Contested Politics

Long time no see, Contested listeners! While Contested is not making a full return, we wanted to provide some helpful information regarding the 2024 California propositions on this year's ballot. From minimum wage to rent control, there are a lot of critical policy proposals put to the California electorate this year. If you have no idea where to start or just want to check some facts and figures...

Global poverty remains one of the largest international crises, especially considering the economic fallout from COVID-19. While many recognize global poverty as a major problem, solutions vary wildly. One commonly proposed solution is US foreign aid to humanitarian organizations. While critics say this promotes US imperialism, proponents argue that it is highly effective at raising the quality of...

When QAnon supporters stormed the National Mall on January 6th, many people were left wondering how this could have happened. What would drive someone to adopt such a crazy conspiracy theory? In the era of instant connectivity and unlimited social media websites, it's not hard to find someone else who can push your beliefs in one way or another. The theory of radicalization via social media and th...

It's very easy to feel overwhelmed by the pace of computer development. In just the past few decades, we have gone from simple word processors to talking, learning machines with artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence poses many questions, technical and not. To explore the developmental process, ethics, and questions surrounding artificial intelligence in the modern-day, I sit down with W...

In the past few years, the term "school-to-prison-pipeline" has been used more and more to describe racism in the American education system. Whether it be zero-tolerance drug policies or the lack of robust extracurriculars, many racial justice advocates point to failures in education as a reason for a booming prison population. While the two institutions seem unrelated, a breakdown of the policies...

In theory, at the heart of any democracy is winning a majority of the public's support. IAs such, elections are the most direct way for any citizen to influence politics. But in an era of hyper-partisanship, social media, and a global pandemic, running a political campaign has never been more challenging. To understand the ins and outs of how to run a progressive, grassroots campaign, I sit down w...

The United States' criminal justice system is highly technical and complex. With various burdens of proof, appeals courts, and legal remedies, it seems odd that the president could simply bypass the whole system. Trump's presidential pardons have become a hot-button topic of late but many of the conversations ignore an important element: the purpose of pardons. To understand why pardons exist and...

This past election day, Oregon passed an initiative to decriminalize all drugs. In general, drug decriminalization has become a staple ballot initiative, with many states across the nation now permitting marijuana usage of some kind. But what is drug decriminalization and how is it different than drug legalization? To answer all these questions, Matt Sutton from the Drug Policy Alliance explains w...

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is arguably the most sensitive geopolitical issue today. With both Israeli and Palestinian immigrants living in the US, American institutions are often forced to confront this issue head-on. And oddly enough, colleges and universities have become a primary battleground with the debate focusing on "BDS". Boycott, Divest, and Sanction has become the main tool used by...

By now, it's likely that you have seen some sort of political infographic on social media. It has a pastel background, a few words in a bolded font and claims to break down a political issue in just a few sliding pictures. It's effective spread of information often comes at the cost of reliability and truthfulness. So, is getting our news and information from social media a net good? We sit down w...

After days of waiting, it is now safe to say that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. While the win is easy to cheer or jeer on it's face, there is a lot to learned from this campaign cycle. From COVID-19 leading to record amounts of mail-in ballots to Georgia now being considered a swing state with Senate elections to come, Adam and Jared break down the lessons learned from...

Confused on the 12 propositions in California this year? We got you covered with a panel who breaks down every prop, covering what each measure does (and doesn't) do and who's funding it. Even if you have already sent in your ballot by mail or don't live in California, this conversation touches on some big issues and reveals nuances in the propositions you likely hadn't noticed before. A big thank...

With the ever-growing threat of climate change, one of the most difficult environmental issues politicians have to deal with is fracking. Fracking, a form of natural resource extraction, causes clear environmental damage yet is an economic backbone for many places around the country. Presidential candidate Joe Biden has been very careful crafting his policy around this issue so that begs the quest...

As the great author Toni Morrison said “The best art is political and you ought to be able to make it unquestionably political and irrevocably beautiful at the same time.” For today's show I sit down with someone who makes the unequivocally political yet beautiful art Morrison describes. Marissa Blum, who for the past few years has been compiling interviews on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, is...

With California's housing crisis at the breaking point, the need for affordable housing is at an all-time high. However, even with monetary support from politicians, projects simply don't get built. The reason: NIMBYism. The ideology of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) has dominated American suburbs for decades, but it's widespread adoption is causing problems for government infrastructure everywhere....

One of the most important duties any person residing in America (not American citizen) can do, besides voting, is completing the Census every ten years. However, despite its importance, there is a consistent under-counting of the population which leads to a whole bunch of problems. To explore the importance and meaning of the Census, activist Gus Gress joins our show and breaks down what every per...

If you've ever heard Bernie Sanders speak, you're probably aware that he is not a fan of "special interests" and SuperPACs. In fact, over 90% of Americans are concerned with the influx of big money in politics. So, to understand how we got here and the path forward, I sit down with cof-founder of How is This Legal, Laz Meiman, and National Director of Wolf-PAC, Mike Monetta in two complementary ac...

On our new segment, Second Look, we revisit some of the topics we recently covered on Contested, including the end of this year's Supreme Court term as well as developments in the Black Lives Matter protests. With so much going on in the news cycle, sometimes it's best to step back and take a "second look" at what is going on in the news.

Once a concept only to be found in science fiction movies, gene editing is now making its way into the realm of possibility. However, scientific discovery isn't the only part of the conversation when it comes to CRISPR editing; the bio-ethical questions surrounding gene editing are hardly settled. From the idea of customizing babies to what constitutes a disability, policymakers are torn on how to...

Just days before the landmark Supreme Court ruling that held that LGBTQ folks cannot be fired due to their sexual orientation or gender identity was released, GLSEN National Student Council Member and Supreme Court watcher Jessica Chiriboga gives her thoughts on the case and provides some historical context for previous interactions between the Court and LGBTQ community. During this time where civ...

In the midst of news about BLM movements and Covid-19, Education Secretary DeVos' new Title IX guidelines about how to deal with reports of sexual assault and rape on college campuses has flown under the radar. While seemingly technical, these new rules can have a massive impact on college age students. We sit down with Ari Stern to dissect exactly what to expect sexual assualt complaints to look...

After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protests erupted nationwide to bring light to the longstanding issues of police brutality and systemic racism. However while many are quick to condemn the actions taken by police in Minnesota, protesting methods and policy options at large vary wildly. With some advocating to defund the police and others pushing for in-system reform, there seems to...

Since the 1999 Columbine school shooting, gun violence has become an increasingly important issue for young and old Americans alike. However, polices and solutions to the ever-growing gun violence epidemic in America are polarized, with compromise among legislators being few and far between. So for this episode, we sit down with Ben Holtzman and Antonio Herrera to understand both sides of the gun...

The iconic trolley problem: a train at an unstoppable speed is headed toward 5 people. You have the ability to change its course, but kill only one person in the process. What do you do? The reason most people will divert the train yet want to open the economy at the risk of thousands all goes back to the moral philosophy of utilitarianism. Philosophy teacher Albert Fuentes gives the low-down on t...

When the stay at home order hit the Santa Clarita Valley, two teens saw a problem in their community and created a model charity in response. Fresh off their interview with CNN, I sit down with the founders of 6feet Supplies, Eric Luo and Zoe Monterola. If you are interested in their work, visit their website at 6feetsupplies.com