional, human-centered perspectives. Together, they discuss the Rights of Nature movement emerging from Latin America, the complexities of recognizing ecosystems as democratic participants, and how redefining our relationship with the natural world could shape a more inclusive and equitable democratic future.

INTERVIEWER: MATT BERKMAN. In this episode, Matt Berkman speaks with OSMAN BALKAN, Associate Director of the Huntsman Program at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Dying Abroad: The Political Afterlives of Migration in Europe. Their conversation delves into the profound yet often overlooked decisions migrants face around death and burial—choices that reflect deeply contested questions about belonging, citizenship, and identity. Drawing from Balkan's firsthand experiences as an undertaker and extensive research in Berlin and Istanbul, this discussion sheds light on how death becomes a site of political struggle and a poignant measure of what "home" truly means in...

INTERVIEWER: YARA DAMAJ. The collapse of the Assad regime has reshaped Syria's political landscape, bringing both significant opportunities and deep uncertainties. This episode unpacks the factors behind Assad's downfall, the power struggles within the opposition, and the ongoing fight for justice after years of repression. As regional dynamics shift, the future of Syria remains uncertain, with major implications for governance, security, and diplomacy. Penn PhD Candidate YARA DAMAJ interviews IBRAHIM BAKRI, Associate Director of the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy.

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. Since it was overturned in 2022, Roe v. Wade has continued to represent to many what the restoration of abortion rights would look like. As philosopher BERTHA ALVAREZ MANNINEN has long pointed out, however, Roe itself was vulnerable to challenges from the fetal personhood movement. Two years before Roe, on the other hand, an essay by Judith Jarvis Thomson presented a defense of abortion robust enough to withstand the claims of fetal personhood in an essay that is both famous and strangely ignored in the legal wranglings over abortion. In her discussion with historian Matthew Roth, Manninen...

INTERVIWER: JEFF GREEN. AMC Director Jeff Green is joined by Slavoj Žižek, renowned Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist whose work spans psychoanalysis, politics, and popular culture. Known for his sharp wit, provocative style, and ability to blend complex theory with humor, Žižek has been a major voice on the Western intellectual left since the 1990s. As one of the most influential public intellectuals of our time, his insights continue to challenge and inspire debates on ideology, power, and society.

To watch the full Zoom interview with both speakers visible and subtitles included, use the following link...

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. In late 2020, in the midst of COVID lockdowns and the national election, speechwriter and opinion columnist FRANCIS BARRY bought an RV and, with his wife Laurel, traveled across from New York to San Francisco via the Lincoln Highway, interviewing citizens along the way to explore what still bound the nation together in divisive times. In his discussion with historian Matthew Roth, he focuses on two possibilities: our history, as memorialized by the monuments that marked his journey, and our democratic tradition. As monuments linked to white supremacy were being torn down in the wake of the...

Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. In theory, the US Constitution established a system by which the three branches of government keep each other in check. Political scientist and constitutional scholar COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER argues that, in fact, it has more often been citizen pressure – not the courts or the legislature – that has rescued us from the anti-democratic exercise of presidential power. In his discussion with historian Matthew Roth, he describes how the core democratic principles of the Constitution, beginning with the opening phrase of the preamble, have inspired citizens to oppose autocratic presidents from John Adams to Richard Nixon and to push agai...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. In this episode, Professors MARC MEREDITH and MICHAEL MORSE from the University of Pennsylvania unpack Pennsylvania's pivotal role in the upcoming U.S. election. They explore Pennsylvania's unique political geography, its electoral laws, and the critical implications of mail-in ballots. The discussion dives into the evolving demographics and the shift in political messaging from both parties since 2016, particularly around issues resonating with Pennsylvania voters, from economic concerns to the broader narrative of defending democracy. They also examined how education and class nuances influence party support, and consider how early returns on Election Day might shape the...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Penn Professor (emeritus) IAN LUSTICK, who has been teaching on the Israel-Palestine conflict at Penn since 1991, returns to the podcast to share his thoughts on the ongoing crisis.

In this episode, MIRANDA SKLAROFF is in conversation with PETER FRASE, editorial board member of Jacobin magazine and author of Four Futures: Life After Capitalism. Frase presents a case for socialism as a superior alternative to liberal democracy, delving into the critical differences between socialists and social democrats. The discussion also explores the stagnation of electoral socialism in the U.S. since the 2016 election, the reasons behind social democrats' loss of momentum, and the potential pathways to a socialist future

Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE. In her book, Hailing the State: Indian Democracy Between Elections, Professor LISA MITCHELL explores the various methods of collective action used by people in India to hold elected officials and government administrators accountable. Moving beyond an exclusive focus on electoral processes, Mitchell argues that to understand democracy — both in India and beyond — we must also pay attention to what occurs between elections.

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Anti-corruption activist JOSH STANFIELD returns to the AMC podcast. This discussion centers on the significant impact of data centers in Virginia, which currently hosts the largest data center market in the world. These massive facilities, crucial for the growing prevalence of AI and other technologies, bring economic benefits but also pose several serious challenges -- including noise pollution, infringement on natural and historic sites, and increasing the already considerable influence of tech corporations on local politics.

AUDREY JAQUISS sits down with Penn Professor ERIC ORTS to explore the future of environmental regulation and politics in light of recent Supreme Court decisions. In the last two years, the Court has significantly curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to protect wetlands and regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. This year, the Court's decision to overturn the longstanding Chevron Deference Doctrine has further endangered numerous environmental regulations. Orts discusses what these rulings mean for the future of environmental policy and the implications for the ongoing battle against climate change.

TANJA PETROVIĆ, principal research associate at the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, discusses her recent book Utopia in Uniform: Affective Afterlives of the Yugoslav People's Army. Moderated by RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN.

ANNE NORTON, Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses her book Wild Democracy: Anarchy, Courage, and Ruling the Law with moderator and Penn alumnus JOSHUA ROSE.

DR. ROBIN S. BROOKS, career diplomat and former Special Advisor to the Vice President for Europe, Russia, Multilateral Affairs, and Democracy, delves into the intricacies of democracy. The discussion explores the pivotal role of elections and the alarming phenomenon of democratic backsliding, particularly evident in ex-Soviet States. Dr. Brooks sheds light on the influence of American foreign policy in the region and dissects the corrosive impact of corruption on democratic institutions. The term "democratic backsliding" is analyzed, pondering whether it signifies a shift towards new forms of authoritarianism. Additionally, the challenges facing the American liberal democratic system are explored...

This episode focuses on the recent passage of a foreign aid package by the House of Representatives, which includes aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The delay in passing the bill raised concerns about America's reliability in fulfilling its international commitments. The episode explores how partisan divides are reshaping views on foreign policy, with conservatives showing skepticism toward Ukraine but strong support for Israel, and some on the left adopting a critical stance toward Israel while backing Ukraine. Despite these divisions, bipartisan consensus prevailed in Congress, highlighted by overwhelming support for the aid packages. Representative MIKIE SHERRILL of New...

AUDREY JAQUISS interviews RHIANA GUNN-WRIGHT, Climate Policy Director of the Roosevelt Institute. They delve into discussions on the intersection of climate policy with issues such as white supremacy, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and economic concerns. Gunn-Wright explores the importance of universality in climate policy and strategies for navigating reactionary political landscapes. 

Barbara McQuade, a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, discusses her new book Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. Barbara argues disinformation is a threat to democracy. However, the larger threat is not from foreign adversaries, but those within the country who use disinformation for political gain. Still, the even larger attack comes from within ourselves. She argues we need a moral reckoning to preserve democracy in an era where disinformation and misinformation is so widespread. Justin Kempf, host of the Democracy Paradox, interviews Barbara in a wide-ranging conversation about propaganda, social media, and democracy in t...

JONATHAN BLITZER, staff writer at The New Yorker, discusses his recent book Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis. According to Blitzer, immigration policy happens at the intersection of international relations and domestic politics. In this episode, he uses personal stories to help explain his points. JUSTIN KEMPF, host of the Democracy Paradox, interviews Blitzer about immigration, Central America, and the many people affected.

Episode in partnership with Democracy Paradox.

Join Secretary MARCIA LIMA and Penn Professor MICHAEL G. HANCHARD in a candid conversation on the pervasive nature of anti-blackness in Brazil and the United States. Lima currently serves as the Secretary of Affirmative Action Policies and Combatting and Overcoming Racism at the Ministry of Racial Equality in Brazil. This conversation examines parallels and disparities between the two countries in addressing systemic racism, as well as the ways in which the fight against racism is portrayed in the media and popular culture. The episode confronts the complexities of racial identity and governance as well as possibilities for global solidarity i...

Interviewer: AUDREY JAQUISS. Director of the Institute for Global Sustainability and Professor at Boston University, BENJAMIN SOVACOOL, delves into the crucial concept of energy justice. Sovacool unravels its definition and examines the demographics and locations where it is most pertinent. Distinguishing energy justice from climate or environmental justice, he offers insights into the nuances of this evolving field. Sovacool shares policy recommendations aimed at achieving energy justice and explores the unique roles that individuals and nations play in this collective endeavor. From the interconnectedness of social and environmental concerns to the responsibilities that we all bear in the pursuit...

Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE. Associate Professor at Georgetown University, JOSHUA CHERNISS, explores the dynamic relationship between diversity of thought and democracy, acknowledging it as both a core element of democracy's existence while also a significant challenge to its sustenance. He challenges the assumption that democracy will endure, emphasizing the need for active reflection to safeguard its foundations. In this conversation, Professor Cherniss navigates the nuanced terrain of liberal democracy, delving into the depths of political philosophy and its implications for the future of democracy.

Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE. Philadelphia is a city grappling with complex dynamics surrounding policing, criminality, and a commitment to rehabilitation. HELENA VON NAGY, an Assistant District Attorney in the Municipal Court, delves into the intricacies of Philadelphia's criminal justice system, narrating her day-to-day experiences working at the heart of Philadelphia's legal landscape. She sheds light on the multifaceted world of criminal justice in the City of Brotherly Love.

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. On the cusp of a crucial election for Virginia, political activist JOSH STANFIELD discusses the stakes in his second AMC podcast appearance in an interview with political scientist Matthew Berkman. With this being the first legislative election for both Congressional chambers under new maps designed after the 2020 census, the status quo has shifted – aligning with a period of significant political turnover. Stanfield emphasizes the lack of faith that Virginia citizens have in elected officials and in large-scale development projects, culminating in underhanded tactics to bring in tourism and development at the risk of popular discontent and en...

Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE. In his recent book, The Principle of Political Hope, political theorist LOREN GOLDMAN attempts to avoid the sense of inevitability that creeps into political thought, either as optimistic faith in unstoppable progress or pessimistic despair at a broken world. Engaging with thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, Ernst Bloch, Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, Goldman holds up hope as a productive middle ground, combining belief in the possibility of a better world with acceptance of the risk of failure. In his wide-ranging discussion with host Joshua Rose, he explores core questions of political life. Does...

Interviewer: AUDREY JAQUISS. The California legislature has passed two bills, now awaiting Governor Gavin Newsome's signature, that potentially open up a new frontier in environmental law and climate action. As law professor MICHAEL GERRARD and Wharton professor ERIC ORTS explain, SB 253 would require that companies disclose their carbon emissions, and SB 261 their vulnerability to climate-related risks, in a standardized, verifiable way, making it more difficult for them to hide behind vague mission statements and inflated carbon offsets. In their discussion with political scientist Audrey Jaquiss, Gerrard and Orts point out that, while these laws would not directly mandate emission r...

Interviewer: KIM FERNANDES. Our perspective on emerging technology such as A.I. is often future-oriented and technocratic, focused on how its design features might someday transform the world – and, above all, the advanced economies of the world – in ways wanted and unwanted. In their work at the Data & Society Institute, RIGOBERTO LARA GUZMÁN and RANJIT SINGH have focused instead on the current impacts of A.I. and other data-driven technologies on the lived experience of people in the Majority World – that is, outside of the wealthy economies of the "West" or "Global North." In their discussion with anthropologist Kim Fer...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In a repeat of the debt-ceiling crisis of the Obama years, House Republicans are threatening to maintain the current $31-trillion limit on borrowing by the federal government, thus raising the specter of imminent default. Wharton Professor ERIC ORTS, in a return to the podcast, worries that this time Republican brinksmanship might signal an actual willingness to go over the brink. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, he argues that the very credibility of their recklessness might prompt Biden to blink first and give in too much, agreeing to spending cuts that will hurt the...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Social justice movements are often defined by high-visibility moments that succeed in crystallizing new attitudes and enlarging the scope of national debate. What often follows, as media scholar and activist RACHEL KUO explores in her work, is a slow death by a thousand cuts: co-optation, backlash, internal discord and lack of resources, and the sheer capacity of pervasive state and corporate propaganda to reset the status quo. In her wide-ranging discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, she recounts lessons from recent high-profile movements, in particular Black Lives Matter and the interwoven abolitionist pushes against policing and...

Interviewer: ZACHARY LOEB. When high-profile data breaches or cyber attacks reveal the nation's vulnerability to hacking, there are often loud calls for tighter cybersecurity. As scholar of science and technology REBECCA SLAYTON points out, however, in a world of limited resources and competing priorities, the degree to which we can secure our infrastructure is not absolute. In her conversation with historian Zachary Loeb, she discusses the ways that vulnerabilities change over time as technologies emerge, how vulnerability is an outcome not just of weak spots in technology but of a person's or society's overall adaptive capacity, the difference between...

Interviewer: ZACHARY LOEB. In the period following World War II and during the Cold War, the United States was the indisputable world leader in technological development, putting the U.S. government in a privileged position to shape technologies for its own economic and security ends. National security expert MELISSA FLAGG argues that since 2000 these circumstances have changed drastically: there are now many more actors in technological development, both in terms of countries across the globe and corporations, domestic and transnational. In her discussion with historian of science and technology Zachary Loeb, she describes the new landscape of emerging technology...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In the U.S., the institutionalization of the labor movement, with established unions following procedures set out by the NLRB through professional staffs and legal teams, has gone hand-in-hand with its decline. In the face of laws stacked against it, the movement's growth often comes from upstarts that find new ways to harness the collective power of workers. In recent years, the most spectacular example of this has been the against-the-odds success of the Amazon Labor Union, whose co-founder CHRIS SMALLS worked tirelessly to avoid the pitfalls of other organizing efforts at Amazon. In is discussion...

Interviewer: ZACHARY LOEB. The concept of "smart cities" promises better living through data and the software that can use it in real time to control urban systems. Law and Public Policy professor SHEILA FOSTER argues that, among the diverse populations that live in cities, which lives are actually improved by this technology – and which are arguably made worse – very much depends on who gets to participate in their design, implementation, and oversight. In her discussion with historian of science and technology Zachary Loeb, she contemplates whether the transition to smart-city technologies accelerated by the COVID pandemic is permanent; describes how...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. As with all aspects of American life, Black people were part of the digital revolution from the beginning. CHARLTON MCILWAIN's work explores multiple strands of this history, in which African Americans appear as both creative subjects and objects of social control. In his discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, he tells of early pioneers who developed software and created networked digital communities before the Internet became widespread. In a second strand, however, he reveals that computational science focused on crime in minority communities as one of its central problems in the late 1960s and 1970s, providing...

Interviewer: ZACHARY LOEB. In the original formulation of urban theorist Jane Jacobs, "eyes on the street" linked public safety to the inadvertent effect of people going about their business and, in the process, monitoring their shared surroundings. In her recent work, media studies professor SHANNON MATTERN has explored how certain technologies, under the umbrella of "smart cities" or "urban tech," have encroached on this and other ways that people have long managed to live together in cities. In her discussion with historian of science and technology Zachary Loeb, she discusses both the positive and negative impacts of urban surveillance...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In the tradition of C. Wright Mill's The Power Elite, author AARON GOOD argues that political science needs to bring power back in and seriously consider the links between social elites and the continuity of U.S. policy from one administration to the next. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Good proposes a tri-partite model of the state that builds on conceptions of a "dual state" comprised of the democratic government and the more shadowy security apparatuses that protect, but also often direct, it. To these, Good adds what he terms "deep political forces"...

Interviewer: MELISSA TEIXEIRA. Author, journalist, and 2022-23 Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies MARILENE FILENTO reflects on the recent national election in Brazil that brought former president Lula da Silva back into power. In her discussion with Penn Assistant Professor of History Melissa Teixeira, she describes the response to Lula's victory over the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro – both the ecstasy on the left and the potential violence from the right. She also considers the prospects for Lula's presidency, the coalition that backed Bolsonaro, and Brazilian democracy more broadly.

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Professor IAN LUSTICK returns to the podcast (see episode 1.15) to discuss the recent Israeli election, its implications, and the one-state reality that now tacitly guides political actors, Israeli, Palestinian and American alike. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, he describes how both Jewish settlers and Palestinian leaders in the Occupied Territories are pushing to declare the territories officially annexed, albeit with different motives. Israeli leaders, reluctant to cross this threshold given the international legal requirements it would trigger, are unlikely to resist the pressure forever. Delving into debates among settlers and right-wing groups, Lustick...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. While its place in the mythology of the nation's founding suggests to many that Virginia must itself be a democracy, political activist JOSH STANFIELD points out that in practice it has fallen far short of that ideal. Governed at first by an oligarchy of white planters, and then during the twentieth century by the corporate-friendly Byrd Machine, it has known only brief interludes of revolt against the entrenched interests controlling the commonwealth. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Stanfield describes the current structural impediments to popular representation that make Virginia an undemocratic outlier: uncompetitive...

Series: Democracy and Emergent Technology. Interviewer: ZACHARY LOEB. Even as awareness has risen of disinformation deliberately spread by authoritarian regimes, the forms it takes have become more subtle and insidious, warns digital and foreign policy specialist JESSICA BRANDT. The Russian government, for instance, has shifted away from troll farms and toward amplifying conspiracy theories originating in Western countries themselves; and away from obviously fake news toward misleading half-truths. In her discussion with historian of science and technology Zachary Loeb, she outlines what the U.S. government can do to counter these new strategies, but emphasizes that it is civil...

Note: This interview was conducted in Portuguese. A transcript with an English translation is available here. Interviewer: DANIELA ALARCON. Amid advancing agricultural frontiers, deforestation, tourism, and the advent of infrastructural megaprojects such as hydroelectric dams, Indigenous peoples in Brazil have struggled to defend their territories, lifeways, and collective aspirations. As a member of the Tupinambá people of Norheast Brazil, leader and activist GLICÉRIA TUPINAMBÁ (also known by her official name, Glicéria Jesus da Silva) has been involved in mobilizations on the local, national, and global levels. In her discussion with anthropologist Daniela Alarcon, she describes the advances, setb...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As director of the film Enemies of the State, now available on Hulu and for rent on other platforms, SONIA KENNEBECK found herself in a narrative maze that begins with an all-American couple who built careers in U.S. intelligence, whose adult son, Matt DeHart, happened to be part of the hacker group Anonymous. In 2009, he was arrested for possessing child pornography, but he in turn accused the government of framing him for his involvement with WikiLeaks and Anonymous. He has since become a cause celebre alongside Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. In her discussion with...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. The transition away from Apartheid in South Africa during the 1990s has been hailed as a double miracle of nation-building and the establishment of democracy, so much so that at the time it seemed to validate Francis Fukuyama's declaration of the end of history. Political scientist CAROLYN E. HOLMES, in her political ethnography of contemporary South Africa, highlights the inherent tensions of the transition: between the "selective forgetting" required to join together as a nation and the continuing political salience of remembered wrongs in a competitive democracy; and between the looking forward of "rainbow nation" rhetoric...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Of all of the emotions that spur political engagement, whether in the form of electoral participation or disruptive violence, none currently seem as potent as a sense of humiliation. Political theorist ROXANNE EUBEN's current book project explores how political rhetoric the world over responds to the experience of humiliation. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, she delves into the complexity of these responses, which range from the infliction of retaliatory humiliation to attempts to overcome its use entirely, in case studies that focus on the Egyptian protests that overthrew Hosni Mubarek; the gruesome videos of...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. At a moment when its actions truly demand international scrutiny, Russia's place at the center of Western attention seems only natural. That said, historian and SRB Podcast (https://srbpodcast.org/) host SEAN GUILLORY is engaged in multiple projects examining why Russia has loomed so large for so long in the imaginations of America and Western Europe. He argues that Russia provides a unique foil – European enough to potentially be "like us," yet perpetually failing to conform to Western ideals – against which the West defines itself and its purpose. In his far-ranging discussion with political theorist Rafael Khac...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. As our economy, political system, and society in general weather a number of immediate crises, from pandemics to inflation, economist RICHARD WOLFF argues that the real cause of our inability to grapple with them is being ignored. In his discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Wolff contends that the power of capitalism as a governing ideology, and capitalists as a class, make it difficult to mobilize resources for anything other than profit maximization – especially as increasing levels of debt among all manner of borrowers hampers action. As the dynamic center of global capitalism moves east, Wolff ar...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Especially since the national reckoning with race following the death of George Floyd, there has been a focus, in both academic and popular discourse, on the continuity of anti-Black racism in U.S. history. Distinguished political scientist ADOLPH REED contests the idea, however, that racism as an immutable force exerting a uniform influence from the era of slavery to the present day, or even that American inequality is chiefly defined by race. His new book, The South: Jim Crow and Its Afterlives, situates the racial hierarchy of the Jim Crow South in the political economy of...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Over the course of decades, Neoliberalism has shifted from being an overt ideological position, explicitly arguing for the primacy of the market as a way to organize society, into a set of embedded assumptions and practices that govern much of our economy and politics. Political theorist WENDY BROWN has charted this process and the destruction left in its wake, as commitment to the social has given way to individualistic strategies for coping with market forces. In her discussion with fellow theorist Rafael Khachaturian, she describes the political disarray on both the right and left, even as...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. As he sparks an international crisis over a possible invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has seemingly consolidated his control in an increasingly autocratic regime. Scholar of international relations and Russian political economy ILYA MATVEEV argues, however, that Putin's turn to greater repression is a sign that his base of power is narrowing. In his discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Matveev points to the broadening class composition of opposition to Putin, the latent dissatisfaction of the billionaire class (despite its continued dependence on the regime), the failure of the Russian government's COVID response, and Putin's inability...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Many accounts of the Arab Spring of 2010-11 view it primarily through a political lens: whatever the underlying grievances, its goals centered around removing autocrats from power and replacing them with more responsive governments. Historian JOEL BEININ argues that in fact the Arab Spring protests, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, were rooted in a worker's movement that had, over decades, launched numerous protests against harsh economic conditions imposed by the so-called Washington Consensus. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Beinin outlines the evolution of economic policy in the Middle East, points to the sources...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. The story of Palestine, as much as its territory, has been subsumed by Israel, its recent history typically told as a chronicle of the Jewish state's establishment, development, and defense. In his new book, The Hundred Years' War: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017, acclaimed historian RASHID KHALIDI refocuses the narrative on the Palestinian experience. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Khalidi describes how this book is different from his previous work: while rigorously documented, it is also highly personal, as he draws upon his own family's history of dispossession and survival...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Ever since Marx himself, Marxists have anticipated the day of capitalism's comeuppance, when its crisis-inducing shortcomings would be laid squarely at its door and people would reject it for a system with more humane tradeoffs. Political economist and social theorist MARTIJN KONINGS cautions that that day has not yet arrived. Even "neoliberalism" – a general rubrick for the ideas and practices that have expanded the scope of the market while loosening the regulations that mitigate its failures – will not be banished anytime soon. In is discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, he describes the institutional changes that have...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. For many on the Left, elections have come to represent a minimal baseline for political engagement – and not a route in themselves for personal or social transformation. In his work, democratic theorist KEVIN DUONG looks back to a time when this was not the case, when the movement for universal suffrage envisioned itself as giving voice to "the people" in a way that would leave to part of society unchanged. In his discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, he charts the impoverishment of our concept of popular politics, but also explores the vexed question of what it...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. It has long been argued, in support of the case that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, that the Kennedy administration was not threatening enough to powered interests to trigger such a drastic act. In his books, Brothers and The Devil's Chessboard, longtime journalist and Salon founder DAVID TALBOT argues, to the contrary, that Kennedy represented a deep threat to institutions empowered by, and ideologically committed to, the continuation of the Cold War. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Talbot points in particular to the CIA and its...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In 2021, Wharton professor ERIC ORTS took a leave of absence to run as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He was driven in part by his desire to reform the Senate itself, as he discussed in episode 2.3 of our podcast. The more urgent motivation, however, was his assessment of climate change as a global emergency requiring national mobilization on a massive scale, a view he developed as Director of the Wharton Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Orts outlines not only the technical steps for...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN.  For two years, LORETTA LYNCH held one of the most powerful and most complicated jobs in the United State government. As Attorney General under Barack Obama, she managed an agency that comprises a network of U.S. Attorneys, the FBI, The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and much else. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, she highlights both the clear policy priorities she brought to the job, including fighting human trafficking and promoting prisoner reentry, and the many balancing acts that t...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN.  In her new book, A Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars, and the First Amendment, constitutional scholar CATHERINE J. ROSS examines the tension between the First Amendment's protections for free speech and the need to combat the spread of lies that endanger democracy. Verifiable factual falsehoods are rife throughout the public square today, but former President Donald J. Trump's unparalleled mendacity and its consequences for the nation – measured in threats to electoral legitimacy, COVID-19 deaths, and economic devastation – highlighted the urgent need to confront deception. In her conversation with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Ross proposes an appro...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. There are some countries which, by dint of geography or incompatible national interests, seem destined for perpetual conflict and antagonism. This is not true, however, in the case of Iran and the United States, insists Iranian-American journalist and historian JOHN GHAZVINIAN. His book, America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, outlines the series of bad choices – often made for short-term goals without clear regard for long-term consequences – that have formed the basis for a politics of mutual grievance. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Ghazvinian argues that there are strong reasons for the two...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. As citizens and politicians in many countries argue passionately about how – or whether – national borders should be secured, they often share a similar set of assumptions: that borders are sharp boundaries enclosing distinct political communities, and that the choice of whether they are open or closed is largely binary. PAULINA OCHOA ESPEJO, author of the recent book On Borders, argues that these views are rooted in what she calls the "desert island" ideal of nationhood. In her discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, she offers an alternative, the "watershed model," that, in addition to shifting our conc...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Recent movements to reform society and address interpersonal behavior have placed eliminating violence at their center. As political theorist MATT SHAFER points out, however, the concept of "violence" has never had a stable meaning. In his discussion with Rafael Khachaturian, he describes how it has increasingly been torn between the competing poles of the social and the personal. He traces how these conceptions of violence arose beginning in the 1960s – superseding a prior understanding of violence as unsanctioned forcse – and are themselves inadequate to address the age of information and social media. Shafer has been a 2020-21...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As envisioned by philosopher OLÚFẸ́MI O. TÁÍWÒ, a coming age of climate apartheid will create a new kind of social division within countries and communities between those who can pay to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and those who cannot. On the global scale, climate colonialism will likewise exclude local populations from control over resources as those resources are secured for the world's elites. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Táíwò describes how the institutions that undergird racial capitalism, including policing, will be used to buttress this growing form of in...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. The approach to free speech embodied by the First Amendment of the American Constitution is often considered, by Americans at least, to be a model for the rest of the world. Historian FARA DABHOIWALA argues that it is actually an outlier best ignored by other countries. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Dabhoiwala locates what he calls the "peculiar shape" of the First Amendment in an era much like our own, the early eighteenth century, when trolling and fake news raised serious concerns about the abuse of speech – and when two mercenary journalists, writing an...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN.In an era when "free speech on campus" has become a slogan weaponized by conservative groups, historian JOAN WALLACH SCOTT insists on treating academic freedom not as an individual right of untrammeled speech, but as a collective right to carry out the work of universities: teaching, researching, and learning. In her discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Scott argues that institutional changes are at the root of current crises in academic freedom, as universities increasingly envision themselves as businesses, their students as customers – rather than citizens in training – and their largely non-tenured faculty as an expendable work...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. It is widely known that social media increases political polarization among its users, creating an environment in which mis- and disinformation can spread easily. JAIME SETTLE, author of Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America, argues that what is not so well understood is exactly how social media drives polarization. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, she points to a surprising answer: it is not overt political speech that has the biggest impact, but the implicit political messages embedded in personal posts. The algorithms of platforms such as Facebook further amplify this effect. Short of...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. The concept of hurt sentiments first became ensconced in the Indian legal code almost two-hundred years ago, under the influence of the British government official T.B. Macauley. As historian NEETI NAIR explores in a book progress currently in progress, the concept has expanded its reach in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in recent years to allow for extra-judicial forms of censorship and political action – to the extent that India has been said to have become a "republic of hurt sentiments." In her conversation with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Nair gauges the state of free speech and se...

Interviewer: KATIE RADER. For decades, University of Pennsylvania student activists have demanded that Penn pay PILOTs (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) to help fund Philadelphia public schools. The movement intensified in 2020, with over 1,100 faculty and staff joining a pro-PILOTs petition. Among them was Social Policy and Practice Professor DENNIS CULHANE, who in September joined a panel discussion on PILOTs sponsored by the Mitchell Center. In his discussion with political scientist Katie Rader, he revisits the topic in the wake of Penn's donation of $100-million over ten years for environmental remediation of Philadelphia schools. He addresses whether this amount is...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As an African-American Republican, political commentator TARA SETMAYER had long embraced the compassionate conservativism and optimistic individualism of the Jack Kemp wing of the party, along with a broader commitment to fiscal responsibility and small government. A senior advisor to the Lincoln Project, she has now formally left the Republican Party out of the sense that it has jettisoned these values in the Trump era. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Setmayer describes her outrage at Trump's betrayal of Constitutional norms, her interpretation of minority voting behavior in the election, and her reasons for...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. Conceptual artist and political activist NADYA TOLOKONNIKOVA is a founding member of the art collective Pussy Riot, which since 2011 has focused attention on feminism, LGBT rights and human rights violations at home and abroad. In August 2012, she was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment following an anti-Putin performance by Pussy Riot in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In her discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, she reflects on Russian politics, the promise of activism, and the origins and future of her art and music. Despite the entrenched economic and political power of elites in Russia and worldwide...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Growing up within the white nationalist movement as the son of one its leaders, Don Black, and the godson of its most famous political figure, David Duke, DEREK BLACK was a true believer – until he wasn't. He very publicly renounced his beliefs in an open letter to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Black draws from his own experience renouncing a hateful ideology to suggest the types of strategies that might change the minds of others in the movement. He does not offer quick or easy answers, however, emphasizing th...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As the political climate and the prevalence of social media have combined to raise the incidents and visibility of hateful speech, there have been growing calls to enact bans on such expression. NADINE STROSSEN, author of the new book, HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship, argues against such policies as counterproductive and ultimately harmful. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, she defends the line the First Amendment draws against dangerous speech and urges that social media companies adhere to international standards of free speech, even as she calls for...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Nationalist populist movements, fueled by resentment against ruling elites, typically attack the norms and procedures of liberal democracy, viewing them as rigged, corrupted, or under the control of nefarious minorities. In his new book, That Is Not Who We Are!, distinguished political scientist ROGERS SMITH cautions that followers of these movements should not be dismissed as irredeemably authoritarian. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, he stresses that the success of populist movements often rests on effective storytelling that addresses people's anger and fear in a way that resonates with their sense of national belonging...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As the Democratic Party seeks to regain the Presidency and retain the House of Representatives in November, it well recognizes that the chief stumbling block to consolidating government control is the U.S. Senate. Wharton Guardsmark Professor ERIC ORTS argues that this short-term predicament is due, in no small part, to the many ways that the Senate was designed from the start to thwart small-d democracy. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Orts provides a detailed analysis of the Democrats' prospects in flipping the Senate, with a focus on tight races in swing states...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Amid our current partisan rancor, Retired Army General WESLEY CLARK has chosen to focus instead on the common ground among Americans that could provide the basis for productive policymaking. The founder of Renew America Together, Clark has sought out leaders from both parties, including former governors Tom Ridge (R-PA) and Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), to help make the case for civility and compromise. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, he argues that a commitment to core norms and the rule of law has allowed the American political system to self-correct over time. Formerly the Supreme...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, documentarian IVY MEEROPOL describes the stories she was obliged to cut from her 2019 HBO film, Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, for lack of definitive proof. This included a quickly buried investigation in the 1980s into Cohn's involvement in the Jeffrey-Epstein style trafficking of minors. Meeropol also pursued a lead suggesting that a statement by one of his acquaintances, that "Roy could have you killed," was not at all figurative. Cohn appeared in Meeropol's own family story as the prosecutor who framed her grandmother, Ethel Rosenberg...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Bernie Sanders has twice failed to win the nomination for President, but in the process has transformed the policies and politics of the Democratic party. WINNIE WONG, a founding organizer of Occupy Wall Street, a co-founder of People for Bernie 2016, and a senior adviser to the Sanders 2020 campaign, urges that these transformations should be pushed further, even as the nomination has been clinched by a moderate. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Wong looks back at what she felt at the time were strategic missteps by Sanders, while emphasizing strengths of the campaign that...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. American Jewish philanthropy has long been celebrated for its virtues, extending from the local to the global, the Jewish to the non-Jewish, and modest donations to vast endowments. In her book, The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex, and in her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, LILA CORWIN BERMAN argues that the history of American Jewish philanthropy reveals a complicated reality of changing and uneasy relationships among philanthropy, democracy, and capitalism. Jewish philanthropy grew to have a tight relationship with the governing forces of American life, reinforcing and even transforming the nation's laws and policies. Berman also...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. For those who seek an end to intergroup violence, it might seem natural to embrace peace as a universal ideal. MURAD IDRIS cautions, however, that in practice peace as a moral ideal has been widely deployed to vilify enemies and justify extreme measures against them – that is, to lay the groundwork for war. In his book, War for Peace: Genealogies of a Violent Ideal in Western and Islamic Thought, and his discussion with Oberlin professor Matthew Berkman, Idris examines the specific formulations of peace as a Western ideal, dating back to Plato, and how these have un...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In the absence of a robust and coordinated response from the national government, U.S. states have shouldered the responsibility of confronting the coronavirus pandemic. As Wharton Legal Studies professor ERIC ORTS has observed, this has led not only to a hodge-podge of policies, but often active competition between states for scarce equipment, protective gear, and Covid-19 tests. In an op-ed in the Washington Post co-authored with Amy Sepinwall, Orts proposed one way to reduce this "50-state anarchy": interstate compacts that allocate resources and coordinate plans. In his discussion with Oberlin Political Science professor Matthew Berkman...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Even in the United Kingdom, with its longstanding reputation for rigid class distinctions, the common presumption in the twenty-first century is that people progress in their careers according to talent and hard work. In his interviews with members of elite occupations, however, SAM FRIEDMAN discovered that getting ahead in these careers often has much to do with the advantages of a privileged class origin. These advantages range from the "bank of mum and dad," enabling greater career risks (and rewards), to the less tangible behavioral markers of accent and manners that make it easier to fit...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As the old saying goes, when you are holding a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. GEORGE CICCARIELLO-MAHER argues in an upcoming book that, in our society, the police have become that sort of hammer, blocking us from envisioning other ways to resolve conflict even as the police themselves are responsible for violence inflicted on poor and minority neighborhoods. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Ciccariello-Maher describes cases in Latin America where communities have simultaneously expelled police and criminals, taking control into their own hands. While he does not contend that police abolitionists...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. In his book Paradigm Lost, IAN LUSTICK argues that negotiations for a two-state solution between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River are doomed and counterproductive. Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs can enjoy the democracy they deserve but only after decades of struggle amid the unintended but powerful consequences of today's one-state reality. In his discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, and basing his argument on the decisiveness of unanticipated consequences, Lustick shows how Zionism's partially successful Iron Wall strategy for dealing with Arabs, an Israeli political culture saturated with a specific way of remembering the...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. "Identity politics" is a term typically marshaled to attack something the speaker dislikes, whether it a conservative deploring "special rights" accorded to minority groups or a progressive bemoaning anything that distracts from a focus on economic justice. ASAD HAIDER's 2018 book, Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump, excavates the origin of the term within the radical politics of the Combahee River Collective, showing how foregrounding a widely neglected group – black women – was envisioned as a step toward realizing universal emancipation. In his discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Haider argues that, by si...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. Berlin is home to Europe's largest Palestinian diaspora community and one of the world's largest Israeli diaspora communities. In their book, The Moral Triangle, SA'ED ATSHAN and KATHARINA GALOR explore the resulting tensions in the context of German guilt about the Nazi Holocaust, which has led to a general disavowal of anti-Semitism and strong support for the Israeli state at the same time that Palestinians in Berlin report experiencing increasing levels of racism and Islamophobia. In their discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Atshan and Galor show how public discourse has been affected by Germany's recent...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. The rise of human rights as an international ideal has not only failed to address the longstanding problem of distributional equity, argues historian SAMUEL MOYN, but has coincided with burgeoning economic inequality both within nations and globally. In his far-ranging conversation with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Moyn points to the compatibility of the human rights agenda, with its emphases on status equality and sufficient (but not equal) provision, with the market fundamentalism that has guided policymakers throughout the world since the 1970s. While acknowledging the limits of the welfare states that preceded this shift, Moyn calls...

Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. More than seven million Americans are either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, with their criminal records dogging them for life and affecting access to higher education, jobs, and housing. They also often find themselves entangled by a web of court-ordered monetary sanctions – fines, fees, surcharges, and restitution payments – that further hamper their ability to reenter society. In her research, sociologist ALEXES HARRIS explores what this system looks like on the ground, drawing from extensive sentencing data, legal documents, observations of court hearings, and interviews with defendants, judges, prosecutors, and other court officials. In her discussion with...

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. For many decades, health researchers assumed that they knew how to correct for gender – specifically, how to take research carried out primarily on men and adjust their recommendations for women. In her own research, CHLOE BIRD has demonstrated that, on the contrary, the differences in biological responses between men and women requires that more research be done specifically on women. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Bird details how biological factors related to pregnancy and childbirth have implications not just for women's health outcomes throughout their lives, but for their financial security and overall we...