Shows
Axelbank Reports History and Today#188: Julia Azari - "Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History"From the publisher: "When Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, becoming the nation’s first Black president, the stage was set for Donald Trump’s eventual rise to power. Backlash Presidents shows how, throughout American history, administrations that challenge the country’s racial status quo are followed by presidents who deal in racially charged politics and presidential lawlessness, culminating in impeachment crises.In this incisive book, Julia Azari traces the connections between racially transformative presidents and their successors, examining the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and Obama and Trump. When h...
2025-10-211h 00
Politics in QuestionHow Are Social Movements Built?In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and Julia talk with Hahrie Han, a recent MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, about the intricacies of local-level political organizing. Han is a Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute, Faculty Director of the P3 Research Lab, and author of Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church (Knopf, 2024).What are the mechanics of creating collective action? How is power negotiated and built within social movements? And what role do researchers play in shaping our understanding of po...
2025-10-1647 min
CircumscriptionEpisode 8: UnreconstructedJulia Azari is Professor of Political Science at Marquette University. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, and she studies the American presidency, American political parties, political communication and American political development. She's the author of the 2014 book, Delivering the People’s Message: The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate. Her newest book (and the focus of this podast episode) is Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History published in 2025.
OTHER LINKS
--President Johnson's remarks on the signing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 (July 2, 1964)
--Bright Line Watch
2025-10-1454 min
Kudzu VineDr. Julia AzariDr. Julia Azari joined us to discuss her new book Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History.Julia R. Azari is professor of political science at Marquette University. She is the author of Delivering the People’s Message: The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate and the editor (with Lara M. Brown and Zim G. Nwokora) of The Presidential Leadership Dilemma: Between the Constitution and a Political Party. Her work has been featured widely in the media, including The New York Times, MSNBC, Politico, and FiveThirtyEight.
2025-10-131h 02Politics in QuestionWhat Happened to Our Political Parties?In this week’s special live episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Didi Kuo about the evolution of political parties in America. Kuo is a Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and author of The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't (Oxford University Press, 2025).Why do we need strong political parties? What is the foundation for a “good” political party? And how do we get them? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by...
2025-06-0450 minPolitics in QuestionWhat Defines a Political Scandal?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Charles Hunt and Jaclyn Kettler about political scandals. Hunt is a Professor of Political Science at Boise State University (BSU), and Kettler is a Political Science Associate Professor at BSU. They are the hosts of Scandalized , a podcast where each episode unpacks a political scandal from American history.What's the difference between an honest mistake and a scandal? How does the political landscape contextualize how we think about corruption? When does corruption become framed as normalcy? These are some of the questions Lee and...
2025-02-0536 minPolitics in QuestionHow Did the Heartland Go Red?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia and Lee talk with Stephanie Ternullo about the political shift among white working-class Americans. Ternullo is an Assistant Professor of Government at Harvard University and author of How the Heartland Went Red: Why Local Forces Matter in an Age of Nationalized Politics (Princeton University Press, 2024).How do people grow partisan attachments within their social groups? What are the crucial elements of class? How do national party politics translate to local party organizing? These are some of the questions Julia and Lee explore in this week’s episode.
2025-01-1540 minPolitics in QuestionHow Do We Fix Political Dysfunction?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, James, Julia, and Lee discuss political dysfunction and how our perceptions of politics influence our views. They discuss Lee’s Substack piece We Need More (and Better) Parties and Julia’s Substack piece The Odds vs. The Stakes: In 2024, They Don't Seem to Be Related.How should media cover elections? In what ways is power being used to shape policy? Should we build political parties through existing social networks? These are some of the questions James, Julia, and Lee explore in this week’s episode.Note: This episod...
2024-12-2530 min
Macro Hive Conversations With Bilal HafeezEp. 247: Julia Azari on Trump's Second Term, Constraints and PrioritiesJulia Azari is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University. She holds a Ph.D in political science from Yale University. Her research focuses on the American presidency, American political parties, political communication, and American political development. She is the author of 'Delivering the People's Message: The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate'. She is a regular contributor to FiveThirtyEight.com, Politico, and The Washington Post. This episode covers what election results tell us about US politics, Trump's executive power vs control over party, how Congress may push back on Trump, and much more. ...
2024-12-2042 minPolitics in QuestionIs Democracy Under Threat?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Zack Beauchamp about how we make sense of democratic threats. Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox and author of The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World (PublicAffairs, 2024).What are the risks to American democracy? How do social and economic hierarchies influence the functioning of democracy? Who defines democratic values? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode.Note: This episode was recorded in August 2024. Hosted by Sim...
2024-12-0352 minPolitics in QuestionCan multiparty presidentialism revitalize U.S. democracy?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia talks with Scott Mainwaring about multipartism and presidentialism. Mainwaring is the Eugene and Helen Conley Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author, alongside Lee Drutman, of The Case for Multiparty Presidentialism in the U.S. (Protect Democracy, 2023).How do institutions impact coalition fluidity? What is the role of actors within formal institutions? What can we learn about multipartism from Latin America? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simp...
2024-11-2746 minPolitics in QuestionWhat is the role of parties?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia and Lee talk with Sam Rosenfeld and Daniel Schlozman about the evolution of political parties in the United States. Rosenfeld is an is Associate Professor of Political Science at Colgate University and Scholzman is a Joseph and Bertha Bernstein Associate Professor of Political Science at John Hopkins University. They are the authors of The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics (Princeton University Press, 2024).Why are parties locked in a polarized struggle for power? How did Biden’s nomination illustrate party hollowness? How...
2024-11-2547 minPolitics in QuestionWhat are the politics of debt relief?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Chloe Nicol Thurston and Emily Zackin about the United State’s relationship to debt and debtors. Thurston is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and Zackin is an Associate Professor of Political Science at John Hopkins University. They are the authors of The Political Development of American Debt Relief (Chicago University Press, 2024).What role has race played in the United States' history of debt relief? How has debtor activism contributed to state-building? How has debt relief been connected to contemporary issu...
2024-11-2240 minPolitics in QuestionHow does memory shape democracy?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question Lee and Julia dive into the latest from their Substack newsletters, Undercurrent Events and Good Politics/Bad Politics. They delve into how negativity bias, nostalgia bias, identity, and messaging all shape the current state of our democracy.How do we think of the present and the past? How do emotion, identity, and community shape the way we perceive and engage with politics? In what ways does our collective memory influence the course of democracy? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia ask in this week’s epis...
2024-11-1936 min
Make It Make Sense with Grant HermesHarris Makes History with Julia AzariKamala Harris accepts the nomination of the Democatic Party becoming the first woman of color to lead a major US ticket. Plus, was night 4 of the DNC a bummer?Grant interviews Marquette University professor, conventions expert and contributor to the Good Politics, Bad Politics podcast/substack Julia Azari about how to understand this year's unprecedented DNC.Tech problems prevented this week's TLTO. Apologies in advance. Support the showFollow along on social media X: @mimsnewspodInstagram: @mimsnewspodTikTok: @mimsnewspodSubstack: mimsnewspod.substack.comY...
2024-08-2336 minPolitics in QuestionWho rules America?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ari Berman joins Julia and Lee to discuss voting rights in the United States. Berman is Mother Jones’ national voting rights correspondent. He is the author of numerous books, including Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024).Why is American politics dysfunctional? Is it because the Constitution prevents a majority of Americans from enacting their preferred policies without compromising with a minority of the population? Is the Constitution’s structure incompatible with the nation’s increasing diversification? What are the pros and...
2024-07-2945 min
Macro Hive Conversations With Bilal HafeezEp. 200: Julia Azari on Trump's Dictatorial Powers, Biden's Unpopularity, and US ElectionsJulia Azari is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University. She holds a Ph.D in political science from Yale University. Her research focuses on the American presidency, American political parties, political communication, and American political development. She is the author of 'Delivering the People's Message: The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate'. She is a regular contributor to FiveThirtyEight.com, Politico, and The Washington Post. This episode covers: what led to Presidential powers in foreign and domestic policy, the impact of the George W Bush years, how does the constitution constrain presidential power, and much...
2024-01-261h 07Politics in QuestionWhat does 2023 tell us about what could happen in American politics in 2024?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss what happened in 2023, and what could happen in 2024. What did we learn in 2023? Was American politics less fluid and surprising than it was in 2022? Will the 2024 presidential election be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump? What are the consequences of divided parties? Why is Congress such a hot mess? And why aren’t more people talking about the first-in-the-nation island primary? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted...
2024-01-0838 minPolitics in QuestionHow can Americans bridge the urban-rural divide in their politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Jonathan Rodden joins Julia and Lee to discuss the challenges presented by urban-rural polarization in American politics. Rodden is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. His work focuses on the comparative political economy of institutions. He has written on various topics, including federalism and fiscal decentralization, the geographic distribution of political preferences within countries, legislative bargaining, the distribution of budgetary transfers across regions, and the historical origins of political institutions. He is also the author of Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Di...
2023-12-3046 minPolitics in QuestionWhat can social movements teach us about American politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia considers social movements and political parties with Marcus Board Jr. Board is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Howard University. His research engages social movements, radical Black feminist theories of power, and public opinion. He is the author of Invisible Weapons: Infiltrating Resistance and Defeating Movements (Oxford University Press, 2022). Board most recently co-authored a chapter on social movements and political parties in the American Political Science Association’s Presidential Task Force on Political Parties report, “More Than Red and Blue: Political Parties and American Democracy” (July 202...
2023-10-1942 minPolitics in QuestionAre state legislators really accountable to their voters?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Steven Rogers joins Julia and Lee to discuss state legislatures. Rogers is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Saint Louis University, where he teaches and conducts research on elections, state legislatures, and public opinion.How many people can name their state representative? Does it matter if they have no idea who represents them in the state capital? What are the implications of low electoral accountability in state legislative elections? Would more competition make state legislators more accountable to their constituents? These are some of th...
2023-09-1850 minPolitics in QuestionHow did Trump threaten American self-government when he was president?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Miles Taylor joins Julia and Lee to talk about the resistance to Donald Trump when he was president. Taylor is the author of Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump. He served in the Trump administration as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Before that, Taylor worked in Congress and served in the George W. Bush administration.How did administration officials counter the threat to American self-government that they believed Donald Trump posed when he was president? Why di...
2023-08-2229 minPolitics in QuestionWhy is it so hard to buy things with nickels? (plus questions about the debt limit debate and 2024 presidential election)In this week’s episode, Julia, Lee, and James deconstruct the debt limit debate and the 2024 presidential election. What does the debt limit debate tell us about polarization in American politics? Why did the debt debate play out like it did? Does it tell us anything about the 2024 presidential election? Will it be a rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump? Is Trump winning the Republican nomination inevitable? What is a Substack? And why is it so hard to pay for a latte with nickels? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this we...
2023-06-3045 minPolitics in QuestionCan podcasts save America?In this week’s episode, Mila Atmos joins Julia and James to discuss how podcasts can save American politics. Atmos is the producer and host of Future Hindsight, a weekly podcast that aims to spark civic engagement through in-depth conversations with citizen change-makers. She combines life experiences from living in multiple cultures ranging from Indonesia to Germany to the rural U.S., with her knowledge base in history, economics, and international affairs (B.A. & M.I.A. Columbia University) in creating Future Hindsight.What is the central threat presently facing American self-government? How can the podcast medium he...
2023-06-0832 minPolitics in QuestionWhat is the relationship between populism and nationalism in American politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Bart Bonikowski joins Julia and Lee to discuss the relationship between populism and nationalism in American politics. Bonikowski is an associate professor of sociology and politics at New York University. He uses relational survey methods, computational text analysis, and experimental research to apply insights gleaned from cultural sociology to the study of politics in the United States and Europe. Bonikowski focuses on nationalism, populism, and radical-right parties.What is populism? Is it synonymous with radical politics? How does left-wing populism and right-wing populism differ? What explains the success of...
2023-04-2941 minPolitics in QuestionHow do Americans define democracy?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Nicholas Davis joins Julia and Lee to discuss how Americans define democracy. Davis is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama. His research focuses on political psychology, public opinion, ideology, and how Americans understand democratic values more broadly. He is the co-author of Democracy’s Meanings: How the Public Understands Democracy and Why It Matters (the University of Michigan Press).How have Americans defined democracy differently over time? What are its essential characteristics? Do Americans view democracy in procedural terms? Is its primary function the protection of civi...
2023-04-2435 minPolitics in QuestionWhat is the State of the Union?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss the President’s State of the Union Address. What is the State of the Union? Does anyone watch it? What purpose does it serve? Can it be made better? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2023-02-2231 minPolitics in QuestionWhat is conservative populism?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Paul Elliott Johnson joins Julia and James to discuss conservative populism. Johnson is Assistant Professor of Deliberation and Civic Life in the Department of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on rhetorical theory, argumentation, and American politics, with a particular focus on the rhetoric of populism and American conservatism. He is the author of I the People: The Rhetoric of Conservative Populism in the United States (University of Alabama Press, 2022).What is conservative populism? Does it define American conservatism? How does it differ from liberal popu...
2023-02-1344 minPolitics in QuestionHow do extraordinary ordinary people change the world?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Rachel Lears joins Julia and James to discuss how filmmaking can help us understand how people make political change happen. Lears is an award-winning documentary director, producer, and cinematographer. Her film Knock Down the House (Netflix) won the U.S. Documentary Audience award and the Festival Favorite award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Knock Down the House was shortlisted for an Oscar and nominated for an Emmy in 2020. Lears’ latest film, To the End, captures the emergence of a new generation of leaders in the movement to combat the climate cris...
2023-02-0342 minPolitics in QuestionWhat does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia and Lee kick off a new year by considering what the House Speaker election says about the Republican Party. What is going on with the GOP? Is the Speaker's race an example of healthy factional fighting? Or is it a sign of Republican disarray? How does the Republican infighting differ from recent debates within the Democratic Party? And what is Lee’s terrible pun? These are some of the questions Julia and Lee ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ad...
2023-01-1435 minPolitics in QuestionWhat happened in 2022?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider what happened in 2022 and what it means for American politics moving forward. They discuss the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Congress’s January 6 Committee investigation, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and November’s midterm elections. How did these events shape the course of American politics in 2022? Did they change America’s political institutions? And what do they tell us about how those institutions work for the American people? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James...
2022-12-2047 minPolitics in QuestionWhat do the 2022 midterm results mean?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss what happened in this year’s midterm elections. Is the Red Wave a superhero or college mascot? Why didn’t it appear on Election Day? Was the midterm outcome a surprise? How did political institutions influence it? What does the outcome tell us about American politics more broadly? And when will Julia announce her 2024 presidential bid? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...
2022-11-2135 minPolitics in QuestionHow do the politics of race impact the American presidency?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Robert C. Smith joins Julia to discuss race and the American presidency. Smith is a professor emeritus of political science at San Francisco State University. He is a nationally-recognized expert on African American politics. His research has examined comparisons between President Barack Obama and President John F. Kennedy and the relationship between conservatism and racism in the United States. Smith is the author of numerous articles and books on national and African American politics, the presidency, and Congress, including Polarization and the Presidency: From FDR to Barack Obama and John F...
2022-11-1636 minPolitics in QuestionWhat can we learn from political polls?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Elliott Morris joins Julia and Lee to discuss political polling. Morris is a data journalist and US correspondent at The Economist, where he writes on American politics, elections, and public opinion. Morris previously worked for an elections returns start-up and the Pew Research Center and has contributed articles to the New York Times. He is the author of Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them.How does polling work? Can polls tell us something that we don’t already know? Are polls misleading? Is the...
2022-10-1341 minPolitics in QuestionWhat does it mean to be a good citizen in the United States?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Sara Wallace Goodman joins Julia and Lee to discuss citizenship and its impact on politics. Goodman is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Her research examines citizenship and the shaping of political identity through immigrant integration. She is the author of Citizenship in Hard Times: How Ordinary People Respond to Democratic Threat (Cambridge University Press, 2022), co-author of Pandemic Politics (Princeton University Press, 2022), and author of Immigration and Membership Politics in Western Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Her work has also appeared in...
2022-09-2234 minPolitics in QuestionWhat's wrong with primary elections?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Matt Germer joins Julia and Lee to discuss election reform. Germer is a resident elections fellow for the Governance Program at the R Street Institute. Before joining R Street, he was a policy counsel and strategic planning coordinator at the Washington House of Representatives. Prior to that, Germer served as nonpartisan staff in the Oregon state legislature.What are primary elections and why do they exist? Do primary elections help polarize American politics? And if they are a problem, how should primary elections be reformed? These are some of...
2022-09-0637 minPolitics in QuestionWhat decisions do political parties make after losing an election?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Seth Market joins Julia and James to consider how losing an election affects partisans. Market is a professor of political science and the director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver. He is the author of several books and articles on political parties, campaigns and elections, and state legislatures. His most recent book is Learning from Loss: The Democrats 2016-2020 (Cambridge 2020). Market contributes regularly at FiveThirtyEight, Mischiefs of Faction, and the Denver Post. He is currently working on a book project examining the Republican Party’s inte...
2022-08-0930 minPolitics in QuestionIs it time to rethink how we understand political parties?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Hans Noel joins Julia and James to talk about political parties. Noel is an associate professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, where he conducts research on political coalitions, political parties, and ideology. He is the author of Political Ideologies and Political Parties in America, and a co-author of The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform. Noel also blogs on political parties at Mischiefs of Faction and the Monkey Cage.How have events over the last decade shaped our understanding of political parties? Should we...
2022-07-1440 minPolitics in QuestionIs the Supreme Court's legitimacy at risk?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss the Supreme Court and democratic legitimacy in front of a live audience at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. How does public opinion influence the Supreme Court? What role does the Court play in the federal government? Is it the ultimate arbiter of controversial policy questions? And should it be reformed? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...
2022-06-2242 minPolitics in QuestionWhat if things happened differently?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider what could have been if things happened differently at key moments in American political history. What would politics look like today if Richard Nixon defeated John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election? Would Barack Obama’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election alter the trajectory of American politics over the last ten years? What impact do individuals have on politics? Do events matter? Or is politics determined by forces beyond our control? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week...
2022-04-1139 minPolitics in QuestionIs Trumpism in decline?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James ask about Donald Trump’s ongoing influence on the Republican Party. Will the former president be the GOP nominee in 2024? Can anyone defeat Trump if he seeks the nomination? What is the present state of Trumpism in the Republican Party? Is Trumpism changing? Is it in decline? And what do we mean by “Trumpism” in the first place? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.Julia Azari, “How Republicans Are Thinking About Trumpism Without Trump,” FiveThirtyEigh...
2022-04-0327 minPolitics in QuestionWhy did Russia invade Ukraine and what can the United States do about it?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Heather Hurlburt joins Julia and James to talk about what’s happening in Ukraine. Hurlburt is the director of the New Models of Policy Change project at New America’s Political Reform program. She is a contributor to New York Magazine and she has published articles in numerous publications, including Politico, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, Fortune, Vox, and Time. Hurlburt also co-hosts the Drezburt podcast and frequently appears in print and broadcast media. Previously, she ran the National Security Network, a premier source for internationalist foreign policy messaging and advoca...
2022-03-1730 minPolitics in QuestionWhere is the Republican Party headed?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James talk Republican Party politics. What’s happening inside the GOP? Has the party become more authoritarian in recent years? Are there any Republicans who will push back against former President Trump and his allies? Can they succeed? Or is this the wrong way to think about Republican Party politics altogether? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...
2022-03-0422 minPolitics in QuestionDid conservatives transform the Supreme Court?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Amanda Hollis-Brusky joins Julia and Lee to discuss the conservative legal movement’s effort to transform the Supreme Court. Hollis-Brusky is associate professor and chair of the Department of Politics at Ponoma College. She is the author of two books on the conservative legal movement and the Supreme Court’s transformation. Has Chief Justice John Roberts lost control of the court? How have the recent appointments of Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh transformed the Court? What’s up with President Biden’s effort to fill the seat vacated by Stephen Br...
2022-02-2534 minPolitics in QuestionWhy is everyone talking about the Supreme Court?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss the impending debate over President Biden’s pick to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by Stephen Breyer’s retirement. Whom will Biden nominate to fill Breyer’s seat? Will the president pick a black woman as promised during the 2020 presidential campaign? How will the nominee’s confirmation process unfold in the Senate? Will all Democrats support the nominee? Is there anything Republicans can do to block - or at least slowdown - the process in this instance? And why do we even have a Supreme Co...
2022-02-1134 minPolitics in QuestionWhy can't the Senate pass voting rights legislation?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider Senate Democrats’ failure to pass voting rights legislation. Why did Democrats bring up a bill when they didn’t have the votes to pass it? Did Democrats really think that they could pass the voting-rights bill by blowing up the Senate rules? And what is the filibuster’s future? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of persona...
2022-01-3136 minPolitics in QuestionWhat will American politics look like in 2022?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider what American politics will look like in 2022. Is American democracy in decline? What do we mean by democracy? Do Americans focus too much on elections and not enough on what happens in-between elections? What will come out of Congress over the coming year? Do Americans want major policy change to happen? And what will happen in the 2022 midterm elections? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm...
2022-01-1440 minPolitics in QuestionIs America's constitutional order on the brink of collapse?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider claims that America’s constitutional order is on the brink of collapse. Are supporters of former President Donald Trump actively plotting to overthrow the government if their candidate does not win the presidency in 2024? Is the effort presently underway in some state legislatures to change the laws that regulate elections an extension of the January 6 attack on the Capitol? And how can Americans protect their democratic-republic from any forces that threaten it? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James ask in this...
2021-12-2941 minPolitics in QuestionWhat issues should Democrats emphasize ahead of the 2022 midterm elections?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss David Shor’s recent controversy-provoking advice for Democrats. What does Shor advise Democrats to do ahead of next year’s midterm elections? Why is his advice controversial? And what does the race-versus-economics debate that Shor’s advice sparked reveal about American politics more broadly and why our political institutions are dysfunctional? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...
2021-10-2052 minPolitics in QuestionHow do congressional elections fuel dysfunction in Congress?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Katherine Gehl joins Julia, Lee, and James to take a fresh look at how Americans conduct their elections and to discuss the prospects for reform. Gehl is the founder of the Institute for Political Innovation, a non-profit, cross-partisan public policy organization that aims to reform American politics by using private-sector insights to improve congressional elections and - by extension - fix Congress. She is the author of The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy and the leading proponent of Politics Industry Theory....
2021-10-121h 18Politics in QuestionWhat can Congress’s present dysfunction teach us about our politics and how to make it better?In the season four opener of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James unpack the rampant dysfunction on Capitol Hill. Why did Congress wait until the last minute to fund the government and raise the debt limit? What is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., endgame? And will Democratic divisions prevent Congress from passing President Joe Biden’s agenda moving forward? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...
2021-10-0136 minPolitics in QuestionHow much conflict is too much conflict in politics?In this episode of Politics In Question, Amanda Ripley joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss political conflict. Ripley is an investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book is High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out (Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2021). Ripley's writing has appeared in the Atlantic Magazine, Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Slate, Politico, the Guardian, and The Times of London.What is high conflict? How does it impact politics? Can participating in politics in institutions like Congress help solve the problems hig...
2021-07-2241 minPolitics in QuestionWhat is affective polarization?In this episode of Politics In Question, Noam Gidron joins Julia and Lee to discuss political polarization. Gidron is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the co-author of American Affective Polarization in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2020). His writing has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Annual Review of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Social Forces.What is affective polarization? How does it differ from ideologically polarization? And how does American political polarization compare to politics in other nations? These are some of the...
2021-07-2040 minPolitics in QuestionShould lawmakers be afraid of taking votes?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Tony Madonna joins Julia and James to discuss voting in Congress. Madonna is an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Georgia. He received his PhD in political science from Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests include American political institutions and development, congressional politics and procedure and presidential politics. His work has appeared in such journals as the American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, the Journal of Politics, Presidential Studies Quarterly and the Illinois Law Review.Why don’t lawmakers like...
2021-05-2151 minPolitics in QuestionShould House Republicans fire Liz Cheney?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss Liz Cheney and whether House Republicans should remove her from their leadership team. What role do party leaders play in Congress? Has that role changed over time? How does the party leader job change when a president of the same party is in the White House? And when is it ok for rank-and-file members to change leaders? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode.Show NotesDaniel P. Klinghard, “Grover Cleveland, Willia...
2021-05-0741 minPolitics in QuestionIs American democracy backsliding?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Jake Grumbach, joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss democratic backsliding in the United States. Grumbach is is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington. He has developed a tool for measuring democracy in the states called the State Democracy Index. His research focuses broadly on the political economy of the United States. He is particularly interested in public policy, American federalism, racial capitalism, campaign finance, and statistical methods. His book project, based on his award-winning dissertation, investigates the causes and consequences of the nationalization of st...
2021-05-051h 10Politics in QuestionCan Biden transform American politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss President Joe Biden’s performance during his first 100 days in office. Is Biden a transformative president? Or will his presidency be remembered as “Not Trump?” Can presidents even transform American politics? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2021-04-3045 minPolitics in QuestionWhat does presidential rhetoric say about the state of American politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Mary Stuckey joins Julia and Lee to discuss presidential rhetoric. Stuckey is Sparks Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University. She is the author of numerous books and articles on presidential communication and rhetoric. Her forthcoming book is Deplorable: The Worst Presidential Campaigns from Jefferson to Trump (Penn State University Press).Why should Americans care about presidential rhetoric? When is it despicable? How does the rhetoric in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections compare to past contests? And how does President Biden’s rhetoric in office compare to Presi...
2021-04-2335 minPolitics in QuestionWhat are the prospects for elections reform at the federal level?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Sara Sadhwani joins Julia and Lee to discuss elections reform. Sadhwani is an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College and serves on California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission. She specializes in Asian American and Latino voting behavior, elections, interest groups, and representation. Her research has been published in Political Behavior, PS: Political Science and Politics, the California Journal of Politics and Policy, and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Sadhwani’s analysis of elections has appeared in the Washington Post, Vox, LA Times, and the NPR affiliate KCRW-Los Angeles.W...
2021-04-0349 minPolitics in QuestionHow do independent voters impact American politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Yanna Krupnikov joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss independent voters and the impact they have on American politics. Krupnikov is Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University. Her research and teaching focuses on political psychology, political communication, political persuasion, political behavior, and empirical methodology. She is the co-author (with Samara Klar) of Independent Politics: How American Disdain for Parties Has Led to Political Inaction (Cambridge University press, 2016).What causes Americans to identify as political independents? What impact do they have on politics? And what does their ri...
2021-03-2949 minPolitics in QuestionHow does conspiracism impact American Politics?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Nancy Rosenblum joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss conspiracism and the Republican Party. Rosenblum is the Harvard University Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita. She is the co-author of numerous books and articles, including, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy (Princeton University Press, 2019).What causes conspiracism? How does it threaten American democracy? And what can we do about it? These are some of the questions that Nancy, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this we...
2021-03-1557 minPolitics in QuestionWhat makes American democracy work?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss what makes democracy work in the United States. What is democracy? Can democracy’s meaning change across place and time? If so, which type of democracy is best suited for the American political system at present? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2021-03-0559 minPolitics in QuestionWho disciplines bad behavior in government?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider who is responsible for disciplining bad behavior in government. Do voters, parties, or institutions decide what constitutes bad behavior in government? Where do they make that decision? How do they enforce it? And what are the consequences of not disciplining bad behavior when it occurs? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...
2021-02-1954 minPolitics in QuestionDid the filibuster break the Senate?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Adam Jentleson joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss what makes the Senate dysfunctional. Jentleson served as deputy chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. He is a frequent contributor to MSNBC and is the author of the new book, Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.To what extent is the filibuster responsible for the Senate’s current dysfunction? Where did it come from? Why does it persist? What role has partisanship played in exacerbating its use...
2021-02-1259 minPolitics in QuestionWill Americans pay for government if they don't trust it?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ethan Porter joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss the relationship between Americans’ trust in government and their willingness to pay for the things that government does. Porter is assistant professor at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. He is the author of The Consumer Citizen (Oxford University Press, 2021).
What is a consumer citizen? How does it differ from the traditional understanding of citizenship? Does a consumer mindset alleviate the team mentality that is pervasive in American politics today? And what role has presidential rhetoric played in crea...
2021-02-0856 min
Conversation SixBethany Albertson and Julia AzariBethany Albertson and Julia Azari on the Republican Party.
2021-02-0505 minPolitics in QuestionWhy do Americans celebrate presidential inaugurations?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss Joe Biden’s inauguration as the nation’s 46th president of the United States and Kama Harris as Vice President. Why do Americans celebrate presidential inaugurations? What did Biden’s inauguration accomplish? How will it define the Biden presidency moving forward? And was this a peaceful transfer of power? These are some of the questions that Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...
2021-02-0331 minPolitics in QuestionWhat is the future of the Republican Party?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Rachel Blum joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss the future of the Republican Party. Blum is an Assistant Professor in the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center and the Department of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. Her research examines how political parties interact with and shape U.S. political institutions. She is the author of How the Tea Party Captured the GOP: Insurgent Factions in American Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2020).
What is the TEA Party? How did it come to dominate the Republican Party? Is it a...
2021-01-171h 02Politics in QuestionWill Congress change how it operates in 2021?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ruth Bloch Rubin joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider how Congress may work in the new year. Bloch Rubin is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. She studies American politics, with a substantive focus on legislative institutions, political parties, and American political development. Bloch Rubin is the author of Building the Bloc: Intraparty Organization in the U.S. Congress (Cambridge University Press, 2017). She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.How will the 117th Co...
2021-01-011h 01Politics in QuestionWhat is the best way to pick United States senators?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Wendy Schiller joins Julia, Lee, and James to talk about how we elect senators in the United States. Schiller is Professor of Political Science, Professor of International and Public Affairs, and Chair of Political Science at Brown University. She has also experienced politics as a practitioner, having served on the staffs of Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Senate and Governor Mario Cuomo in New York. Schiller is the author of several books, including Electing the Senate: Indirect Democracy before the Seventeenth Amendment (Princeton University Press) and Partners and Rivals: Representation in...
2020-12-241h 13Politics in QuestionHow did losing to Trump in 2016 help Democrats win the presidency in 2020?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Seth Masket joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss the future of the Democratic Party. Masket is professor of political science and director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver. He is the author of numerous books and articles about political parties, elections, state politics, and, on occasion, Star Wars. He is also the founder of the political science blog, Mischiefs of Faction. His most recent book, Learning From Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020, examines how Democrats’ perceptions of why they lost in 2016 shaped their behavior in the...
2020-12-1759 minPolitics in QuestionDoes it really matter which party controls Congress next year?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Philip Wallach joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider how the 2020 elections will impact Congress. Wallach is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute where he studies and writes about the administrative state, Congress, and the separation of powers. He is the author of To the Edge: Legality, Legitimacy, and the Responses to the 2008 Financial Crisis (Brookings Institution Press) and has published articles in numerous publications, including in the Brookings Center on Regulation and Markets, Studies in American Political Development, Fortune, National Affairs, National Review, Law & Liberty, The Los An...
2020-12-1043 minPolitics in QuestionCan a new agency improve national elections in America?n this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Charlotte Hill joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider how Americans conduct national elections. Charlotte is a Ph.D. candidate at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. She studies how election and voting laws impact political engagement. Her current research examines how voting barriers reduce youth turnout and how electoral reforms can increase voter participation. Outside of academia, Charlotte previously served as Vice President of the San Francisco Elections Commission and currently sits on the boards of nonpartisan advocacy organizations FairVote and RepresentUs. She recently co-authored a New A...
2020-12-031h 02Politics in QuestionHow should Americans interpret the results of the 2020 election?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss what happened in this year’s election and what it means for American democracy. How should Americans interpret the results of the election? Should they be worried about Republicans’ ongoing efforts to change the outcome? And what do the election results reveal about the future of the Democratic and Republican parties? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode. Julia Azari, “For 4 years I’ve written that Trump was a disjunctive leader. Now I’m not so sur...
2020-11-201h 04
Non-Compliant PodcastNon-Compliant Podcast Episode 19: The One Where We Discuss the 2020 Election Live with FiveThirtyEight Contributor and Professor Julia AzariThe outcome of the 2020 Election is beginning to take shape, but many of us still have questions about the results, where polling went wrong, how massive turnout still led to a very divided electorate, and what it means for our country as President Donald Trump openly undermines election results. In Episode 19 we meet with Julia Azari, a political science professor at Marquette University, contributor at FiveThirtyEight, and blogger at Mischiefs of Faction, to break down the election results and where our country goes from here. Non-Compliant Host Jay Edelson, the Founder and CEO of a prominted plaintiff's firm...
2020-11-0459 minPolitics in QuestionDo presidential debates help Americans make better choices when they vote?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James debate presidential debates. What role do they play in campaigns? In their current form, do they really help people to evaluate candidates? If not, how should debates be administered? And how should people evaluate presidential candidates? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.Show NotesLee Drutman, “There is a better way to run presidential debates. Actually, there are several.” Vox (November 5, 2015). Lee Drutman, “Want to be president? Show us how you’d handle...
2020-10-3045 minPolitics in QuestionShould the Democrats play hardball in 2021?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Matt Green joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider whether Democrats should play constitutional hardball if they control Congress and the presidency in 2021. Matt is a professor (and chair) of the Department of Politics at the Catholic University of America. His research focuses on political institutions (especially Congress), state and local politics, and federalism. Matt is the author of numerous books and articles on Congress and is currently working on a research project examining cases of legislative hardball at the state and federal levels. He is also a staff writer at M...
2020-10-2355 minPolitics in QuestionHow should the United States select its judges?In this week’s episode of Politics In Questions, Judith Resnik joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider how a democracy should select its judges. Judith is the Arthur Liman Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Founding Director of the Arthurs Liman Center for Public Interest Law. Her scholarship focuses on the relationship of democratic values to government services; the roles of collective redress, class actions, and arbitration; contemporary conflicts over privatization; the relationships of states to citizens and non-citizens; the forms and norms of federalism; and equality and gender. Judith has written numerous books and artic...
2020-10-1452 minPolitics in QuestionHow well do our political parties represent us in government?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Ted Johnson joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider the role that political parties play in perpetuating popular dissatisfaction with politics. Ted is a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. His work explores the role that race plays in electoral politics, issue framing, and disparities in policy outcomes. Previously, Ted was a national fellow at New America and a research manager at Deloitte. He is also a retired commander in the U.S. Navy following a two-decade career that included service as a White House fellow, military professor at...
2020-10-0955 minPolitics in QuestionWhat can we learn from other nations about pernicious polarization in the United States?In this week's episode of Politics In Question, Jennifer McCoy joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss political polarization in the United States and worldwide. McCoy is a professor of political science at Georgia State University. Her research examines democratization, polarization, mediation and conflict prevention, election processes and election observation, and Latin American politics. McCoy is the author of several articles and books, and recently co-edited a volume of The Annals with Murat Somer exploring pernicious polarization in eleven countries (Polarizing Polities: A Global Threat to Democracy). Her current research project on Polarized Democracies seeks to determine the causes, conseq...
2020-10-021h 04Conversation SixLee Drutman and Julia AzariLee Drutman and Julia Azari on the collapse of the two party political system in the U.S.
2020-09-2906 minPolitics in QuestionHow will the debate to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg end?On this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James consider the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fight to replace her on the Supreme Court. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the debate over whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden should get to pick who will replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court has injected new controversy into an already controversial campaign. How will Ginsburg’s death impact the 2020 election? How much time does the Senate really need to consider a Supreme Court nomination? And what does this controversy say about the role that the...
2020-09-2451 minPolitics in QuestionWhat did the political conventions tell us about the state of the 2020 presidential campaign?In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia, Lee, and James discuss the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. Why do party conventions matter? Do they still have a place in our politics? What did the recent conventions tell us about the state of the Democratic and Republican parties? And what is this election really about? These are some of the questions Julia, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.Julia Azari, “The GOP Convention Violated Plenty of Norms, But Did It Undermine Democratic Values?” FiveThirtyEight (September 1, 2020). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...
2020-09-1858 minPolitics in QuestionHow important is expertise and experience in Congress?On this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Alexander C. Furnas joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider the importance of expertise and experience in making Congress work. Alexander is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center of Science and Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He studies the use of information, science, and expertise in policymaking, interest groups, and elite political behavior using survey, text analysis and network methods. Alexander has published articles in the American Political Science Review, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Most recently, he coauthored “Congressional Brai...
2020-09-1449 minPolitics in QuestionWhat Are the Pillars of Democracy?On this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Suzanne Mettler and Robert Lieberman join Julia and Lee to discuss the state of democracy in the United States. Suzanne is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions in the Government Department at Cornell University. Her research and teaching interests include American political development, inequality, public policy, political behavior, and democracy. Robert is Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. He studies American political development, race and American politics, and public policy. Robert also writes about the development of democracy in the United States. Suzanne and Robert ar...
2020-08-281h 07
The Other 51Episode 129: That's Just Twitter with Julia AzariJulia Azari, a professor at Marquette University and contributor to Five Thirty Eight, joins Brian to talk about public scholarship, politics and more.Julia and Brian talk about the challenges in teaching politics and journalism over the past four years, whether or not professor and journalists should openly talk about their politics, and how things have changed since the 2016 election.The main topic is public scholarship. Julia, who won the American Political Science Association’s inaugural Best Public-Facing Scholarship Award, defines what public scholarship is, why it’s so useful, and why it’s not tradit...
2020-08-2043 min
Opinion Has ItThe Arrival of Kamala Harris | Julia AzariJoe Biden has hinted that, if he wins November’s US presidential election, he will serve only one term. However unlikely that may be, his running mate, Kamala Harris, may well be the next Democratic presidential standard-bearer – even if Biden loses in November.Julia Azari is an associate professor and assistant chair in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University. She joins us from her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
2020-08-1828 minPolitics in QuestionWhen should Americans remove statues of historical figures from the nation's public square?On this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Greg Weiner joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider the controversy surrounding recent efforts to remove monuments and memorials from the public square that commemorate the Confederacy and other prominent historical figures. Greg is the Provost and Academic Vice President at Assumption University, where he is also an Associate Professor of Political Science. He specializes in the study of American politics and history, political theory, the Founding, Congress, and constitutional law. Greg is the author of several books including, most recently, The Political Constitution: The Case Against Judicial Supremacy (University Press of...
2020-08-121h 02
TatterEpisode 52: Married to the MobABOUT THIS EPISODE
Political scientists (and returning Tatter guests) Julia Azari and Seth Masket join me to talk about how the Republican Party has changed in recent years, and the meaning and consequences of those changes, including the impact on the Democratic Party and on (little-d) democratic values.
LINKS
--Julia Azari's Marquette University profile
--Seth Masket's University of Denver profile
--"The Trump presidency thrives on norms," by Julia Azari (from the Mischiefs of Faction)
--"The case for Democratic recklessness," by Seth Masket (from the Pacific Standard)
--The Bulwark podcast...
2020-05-1856 min
Politics in QuestionHow will COVID-19 impact the November elections?Julia references an Electoral Studies article by R. Michael Alvarez, Thad E. Hall, and Betsy Sinclair (“Whose absentee votes are returned and counted: The variety and use of absentee ballots in California”) when discussing the disproportionate way Americans’ votes are counted.Lee references the work of MIT’s Charles Stewart on public opinion in elections and Rick Hansen’s book, Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy, when discussing the extent to which both Democrats and Republicans feel that election outcomes are illegitimate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswiz...
2020-04-1548 min
Politics in QuestionFilibuster or Filibusted?Julia argues that we need to pay greater attention to the informal norms surrounding the filibuster and cites a 2012 article she authored with Jennifer K. Smith (“Unwritten Rules: Informal Institutions in Established Democracies”). She also references a 2016 book by Matt Grossman and Dave Hopkins, Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats.James references work by Gregory J. Wawro and Eric Schickler (Filibuster: Obstruction and Lawmaking in the U.S. Senate) to highlight the fact that the Senate was able to legislate before its members adopted the current cloture rule to end debate in 1917. He also cites Fran...
2020-03-2536 min
Politics in QuestionIs there a better way to pick presidential nominees?James references Martin Van Buren’s 1827 letter to Thomas Ritchie in which he outlines his plans for the creation of a new Democratic Party. Julia mentions her recent Mischiefs of Faction piece reacting to Super Tuesday. Lee reminds listeners that the two-party system exacerbates the problems in how we pick presidential nominees and references his new book, Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2020-03-1144 min
TatterEpisode 49: "Fuck You" Money, And Then Some (Azari & Wood, on Campaign Finance)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What's the impact of money on electoral politics? For instance, how does reliance on large numbers of small donors affect a candidate's appeal to voters? As more candidates recruit more financial support from large numbers of donors online, what's the impact on political parties? Does it further weaken them? I discuss such issues as these--and more, including race, gender, and campaign finance--with Marquette University political scientist Julia Azari and USC law professor Abby Wood.
LINKS
--Abby Wood's USC profile
--Julia Azari's Marquette U. profile
--"Mischiefs of Faction" political science...
2020-03-091h 00
Politics in QuestionShould the House have more members?Lee reminds Julia and James that the original First Amendment to the Constitution proposed by James Madison in 1789 concerned apportionment and traces the present issue to the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. He also mentions the cube root law to highlight the extent to which the United States is a global outlier when it comes to the size of Congress’s lower chamber.James cites Federalist 58 when suggesting that increasing the size of the House is unlikely to empower its rank-and-file members and argues that the reform will further centralize power in the party leadership. He references Thomas Je...
2020-03-0434 min
Politics in QuestionDo we have too much judicial review?This week, Julia, Lee, and James court a debate over the role of our third branch, the federal judiciary. Has the long arm of the law reached too far beyond its robes? Are unelected judges legislating from the bench? Are we looking to the courts too much to break our deadlocked politics? What if anything should we do about it? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2020-02-1951 min
Politics in QuestionDid the impeachment process work?This week, Julia, Lee, and James consider impeachment in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate. They debate what worked and what didn’t work. And they ask how the impeachment process can be improved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2020-02-1244 min
TatterEpisode 41: Judgment Call (The Impeachment Episode)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Julia Azari is a political scientist at Marquette University, as well as a frequent contributor to FiveThirtyEight. Seth Masket is a political scientist at the University of Denver, and a contributor to Vox.com's Mischiefs of Faction. The three of us talked about the prospects of impeaching Donald Trump, the potential aftermath, and why it all matters.
LINKS
--Julia Azari's Marquette University profile
--Seth Masket's University of Denver profile
--"The Trump Era Has Pushed Scholars to the Limits of Our Understanding," by Julia Azari (guest blogger) at Balkinization
...
2019-05-1652 min
TatterEpisode 6: 2012Social critic Cornel West has called President Barack Obama a neoliberal (among other things), and he's not meant it as a compliment. West appears to have been frustrated that Obama was not a forceful advocate of left-wing populism. These criticisms led me (your humble podcast host) to wonder if such an Obama would have been a one-term president. Julia Azari, of Marquette University, Christopher Federico, of the University of Minnesota, and Vincent Hutchings, of the University of Michigan, political scientists all, chatted with me about these and related issues. I revised my opinion on the question after talking to...
2018-02-2033 min