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Not Another Politics Podcast — Government
Not Another Politics Podcast

With all the noise created by a 24/7 news cycle, it can be hard to really grasp what’s going on in politics today. We provide a fresh perspective on the biggest political stories not through opinion and anecdotes, but rigorous scholarship, massive data sets and a deep knowledge of theory. Understand the political science beyond the headlines with Harris School of Public Policy Professors William Howell, Anthony Fowler and Wioletta Dziuda. Our show is part of the University of Chicago Podcast Network.

Copyright: © 2020 Harris School of Public Policy

Latest Episodes:

Why Do Politicians Polarize Policymaking? Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Why do politicians frequently focus on deeply polarizing issues instead of pursuing broadly beneficial reforms?

In this special episode, Anthony sits down with Wiola Dziuda and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita to discuss their paper “Partisan Traps”. They examine why some politicians may benefit from convincing voters that policymaking is about zero-sum partisan solutions and that opportunities for reforms benefiting voters across the political spectrum are rare. The team explores how politicians can shape voters’ beliefs, how those beliefs can in turn influence politicians’ incentives, and when policymaking can fall into a self-fulfilling trap in which voters remain loyal to—and keep reelecting—parties that deliver no beneficial reforms.

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Does Congress Actually Have Power of the Purse? Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

The "power of the purse"—Congress’s constitutional authority to control public spending—is often cited as the ultimate check on executive power. But how effectively does legislative funding actually translate into policy influence in modern Washington?

In this episode, we sit down with UChicago Ph.D. candidate Kevin Angell to dive into his latest paper on legislative spending power and appropriations. Moving beyond political rhetoric, Angell shares rigorous empirical research examining how federal budget allocations shape agency behavior, where Congressional leverage succeeds, and where executive discretion chips away at legislative control.

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Are Easy A’s Too Widespread in Academia? Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Across universities today, raw GPAs treat an A in advanced econometrics the same as an A in introductory film studies. Standard grading systems inadvertently penalize students who challenge themselves and reward those who course-shop.

In this episode, we speak with Harvard Business School Professor Scott Kominers about his recent paper that looks at how mathematical market design and "eigengrades" can strip out course difficulty to measure actual student performance. The paper proposes a fixed-effects model—using student overlap across courses—to isolate true academic capability. We explore how this simple structural fix could end the strategic game of course-shopping.

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Do We Understand Members Of The Other Party? Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

Do Democrats and Republicans really misunderstand each other as much as we think?

This week, we dive into a surprising new experiment that puts that idea to the test — literally. Psychologist and researcher Adam Mastriani created a kind of “political Turing test,” asking people to write persuasive statements from the perspective of the opposite political party. Then, he tested whether others could tell the real from the fake. The results? Most people couldn’t.

We unpack what this means for our understanding of polarization, partisan animosity, and political identity. Is the problem really misunderstanding — or something deeper? Are partisans more empathetic than we give them credit for? Or are they just really good at writing what they think others want to hear? We also explore the experiment’s implications for political science research, theory-building, and the broader sociology of science.

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The Economic Cost of Populism Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

While we take a quick summer break, we wanted to re-release an episode that felt timely, given the rise of right-wing populism around the world. More than 25 percent of countries around the world are currently governed by populists, from Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, to Donald Trump in the United States. Based on these findings, populism is at an all-time high, and taking a significant economic toll, according to a recent paper by Christoph Trebesch and his co-authors.

Trebesch is Professor of Economics at Kiel University. He and his co-authors find that populism leads to slower economic growth, undermines democratic institutions, and can leave the country more vulnerable to future populist governments.

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Is Abortion Policy Out Of Step With Public Opinion? Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, we've been told a simple story: red states are radically out of step with public opinion. But what if that's not actually the reality? On this episode, we speak with Natalie Hernandez, Yale PhD candidate in Political Science, about her upcoming APSR paper, "Asymmetric Representation: Post-Roe Abortion Policy and Public Opinion in the U.S. States." Using a massive dataset of 155,000 respondents, Hernandez finds policies in Democratic-controlled states are actually furthest from the average voter, and what happens when Democratic lawmakers prioritize wealthy donors and national activists over the median citizen.

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The Political Effects of the Opioid Crisis May 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we speak with Victoria Barone, Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss her recent NBER paper that examines the possible relationship between the opioid epidemic and the political realignment between the Republican and Democratic parties.

While the public health consequences of the crisis are well-documented, Barone’s research uncovers a startling political fallout. We explore how the rise in opioid-related deaths and addiction has altered voting patterns, shifted party leanings, and influenced electoral outcomes in the hardest-hit communities.

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Is the Median Justice Running the Supreme Court? Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

In debates about the Supreme Court, we tend to focus on the justice who writes the opinion. But what if that’s not where the real power lies?

In this episode, we speak to Jonathan P. Kastellec, Professor at Princeton University, about his new paper that challenges how we think about decision-making on the Court. Instead of opinion authors driving the law, Kastellec argues that power often rests with the median justice within the majority coalition—the key vote needed to hold five justices together. So how does bargaining actually work behind the scenes? Why do some precedents erode gradually while others collapse all at once? And what does this tell us about major decisions—from long-standing rulings to sudden reversals?

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Why Does America Pay More For Infrastructure? Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

We're off this week for a much-needed spring break, but we wanted to re-share this episode that feels more relevant than ever. Infrastructure in the U.S. now costs dramatically more than in countries like Germany or Croatia—without clear signs of higher quality or better environmental outcomes. Why has infrastructure spending spiraled out of control? Could democracy itself—through litigation, regulations, and empowered citizen voices—be driving costs sky-high?

George Washington University Professor of Public Policy Leah Brooks investigates why the U.S. pays so much more per mile of highway compared to other nations in her paper “Infrastructure Costs”. Brooks reveals shocking findings: from the late 1960s onward, the cost to build highways in America surged dramatically, not because of higher wages or materials, but because of legal battles, environmental reviews, and citizen demands.

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What Binary Questions Get Wrong About Voters Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Are Americans really polarized along party lines? Today, we discuss a new paper from our co-host Anthony Fowler, about one of the most common tools researchers use to measure public opinion: simple yes-or-no survey questions.

Most political surveys ask people to choose between two options—support or oppose, yes or no. But Fowler’s research shows that these binary questions can hide important nuance in how people actually think about policy. When researchers analyze these responses, it can make voters appear more polarized—or more ideologically inconsistent—than they really are.

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