University Of Chicago Public Policy Podcasts

In this interview with Dr. Joshua Epstein, Professor of Epidemiology at New York Universityand head of their Agent-Based Modeling Lab we discuss coronavirus, immunity, fear, andvaccination. For a deeper look at some of his ideas on fear and the virus look at his recent articlein Politico: https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2020/03/31/coronavirus-americafear-contagion-can-we-handle-it-157711Podcast Production Credit: Sidhant Wadhera

It’s been an uncertain few weeks of adjustment and change, and our communities will look different for a while. We want to provide some reflections and we asked a few people from the Harris community to tell us how they’ve been coping at this moment. Today, we share stories in Hyde Park -- we hope that this can help be a centering point for you.Podcast Production Credits: Yi Ning Wong (MPP '21), for producing and interviewingRachel Li (MPP'20), for editingDavid Raban (JD/MPP '20), for supervisingSpecial thanks to Philippa Paisley, Andres Fortunato, Camila Perez, Katia Cordoba, and Sidhant Wadhera for sharing their stories.

Two years ago, we spoke with Martin Joseph, a jazz composer and pianist. He has lived a long life of jazz, and he was kind enough to sit down and talk to us about it.In this episode, you hear his tracks “Chiaroscuro” from Mystery Box, “Africa” and “One for Reinhard” from The Day of the Rainbow, and “For Matisse I” from Roundabout. You can find and listen to samples of The Day of the Rainbow here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BDQZB86/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dpYou can also listen to more of Martin Joseph's music here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ0MHdT3VHEEnjoy this special episode!Podcast Production Credit: David Raban (JD/MPP ’20), for producing, engineering, interviewing, and editingSpecial thanks to Ray Andrada, Aican Nguyen, and the University of Chicago’s International Immersion Program.

We spoke this week with former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, who formerly represented Nevada in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is now the CEO and senior provost of the Touro College and University System in Nevada.Congresswoman Berkely spoke with us about politics during the primary season, including the debates, the Nevada caucuses, and how the race is shaping out. Note that we spoke with her before Super Tuesday, so although she is supporting former Vice President Joe Biden, she did not know about his upcoming sweep.Podcast Production Credits: Sowmya Karun (MAIDP '20), for producingArjun Motta (MBA/MPP '22), for engineeringAndrew Weis (MPP '20), for interviewingDavid Raban (JD/MPP '20), for editingSpecial thanks to Eden Bernstein (JD '20) and the Jewish Law Students Association for bringing Congresswoman Berkley to the University of Chicago and arranging for her to speak with us.

We spoke with Abdul El-Sayed, an activist and former Michigan gubernatorial candidate. Dr. El-Sayed previously practiced as a physician, earned a Rhodes Scholarship, and served as the top official for Detroit’s Department of Health. We talked with Dr. El-Sayed about the primary season, addressing radical problems, and how becoming a father has changed his perspective.We also discussed his upcoming book, “Healing Politics.” You can find out more about it on his website:https://abdulelsayed.com/healingpoliticsPodcast Production Credits:Jacob Leppek (MSCAPP ’21), for interviewingSowmya Karun (MAIDP ’20), for producing and engineeringDavid Raban (JD/MPP ’20), for editingSpecial thanks to the Institute of Politics for bring Dr. El-Sayed to the University of Chicago as a Pritzker Fellow.

We spoke with John Bouman, President of the Shriver Center. The Shriver Center is a legal aid nonprofit that tackles issues related to poverty. Topics we discussed included what poverty looks like in America, progressive income taxes, and how racial injustices intersect with poverty.To find out more about the Shriver Center’s work, check out their website:https://www.povertylaw.org Podcast Production Credits:Jordyn Mahome (BA ’23), for co-interviewing and co-editingJames Hu (BA ’22), for engineeringDavid Raban, for producing, co-interviewing, and co-editingSpecial thanks to the University of Chicago Institute of Politics for bringing Mr. Bouman as an IOP Fellow this winter quarter.

It’s Valentine’s Day 2020, and you know what that means: it’s time for Naked Love! Today’s episode is about life for students who are engaged or married. Our Naked Love team spoke with one student at the Harris School of Public Policy and another in the College about married/engaged life. It included how they met their respective partners, how they came to the decision that they were in it for the long haul, and what experiences informed their decisions. Podcast Production Credits:Emily Kelin (MPP ’20), for interviewingIvanna Shevel (BA ’21), for interviewing and discussingKatie James (BA ‘21), for discussingAmy Lu (BA ’23), for editingArjun Motta (MBA/MPP ’22), for engineering, producing, and discussing

Audra Grassia is a veteran technical process manager who has extensive experience using data and analytics at private, political, and non-profit organizations. She previously served as the Deputy Political Director for the Democratic Governors Association, as a Client Engagement Manager at Civis Analytics, and on the Analytics team for the Hillary for America campaign in 2016. She spoke with Alec MacMillen (MSCAPP ’20) about how the big data revolution has affected political campaign strategy. Podcast Production Credits:Alec MacMillen (MSCAPP ’20), for producing, engineering, interviewing, and editing

Irene Sanpietro (JD ’20) spoke with Barbara McQuade, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. They discussed cybersecurity, police profiling, and progressive prosecution. Specific topics included effective crime interventions in dialogue with communities, and how encryption has changed law enforcement.Check out her academic page to find out more about her work and background:https://www.law.umich.edu/FacultyBio/Pages/FacultyBio.aspx?FacID=bmcquade Podcast Production Credits:Irene SanPietro (JD ’20), for interviewingArjun Motta (MBA/MPP ’22), for producing and engineeringDavid Raban (JD/MPP ’20), for editing

Sowmya Karun (MAIDP ’20) and Yash Kirkire (MPP ’21) spoke with Liz Dozier, the Founder and Managing Director of Chicago Beyond, a philanthropy and impact investor investing in disruptive, community centric organizations and ideas to transform youth living in fragile communities. They discussed her work in the Chicago Public school systems, how she is reconceptualizing philanthropy, the power dynamics in social impact research, and why it’s important to work with and within the community. For more information about Chicago Beyond, visit their website: https://chicagobeyond.org. Credits:Sowmya Karun, for producing and co-interviewingYash Kirkire, for co-interviewingOlu Odigan, for engineering and editing

Steve Crano (MPP ’20) spoke with Greg Gershuny, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Energy and Environment Program. They talked about Aspen Institute’s role on policy education, the upcoming Inter-Policy School Summit, and Greg’s work in the Obama administration.Steve and Greg Gershuny worked together to put on this year’s Inter-Policy School Summit. The 2020 IPSS will be hosted at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, just as it was last year. Check out the webpage below for more information:https://www.harrispublicpolicy-summit.com You can also find out information about the 2020 Future Leader’s Climate Summit at the webpage below:https://www.flcs2020.orgPodcast Production Credits:Steve Crano, for interviewingSuo Wu, for producing, engineering, and editing

Today, we introduce our newest mini-series: Bite-Size Policy.Bite-Size Policy is a collaboration with the Paul Douglas Institute, where researchers from this student-run think tank at the University of Chicago present their research in a way that enables our viewers to know the issues and what they can do about it. In this episode, Jacob Leppek (MSCAPP '21) spoke with researchers Rory Gates (BA '22) and Jack Votava (BA '21) to discuss their recent paper on referenda. This paper examines referendum data from Illinois since 1980 on topics like criminal justice, government structure, and tax policy. They find that Presidential elections and higher voter turnout both significantly negatively impact pro-referendum vote share, and that the passage rate of each referenda varies significantly with policy topic area. During low turnout elections, referenda are much less likely to pass.Podcast Production Credits:Jacob Leppek, interviewingMiranda Zhang, editingJoana Lepuri, engineering and producingSowmya Karun, product

For this episode we talk with Lauren Sampson, a civil rights attorney who focuses on impact litigation. She works for a nonprofit, Lawyers for Civil Rights. They’ve done work on immigrants’ rights, economic justice, and police accountability. We spoke with her about her recent work in education equity, climate justice, and other civil rights issues.Podcast Production Credit:Irene SanPietro, for co-producing and interviewingArjun Motta, for co-producing and engineeringDavid Raban, for editing

Today’s episode is an interview with Jane Coaston, a reporter who reports on conservatism for Vox and co-host of the podcast, The Weeds. We spoke with her about the different types of conservatism, including fiscal conservatism and movement conservatism. We also asked her if she ever feels that she needs to act “balanced” in her journalism and what she thinks it would take for Republican Senators to vote for removal of President Trump.Podcast Production Credit: Sowmya Karun, for producing and co-interviewingFanmei Xia, for engineeringDavid Raban, for co-interviewing and editingSpecial thanks to the University of Chicago Institute of Politics for inviting Jane Coaston to be an IOP fellow.

Julian Lake (MPP '19) talks with Professor Eric Oliver about nationalism and populism. He teaches political science at the University of Chicago, and his research focuses include contemporary American politics, political psychology, and public support for conspiracy theories. This interview was originally recorded in early 2018 and edited for November 2019.Podcast Production Credit: Julian Lake, for producing, interviewing, and engineeringDavid Raban, for producing and editingDavid Raban is our Production ManagerMusic is “Knockout 2” by Da Tooby“Yes Yes Ya’ll” by Matt LargeCover art by Shirin Raban

Evan Smith is a public interest attorney and the Director of Advocacy for AppalReD, a nonprofit that gives free legal services in rural Appalachia. We spoke about what it’s like to work in rural America, the legal issues people face in that part of the country, and what we can do to help.In full disclosure, the interviewer, David Raban, worked for AppalReD for ten weeks this past summer and was paid for that work through the University of Chicago Law School and the Rural Summer Legal Corps, a collaboration between Equal Justice Works and the Legal Services Corporation.Podcast Production CreditsDavid Raban, for producing, engineering, interviewing, and editingMusic is “Knockout 2” by Da Tooby“Yes Yes Ya’ll” by Matt LargeCover art by Shirin RabanSpecial thanks to everyone at AppalReD

Today, we’re back with our most popular mini-series: Naked Love. This episode is all about finding the perfect match. We talk about dating algorithms, matchmaking services, and social matches.The Naked Love Team consists of Emily Kelin, Olina Yang, Franziska Harling, Ivanna Shevel, and Katie James.Special thanks to Susan Paykin and Lauren Li for producing.David Raban is our Production ManagerMusic:“Knockout 2” by Da Tooby“De Nada” by Timothy Infinite“Grey Hermatite” by Sarah, The Instrumentalist“Earl Grey” by Dylan Sitts“Gravy” by Jobii“Swank Attack” by Gustaav“Loops and Hoops” by Amber SpillCover art by Shirin Raban

We speak with award-winning author and activist Marianne Williamson, who is running for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. She spoke with UC3P about a number of topics, including foreign policy and her Department of Peace, healthcare for undocumented immigrants, reparations, values in making public policy, and truth.Podcast Production Credit: Aishwarya Kumar, for interviewingAlec MacMillen, for interviewingIszy Licht, for engineeringDavid Raban, for producing and editingDavid Raban is our Production ManagerSpecial thanks to Marianne Williamson and her team for coming to the University of Chicago and speaking with our podcasters! Also, special thanks for the Harris School of Public Policy’s Communications Team, Marketing Team, Events Team, and Facilities Team for helping us in preparation with this interview.

Today, we speak with Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison. We spoke with him about impeachment, the health of Senator Bernie Sanders, the vaping crisis, and the No Ban Act. His new podcast is "Affording Your Life with Keith Ellison."Credits:David Raban, for producing, interviewing, and editingHaz Yano, for engineeringDavid Raban is our Production ManagerSpecial thanks to Attorney General Ellison, and to his team, who put in a lot of work to help make this episode happen. Also, special thanks to the Harris School of Public Policy for helping us create our new studio. That includes Billy Morgan, Andrew Dawson, Jodi Daily, Eric Thomas, Jeff Zoline, Fay Booker, and so many others.

Welcome to Season Four of UC3P! This eponymously named podcast is on politics, policy, and current affairs, and it's made entirely by students at the University of Chicago.This season, we're excited to bring a number of changes to the show. First, all episodes will be 15-30 minutes long. Second, we're now recording in our brand-new podcast studio. Finally, we have bloopers at the end of each episode, so stick around for those.Stay tuned. We'll be back on Friday with Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison.