The Politics Lab

Bill and Phil reflect on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and assess two decades of US foreign policy that emerged in response to the attack… the good, the bad and the ugly.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on the final US troops leaving Afghanistan and Biden officially ending the nearly 20 year war in Afghanistan. We also take a look at the political dynamics surrounding the Covid surge and mask mandates.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil take a deep dive into the situation in Afghanistan. What to make of the chaotic situation on the ground? What does that mean for the overall decision to withdraw? And who ultimately bears responsibility for the tragedy in Afghanistan?

We're on one last summer vacation, so we're reposting our interview with Erica Chenoweth this week. Enjoy! Erica Chenoweth, the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, joins Bill and Phil this week to discuss the practice of civil resistance.

This week, Bill and Phil uncover what Mauritius can teach us about the international rules-based order, then discuss the recent climate change report, troubling developments in Afghanistan, and the global ethics of booster shots.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on truth and the January 6th Committee, recent covid troubles in Florida and Texas, challenges to US nuclear policy, and what to make of Tucker Carlson broadcasting from Hungary. 

The Lab is on vacation this week, so we’re rebroadcasting our interview with Professor Roland Paris. Roland Paris, Professor of International Affairs at University of Ottawa and former Senior Advisor on Global Affairs and Defense to the Prime Minister of Canada, joins us to discuss U.S. global leadership, the state of democracy, the rise of China and the difference between the academic and policy...

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on their experience last week at a summer institute on genocide studies and prevention, and then discuss what political science research can teach us about cults of personality and whether Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan will lead to the world’s next refugee crisis. 

We’re back! On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the contested history of the country’s founding, Israel ushering in the era of AI-based war, the death of Donald Rumsfeld, India’s use of Covid to undermine democracy, and where historians placed Donald Trump in their latest rankings.

The Lab is on vacation this week, so we’re rebroadcasting our interview with Professor Jim Waller. The threat of mass violence is on the rise in the United States, as demonstrated by the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Dr. James Waller, noted expert on mass violence and genocide, joins us this week to talk about the risk factors that contribute to widespread political and ethnic violence and to w...

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on the one-year anniversary of The Politics Lab, the recent presidential election in Iran, Biden’s use of the phrase “rules based order,” the recent Supreme Court ruling on the NCAA, and the refusal of Republicans to even debate voting reform.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss Mitch McConnell’s pledge to block a Biden Supreme Court nominee in 2024, updates from the recent NATO conference, new details on the Trump administration’s efforts to politicize the Department of Justice, and why Kim Jung-un is afraid of K-Pop’s popularity in North Korea.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss how America fractured into four parts, how Germany has grappled with its history, Biden’s trip to Europe, and a letter from democracy scholars ringing the alarm bell.

Erica Chenoweth, the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, joins Bill and Phil this week to discuss the practice of civil resistance.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss recent developments in Belarus, efforts by Republican state legislatures to undermine democracy, new documents on the plans to use nuclear weapons in defense of Taiwan back in 1958, and why Ted Cruz is so worried about a woke U.S. military.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the Israeli-Hamas conflict, concerns over the state of civil-military relations in the US, the politics behind Supreme Court justice retirements, and a look at the state of democracy in El Salvador and the United States.

Bill and Phil reflect on Biden’s first 100 days, the implications of Facebook’s semipermanent Trump ban and Liz Cheney’s ouster from party leadership, elections in the United Kingdom, and Napoleon’s contested legacy in France.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss Brazil and India’s struggles with Covid, why Trump’s Big Lie won’t go away, how disinformation is undermining the vaccination campaign in the US, and whether a high school cheerleader’s free speech rights include a snapchat tirade against her school. 

Roland Paris, Professor of International Affairs at University of Ottawa and former Senior Advisor on Global Affairs and Defense to the Prime Minister of Canada, joins us to discuss U.S. global leadership, the state of democracy, the rise of China and the difference between the academic and policy world. 

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss immigration and the contrast between George W. Bush’s call for tolerance and the far-right America First Caucus’s call for a revival of Anglo-Saxon political traditions. We then examine Russia’s military buildup on the Ukrainian border and close with a look at the data from this year’s World Happiness Report.

This week, we discuss a recently released intelligence forecast predicting a post-pandemic world that is upended by climate chance and splintering societies, reflect on what to make of Tucker Carlson’s unapologetic embrace of the racist “replacement theory” and whether there might be any connection to new data on domestic extremism in the U.S., and wrap up with a look at foreign policy, highlighti...

This week, Bill and Phil are joined by Dr. Brandon Sheridan who is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Elon University to discuss President Biden’s ambitious economic agenda and whether it signals a fundamental rethinking of the role of government in the economy. Then we talk about the impact of politics on professional sports. and new data on the Jan. 6 attacks released by the Chicago Project...

This week, Bill and Phil discuss recent revelations that the Trump administration’s coronavirus response was even worse than previously known, some recent data on religious identity in America, new voting rules in Georgia, and the big boat that got stuck in the Suez.

Bill and Phil discuss the recent mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, the tense diplomatic exchange between China and the United States, Biden’s emerging immigration problem, and what to make of former president Trump starting his own social media platform.

Congressman Sean Casten, U.S. Representative for Illinois's 6th congressional district, joins Bill and Phil to discuss the American Rescue Plan, infrastructure and clean energy, and the state of American democracy.