Not Another Politics Podcast

University of Chicago Podcast Network

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.

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162 episodes
Updated July 17

Episodes162

Newest first

Oct 9, 2024 · 49 min
Do Fraud Claims About The 2020 Presidential Election Stand Up To Scrutiny?
In the wake of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, claims of widespread voter fraud have fueled political controversies and public distrust. But how credible are these claims? In this episode, we sit down with political scientist Justin Grimmer to discuss his new paper “An Evaluation of Fraud Claims from the 2020 Trump Election Contests” which systematically debunks over 1,000 fraud allegations from the 2020 election. Grimmer and his co-author comb through the data, analyzing everything from
Sep 25, 2024 · 56 min
What's Behind The Educational Realignment In Voting?
Ever thought about how your college degree might sway your political leanings? Voters with and without college degrees drifting apart, especially on issues like economics, social values, and foreign policy, but what's driving this shift, and how are party positions influencing voters across different education levels? A new paper from University of Pennsylvania’s William Marble, “What Explains Educational Realignment? An Issue Voting Framework for Analyzing Electoral Coalitions” gives some sur
Aug 28, 2024 · 42 min
Does Election Timing Matter For Turnout And Policy Outcomes?
We talk about it every election cycle…how can we get higher voter turnout? As part of the Center for Effective Government’s primer series focusing on the scholarship covering the pros and cons of different government reforms, University of Chicago Policy Professor Christopher Berry examined whether changing the timing of elections can result in higher turnout. But he also explored a much more contentious and complex question. Does higher voter turnout result in better policies? Is it possible
Aug 14, 2024 · 37 min
Do Committees Lead To Better-Informed Legislative Voting?
In a recent paper by Washington University political scientist Michael Olson, he documents a very strange phenomenon. It seems that when legislators join committees, they’re voting record becomes less aligned with their constituents’ political preferences. The question is…why? Could it be that being on a committee means they’re just better informed about what good policy really would be, or could it be that they’re nefariously colluding with their colleagues? We explore all these possibilities
Jul 24, 2024 · 45 min
Do Presidents Have As Much Power As We Think?
Since Biden’s debate performance, America’s political elite have been engaged in a debate. How much does a President really matter for effective government? If his administration seems to work fine, how much of an affect can a President have? At the same time, we important Supreme Court decisions that seem to be giving more power to Presidents which makes finding answers to these questions even more pressing. Well, there is one famous political scientist who explored these questions long ago in
Jul 10, 2024 · 47 min
Do City Services Move Faster for Affluent and White Neighborhoods?
Have you ever made a 311 call? This is a service provided by many cities that allows citizens to call in things like potholes, graffiti, fallen trees, ect. There is an assumption that many people have that requests made by white and more affluent neighborhoods probably get responded to faster. But is that accurate? In a recent paper, “Unequal Responsiveness in City Service Delivery: Evidence from 24 Million 311 Calls” Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow Derek Holliday uses a large an unique dataset t
Jun 26, 2024 · 42 min
How To "Get Out The Vote"
Hello Not Another Politics Podcast listeners. We’re taking some much needed time off as the school year comes to a close; but with the elections right around the corner we still wanted to share some incredibly relevant and important political science research. Every Presidential election, we talk about “getting out the vote”. But what really works in terms of getting people to go to the polls? We speak to one political scientist who has conducted more studies into “get out the vote” campaigns t
Jun 13, 2024 · 36 min
How Powerful Are October Surprises?
Hello Not Another Politics Podcast listeners. We’re taking some much needed time off as the school year comes to a close; but with the elections right around the corner we still wanted to share some incredibly relevant and important political science research. This week we’re resharing an episode all about October Surprises that has some counter intuitive insights that could become important during this election year. And thanks to everyone who listened to our podcast this year. We don’t mak
May 29, 2024 · 43 min
Does The Public View The Supreme Court As Legitimate In A Post-Dobbs World ?
The Supreme Court is supposed to be our non-political branch of government, making decisions solely on the constitutional soundness of laws. But in recent years it appears as though the Court has taken a shift to the right, most notably in the Dobbs decision in 2022. Which raises a question: does the public still the view the Court as legitimate? Those are the questions explored in a new paper from UPenn political scientist Matthew Levendusky in a paper titled “Has the Supreme Court become just
May 15, 2024 · 48 min
How Good Are We At Spotting Fake News?
If the media is to be believed, the US public has a tenuous at best grasp on accurate political news. They’re either consuming disinformation and fake news on social media or following biasedly inaccurate news outlets. Either journalistic truth is as good as dead or we’re living in separate informational universes. But is this too alarmist, could the real story be more nuanced? That’s what Columbia professor of economics Andrea Prat finds in his recent paper “Is Journalistic Truth Dead? Measuri
May 1, 2024 · 39 min
Is Partisan Animosity Directed At Fellow Citizens Or Elites?
There is a fact of our political discourse so agreed upon that nobody thinks to question it: affective polarization…democrats and republicans disliking each other...has been getting worse, much worse. But what if that belief is actually based on polls measuring the wrong thing? That’s the argument made by Northwestern Political Scientist James Druckman in his paper “What Do We Measure When We Measure Affective Polarization?”
Apr 17, 2024 · 42 min
Should Policy Match Voters' Preferences?
How do we know if our democracy is healthy? For political scientist, the answer often comes down to things we can measure like responsiveness to voter’s wishes. But is that really the right thing to measure? There are two camps in this debate. The empiricists want to focus on what and how we can measure things like the health of our democracy, often focusing on indicators like responsiveness, while the normative theorists want to focus on what we even mean…and what we should mean…by democratic
Apr 3, 2024 · 49 min
Are Too Many Political Appointments Harming Our Bureaucracy?
When it comes to our federal bureaucracy, there are two schools of thought. One says that an insulated group of career bureaucrats have created a deep state that corrupts the performance of government. The other says that our bureaucracy is dysfunctional because there is too much turnover or positions left vacant. Both rest on an underlying feature of our democracy: many of the positions in the federal bureaucracy are appointed by the President and approved by Congress. But, could having less po
Mar 20, 2024 · 49 min
Should Judges Be Elected or Appointed?
There is a long running debate in political science: do we get better judges by letting the public vote in elections or by giving our leaders the power to appoint them? One side says that judges should be insulated from the influence of politics involved in elections, focusing entirely on the rule of law. The other side says that our judges should be accountable to the public for the decisions they make in office. Who is right? In this episode, we’re doing things a bit different. The Center for
Mar 6, 2024 · 50 min
Why Women Are Underrepresented in U.S. Politics
Despite making up roughly half of the U.S. population, women only make up about one-quarter of representatives and senators. And this trend is not just national—it holds true globally as well. What explains why women are underrepresented in politics? If women are just as likely to win elections as men do, then why are they less likely to run for office? In a recent paper, "Modeling Theories of Women's Underrepresentation in Elections," University of Chicago Professors Scott Ashworth, Christophe
Feb 21, 2024 · 44 min
What Makes A Legislator Effective?
When it comes to passing actual legislation, putting it forward and getting it all the way through the process, it can be difficult to measure exactly which legislators are effective. Not to mention which types of legislators tend to be more effective, moderates or extremists? And does majority-party membership increase effectives? In an innovative new paper, “Effective Lawmaking Across Congressional Eras”, University of Pittsburgh professor of political science Max Goplerud proposes a new meas
Feb 7, 2024 · 52 min
Do Conservatives Sabotage The Administrative State?
When we talk about the interpretation and ultimately implementation of policy we’re not talking about Congress so much as the Administrative State. But what happens when those who work in those agencies decide through their positions to not only sabotage a policy they’re meant to carry out, but perhaps the whole agency? In a recent paper titled “Administrative Sabotage” Rutgers law professor, David Noll, looks at the history of how agencies sabotage themselves and discuses what this means for a
Jan 24, 2024 · 49 min
Who Gets Heard On Redistribution, The Rich Or Poor?
When we talk about policy choices around redistribution there is an assumption so obvious that most people never question it. That politicians are more responsive to the desires of the rich, and that policy preferences of the poor don’t hold as much sway. But what if that assumption was wrong? In a recent paper by Boston University Economist Raymond Fisman titled “Whose Preference Matter For Redistribution: Cross-Country Evidence” uses cross-sectional data from 93 countries to see how much a go
Jan 10, 2024 · 46 min
Can We Believe Political Surveys?
Hello listeners! Our team took some end of the year time off, but we know your holiday travel wouldn’t be complete without some in-depth political science research. So, we’re release some episodes we think are going to be very relevant as we move into an election year. And thanks to everyone who listened to our podcast this year. We don’t make money off this show, it’s a labor of love to make important scientific research interesting and accessible…but your support is crucial to helping us to
Dec 27, 2023 · 36 min
Should It Be Illegal Not To Vote?
Hello listeners! Our team took some end of the year time off, but we know your holiday travel wouldn’t be complete without some in-depth political science research. So, we’re release some episodes we think are going to be very relevant as we move into an election year. And thanks to everyone who listened to our podcast this year. We don’t make money off this show, it’s a labor of love to make important scientific research interesting and accessible…but your support is crucial to helping us to

Not Another Politics Podcast

Do Fraud Claims About The 2020 Presidential Election Stand Up To Scrutiny?

What's Behind The Educational Realignment In Voting?

Does Election Timing Matter For Turnout And Policy Outcomes?

Do Committees Lead To Better-Informed Legislative Voting?

Do Presidents Have As Much Power As We Think?

Do City Services Move Faster for Affluent and White Neighborhoods?

How To "Get Out The Vote"

How Powerful Are October Surprises?

Does The Public View The Supreme Court As Legitimate In A Post-Dobbs World ?

How Good Are We At Spotting Fake News?

Is Partisan Animosity Directed At Fellow Citizens Or Elites?

Should Policy Match Voters' Preferences?

Are Too Many Political Appointments Harming Our Bureaucracy?

Should Judges Be Elected or Appointed?

Why Women Are Underrepresented in U.S. Politics

What Makes A Legislator Effective?

Do Conservatives Sabotage The Administrative State?

Who Gets Heard On Redistribution, The Rich Or Poor?

Can We Believe Political Surveys?

Should It Be Illegal Not To Vote?