Politics and the Past: Desert Dialogues

This Thursday, Dr. James Strickland of Florida State University joined Dr. Rob Ferguson to discuss the contours of lobbying in both state governments and the federal government. Drs. Ferguson and Strickland discussed the rise and purpose of lobbyists, the conflicts of interest that arise with lobbying, and why hospitals hire tobacco lobbyists. Dr. James Strickland is one of America's foremost...

This week, Jack Hinrichs takes the host’s chair to interview Dr. Rob Ferguson about the crises that are currently wracking Canadian politics. Hinrichs and Ferguson discuss the Albertan and Quebecois separatist movements, as well as the unique structure of the Canadian confederation.

This week, Dr. Rob Ferguson sat down with members of the ASU Model UN Team to discuss how competitive diplomacy can teach students about international relations and civil discourse. Dr. Rob Ferguson discussed the function of Model UN and intricacies of the actual UN with ASU Model UN President Anna Wangerin and Undersecretary of Delegate Relations Konstantin Rezvoi. Model UN novice Jack Hinrichs w...

This Monday, Dr. Rob Ferguson sat down with Dr. Scott Lucas, Professor at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin and editor of EA WorldView. Dr. Lucas and EA WorldView have reported on international events since 2008. Their reporting on Iran, Gaza, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been noted for its ability to thoroughly report on oppressive regimes. Drs. Lucas and Ferguson discus...

This week, Rob Ferguson was joined by a full suite of Gen Z Political Analysts to chat about the midterm elections in Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina. He also announced the forthcoming Center for American Institutions Midterm Draft! Stay tuned for more details.

This Monday, Dr. Rob Ferguson sat down with Nathanael Mickelson of the University of Georgia to discuss their newly published journal article! Dr. Ferguson and Mickelson discuss how the origins of the Federal Reserve are far more populist than we often think. In doing so, they encourage us to rethink the popular narrative surrounding the origins of today’s financial system. Read the article here:...

This Thursday, Dr. Rob Ferguson chatted with Center for American Institutions researcher and Politics and Leadership Club Vice President Elise Johnson about her recent trip to Israel. Ferguson and Johnson discussed her conversations with Israelis and her fellow cohort members about the Israel-Gaza War and the future of the region.

This Monday, Dr. Rob Ferguson was joined by Ukrainian politics expert Dr. Yaroslavl Kovalchuk to discuss how Ukrainian politics has evolved since the fall of the Soviet Union. Drs. Ferguson and Kovalchuk will follow this conversation with a second one next week discussing the rise and potential fall of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This Thursday, Dr. Rob Ferguson and Jack Hinrichs sat down with ASU College Republicans President Troy Holderby to discuss the experience of being a conservative on a college campus. Holderby\ discussed his political awakening, advocacy and work restoring civil discourse and appealing to disaffected members of many political ideologies as president of the ASU College Republicans.

This week, Professor Rob and Jack wanted to highlight some advocates of civil discourse! They were joined by debate coaches Sam Markley and Travis Dahle to discuss the importance of civil discourse. The Center for American Institutions has long been committed to advancing the value and teaching the skill of civil discourse. This commitment is evident in the structure of the Center's foundation...

It's officially an election year again! Professor Rob Ferguson and Jack Hinrichs ring in 2026 by chatting about the Senatorial primary campaigns in Maine and Texas that will shape the political landscape for the November elections. Listen to Professor Rob and Jack chat about Graham Platner's most unfortunate tattoo, the natural animosity between Austin and Dallas in Texas, and (most import...

It's officially an election year again! Professor Rob Ferguson and Jack Hinrichs ring in 2026 by chatting about the Senatorial primary campaigns in Maine and Texas that will shape the political landscape for the November elections. Listen to Professor Rob and Jack chat about Graham Platner's most unfortunate tattoo, the natural animosity between Austin and Dallas in Texas, and (most import...

This Monday, Professor Rob sat down with Shirvin Zeinalzadeh to discuss Iran, diplomacy, and nuclear weapons. Shirvin Zeinalzadeh is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Arizona State University. He served previously as both a diplomat and a London police officer.

This Thursday, Professor Rob and Jack discussed the upcoming primaries for statewide races in South Dakota. Jack and Rob chatted about property taxes, the political strengths of Toby Doeden and weaknesses of Dusty Johnson, and why the politics of the Black Hills is often more extreme than that of the rest of the state. If you'd prefer an audio recording of this podcast, there is a audio versio...

This Thursday, Professor Rob and Jack discussed the upcoming primaries for statewide races in South Dakota. Jack and Rob chatted about property taxes, the political strengths of Toby Doeden and weaknesses of Dusty Johnson, and why the politics of the Black Hills is often more extreme than that of the rest of the state. If you'd prefer a visual recording of this podcast, there is a video availa...

This Monday, Professor Rob is visiting the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California with dozens of students from the Center for American Institutions. In honor of this trip, Rob decided to chat about the history and legacy of President Reagan and the USSR.

This Thursday, President Jake Dueck of the Politics and Leadership Club joined Dr. Rob Ferguson to chat about the club's success over the past semester. Dr. Ferguson and President Dueck chatted about PAL's role in encouraging civil discourse for individuals of all political persuasions. They also discussed the explosion in interest and membership that PAL has experienced over the past seme...

This Monday, Dr. Rob Ferguson sat down with Dale Justice and Frank Mons of ASU's School of Politics and Global Studies about their new initiative: The State of Veterans Project. Ferguson, Justice, and Mons discussed misconceptions surrounding the political preferences of veterans and their effort to create a comprehensive database of information surrounding the experiences of America's vet...

This Thursday, Jack and Dr. Rob sat down to discuss the future of the Democratic Party. They chatted about the four spheres of ideology present within the party, the effects of the Israel-Palestine conflict upon party primaries, and why economic nationalism may be a poor policy platform for the party's future. Also, Jack and Rob disagreed about the future of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

This week, Dr. Rob Ferguson and Jack Hinrichs sat down to discuss the the current divisions within the Democratic Party. Ferguson and Hinrichs chatted about how the rise of social media, the movement of wealthier individuals to the Democratic party, and the aftershocks of President Biden's infamous debate performance have affected the party today. This is the first episode in a two-part series...

Dr. Rob Ferguson chatted with Politics and Leadership Club officers Elise Johnson, Emma Lydick, and Jack Hinrichs about the much-discussed growing gender gap within Gen Z. The group chatted about dating, political ideologies, social media, and motivating issues for men and women in Gen Z. They also discussed the moral supremacy of the Green Bay Packers.

This week, Caroline Downey of National Review and Daniel Di Martino of the Manhattan Institute sat down to chat with Dr. Rob Ferguson. Downey, Di Martino, and Ferguson discussed religion, family questions, and Gen Z's position in American politics.

This weekend, in a conversation that was simply too good to go unrecorded, Dr. Rob Ferguson discussed the realignment in American politics between 1950 and 2000 with Dr. Joel Webster. Drs. Ferguson and Webster specifically discussed the Southern Strategy and the takeover of the American South by the Republican Party.

This week on "Politics and the Past: Desert Dialogues," Dr. Rob Ferguson discussed slavery and constitutionalism. In this episode, Dr. Ferguson rejected prevailing narratives on both the left and the right, offering a new perspective on longstanding questions in American history.

This week, Dr. Robert Ferguson sat down with Dr. Matthijs Tieleman, a professor of early American history at Illinois State University. Drs. Ferguson and Tieleman discussed the patriotism of transatlantic connections during the early modern period and the distinctions between patriotism and nationalism.