James Madison conceived of the states in our federalist system as being laboratories for democracy where policy innovations can take place. In an era when Congress has become more gridlocked and the parties more rigid ideologically, national partisan and activist groups, often one issue constituencies, have trained their sights on state legislatures, nationalizing state politics …
There is a lot of literature about the sacrifices that professional women make when choosing to have a family. Much has also been written about single moms and their travails. Our guest is exploring new territory as she zeroes in on working class young people and their approaches to caring for a baby while also …
Discrimination has reared its ugly head in America in so many institutions that it’s remarkable that some people still balk at the term ‘institutional racism’. Case in point: the National Football League. For years in the earlier part of the century black players were not allowed to compete at all. Then as pioneers in ownership …
This ain’t Ronald Reagan’s conservative GOP. He favored immigration, international involvement and free trade. So what does the Trump era conservative movement resemble? Calivin Coolidge? Perhaps, the two have little in common personally, but from a policy perspective economic protection, restricted immigration and non-intervention in the world, including mutual defense alliances are back in the …
Remember the Alanis Morrisette song, “Isn’t It Ironic”, well that fits the notion of trying to reform gun laws in America. On virtually the same day as Congress passed a series of measures, not curtailing the types of guns available on America’s streets or universal background checks, but modest measures to help cut back on …
While artificial intelligence is remarkable(right, Alexa?) it is a stretch to believe the science fiction portrayals of future humans being replaced by artificial intelligence is likely…ever. The key reason, according to our guest on this podcast, is because artificial intelligence is based on algorithms and algorithms are mathematical in nature, requiring a human to …
: In 2021, the United States experienced 20 weather and climate disasters, each costing more than a billion dollars to repair. As we wait for world leaders to engage their citizens in an honest conversation about how perilous our current course is, we all must take actions to get us through the next thirty years. …
When our guest knocked on one door of a voter in her rural Maine district, his first question was are you a Republican or a demon? Hmm…nice opener. The FDR coalition, a mainstay of American politics throughout much of the 20th century, has fallen apart. Less educated, rural voters have abandoned the Democratic Party. However, …
As the war in Ukraine rages, it is hard not to see the ravages of the conflict on the civilian, as well as military, population in that country. When aggressors like Russia, and in the many civil war conflicts less well reported today around the globe, care little about the impacts of indirect involvement, including …
It is now said that Roe v. Wade is on the ballot. President Biden recently reiterated that sentiment saying that the future of abortion rights is now in the hands of the voting public. Abortion will remain legal in ‘blue states’ and banned altogether or largely in ‘red states’. The Congress, depending upon who …