Shows
CircumscriptionEpisode 13: ExileDanieli Evans is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, and later earned a Ph.D. from Yale Law, completing a dissertation titled, “Belonging, Equality, and the Law.” Her work investigates how people's experiences with government institutions influence their sense of belonging, and how levels of belonging influence their wellbeing and social opportunities.
OTHER LINKS
--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "The Other America," 1967 speech at Stanford University
--"The Fourteenth Amendment," at Constitution Annotated: Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. C...
2025-12-231h 06CircumscriptionEpisode 12: This Land Is Your LandIn this conversation, we discuss the history of birthright citizenship in the U.S., as well as the current controversy, including the role of the courts, especially the Supreme Court. My guest is Jacob Hamburger. Hamburger is Assistant Professor of Law in the Marquette Law School. Previously, he taught at Cornell Law, and he earned his J.D. at the University of Chicago Law School. He teaches Immigration Law, Civil Procedure, and a seminar on Immigration Federalism. His research explores the legal processes at the federal, state, and local levels that shape the lives of noncitizens in the United...
2025-12-101h 11CircumscriptionEpisode 11: Tatter Archives: "Slurred Speech"ABOUT THIS EPISODE
The utterance and writing of gendered and racial or ethnic slurs has often evoked controversy. My philosopher colleague Lauren Ashwell has taken up slurs as a subject of scholarly inquiry. In this episode, we sit for a 90-minute conversation about such issues as what makes a slur a slur, whether slurs can be reclaimed by members of the target group, and why the study of slurs matters.
LINKS
--Lauren Ashwell's personal website
--"Gendered Slurs," by Lauren Ashwell (requies JSTOR access)
--"CNN's Brooke Baldwin Chastises Trump Critic For Using...
2025-11-251h 27CircumscriptionEpisode 10: The Cloth of ProtectionThis episode features a discussion of academic freedom with David Rabban, the Dahr Jamail, Randall Hage Jamail, and Robert Lee Jamail Regents Chair in Law, and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Previously, he served as counsel, and then general counsel, to the AAUP (American Association of University Professors), and he has chaired its committee on academic freedom and tenure. In his teaching and research, he focuses on free speech, academic freedom, higher education and the law, and American legal history. His most recent book (published in 2024) is Academic Freedom: From Professional...
2025-11-1157 minCircumscriptionEpisode 9: TriggeredGerald Higginbotham is an assistant professor in the Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from UCLA, and also a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University. He studies (in his words) “the imprint of history on people’s modern social perceptions and policy attitudes, and the psychological underpinnings of how people perceive history and its consequences.”
OTHER LINKS
--Ronald Reagan's 1983 address before the National Rifle Association
--"The lasting legacy of 1967 Black Panther gun control protest at California Capitol" (article at CBS N...
2025-10-2853 minCircumscriptionEpisode 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 minCircumscriptionEpisode 7: But What About Us?Clara Wilkins is Associate Professor and Earl R. Carlson Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington. Trained as a social psychologist, she leads the Social Perceptions and Intergroup Attiudes Lab (SPIA Lab). Along with her collaborators, she studies such topics as (a) the causes and consequences of dominant group members' perceptions of group-based victimization, and (b) how variation in racial and ethnic minorities’ physical appearance shapes the perceptions and experiences of disadvantaged group members.
OTHER LINKS
--Catherine Herridge 2020 interview of Donald Trump
--"Exclusive: Trump says "anti-White feeling" is a problem in the U.S...
2025-09-3050 minCircumscriptionEpisode 6: City of GodSamuel Perry is the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, and has authored or co-authored five books, including Taking America Back for God, as well as The Flag and the Cross. He’s also written for such journalistic outlets as The Dallas Morning News, Time Magazine, and The Washington Post. In this episode, we discuss Christian nationalism in the U.S.
OTHER LINKS
--"The Christian nationalism we need" (Keynote address at the 2024 National Conservatism Conference, by Sen. Josh Hawley)
2025-09-1654 minCircumscriptionEpisode 5: Drawn OutDavid Gans is Director of the Human Rights, Civil Rights & Citizenship Program at the Constitutional Accountability Center. In this episode, we discussed voting rights and redistricting, with an emphasis on the Louisiana v. Callais case that is set to be reargued before the Supreme Court on October 15, 2025.
OTHER LINKS
--Merrill v. Milligan (later retitled Allen v. Milligan) oral argument
--Allen v. Milligan opinion
--Wikipedia on the Voting Rights Act of 1965
--"Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act: Vote dilution and vote deprivation," SCOTUSblog
--"Court asks for new briefs in Louisiana redistricting...
2025-09-0250 minCircumscriptionEpisode 4: Here Be DragonsKimberly Rios is Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She studies intergroup threat and also psychological issues at the intersection of religion and STEM. In this episode, we discuss the psychology of intergroup threat, applications to a salient contemporary case, and also issues involving religion and STEM.
OTHER LINKS
--Informational video on EPIC City
--WFAA story on EPIC City
--Drinking Liberally, Wikipedia page
--"Fairness is Overrated," by Jonathan V. Last, at The Bulwark
--"The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics, and Society," by the Pew Research Center
...
2025-08-1946 minCircumscriptionEpisode 3: Equals Under The LawPaul Gowder is Professor of Law at the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University, in Chicago. He's the author of several books, including The Rule of the Law in the Real World, and The Rule of Law in the United States: An Unfinished Project of Black Liberation. In this episode, we discuss the history and current status of the rule of law in the U.S., exploring connections to the historic struggle for Black Americans' civil and human rights
OTHER LINKS
--President Trump's May 4, 2025 appearance on NBC's Meet the Press
--Wikipedia entry on Margaret...
2025-08-0557 minCircumscriptionEpisode 2: Forever In The PathArthur Remillard is Professor of Religious Studies and Department Chair of Theology and Philosophy, as well as Dean of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engingeering, Arts, and Mathematics) at Saint Francis University, in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He is author of the book Southern Civil Religions, as well as a new book, Bodies in Motion: A Religious History of Sports in America.
OTHER LINKS
--"Civil Religion in America," by Robert N. Bellah
--"The Meaning of Prayer at a Political Convention," by Esau McCaulley
--"In Trump, We Have Abandoned Our Civil Religion — And We Are No Lo...
2025-07-2358 minCircumscriptionEpisode 1: God, Grace, and GrudgesMikey Pasek is a social psychologist, and is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. He leads the Belief, Identity, and Group Relations Lab at UIC. We discussed a range of topics, including religion, big and moralizing gods, Christian nationalism, race, and how to alter anti-democratic attitudes.
OTHER LINKS
--White House Executive Order: Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias
--Beyond Conflict
--Interfaith Philadelphia
--God Is Not Great, by Christopher Hitchens
--Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict, by Ara Norenzayan
--Southern Poverty Law Center Page on The Westboro Baptist...
2025-07-0855 min
Foxhole SymphonyFrom Childhood Trauma to Intentional Fatherhood: Michael Fineman's StorySend us a textWhat happens when a Jewish boy loses his mother at age three, gets institutionalized at seven, and spends his youth bouncing between boarding schools before choosing to live alone at fifteen? Michael Fineman's raw, powerful story reveals how God works through our deepest pain to create purpose and healing.Michael takes us through his journey of childhood abandonment, where his father's remarriage and his stepmother's abuse led to years in various institutions. Rather than breaking him, these experiences revealed something unexpected - Michael had a natural gift for helping others more...
2025-03-2149 min
Health Innovation MattersThe New Standard for Maternal Care with Jennifer SargentMichael chats with Jennifer Sargent, CEO of Pacify. In this episode, Michael and Jennifer discuss Pacify's evolution toward becoming a leading provider of wrap-around support in maternal care, how the organization is transforming maternal health outcomes and overcoming access barriers through accessible tech-enabled doula-led care, and much more.
2025-02-2819 min
all inclusive solutionsMichael Verde - Communication SolutionsOur guest today is Michael Verde, from Texas, who from a very early age made the decision that he didn’t want to end up in a small universe and decided reading 100 pages a day would broaden his horizons. Michael is now a writer, and founded Memory Bridge in 2003 after hearing someone on a documentary talk about people with dementia in a disparaging way and meeting someone from the Smithsonian Centre for Folk Life and Cultural Heritage. Memory Bridge exists to end the emotional isolation of people with dementia. They bridge people with and without demen...
2025-01-1535 min
Journey - With Michael and Ryan#82 The Power of Healing Birth: A Conversation with Carla SargentIn this week’s episode we sit down with Carla Sargent, a passionate advocate for birth trauma healing and holistic birth support. Carla, a home birthing mother of three and an ex-midwife, founded Healing Birth in 2015, a groundbreaking business dedicated to helping families recover from traumatic births and prepare for empowering future experiences.
Carla shares her journey from midwifery to creating a holistic approach that has supported hundreds of families in finding healing and reclaiming the birth experience. She also discusses her work with birth workers, educating them on the causes and impacts of birth trauma, its pre...
2024-08-141h 06Journey - With Michael and Ryan#82 The Power of Healing Birth: A Conversation with Carla SargentIn this week’s episode we sit down with Carla Sargent, a passionate advocate for birth trauma healing and holistic birth support. Carla, a home birthing mother of three and an ex-midwife, founded Healing Birth in 2015, a groundbreaking business dedicated to helping families recover from traumatic births and prepare for empowering future experiences.
Carla shares her journey from midwifery to creating a holistic approach that has supported hundreds of families in finding healing and reclaiming the birth experience. She also discusses her work with birth workers, educating them on the causes and impacts of birth trauma, its pre...
2024-08-141h 06
The Gilded Age and Progressive EraCompliments of Hamilton and SargentThe Gilded Age West was a place to disappear for some. For Ray Hamilton and Jake Sargent - men from distinguished eastern families that sought privacy after scandals turned their lives apart - the West could not shield them from ongoing intrigue. Dr. Maura Jane Farrelly joins the show to talk about her latest book Compliments of Hamilton and Sargent, which detail these men's lives and those around them in Jackson, Wyoming. Essential Reading: Maura Jane Farrelly, Compliments of Hamilton and Sargent (2024).Recommended Reading: Wendy Gonaver, The...
2024-07-1059 min
Become an IDOL: Instructional Design and Online LearningIDOL Success Story with Michael Shackleton | 86This episode of the Become an IDOL podcast features Michael Shackleton, an instructional designer who transitioned into the field after 14 years of teaching. Michael shares his journey of discovering instructional design, enrolling in the IDOL Academy, and building his portfolio and skills. He discusses his application process, interviews he went through, and how he landed his first job as a learning content designer at a large company in Manchester. Michael offers advice to others looking to make a career change, emphasizing the importance of being yourself, accepting feedback, and pursuing your passions.
Tune in to find out:
2023-10-1332 min
Brown & BlackPulitzer-Winning Composer Michael Abels on Race, AI and Being Black in Classical MusicIn this special episode of Brown & Black, we sit down with recent Pulitzer Prize-winning, Emmy and Grammy-nominated composer Michael Abels. We take a journey through his life, his passion for music, the challenges he faced as a Black composer in the 1980s, and his latest work on the film "Chevalier," based on the life of Joseph Bologne in the 1800s. We asked him about the barriers he overcame as a Black composer, what sets Joseph Bologne apart from traditional composers, and will classical music has to transform to survive in the era of artificial intelligence. Michael Abels weighed in.
2023-06-0731 min
Liberty MonksSPACE, The Final Fraud-tier: John Hamer and Mark SargentFamed authors and researchers John Hamer and Mark Sargent discuss the evidence and circumstances that point towards a massive hoax about the Apollo missions and the current space program.
John Hamer a full-time professional geopolitical researcher, analyst, public speaker and author, having written and had published eight books to date, including: The Falsification of History, The Falsification of Science, Behind the Curtain, JFK A Very British Coup, RMS Olympic and his new work Welcome to the Masquerade.
Mark Sargent, truth seeker who was featured in the 2018 Netflix documentary, Behind the Curve and author of Flat...
2022-10-011h 16
Foxhole SymphonyCeaseless Striving: Part II with Guest Michael CusickSend us a textIn part II of this incredible episode with special guest Michael Cusick, we continue the deep dive into what lurks beneath the growing epidemic of porn addiction. As Michael unpacks the 5 W's of our brokenness, we begin to see how our awareness and acceptance of both our brokenness and our wholeness and our willingness to simply hold these two in tension is exactly what God desires for our lives and leads to a freedom that perhaps we've never known. Let's face it, the alternative is an exhausting, hamster wheel endeavor. Take a l...
2022-05-0647 min
Foxhole SymphonyCeaseless Striving and The Battle Against Porn, Part I with Guest Michael CusickSend us a textIn this incredible episode with special guest Michael Cusick, we begin to take a deep dive into what lurks beneath the growing epidemic of porn addiction. But wait, there's more! Michael's perspective is one that is FULL OF HOPE for those afflicted with an addiction to acting out their sexual brokenness. Let's just cut right to the end...if you want to get over porn, buy a pocket knife. Well, not really, but listen in and it will all make sense. Michael is a gifted speaker, teacher, and clinical couns...
2022-04-2931 min
Accountants EXPOSEDPatrick Sargent - Disrupting the Accounting Industry with a Fintech modelStarting out as a Graduate Accountant and eventually paving his way and co-founding his very own high tech accounting practice, our guest gives us more than a sneak peak of what his journey has been about, how he focused on systems, growth and scaling the business. His business aims to disrupt the traditional accounting model.
Listen in as Patrick Sargent, CEO of Pop Business enlightens us about:
The journey of Pop Tax and it's Co-Founders
The trials and tribulations of being a tech a start up in the accounting space
The impressive tech used to run...
2021-09-271h 55
Within ToleranceWithin Tolerance Episode 94 - Michael Sargent of Flux WorkholdingWhen this week's guest Michael Sargent ran into the issue of accurate and dense workholding for his companies Carbon Tactics and Gear Fur, he leaned on his background in engineering and kinematics to design vises and start Flux Workholding. Dylan and Michael go through the ins and the outs of the vise, the ideas that shaped it, and the concepts its based on. With Michael being a veteran of kickstarter both also discuss the benefits of a pre-order and how to handle such an influx of orders. Michael shares his products landing in some unusual places and some cool things...
2021-05-191h 09
TatterEpisode 67: Metastasis (Impeachment, w/ Frank Bowman)The U.S. House has impeached President Donald Trump, for an unprecedented second time. This time, a majority of members of Congress endorsed a single article of impeachment for "incitement of insurrection," based on Trump's urging a crowd of his supporters to march to the Capitol where both houses of Congress were meeting to count electoral votes, urging the crowd to go pressure members of Congress to overturn the results in key states that Trump lost. Once the House officially transmits the article of impeachment to the Senate, they will be able to conduct a trial, which could result...
2021-01-1739 min
TatterEpisode 66: Conviction (Impeachment Politics, w/ Sarah Binder)In the wake of the violence and destruction resulting from mob action in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and given that many view President Donald Trump's public comments beforehand as inciting the mob's action, House Democrats have presented a single article of impeachment with a vote likely imminent. If this happens, Trump would be the first U.S. president impeached twice. I recently spoke with Sarah Binder, Professor of Political Science at The George Washington University, and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, speaking with her about impeachment politics, as well as things to watch...
2021-01-1243 min
TatterEpisode 65: Gut Check (w/ Tim Spector, on food science)We all eat, but we don't all eat well. How can we do so? In particular, what dietary choices are best for an individual's physical wellness? And how much do individuals' unique characteristics determine what choices are best for them? And what choices are best for the environment? Why are calories and "food miles" overrated as metrics? How can governments help consumers make good food choices, especially if they live in food deserts? I discuss such questions with genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector.
LINKS
--Tim Spector's King's College web profile
--Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We've Been...
2020-12-1645 min
TatterEpisode 64: Rogue (Conspiracy Theories, w/ Kelley-Romano & Miller)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Even though some conspiracy theories are only endorsed by a small fraction of the population, it is likely a mistake to write off all who believe in conspiracy theories, especially since some theories are endorsed more widely, and with substantial effect. I discuss these issues with two conspiracy theory researchers: Stephanie Kelley-Romano of the Bates College Department of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies, and Joanne Miller of the University of Delaware Department of Political Science & International Relations.
LINKS
--Stephanie Kelley-Romano's Bates College web profile
--Joanne Miller's University of Delaware web profile
2020-12-0958 min
TatterEpisode 63: Tripwire (w/ Peter Margulies)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
The firings and resignations of senior civilian officials at the Pentagon--most notably of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper--has raised alarm in many quarters. Many are also concerned about President Trump's refusal to concede the election and his refusal to support a transition to the administration of President-elect Joe Biden. I discuss these concerns, and other issues, with Roger Williams University Professor of Law, and expert on national security law, Peter Margulies.
LINKS
--Peter Margulies's Roger Williams University profile
--"Trump administration removes senior defense officials and installs loyalists, triggering alarm at...
2020-11-1335 min
TatterEpisode 62: Hard Knocks (w/ Seth Masket)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As Democrats were reminded (the hard way) in 2016, elections don't always turn out as we expect them to. When a political party loses an election, especially if it does more poorly than expected, it often has tough, self-reflective conversations about what happened. In so doing, parties try to learn lessons from their losses. University of Denver political scientist has written about these issues in his new book, Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020.
LINKS
--Seth Masket's DU profile
--Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020 (Amazon)
--"Amid tears and anger...
2020-11-0849 min
TatterEpisode 61: Legitimate Authority (w/ Sara Benesh)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Many people discuss the public's trust in, and willingness to accord legitimacy to, U.S. courts, especially the Supreme Court. But why does that trust and legitimacy matter? What factors determine it? How might recent Republican maneuvering affect legitimacy, including maneuvering that has recently resulted in the confirmation of President Trump's third Supreme Court nomineee? What might be the impact of Democrats' increasing the number of seats on the Supreme Court? How might race matter for any of these questions? I discuss such questions with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee political scientist Sara Benesh.
LINKS
2020-10-3032 min
The Convo With George SargentCONVO#43 Michael Waugh 🤝Michael Waugh gives a profound new voice to the Australian experience. His insightful storytelling cuts to the heart of everyday life. It is honest, emotionally brave and compelling in its beauty. Michael Waugh’s new single Be There is about driving the distances away. It’s about long highways, fuelled by snacks from a servo, being pulled forward by the red tail lights of the car just ahead of you, and the endless broken white lines that could almost be repeating something to you in Morse code. At a time when many are separated from family and friends – Be There remind...
2020-10-2838 min
TatterEpisode 60: Pass the Torch (w/ Jean Rhodes)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
My generation, and the ones before mine, have really screwed things up, it seems. But eventually, younger people will take their place as leaders (and some already are). For all our screw-ups, those of us who have some years under our belts can potentially play helpful roles as mentors, as younger folks find their way. I recently had a chance to talk about mentorship with Jean Rhodes, an influential expert on the topic, and the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She studies intergenerational relationships, especially formal and informal...
2020-10-0644 min
TatterEpisode 59: Hazardous Conditions (w/ Doug McConnell)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many people have called for hazard pay for "essential workers" to compensate them for additional risks they encounter because they have to go in to work in person. For example, I'm aware of such calls for custodial workers at colleges and universities that have invited students to campus. Indeed, I've encountered such arguments at the institution where I teach. In this episode, I discuss such issues with philosopher Doug McConnell, who recently published on the topic. We talk about the conditions that can justify hazard pay, we discuss other forms...
2020-09-1445 min
TatterEpisode 58: The Seamless Garment Goes OnABOUT THIS EPISODE
Father James Martin is a Jesuit priest and editor-at-large at America, a weekly magazine published by the Jesuits of the United States. Father Martin is widely know for his advocacy for the rights of LGBT people, including his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him as a consultant to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications. He's appeared on such outlets as CNN, NPR, and Fox News. He's also been a guest on The Colbert Report, and...
2020-09-1041 min
TatterEpisode 57: The Seamless Garment (Pro-Life Politics, w/ Fr. James Martin)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Father James Martin is a Jesuit priest and editor-at-large at America, a weekly magazine published by the Jesuits of the United States. Father Martin is widely know for his advocacy for the rights of LGBT people, including his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him as a consultant to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications. He's appeared on such outlets as CNN, NPR, and Fox News. He's also been a guest on The Colbert Report, and...
2020-08-1032 min
TatterEpisode 56: When They Hit You (w/ Omar Wasow)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Princeton political scientist Omar Wasow joins me to talk about a recent paper of his that focuses on the relative impact of violent and nonviolent protest of racial injustice. In the wake of such deaths as that of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and in light of subsequent protests, his paper has been quite timely. It's also been met with some controversy. Wasow and I discuss his background, the paper, the implications of the paper for activists, reactions to the paper, and more. (Special thanks to my colleague Paul Schofield, who suggested one of the...
2020-07-161h 07
TatterEpisode 55: Moment of Truth (w/ Robin Engel)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As promised, here's another episode inspired by the killing of George Floyd, and the subsequent protests. In this one, I remain focused on police behavior. This is my interview with Robin Engel, Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati, as well as Director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)/UC Center for Police Research and Policy. We discuss police decision-making--which she studies--as well as police reform. Not only has Engel studied these issues, but she's also been responsible for overseeing a department as it implemented reforms in the wake of...
2020-06-151h 01
TatterEpisode 54: There's Got To Be A Better Way (w/ Lamar Stewart)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
This is my conversation with G. Lamar Stewart, a detective and head of community engagement in the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Stewart is a former Philadelphia police officer, and was also Vice-President of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Black Police Association. We discuss policing, including its connection to race, a timely topic in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
LINKS
--New York Times video essay on the chronology of the killing of George Floyd
--An article about the kind of community engagement work Stewart...
2020-06-0959 min
TatterEpisode 53: The Pursuit (w/ Laurie Santos)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Psychologist Laurie Santos offered a course on well-being in 2018, and it became the most popular course ever offered at Yale University. Her online course also developed a strong following. Now she had a podcast called The Happiness Lab. I had a chance to talk with her about human happiness, and the ways in which our intuitions about what promotes happiness are often wrong. Our discussion includes a discussion of happiness in a time of a pandemic and of physical distancing, but also about happiness and race.
LINKS
Laurie Santos, Yale University
...
2020-06-0458 min
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
TatterEpisode 51: Engaging Power (w/ Eitan Hersh)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Eitan Hersh is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Tufts University, and he's the author of the book Politics Is For Power. In his book, he discusses what he calls "political hobbyism," which the host of this podcast all too often engages in when he gets into arguments in comment threads on Facebook. In one demographic respect, Sargent's doing so is not that surprising. But in another respect, it is a bit more unusual. To learn more, listen to the episode. You'll also hear about compelling stories of people who aren't "...
2020-04-1545 min
TatterEpisode 50: Wrong Tool for the Job (Brian Kalt, on the 25th Amendment)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Concerns about Donald Trump's fitness to serve as U.S. President have motivated many people to advocate for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, particularly Section 4. Those who have engaged in such advocacy--and I've done it--seem to believe that effectively invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment could be a way to remove Trump from office. But my guest--Brian Kalt of the Michigan State University College of Law--makes a case that we're wrong.
LINKS
--Brian Kalt's MSU profile
--Unable: The Law, Politics, and Limits of Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (by Brian...
2020-03-2043 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
The Big Picture with Michael SargentScrewedMike sends a message to all newbies. Be careful and be aware of who you do business with. It's about principle.
2020-02-2310 min
TatterEpisode 48: The Episodic Man (Discussing Donald Trump w/ Dan McAdams)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Dan McAdams is The Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, as well as Director of the Foley Center for the Study of Lives. McAdams's areas of interest and expertise include personality and personal narrative. He's also written about the personality and narrative of Donald Trump, going back to when Trump was merely a candidate for President. Trump is now U.S. President (and will remain so, at least for the time being, since he was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial). McAdams has written a new book about the temperament and personal...
2020-02-101h 03
TatterEpisode 47: Above and Beyond (Respectability Politics, w/ David Crockett)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Within Black communities, "respectability politics" is a term often used to describe efforts at racial uplift that involve efforts at self-regulation in the service of disproving negative racial stereotypes. It includes ensuring that one's conduct is beyond reproach, and that one's standards of dress meet certain high standards (often those of upper-middle class White society). The term also refers to demands that Black Americans engage in such self-regulation. Black figures such as Charles Barkley and Bill Cosby have famously (and infamously) made such demands.
One's consumption choices--ranging from clothing to housing--can constitute a...
2020-01-2757 min
TatterEpisode 46: Measure for Measure (Wil Cunningham & Uli Schimmack Discuss the Implicit Association Test)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Since Tony Greenwald, Debbie McGhee, and Jordan Schwartz introduced the Implicit Association Test to the published literature in 1998, the IAT has taken social psychology by storm, and the notion that implicit bias is prevalent and impactful has taken the world by storm. But to what extent are popular beliefs, and popularizing claims, about implicit bias and the IAT well-supported by the science? What improvements are needed in the science of implicit bias? Does that research qualify as good science? Is it useful? And what does "implicit" even mean in this context? Psychologists Wil Cunningham and...
2020-01-131h 062019-12-2800 min
TatterEpisode 45: Correctional Training (w/ J. Pfaff & M. Rocque)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
John Pfaff is Professor of Law at Fordham University, and has areas of expertise that include prisons, criminal law, and sentencing law. Michael Rocque is Associate Professor of Sociology at Bates College, and his areas of expertise include criminological theory, racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and desistance from crime. He has also worked as Senior Research Advisor with the Maine Department of Corrections. In this episode, we use the recent death of Jeffrey Epstein as well as ongoing mass shootings as jumping off points for a wide-ranging conversation about jail and prison conditions...
2019-08-2259 min
TatterEpisode 44: Interim Ad Infinitum (On The Use and Abuse of Presidential Appointment Power)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Steve Vladeck is the A. Dalton Cross Professor in Law at the University of Texas School of Law. He's also a prolific writer and CNN's Supreme Court analyst, and he's argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. He joined me to discuss the President's power to appoint individuals in an acting capacity in senior positions. This is a power that can be abused--and some would argue has been abused by President Trump. We discuss the power, and possible reforms that could limit abuse.
LINKS
Steve Vladeck's UT-Austin profile
"Trump is abusing...
2019-08-0630 min
TatterEpisode 43: Trash Talk (w/ Jeffrey M. Berry)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Political scientist Jeffrey M. Berry and sociologist Sarah Sobieraj co-authored the book The Outrage Industry, which examines media efforts to provoke outrage in audiences (including efforts that play fast and loose with the facts), as well as the conditions that have encouraged and rewarded such efforts. Berry joined me for a conversation about incivility, outrage rhetoric, and more.
LINKS
--Tufts University profile for Jeffrey Berry
--Tufts University profile for Sarah Sobieraj
--The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility, by Berry and Sobieraj (Amazon)
--"Anger is...
2019-06-2430 min
Jedi CounselTatter, Masculinity, & Pulp Fiction with Michael SargentMichael Sargent is a social psychology professor and the host of Tatter, an excellent podcast about politics, policy, and many other interesting topics. We invited Michael on Jedi Counsel to talk about his pathway to becoming a social psychologist, including his research on need for cognition and punitive responses to crime. Then, Michael told us … Continue reading Tatter, Masculinity, & Pulp Fiction with Michael Sargent
2019-05-3100 min
TatterEpisode 42: Grace Under Pressure (An Abortion Provider In The South)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Lori Beard-Williams is clinic director at Little Rock Family Planning Services, the only full-service abortion provider in the state of Arkansas (my home state). She is also on the Board of Directors of the National Abortion Federation. Given the legislation that's been coming out of such state legislatures as Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas, we thought abortion was a timely topic. We discuss her professional path, as well as her patients, and the challenges facing her, her team, and the patients they serve.
LINKS
--Little Rock Family Planning Services
--Arkansas Abortion Support...
2019-05-2245 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 40: Up That Hill (Women in Congress)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As reported by the Pew Reserach Center, the current 116th Congress includes more women, and is more racially and ethnically diverse, than any previous Congress. Inspired by that shift, this episode features my conversation with political scientists Nadia Brown (Purdue University) and Barbara Palmer (Baldwin Wallace University). We discuss the experiences of women in Congress, including women of color, both in their campaigns but also while governing, and from both contemporary and historical perspective.
LINKS
--Nadia Brown's Purdue University profile
--Barbara Palmer's Baldwin Wallace University profile
--Sisters in the Statehouse...
2019-05-0658 min
TatterEpisode 39: Pocket Protection (Compensating College Athletes)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In a report by Chris Smith, Forbes lists Texas A&M University's football program as the most profitable in the 2014-2016 seasons. Its three-year average for revenue across those seasons was $148 million. Its three-year average for profit was $107 million. It was the leader of the pack, but far from alone. The 10th most profitable program (at the University of Florida) was listed at $67 million in profit. The 25th (Texas Tech's) was listed at $31 million in profit. Through broadcast licensing and other revenue streams, many NCAA programs generate immense revenue, particularly programs in the so-called Power...
2019-04-2454 min
TatterEpisode 38: Just Theory (w/ John Jost & Jim Sidanius)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Historically, many activists and organizers have struggled to enact their visions of social justice, and many do so to this very day. What role, if any, can and should social psychology play in such struggles? Do we have a role to play? Or do the risks of such engagement outweigh any potential rewards? In this episode, I discuss such issues with social psychologists John Jost and Jim Sidanius. Jost co-crafted system justification theory, and Sidanius co-crafted social dominance theory, each a theory relevant to social justice.
LINKS
--John Jost's NYU profile
...
2019-03-2853 min
TatterEpisode 37: Level Up (Advancing Foreign Policy Through Feminism)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As world leaders set their countries' foreign policies, history might seem an obvious basis upon which to base sound policy. Other potential bases that might seem obvious include game theory and perhaps even evolutionary theory. But is feminism an underappreciated basis? I discuss this topic with Jamille Bigio, Alexandra Bro, and Rachel Vogelstein, all at the Council on Foreign Relations. At a time when Sweden explicitly labels its foreign policy as "feminist," we explore what that means and whether there's evidence that feminist foreign policy is smart foreign policy.
LINKS
--Jamille Bigio's...
2019-03-1157 min
TatterEpisode 36: Vet the Technique (w/ Jonathan Haidt & Aaron Hanlon)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Given the ultimate purposes of colleges, universities, and academic disciplines, is viewpoint diversity (such as recruiting more conservatives into the social sciences) essential to achieving those purposes? What about free speech? Are trigger warnings an impediment to achieving those purposes? In this episode, I discuss these issues with two publicly engaged scholars: Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and a faculty member at the New York University Stern School of Business, as well as Aaron Hanlon, an assistant professor of English at Colby College who also teaches in and serves on the Advisory Committee for the...
2019-03-0457 min
TatterEpisode 35: Fear of Falling (w/ Ashley Jardina)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Ashley Jardina, a faculty member in political science at Duke University, is the author of White Identity Politics, which is scheduled to go on sale on Thursday, February 28. She and I recently talked about her book, which examines White identity and its political impact. As much as Whiteness has often been treated as a kind of cultural default, and even though it's often assumed that their own race isn't salient to White Americans and that they don't feel solidarity with other Whites, many actually do think about their race and do feel such solidarity. And...
2019-02-2539 min
TatterEpisode 34: I Am. I Am. I Am. (w/ J.R. & Vanessa Ford)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
My former student Vanessa Ford, and her husband JR, join me to talk about their family's story, and about the experiences of trans youth and their families. Vanessa is a board member for the National Center for Transgender Equality, and JR works for the federal government. They're parents to Ronnie and his younger sister Ellie (who is transgender), and they're also advocates for trans youth. They've written pieces for Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Katie Couric interviewed them. And now I'm lucky that they spoke with me on Tatter.
...
2019-01-081h 02
TatterEpisode 33: A Christmas TatterABOUT THIS EPISODE
Marine biologist and storyteller Skylar Bayer, psychologists Paul Bloom, Dan Molden, and David Pizarro, Moth storytellers and hosts Shannon Cason and Dame Wilburn, soccer coach Stewart Flaherty, and rhetoric professor Stephanie Kelley-Romano describe their favorite Christmas movies, discuss their criteria for qualifying a movie as a Christmas movie, and offer their opinions on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not.
LINKS
--Skylar Bayer's personal homepage
--The first story I ever heard Skylar tell, from The Story Collider
--Paul Bloom's Yale homepage
--Shannon Cason's personal homepage
--Shannon...
2018-12-2340 min
TatterEpisode 32: Movements (w/ Dan Kaufman)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
There are many robust threads of progressivism in the history of Wisconsin, running all the way back to its founding by Scandinavian and German immigrants. It also had influence on progressive policies in other governments, including the federal government. But at least in recent years, conservative officials in the state have successfully enacted policies contrary to the stances of progressives, and in many cases inimical to the interests of organized labor and others. And these policies have also been influential outside of Wisconsin. In this episode, I speak about such issues with Dan Kaufman, author...
2018-12-1738 min
TatterEpisode 31: Not Yet (Andersen v. Planned Parenthood)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Stephen Vladeck is the A. Dalton Cross Professor in Law at the University of Texas School of Law. He's also CNN's Supreme Court analyst. On the day of its announcement, he and I spoke about the Supreme Court's decision not to review a lower court decision that is at least partially related to abortion (Andersen v. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri). He also shared his thoughts on what it means that it appears Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justice Kavanaugh did not join their conservative colleagues in voting to take up the case.
2018-12-1012 min
TatterEpisode 30: Slurred SpeechABOUT THIS EPISODE
The utterance and writing of gendered and racial or ethnic slurs has often evoked controversy. My philosopher colleague Lauren Ashwell has taken up slurs as a subject of scholarly inquiry. In this episode, we sit for a 90-minute conversation about such issues as what makes a slur a slur, whether slurs can be reclaimed by members of the target group, and why the study of slurs matters.
LINKS
--Lauren Ashwell's personal website
--"Gendered Slurs," by Lauren Ashwell (requies JSTOR access)
--"CNN's Brooke Baldwin Chastises Trump Critic For Using...
2018-11-261h 26
TatterEpisode 29: Mission Creep (On Carrying Implicit Bias Too Far)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Talk of implicit bias has moved far beyond its origin in psychology. It's spread to law journals, it informs training in many workplaces (including one famous coffeeshop chain), and it's entered popular discourse. Does that ubiquity carry risks? What balls are we potentially taking our eyes off of when we focus on implicit bias? These are the kinds of issues addressed in my conversation with Jonathan Kahn, the James E. Kelley Chair in Tort Law at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and author of the book Race on the Brain.
LINKS
...
2018-11-0531 min
TatterEpisode 28: Magnolia In Bloom (Mississippi Politics)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
The recent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court--despite vocal and forceful opposition by many people--attests to the importance of being the majority party in the U.S. Senate. Democrats are currently in a narrow minority, and their path to control runs through Senate seats currently held by Republicans, many of which are in rural, agrarian states. One such state is Mississippi, and one such race features Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy, among others. The election is likely to go to a runoff, and if control of the Senate...
2018-10-1526 min
TatterEpisode 27: Class ActionABOUT THIS EPISODE
An ongoing controversy is whether colleges and universities should be free to consider race and ethnicity in admissions, and how the use of race relates to "merit." As indicated in a recent Gallup poll, many people think merit should trump race or ethnicity, but what do they really mean by "merit"? Whose interests are at stake? What will happen if colleges and universities can't consider race and ethnicity as they decide whom to admit? I discuss these questions with Julie J. Park, a University of Maryland professor in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and...
2018-09-1830 min
TatterEpisode 26: A Mighty Pen, Part II (Another Discussion of the Kavanaugh Nomination)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Judge Brett Kavanaugh currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but he's better known now as the more recent Supreme Court nominee by President Donald Trump, nominated to replace retired Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. This is the second of two episodes focused on Kavanaugh's record and thinking, and the impact his addition would likely have on the Court.
I spoke with Jonathan Adler and Brianne Gorod. Adler is the Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, as well...
2018-09-0256 min
The Michael Decon ProgramMark Sargent - Flat EarthEpisode 39: Flat Earth Revelations
On a special Friday edition of The Michael Decon Program,
Mark Sargent was the guest.
Growing up on South Whidbey Island, Washington, Mark Sargent started his career playing computer games professionally in Boulder Colorado. From there he spent the next 20 years training people in proprietary software. In 2014, he looked into what is no doubt the most ridiculous conspiracy ever, called "Flat Earth Theory", and through extensive research, discovered that it wasn't so laughable after all.
Early in 2015, he released a series of YouTube videos titled "Flat Earth Clues", which delves into the possibility of our human...
2018-08-281h 47
The Michael Decon ProgramMark Sargent - Flat EarthEpisode 39: Flat Earth Revelations On a special Friday edition of The Michael Decon Program, Mark Sargent was the guest. Growing up on South Whidbey Island, Washington, Mark Sargent started his career playing computer games professionally in Boulder Colorado. From there he spent the next 20 years training people in proprietary software. In 2014, he looked into what is no doubt the most ridiculous conspiracy ever, called "Flat Earth Theory", and through extensive research, discovered that it wasn't so laughable after all. Early in 2015, he released a series of YouTube videos titled "Flat Earth Clues", which delves into the possibility of our human...
2018-08-281h 47
TatterEpisode 25: A Mighty Pen, Part I (Discussing the Kavanaugh Nomination)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Judge Brett Kavanaugh currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but he's better known now as the most recent Supreme Court nominee by President Donald Trump, nominated to replace retired Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. This is the first of two episodes focused on Kavanaugh's record and thinking, and the impact his addition would likely have on the Court.
I spoke with Peter Margulies and Stephen Vladeck. Margulies is Professor of Law at Roger Williams University's School of Law, where he teaches national security law, immigration law...
2018-08-1458 min
TatterEpisode 24: Old Times Forgotten (Talking Southern Politics)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Jay Barth is the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics at Hendrix College, of which he is an alum (as is the host of this podcast). Jay recently joined Tatter to talk about Arkansas politics, Southern politics, and national politics. Topics included a discussion of just how much support Donald Trump enjoys, whether a new political realignment has occurred in the U.S., what's gotten boring and what's stayed interesting about Arkansas politics, and what it was like to teach the day after Trump was elected.
LINKS
Jay...
2018-08-1136 min
TatterEpisode 23: Policy of Truth (or, How to Tell a Good Story)ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Peter Aguero is a Moth storyteller and host, as well as creator and performer of the one-man show Daddy Issues. Tara Clancy is also a Moth storyteller and host, as well as author of the memoir The Clancys of Queens, and a panelist on the quiz show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! on NPR. Both Aguero and Clancy are Moth GrandSLAM champions. In this conversation, they're joined by social psychologist and communications researcher Melanie Green, who studies stories. As a former producer of a live storytelling program, and one who always tried to be helpful...
2018-08-0658 min
TatterEpisode 22: Moats and BridgesFather James Martin is a Jesuit priest and editor at large for America: The Jesuit Review. He's the author of multiple books, including Building A Bridge: How The Catholic Church And The LGBT Community Can Enter Into A Relationship Of Respect, Compassion, And Sensitivity. Although I had hoped to make this interview the basis of a special Pride episode of Tatter, July was the soonest we could chat, and I am grateful to Father Jim for talking to me. Even though I'm an atheist, and even though I don't agree with him or the Catholic Church on all issues...
2018-07-2330 min
TatterEpisode 21: Brotherly LoveOn April 12, 2018, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, two Black men, were waiting in a Philadelphia Starbucks for another man to join them for a business meeting. As was widely reported, they were asked to leave after not buying anything and ultimately were arrested for trespassing after refusing to leave. (The manager who called 911 is no longer with Starbucks.)
As soon as I learned about this incident, I wanted to talk to a police officer in Philadelphia about what happened, how officers are trained to handle such incidents, and issues of policing and race more generally. G. Lamar...
2018-07-1631 min
TatterEpisode 20: The Humean Stain, Part 2ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Implicit bias has been studied by many social psychologists, and one particular measure, the Implicit Association Test (or IAT) has often been used in that research. It has also been used by practitioners, often for purposes of raising participants' awareness of their own biases. And millions have completed IAT's online at the Project Implicit website.
In this episode, I continue a discussion with six people who have all thought about the IAT, with the conversation covering such topics as (a) how well the IAT predicts discriminatory behavior and other behavior, (b) whether it's...
2018-07-0956 min
TatterEpisode 19: The Humean Stain, Part 1On April 12, 2018, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, two African-American men, were arrested for trespassing at a Philadelphia Starbucks. They were waiting for another person to join them for a meeting, when a manager called the police because they hadn't made a purchase. In the face of ensuing controversy, Starbucks closed stores nationwide one afternoon at the end of May in order to hold anti-bias training sessions for employees. As in this case and elsewhere, the topic of implicit racial bias has captured many imaginations.
Implicit bias has been studied by many social psychologists, and one particular measure...
2018-07-0258 min
TatterEpisode 18: The Story Is Not EnoughJosie Duffy-Rice, an attorney with the Fair Punishment Project, spoke with me about a variety of topics related to criminal justice, including efforts at reform, the ideas of author (and new New York Times columnist) Michelle Alexander, prosecutors (including progressive ones), and race and crime. You should check out this episode, and also follow Josie's Twitter feed.
LINKS
Fair Punishment Project
Michelle Alexander's book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander joins The New York Times
John Pfaff's book Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration...
2018-06-2727 min
TatterEpisode 17: Unsafe Harbor (A Special Briefing)Sarah Sherman-Stokes is Associate Director of the Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program at Boston University Law School, and she graciously spoke with me about what's been happening along the southern border of the U.S., where prosecution of families seeking asylum has gained national and international attention, especially since children have been intentionally separated from their parents by the U.S. government. She also spoke to historical context, including the origins of MS-13. In addition to discussing the facts on the ground, and relevant history, we also discussed what people who want to help asylum-seekers can do.
2018-06-2334 min
TatterEpisode 16: The Golden Door (A Special Briefing)On June 18, 2018, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen held a briefing largely focused on the Trump administration's treatment of families seeking asylum at the southwestern border of the U.S. On June 19, I spoke with Sarah Pierce, Policy Analyst for the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute. We discussed the predominant home countries of those who have been recently apprehended at the southwestern border of the U.S., a bit about data cited by the Nielsen, and quite a bit more about what would happen if legislation...
2018-06-2020 min
TatterEpisode 15: Where True Stories LieThis is a conversation with four people who all know stories well, and who were willing to think with me about how stories can work for and against those fighting injustice. Jonathan Adler is a psychologist at the Olin College of Engineering, who has studied the stories people tell while addressing mental or physical health challenges. Skylar Bayer is a marine biologist who is currently working on marine policy in DC as a Dean John A. Knauss Fellow in the U.S. Senate, and is also a storyteller. Tara Clancy is a storyteller and host with The Moth, and...
2018-06-1835 min
TatterEpisode 14: SpoiledIn elections with three or more candidates, spoiler effects are thought to occur when one candidate, one with supporters who are ideologically similar to those of another candidate, garners enough support that a third, ideologically dissimilar or even opposite, candidate can win without a majority. For example, in the 2014 Maine gubernatorial general election, Democratic nominee Mike Michaud received 43.4% of the vote, while independent candidate Eliot Cutler received 8.4%. Because Cutler's issue positions (e.g., pro-choice, supportive of marriage equality, pro-union) aligned him more closely with Democrats than the Republican opponent, many have suggested that Cutler's participation in the election drew...
2018-06-0727 min
TatterEpisode 13: Open, Bar NoneAccording to the Brewers Association, in 1994, there were 537 brewpubs, microbreweries, and regional craft brewers in the U.S. In 2017, that number had risen to 6,266. Coast to coast, there's been an explosion in craft brewing, with brewers producing a delightful diversity of types of beer. But demographic diversity has been a different story. It's a story still being written, but it's still a different story.
In this episode of Tatter, I talk with J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, who has written about beer and was recently named the new Diversity Ambassador for the Brewers Association, and I also talk with...
2018-06-0554 min
TatterEpisode 12: Strait and NarrowWriting is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science.
In this episode, my guest...
2018-06-0151 min
TatterEpisode 11: Magic Carpet RideLucas St. Clair is famous (or, for some, infamous) for leading the successful effort to persuade former U.S. President Barack Obama to designate 87,500 acres in northern Maine as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Now, St. Clair is running for Congress in Maine's Second Congressional District. As a follow-up to the "I-95 Northernmost" episode of Tatter, in which St. Clair was discussed and briefly quoted, this episode features the entirety of my interview with him.Special Guest: Lucas St. Clair.
2018-05-1626 min
TatterEpisode 10: I-95 NorthernmostMaine political writer Al Diamon (The Daily Bulldog and The Forecaster) and political scientist Amy Fried (University of Maine and The Bangor Daily News) discuss Maine's Second Congressional District, the district's pivot from Democratic presidential candidates to Donald Trump, and the upcoming election of its representative to the U.S. House. The episode ends with an excerpt from a recent interview with Democratic candidate Lucas St. Clair, an interview that will be the basis of the next episode of Tatter.Special Guests: Al Diamon and Amy Fried.
2018-05-1428 min
TatterEpisode 9: Just Another WordAs in previous years and decades, the freedom of exchange of ideas and freedom of inquiry on college campuses are subjects of debate. In this episode, Sargent talks with legal and literary theorist Stanley Fish (author of, among other things, "There's No Such Thing As Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too") as well as Bates College classicist Margaret Imber.Special Guests: Margaret Imber and Stanley Fish.
2018-05-0449 min
TatterEpisode 8: A Thinking Debater's Guide to the AR-15The AR-15 style rifle is famous or infamous, depending on whom you ask. Celebrated by some as "America's Rifle," it is also notorious for its use in multiple mass shootings. For any of us inclined to engage in debates about access to the AR-15, especially if we debate gun enthusiasts who use and know the weapon, it behooves us to be informed. Preparing this podcast allowed me to learn more, particularly (though not exclusively) through my conversation with John Ismay, a New York Times reporter. I invite you to listen if you're curious.
(Special thanks to the...
2018-03-2849 min
TatterEpisode 7: Rising TideSeth Masket is Professor of Political Science at the University of Denver, and Director of DU's Center on American Politics. He contributes to Vox's Mischiefs of Faction, and has contributed to The Monkey Cage, FiveThirtyEight, Politico, and The New York Times.
Click here to read Masket's article about a simple forecasting model that augurs well for Democrats in the midterm elections.Special Guest: Seth Masket.
2018-02-2628 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
TatterEpisode 5: NonstandardAccording to Fordham University law professor John Pfaff, the U.S. has experienced substantial growth in incarceration rates over the past several decades, and now has a higher incarceration rate than all other industrialized countries, and virtually all countries in general. He says that there is a "standard story" that attempts to explain why incarceration is so prevalent in the U.S. That story points to such factors as longer sentences, the "War on Drugs," and private prisons. According to Pfaff, these are indeed problems, but they are relatively minor contributors to the high levels of U.S. incarceration...
2017-12-2038 min
TatterEpisode 4: MultifunctionalHannah Harleen lives in South Portland, Maine, and is a former radio personality and burlesque performer. She performed as Vera Velvet in the Voulez-Vous Burlesque company of Portland. We talk about burlesque, commercial stripping, pears, a vice-principal, boobs, and more.Special Guest: Hannah Harleen.
2017-11-1928 min
TatterEpisode 3: Sugar, Pt. 2Heidi Sawyer leads the Lewiston Rocks Facebook group and website. She agreed to sit for a lengthy conversation, and these excerpts constitute Part 1 of what I'm posting. She was too interesting for just one episode.Special Guest: Heidi Sawyer.
2017-11-0528 min