Talking Policy

Talking Policy


Latest Episodes

What’s Behind American Distrust in Elections? (Future of Democracy Series)
February 06, 2023

The closely contested 2020 presidential race was followed by unsubstantiated allegations of vote fraud and a wide partisan divide over trust in elections. American distrust in elections is growing—at least among some groups. As part of Talking Policy’s se

Dispatch from Taiwan: Taiwanese Views on U.S. Policy
January 30, 2023

Tensions between the U.S. and China, and between China and Taiwan, continue to simmer. In our third Dispatch from Taipei, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan talks with James Lee and what Taiwanese people think about U.S. policy towards Taiwan. James is an

Book Talk: Democracy Is the Antidote to State Repression
December 12, 2022

In the latest Talking Policy episode, Christian Davenport, one of the world's leading scholars of state repression and a professor at the University of Michigan, and Ben Appel, an associate professor at UC San Diego, discuss their new book, The Death and

How Media Shapes Politics (Future of Democracy Series)
November 21, 2022

In the latest episode in Talking Policy’s series on the Future of Democracy, host Lindsay Morgan talks with political scientist Amber Boydstun about how the media shapes how citizens think about politics and elections, and how the role of the media is cha

Pandemics and Democracy (Future of Democracy Series)
November 14, 2022

Though COVID-19 failed to feature prominently (or at all) in the U.S. midterms, the aftershocks of the pandemic are still influencing politics in the U.S. and beyond. To help us consider the impact of public health emergencies on democracy, in this Talkin

Book Talk: Why Do Bloodstained Groups Win Postwar Elections?
November 07, 2022

In the latest Talking Policy episode, Sarah Z. Daly, an associate professor of political science at Columbia University, talks about her book Violent Victors: Why Bloodstained Parties Win Postwar Elections. This interview was recorded on October 27, 2022.

Dispatch from Taiwan—After the 20th Party Congress
November 04, 2022

In our second dispatch from Taipei, Taiwan expert James Lee talks about his recent article in Global Asia, “The Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis is Here,” why a Chinese invasion is unlikely, and what a Republican sweep in the U.S. midterms would mean for U.S.-

The Politics of Migration (Future of Democracy Series)
October 31, 2022

America’s immigration system is “on the ballot” this November. Those were the words of Florida governor Ron De Santis, who, along with other Republicans, has been using immigration as a weapon against Democrats this election season. In the latest episode

Why Do Some People Participate in Democracy, While Others Don't? (Future of Democracy Series)
October 03, 2022

Democracy depends on the participation of its citizens. But many people don’t participate in their democracies. What drives, and what discourages, political participation, here in the United States and around the world? In the latest from Talking Policy,

Dispatch from Taiwan: How Likely Is War with China?
September 12, 2022

In Talking Policy’s Dispatches from Taiwan series, host Lindsay Morgan talks with Taiwan expert James Lee about what the mood is like in Taipei amidst rising tensions with China; whether a war is likely; and what might be Xi Jinping’s endgame. James is ba