Last time I explained how our voting system is broken and proffered a mandatory voting law as a resolution to this problem. Now I demonstrate this policy’s benefits and drawbacks. You know your wacky neighbor or uncle always spouting some loony policy that no one seems to agree with, but somehow manages to be supported…
In Matt’s second piece on mandatory voting, he asks about the cost of low voter turnout.
Our society is made up of a wide range of groups with very different needs and aspirations, and therefore have different requirements of their candidates at election time. Thus, who actually participates has real material consequences in our community. So out of those who do choose to vote, who specifically is turning out?
In Imperial County, just outside San Diego, 5.5 percent of teenage girls become pregnant every year. Twice the rate in the rest of California. Why is teen pregnancy so rampant here, when it’s been declining to record lows statewide? And why has it received so little attention? My guest solved both of these mysteries. What she found will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about women’s health care—and the politics that determine whether it’s accessible for all.
In this episode, inspirational speaker and social work professor Melissa Bird brings us face-to-face with American women who form the very bedrock of their communities—and their incredible, invisible struggle to take care of themselves.
When you think about your rent increasing and how ridiculous paying $1000+ for 400 square feet of space is when others pay less for an entire mortgage, I bet all you want to do is punch your greedy landlord in the face. In many cases, the parents of other young professionals are frustrated too because like in Failure to Launch, they want their “naked room,” but their kids just won’t move out. With a parent’s age and wisdom, they recognize that landlords are just pawns; it’s the developers that are cheating us.
Tom Nichols’ The Death of Expertise is a broad look at the antipathy toward “experts” and “expertise” among the citizenry of contemporary United States. Nichols contends that this antipathy is dangerous for our democracy, that this distrust not only makes for unhealthy conversation but damages both political and public relationships with the very experts’ guidance. Spoiler alert – we do assume you’ve read it!
Featuring Richard Green (@keynesianr), Aubrey Hicks (@AubreyHi), Pamela Clouser McCann, Anthony Orlando (@AnthonyWOrlando), and Jan Perry (@JanPerry)
To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of The Death of Expertise click the orange arrow in the Soundcloud player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play
Last summer we launched the LA Civics Initiative – a collaboration with City Impact Lab meant to start a conversation about civic participation in Los Angeles. Through collaborative projects and workshops, we sought to figure out how the city’s residents can become more civically-minded as well as civically-active. Living in a representative democracy, most citizens…
Americans are fed up. The government is not living up to their expectations. Trust is deteriorating every year.
Donald Trump rode this wave of dissatisfaction all the way to the Oval Office. But does he really understand why citizens are dissatisfied? Do citizens themselves understand why the government appears to be failing them?
In this episode, we question these perceptions—and the solutions they imply—with Gregg Van Ryzin, Professor and Interim Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University-Newark.
“What strikes me is that you’re tremendous social pioneers,” Bostic said. “You’ve taken ideas and really implemented them with the explicit design to get different people into the mix and the conversation.”
In our latest event in the Leading from the West series, we brought in chef Roy Choi and philanthropic foundation executive Tara Roth to discuss how building a community online translates to real-life engagement.
First year MPP student, Jue Song, details her experience learning about protests in the United States in her first post for Bedrosian Center.
New to America, one of the things that simultaneously fascinates me as much as it puzzles me, are the student protests. When I see students marching in the street, burning flags, and criticizing the government, I am shocked. Why are there so many protests? Why do so many students participate in protests?
Social media is reshaping the way that Americans consume news and engage with current events. With the rise of smartphones and almost constant access to Internet, social media users can access the digital space to instantly share news stories, images, or videos and participate in political discussions on their respective network pages. According to Pew…