Kat Chow of NPR’s Code Switch, speaks with Prof. Ruth Perry about the origins and evolution of the term “politically correct.” "The attack on the 'politically correct,'” Perry explains, " is an attack on the theory and practice of affirmative action.”
Prof. Fotini Christia and grad students Elizabeth Dekeyser and Dean Knox write for The Washington Post about how they surveyed religious Shiites from Iran and Iraq concerning their views on religion, politics and more. The authors write that the survey, which was conducted during an annual pilgrimage, “presents a unique template for surveying hard-to-reach populations in an increasingly mobile world.”
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. Charles Stewart explains that provisional ballots could delay this year’s election results. “We should be prepared for the possibility that provisional ballots take us into extra innings. This won’t be a sign that the system is ‘rigged,’ but that it’s working as designed,” Stewart explains.
Mickey Edwards of The Los Angeles Times reviews Prof. Heather Hendershot’s book about William Buckley. “Hendershot is clever to have used his 'Firing Line' television show as an introduction to both Buckley and the rise of conservative intellectual opposition to the liberal orthodoxy,” writes Edwards.
Scott Clement of The Washington Post writes that researchers at the Laboratory for Social Machines have found that while the majority of Twitter conversation concerning the presidential campaign has centered around Donald Trump over the past week and a half, “battlegrounds differed in what particular issues or themes they focused on.”
In this video, Prof. Heather Hendershot speaks with Mary Kissel of The Wall Street Journal about her new book examining the impact of William F. Buckley’s program the “Firing Line.” “He was the key player in forging a sophisticated, urban, elegant image for right wing conservatism. And that got me interested in him,” Hendershot explains.
A letter co-authored by Prof. Kerry Emanuel warns against withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, writes Chelsea Harvey for The Washington Post. “The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement would really set back all of our efforts to deal with climate problems,” says Emanuel.
Mercury News reporter Lisa Krieger writes that a letter co-authored by Prof. Kerry Emanuel warns U.S. politicians about the dangers of withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. “We all reacted with some shock to statements from the Republican platform that would have reversed decades of progress,” said Emanuel. “We felt we had to say something.”
A study by Prof. David Autor finds a shift in voting patterns in areas of the country impacted by trade with China, report Binyamin Appelbaum, Patricia Cohen and Jack Healy for The New York Times. “This undercurrent of economically driven dissatisfaction,” Autor explains, “works to the benefit of candidates who are noncentrist, and particularly right-wing candidates.”
In an NPR article about the difficulty of dispelling political rumors, Danielle Kurtzleben cites a study by Prof. Adam Berinsky that shows trying to correct political myths may only entrench them further.
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. Charles Stewart III examines how American voters have become increasingly concerned about the fairness of the electoral process. “The best hope is for a combination of voices, both partisan and nonpartisan, to remind Americans of the mechanisms in place to ensure that votes are counted fairly.”
Prof. Charles Stewart III writes for The Washington Post that the latest Pew Charitable Trust Elections Performance Index shows there has been improvement in U.S. election administration. Stewart explains that the index gauges “performance across several dimensions of election administration, including the quality of voter registration, ballot casting, and vote counting.”
Prof. Charles Stewart III speaks with NPR’s Pam Fessler about voter confidence in the American electoral system. "Ultimately the legitimacy of government rests on the belief among the losers that it was a fair fight," says Stewart.
A new study co-authored by Prof. David Autor examines how manufacturing job losses caused by trade have contributed to the current political discord, reports Nelson Schwartz and Quoctrung Bui for The New York Times. “There are these concentrated pockets of hurt,” explains Autor, “and we’re seeing the political consequences of that.”
John Tirman of the Center for International Studies writes for The Huffington Post about the politics behind the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments about President Obama’s executive order on immigration. Tirman writes that the case, “puts on hold a genuine solution to the status of these mostly Latino immigrants.”