Ways & Means

The decline in local news is having a real effect on democracy. A look at why local news is struggling -- and what can be done about it. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. Find out more at polis.duke.edu

On this episode we ask – how did the gun control movement become a force in American politics after being overshadowed for so long by the NRA? In a word: money.  This season of Ways & Means is supported by  Polis: the Center for Politics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy

For some reason there's a big gap between young Americans' intention to vote and the chance that they will actually do it. In this episode: why so few young people in the United States vote. This season of Ways & Means is supported by  Polis: the Center for Politics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy

We explore research into how government-funded afterschool programs for poor families are empowering politically motivated parents. Hear from staff and parents about how these programs have inspired change in their community and learn what elements build effective programs. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis: the Center for Politics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Poli...

Season 5 of Ways & Means relaunches Thursday, August 20, 2020. The season is dedicated to issues in U.S. politics and civic life and hot topics in the 2020 elections. The season originally premiered in the spring of 2020, but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season is a co-production of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and Duke's Polis: Center for Politics. h...

We've decided to pause in releasing new Ways & Means episodes for now. With the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone's attention is on the coronavirus and that's as it should be.  So we've decided to take a break. We will be back this fall with the complete series of stories on ideas for sealing the cracks in our democracy. That series is in partnership with Polis, Duke's Center for Politics. Until then, s...

Season 5 of Ways & Means returns Wednesday February 19, 2020. This season we are partnering with Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy to look at big ideas related to the 2020 election.

Four-year-olds are expected to be able to behave in the classroom, but more and more preschools are kicking children out for bad behavior. In this episode: new research into how to best help children control themselves in the classroom. Read a transcript of this episode. Music: Theme music by David Schulman. "Rate Sheet," "Lina My Queen," "Tiny Putty," "Rose Ornamental," by Blue Dot Sessions. Musi...

On this episode we go inside an innovative, free public program that helps new moms and dads adjust to life with a newborn. In each location where the  Family Connects program is offered, all families, rich and poor, are eligible to have a visiting nurse come right to the home after the birth of a child. The program has been shown to improve parenting behavior and reduce emergency medical care for...

Climate change is affecting both nature and the economy. Who will take the hardest hit financially as the world heats up, and can anything be done about it? We meet a commercial clammer in Maine who is figuring out how to deal with the effect climate change is having on his industry. And environmental economist Billy Pizer has been calculating the future costs of climate change. Pizer is Senior As...

A research team from Duke University treks into the Himalayas to investigate why a promising way to deliver electricity to those who need it, the micro-hydro minigrid, sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. This is the third of a four-part series on understanding and dealing with a changing climate. Music: Theme music by David Schulman. "Heather," "Ultima Thule," "Sylvestor," "Slate Tracker," "One...

What motivates commuters to leave their cars behind, and take the bus or a bike to work instead? A government innovation team in Durham, North Carolina recently tested several ideas with real commuters. The best one was so effective, it landed a million-dollar prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Guests include Durham mayor Steve Schewel and Joey Sherlock of the Duke University Center for Advanced...

There is about a 40-percentage point gap between Democrats and Republicans in their concern for climate change. New research suggests a solution for working around this deep-seated partisanship. PhD candidate Emily Pechar has found that when parents think about  parental identity rather than partisan identity, they are more likely to be concerned about climate change. Guests include Megan Mullin,...

Season 4 of Ways & Means returns Wednesday, February 20, 2019. We're kicking off with a miniseries on climate change. We'll look at new research into what it takes to turn climate change skeptics into climate change believers. Also, how can cities can nudge commuters into doing the right thing for the climate? And we'll head to Nepal for a look at how to bring power to places in the developing wor...

Season 4 of Ways & Means will be available in January.   (Music: Blue Dot Sessions)

For more than a decade, a multinational team of researchers has been exploring ways get mental healthcare to nearly 50 million orphans in Africa. With a new, five-year $3.4 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, a team led by professors Kathryn Whetten at Duke and Shannon Dorsey at the University of Washington is testing a novel approach. They are training local people with no...

More than 800 women die in childbirth every day in the developing world - often because doctors know what to do, they just don't do it. (There's even a name for this: the know-do gap.) In this episode, testing different types of incentives for getting doctors to do the right thing during the birth of a child. Sponsor: Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund. Original Music by David...

Before the 1960s, colleges routinely used gender quotas to suppress the number of women on campus. Some colleges excluded women entirely. There's a curious backstory to how more women ended up in college, and it starts with the Soviet's launch of the satellite Sputnik in 1957. In this episode: turning politics of crisis into a law that eventually opened the door to college to millions of American...

Duke professor Philip J. Cook has been tracking the underground gun market in the U.S. for the last 15 years. For one project, his team went to one of the largest jails in the country and asked the inmates a simple question: "Where do you get your guns?" Also, former Chicago gang member "Samuel" talks candidly about his experiences with guns. Before his 15th birthday, Samuel had shot someone, and...

We will be back next month with a new episode. In the meantime, take a listen to the most popular episode we've produced so far. If you're black with a college degree, your household will likely have $10,000 less in net worth than your white neighbor who didn't finish high school. A look at the racial wealth gap.

How diplomacy and public shaming are helping shine a light on a problem that depends on secrecy to survive. This episode is the second of a three-part series, New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. 

Today, for our Season 3 premiere, we begin a three-part series, New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. In this episode, high-tech meets high-need. How researchers are using Google Earth to find the undocumented slums of India. Series supported by the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund.

Season 3 will launch in October with a three part series - New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. In the season premiere, we'll hear about how researchers are using Google Earth to find hidden slums in India.

Ahmed Ahmed is an American-Muslim comedian who was typecast as a terrorist. Khalid Latif is a Muslim chaplain for the NYPD who was saluted in uniform, but harassed as a civilian. Mona Haydar and Sebastian Robins fought Islamophobia with doughnuts and conversation. Episode also features David Schanzer of Duke University and Evelyn Alsultany of the University of Michigan.

John Rusnak was a currency trader in Baltimore when he was convicted of one of the largest bank frauds in American history. When he was finally discovered, the bank had lost close to $700 million dollars. We look at John Rusnak's case through an historical lens. It turns out fraud has been a key feature of American business from the beginning. Episode features Edward Balleisen. His new book is Fra...