Politics and Polls

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#64: Congressional Races in 2018 Oct 26, 2017

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There are 468 seats up for grabs in Congress for the 2018 election, with the Republican Party currently holding a majority in both the Senate and the House. But will this hold after election day? Joining today's episode to discuss the congressional races is Levi Tillemann, the democratic candidate for Colorado's 6th Congressional District. Tillemann is a Colorado native and expert on technology policy, renewable energy and autonomous cars. Raised in a working-class Latino community in North Denver, Tillemann has kept in touch with his roots over the years by tutoring math, english and ESL in public schools and community centers. While in graduate school, Tilleman founded IRIS Engines, Inc. to develop a more efficient engine -- a design for which he holds multiple patents. Later he shifted his focus to electric vehicles as a better solution to climate change. He has served as a policy advisor to the Department of Energy under President Barack Obama and is currently managing partner at Valence Strategic. Tillemann's commentary appears regularly in national publications including the New Yorker, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times and on national and international radio and TV outlets. He has bachelor's degree in history from Yale and an master's degree and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Levi is the author of "The Great Race: The Global Quest for the Car of the Future," published by Simon and Schuster in 2015, and he speaks Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese. Last, but not least, he has a dog named Tesla.

#63: How to be a Conservative in the Age of Trump Oct 19, 2017

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Leading conservative thinker David Frum was one of the earliest and most prominent conservative voices to come out in opposition to President Donald Trump. A CNN contributor and senior editor at The Atlantic, Frum said in a public radio interview that Trump "is shattering the safeguards that protect democracy." In this episode, Julian Zelizer interviews Frum about being a conservative in the age of Trump. In 2007 and 2008, Frum was a senior policy adviser to the presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani. From 2001 to 2002, he served as a special assistant and speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is the author of nine books, including the first "insider" book about the Bush presidency: "The Right Man: An Inside Account of the Bush White House." After leaving the White House, Frum was a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In 2005, he formed and led the group Americans for Better Justice, which spearheaded the opposition to the nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. Frum is a member of the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition; the British think tank, Policy Exchange; and vice chairman and an associate fellow of the R Street Institute, an American conservative and libertarian think tank. His most recently published book is "Patriots: A Novel." Frum's forthcoming book, "Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic," will be released early next year.

#62: Does Gerrymandering Leave Voters Without a Voice? Oct 12, 2017

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This episode is about one of Sam Wang's favorite topics: gerrymandering. Wang visited the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 3 to hear arguments in Gill v. Whitford, a case challenging Wisconsin's 2011 redistricting plan as being the product of partisan gerrymandering. With the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, Wang and collaborators are studying how voting districts are created, giving insight into how it works and offering ideas on how it can be and is being addressed. In this episode, Julian Zelizer and Wang discuss the case, Wang's day in D.C. and whether this case could potentially put guardrails on the partisan gerrymandering process.

#61: Identity Politics & the Democratic Party Oct 05, 2017

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Are identity politics hurting the Democratic Party? Some argue Democrats have strayed away from core economic issues, favoring religion, race, sexuality, gender or social background (to name a few) to form their political alliance – thereby undercutting the party's effectiveness. Joining this episode is an author who has written extensively on the rise of identity politics: Mark Lilla, professor of humanities at Columbia University and regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. He describes how identity politics are shaping voters, politicians and the democratic process. Lilla specializes in intellectual history. He is the author of "The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics," published this year, as well as several other books. He is currently writing a book titled, "Ignorance and Bliss," and another on the history of the idea of conversion.

#60: Are We Seeing the Watergate of Today? Sep 28, 2017

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With special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, some have drawn comparisons between the Russia investigations and the Watergate scandal. How are the two events similar? In what ways do they differ? And is it too early to really link the two? Elizabeth Drew discusses her reporting of the Watergate scandal as it relates to today in this episode of Politics & Polls. Drew has been covering American politics since the 1970s. She has written for the Atlantic Monthly, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, among other publications. She is the author of 15 books including "Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon's Downfall," which provides a first-hand account of Watergate, a scandal that shaped American politics.

#59: Is Free Speech Alive and Well on College Campuses? Sep 21, 2017

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Is free speech under threat at colleges across America? Some argue campus environments are no longer conducive to open dialogue. Others say debates on campus are alive and well. A recent nationwide survey of younger voters shows their commitment to free speech is reduced. Of 1,500 undergraduate students across U.S. universities, a fifth of them responded that it's acceptable to use physical force to silence a speaker who makes "offensive and hurtful comments." In this episode, Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss the survey with Catherine Rampell, who wrote about it in a recent opinion piece in The Washington Post. Rampell frequently covers economics, public policy, politics and culture, with a special emphasis on data-driven journalism. Before joining The Post, Rampell wrote about economics and theater for The New York Times. She has received the Weidenbaum Center Award for Evidence-Based Journalism and is a Gerald Loeb Award finalist. She grew up in South Florida (the New York part) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University in 2007.

#58: America's Political Storms Sep 14, 2017

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The country has recently faced a number of storms, both geographic and political. Texas and Florida were both hit with significant hurricanes while President Donald Trump struck up a deal to raise the debt ceiling, causing concern among some. Prominent political players are also making their way to the media stage. Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, said a Republican civil war is brewing, while presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's new book was released, reminding Americans of her defeat in the 2016 presidential election. How are all of these events affecting Trump's political base? Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang catch up on all of this and more in this week's episode of Politics & Polls.

#57: The Heart of the American Right Aug 24, 2017

Show notes

Some have argued that Donald Trump was propelled into office by people who have been characterized as discouraged and depressed by a world that no longer feels like their own. But what was it about Donald Trump's motto, "Make America Great Again," that captured the attention of so many who voted for him? In this episode, Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang interview Arlie Russell Hochschild, a sociologist who traveled deep into the heart of the "American Right." Hochschild's five-year journey culminated in the bestselling book, "Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right," a National Book Award finalist. Hochschild is professor emerita of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of nine books, and three of her books have been named by The New York Times as Notable Books of the Year. She is the winner of the Ulysses Medal as well as Guggenheim and Mellon grants.

#56: The Aftermath of Charlottesville Aug 17, 2017

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A brutal protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, left three people dead and dozens injured on Aug. 11 and 12 as white nationalists, white supremacists and Neo-Nazis descended on the city and clashed violently with anti-racism protestors. President Donald Trump initially condemned the conflict on Twitter and then a few days later declared blame upon both parties involved in the clash. The event, which has rattled Americans, has brought racial tensions to the forefront. In this episode, Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss the aftermath of Charlottesville — and what to expect in the weeks ahead.

#55: Has the Conservative Revolution Succeeded? A Conversation with Nancy MacLean Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

Joining today's episode is Nancy MacLean, an award-winning scholar of the twentieth-century United States, whose new book, "Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America," has been described by Publishers Weekly as "a thoroughly researched and gripping narrative… [and] a feat of American intellectual and political history." Booklist called it "perhaps the best explanation to date of the roots of the political divide that threatens to irrevocably alter American government." McClean discusses her book with Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang, as well as the widely-publicized controversial debates that have surrounded its publication. McClean responds to some of her critics in an illuminating conversation. The author of four other books, including "Freedom is Not Enough: The Opening of the American Workplace" (2006) called by the Chicago Tribune "contemporary history at its best," and "Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan," named a New York Times "noteworthy" book of 1994, MacLean is the William H. Chafe Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University. Her articles and review essays have appeared in American Quarterly, The Boston Review, Feminist Studies, Gender & History, In These Times, International Labor and Working Class History, Labor, Labor History, Journal of American History, Journal of Women's History, Law and History Review, The Nation, the OAH Magazine of History and many edited collections. MacLean's scholarship has received more than a dozen prizes and awards and been supported by fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Humanities Center, the Russell Sage Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowships Foundation. In 2010, she was elected a fellow of the Society of American Historians, which recognizes literary distinction in the writing of history and biography. Also an award-winning teacher and committed graduate student mentor, she offers courses on post-1945 America, social movements, and public policy history.

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