Talking Policy

U.S. democracy is facing unprecedented challenges. Political polarization is at its highest level in decades. An uncharted new media environment is spreading questionable information and undermining public trust. And profound economic and societal changes are prompting deep dissatisfaction with democratic institutions and procedures. What’s going on with democracy—and how can we save it? For forty...

In a new episode of Talking Policy, host Lindsay Shingler talks with Jimmy Goodrich, an IGCC nonresident fellow and leading expert on technology, geopolitics, and national security with a focus on China and East Asia. Jimmy weighs in on the realities and misconceptions surrounding China’s heightened political and economic rhetoric, and what this posture may mean for future competition with the Uni...

Since ChatGPT was released in 2022, significant uncertainty has accompanied the fast-emerging field of artificial intelligence (AI). Maximizing the benefits and avoiding the pitfalls requires global coordination and regulation—but how should this be managed, who is responsible, and can regulation keep pace with technological change? In a new episode of Talking Policy, host Lindsay Shingler talks w...

This year, more voters than ever before will take part in national elections. At the same time, democratic norms and policies are under threat globally. Why is this happening, and what should be done about it? In a new episode of Talking Policy, host Lindsay Shingler talks with Dr. Pranab Bardhan , a distinguished professor emeritus of economics at UC Berkeley, about his book, A World of Insecurit...

Why do some tragedies transcend personal experience to become notorious political events? And does widespread public attention lead to solutions or merely fuel political polarization? In a new episode of Talking Policy, host Lindsay Morgan talks with Tom Beamish , an associate professor of sociology at UC Davis, about his new book, After Tragedy Strikes . Beamish argues that public tragedies have...

On February 24, 2022, the Russian army invaded Ukraine in what would become the largest attack on a European country since World War II. In this special episode of Talking Policy, guest host Jesse Driscoll , an associate professor of political science at the UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, sits down with a panel of experts from across the University of California for a convers...

In the final episode of The State of the World, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan sits down with former California Governor Jerry Brown to discuss the challenges we face as a global community and pathways forward. This episode was recorded on January 9, 2024. The State of the World is a special series on IGCC’s Talking Policy podcast that explores the biggest global challenges that will shape our...

In episode four of The State of the World, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan speaks with political scientists Emile Hafner-Burton and Courtenay Monroe about democracy—what it is, why it’s under threat, and what we can do about it. Emilie is IGCC Research Director for the Future of Democracy and a professor at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and the Department of Political Sc...

In episode three of The State of the World, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan speaks with Richard Matthew and Fonna Forman about climate change. Richard and Fonna explain the science of where we are and how we got here, and offer ideas about the role individuals have to play in finding solutions. Richard is research director for climate change and international security at IGCC and professor of U...

In episode two of The State of the World, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan speaks with ⁠ Neil Narang ⁠ and ⁠ Brandon Kinne ⁠ about the evolving nature of war and peace in an era where great power competition exists alongside terrorism, non-state armed groups, rebel organizations, and transnational violence. Neil is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of C...

China is the United States’ most complex relationship. Defined by both cooperation and competition, tensions have risen sharply in recent years. As China’s power grows—it seems—so does the potential for conflict. Since 1983, IGCC scholars from across the University of California and the UC-managed National Labs have used rigorous research, training, and policy engagement to improve policies and pr...

Taiwanese voters go to the polls on January 13 to elect their next president. The election will determine the next phase of Taiwan's foreign policy. Both Beijing and Washington will be watching closely.  In his fourth Dispatch from Taiwan, James Lee, IGCC affiliate and assistant research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies at Academia Sinica in Taipei, shares insights into...

The world is changing rapidly. A grinding war of attrition is being fought in Europe. Democracy and liberalism are being challenged around the globe. China is rising as an economic and technological superpower and competitor to the United States. Arms control is breaking down. And the climate crisis is threatening to exacerbate conflict, displacement, and inequality. Since 1983, IGCC scholars from...

How do international institutions foster economic cooperation? Explore the intricate world of trade agreements—and whether and how they are enforced—with Lauren Peritz, an esteemed associate professor of political science at UC Davis. Her book Delivering on Promises: The Domestic Politics of Compliance in International Courts unveils the pivotal role of international institutions in fostering econ...

The United States has experienced striking changes in leadership in recent years. From Obama to Trump to Biden, Americans have elected presidents with vastly different political commitments and bases of support. Do such leadership changes lead to drastic changes in policy? A new book by Michaela Mattes and Ashley Leeds, Domestic Interests, Democracy, and Foreign Policy Change , suggests that democ...

Is democracy as a system of government and a social principle under threat? Seventy percent of the global population now lives either in non-democratic countries, or in countries that are experiencing democratic backsliding. In this final episode in Talking Policy’s spring 2023 series on the future of democracy, host Lindsay Morgan talks with  Sara Wallace Goodman  about how ordinary people respon...

For the first time in its nuclear history, the United States faces two major power adversaries armed with nuclear weapons. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear forces, and in Russia, Putin announced in February that the country would be suspending its participation in New START, the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control pact. In the latest on Talking Policy, host Lindsay Morgan talks with Brad...

In this series, The Short Read, host Lindsay Morgan shares analysis from Political Violence At A Glance, an award-winning online magazine sponsored by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, which also sponsors the Talking Policy podcast. In this episode, she reads a piece by IGCC affiliate and School of Global Policy's Lawrence and Sallye Krause Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies...

India has faced a wide a range of internal security issues since independence, from complex insurgencies to terrorist attacks, communal violence, and electoral violence. In a new Talking Policy episode, Amit Ahuja and Devesh Kapur discuss their groundbreaking new volume, Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the State . Amit is an associate professor of political science at the Universi...

In this series, The Short Read, host Lindsay Morgan shares analysis from Political Violence At A Glance, an award-winning online magazine sponsored by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, which also sponsors the Talking Policy podcast. In this episode, she reads a piece by past IGCC dissertation fellow and Brown University postdoctoral fellow Mariana Carvalho titled, "Why Are...

The Ukraine war has dragged on for well over 400 days, has cost billions of dollars and many thousands of lives, and continues to threaten global stability. To understand how and why the war began, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan talks with Jesse Driscoll about his new book, Ukraine's Unnamed War: Before the Russian Invasion of 2022 (with Dominique Arel). This interview was recorded on Apri...

In this new series, The Short Read, host Lindsay Morgan shares analysis from Political Violence At A Glance, an award-winning online magazine sponsored by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, which also sponsors the Talking Policy podcast. In this episode, she reads a piece by IGCC dissertation fellow and UC Berkeley Ph. D. candidate Oren Samet and UC Berkeley Robson Professor of P...

In this new series, The Short Read, host Lindsay Morgan shares analysis from Political Violence At A Glance, an award-winning online magazine sponsored by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, which also sponsors the Talking Policy podcast. In this episode, she reads a piece by IGCC dissertation fellow and UC Los Angeles Ph. D. candidate Kevin Gatter titled, "That's Not Rea...

On February 26, for the second time in less than a year, tens of thousands of Mexicans filled Mexico City’s main public square to protest the president’s attempts to weaken Mexico’s independent elections agency. Is Mexican democracy at a tipping point? In the latest episode in Talking Policy’s Future of Democracy series, host Lindsay Morgan talks with longtime Mexico expert, Kate Bruhn , a profess...

In the first episode in IGCC’s 2023 Book Talk series, host Lindsay Morgan talks with Ethan Kapstein about his book Exporting Capitalism: Private Enterprise and U.S. Foreign Policy . Kapstein is the co-director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University, and the Arizona Centennial professor of International Affairs at Arizona State University. In the interview, he shares h...