Political Economy Forum

In this episode, Prof. James Long speaks to Prof. Wendy Wong of the University of British Columbia about her new book: "We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age".

In this episode, Feler Bose of Indiana University East School of Business and Economics speaks about the regulation of sexual practices in the US.

In this episode, Prof. Jorge Rojas-Vallejos of Universidad Andres Bello in Chile discusses ongoing political reforms in Chile.

In this episode, former CIA Media analyst and author Martin Gurri describes how digital technologies have maybe irreversibly changed the information landscape, with profound implications for governance. 

In this episode, Nick De La Forge describes the approach and practice of German Venture Fund Planet A Ventures, of which Nick is a co-founder.

In this episode, Boaz Miller of Zefat Academic College discusses to what extent technologies have values embedded in them and what political insights can be gleaned from that. 

In this episode, Prof. Daniel Bessner of the University of Washington discusses his 2018 book "Democracy in Exile", describing the crucial impact that social scientists had in reshaping political institutions during the early Cold War period. This is a fascinating history of the creation of the US think tank ecosystem, the sidelining of majoritarian institutions in an era of crisis, and the origin of foundational ideas in a variety of academic fields. 

In this episode, Prof. Joan Williams of the University of California, Hastings, speaks about her new initiative: The Diploma Divide, arguing that Americans must grapple with the realities of economic class differences and their political impacts. 

In this episode, Victor Menaldo and Nicolas Wittstock discuss the 1992 book "Technopoly - The Surrender of Culture to Technology" by Neil Postman. 

In this episode, Herman Mark Schwartz of the University of Virginia discusses why the US Dollar has remained the central world currency despite the fact that the US is persistently running current account deficits

In this episode, UW undergraduate students Bella Wright, Asher Goldstein, and Weston Beckmann speak to host Nicolas Wittstock about the current state of US labor unions, recent efforts to unionize at Starbucks and Amazon, as well as applications of game theory in these contexts. 

In this episode, Prof. Brett Christophers of Uppsala University speaks to host Nicolas Wittstock about the difficulties of obtaining financing for clean energy projects despite recent cost reductions of renewables. 

In this episode, host Nicolas Wittstock speaks to Rachel Castellano and Ryan Goehrung, both PhD Candidates in the Political Science Dept. at the University of Washington, about their work on Human Trafficking in the US. In a recent paper, Rachel and Ryan explore the T-Visa program, intended to offer survivors of human trafficking a form of legal relief. US Department of Labor list of goods produced with forced labor: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods

In this episode, Morgan Wack speaks to Prof. Chris Blattman of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, discussing the roots of war and paths to peace, which Blattman writes about in his recent book: "Why We Fight". 

In this episode, Prof. Mark Schwartz of UVA discusses the cause of reductions in US economic growth since 1970, arguing that industrial organization plays a key role.

In this episode, Prof. Margaret O'Mara of the University of Washington discusses the origins and workings of the US Tech industry - in reference to her 2019 book: The Code - Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. 

In this episode, Prof. Judith Shapiro of American University and Prof. Yifei Li of NYU Shanghai discuss their book "China Goes Green: Coercive Environmentalism for a Troubled Planet?". Here, the authors discuss the varied impact of environmental policies under authoritarian government - and seek to evaluate the prospect of and rationale behind China's ambition to become an "ecological civilization". 

In this episode, Prof. Vincent Geloso of George Mason University discusses historical US income inequality, the "U-Curve", and whether our thinking about income inequality should be reconsidered in the face of new evidence. 

In this Episode, Prof. Daniel Greene of the University of Maryland speaks about his book "The Promise of Access", which evaluates the attraction of simple technological fixes to complicated social problems like poverty in the United States. 

In this episode, Prof. Jan Eeckhout of the University of Barcelona Pompeu Fabra, speaks about his most recent book: "The Profit Paradox - How Thriving Firms Threaten the Future of Work." 

In this episode, Prof. Jacob Hacker of Yale University discusses American Political Economy - Politics, Markets, and Power - co-edited by Jacob Hacker, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Paul Pierson, and Kathleen Thelen. 

In this episode, Prof. Daron Acemoglu of MIT speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about recent research on automation and US labor markets. 

In this episode, Prof. Steven Vogel of University of California Berkeley speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about Steven's book Marketcraft - how governments make markets work. 

In this episode, Prof. Catherine Herrold of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs and Prof. Aseem Prakash of the University of Washington discuss with Nicolas Wittstock the track record of democracy promotion abroad. Herrold and Prakash argue that instead of recreating Western institutions across the world, promoters of democracy should rather aim to empower local initiatives of Pluralism. 

In this episode, Prof. Victor Menaldo speaks to Nicolas Wittstock and argues that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will create a jobs boom rather than technological unemployment.

In this episode, Prof. Ryan Calo speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about interdisciplinary work in the UW Tech Policy Lab and UW Center for an Informed Public. What's more, they discuss Ryan's work on the increasing use of automated tools by administrative agencies. 

In this episode, Prof. James Kwak of UConn School of Law speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the impact of overly simple economic models on policy debates. James Kwak's 2017 book Economism makes the forceful case that simplistic Econ 101 ideas pervade policy discourse and sometimes even economic policy. 

In this episode, Norman Ohler speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about "Blitzed - Drugs in Nazi Germany", Norman's work on the invention, use, and impact of methamphetamine in Third Reich Germany. 

In this episode, Prof. Scott Gehlbach of the University of Chicago speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about Chicago's new PhD program in Political Economy. 

In this episode, Prof. Susan Whiting of the University of Washington speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the crisis of Chinese real estate developer Evergrande as well as its implications for the wider Chinese Political Economy. 

In this episode, Prof. Tony Gill of the University of Washington speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about gifting. While some have suggested that gifting is economically inefficient - Prof. Gill argues that this view misses the important social functions that rituals like gifting play. In fact, Prof. Gill argues that these social rituals have important economic implications as well. 

In this episode, returning podcast guest Niko Switek - former DAAD Visiting Professor in the Henry M. Jackson School and Department of Political Science at UW - discusses the outcome of the 2021 German Federal Elections with Nicolas Wittstock. 

Prof. Lawrence Glickman of Cornell University speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the history and impact of the idea of "Free Enterprise" on American Politics. While Free Enterprise has attained the status of common sense, Prof. Glickman traces the origins of the term and showcases the significant changes in meaning it has experienced in US political rhetoric. 

Prof. Bruce Usher of Columbia Business School speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the current state of the transition towards renewable energy and the challenges ahead.

Prof. Frank Pasquale of Brooklyn Law School discusses his 2020 book "New Laws of Robotics - Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI" with Nicolas Wittstock. Here, Prof. Frank Pasquale warns of hasty implementation of AI systems and robots in varied areas of life before ensuring that technologies serve humans - rather than the other way around. 

Rogier Creemers of Leiden University joins Nicolas Wittstock to discuss the recent efforts by Chinese policymakers to regulate its digital technology industry. 

Prof. Joan Williams of UC Hastings discusses her book "The White Working Class - Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America" with Forum Fellow Nicolas Wittstock. In the book, Williams argues that arrogance and inability to understand the lives of working class Americans on the part of well-educated Liberal elites, is driving working class Americans towards rightwing Populists.  This podcast is produced by Matthew Dagele, Morgan Wack, and Nicolas Wittstock. Our theme music was created by Ted Long. Any questions or feedback, please contact uwpoliticaleconomy@gmail.com

Carissa Véliz - Associate Professor of Philosophy at University of Oxford - discusses her 2020 book - "Privacy is Power" with Nicolas Wittstock.  This podcast is produced by Matthew Dagele, Morgan Wack, and Nicolas Wittstock. Our theme music was created by Ted Long. Any questions or feedback, please contact uwpoliticaleconomy@gmail.com

Prof. Leticia Arroyo Abad of CUNY Queens College speaks to Forum Fellow Nicolas Wittstock about political and economic development in Latin America and the state of scholarship on the region.  This podcast is produced by Matthew Dagele, Morgan Wack, and Nicolas Wittstock. Our theme music was created by Ted Long. Any questions or feedback, please contact uwpoliticaleconomy@gmail.com

Senior Fellow Sean Bottomley of Northumbria University speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the Court of Wards - a medieval legal institution in England. Sean's research uncovers the effects on property rights and investment this court had - especially when used by cash-strapped monarchs to raise revenue from their feudal subjects. 

Prof. Marius Busemeyer of Konstanz University speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about education and vocational training systems. To invest in and improve education is the object of almost every conversation surrounding the public policy implications of technological change. But how are education systems currently organized and what effects would adaptations have?

In this episode, Prof. Leticia Arroyo Abad and Prof. Noel Maurer speak to Nicolas Wittstock to present their criticisms of “persistence studies” - accounts of economic history that seek to explain present conditions by evaluating the causal effect of things that happened long ago.

Prof. Leticia Arroyo Abad and Prof. Noel Maurer speak to Nicolas Wittstock about their research on the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic - and its parallels with the 2020 Covid-19 epidemic.

In this episode, Victor Menaldo speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about his forthcoming book on productivity within the US technology sector. Robert Solow famously declared in 1987 that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”. Extending this observation to the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, economists like Robert Gordon have voiced similar skepticism. Victor Menaldo presents preliminary results from his forthcoming book on productivity within the US technology sector.

In this episode, Prof. Carles Boix of Princeton University discusses his latest book - “Democratic Capitalism at the Crossroads - Technological Change and the Future of Politics” with Nicolas Wittstock. The two debate the effects of recent technological changes on the economic structure of rich societies - and what their political effects might be.

In this episode, Prof. Daniel Markovits of Yale Law School speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the US labor market, education system, and economic inequality. In his book "The Meritocracy Trap", Prof. Daniel Markovits argues that the US meritocratic system favors richer children, while creating enormous educational demands. As a result, the middle and lower classes are increasingly locked out of meaningful economic engagement, while high-skilled workers are trapped in a constant cycle of education, fierce competition, and evaluation. 

In this episode, Prof. Enrico Moretti of the University of California, Berkely speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about the economic geography of the United States. In particular, they discuss why certain industries agglomerate in some cities, and why other cities struggle to attract innovative businesses. 

In this episode, Dr. Ralf Martin of Imperial College London speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about two recent papers that Martin co-authored. The conversation focuses on how consumer preferences can induce companies to invest in more climate-friendly technologies - and how governments seek to use the post-pandemic moment to increase investment in R&D.

In this episode, Senior Fellow Steven Feldstein of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program discusses his new book, The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance, with Forum Affiliate Morgan Wack. The conversation touches on the recent spread and use of digital repression technologies around the world. Rooted in Steven’s own research, the episode and the book detail the real world consequences of extant technologies while debating the impending consequences of AI and big data while providing a look at active forms of resistance being undertaken by governments and civil society actors.