American Politics (Audio)

Professor Robert B. Reich ignites a discussion of the good we have had in common, what happened to it, and what we might do to restore it. His goal is not that we all agree on the common good. It is that we get into the habit of thinking and talking about it, listening to each other’s views and providing a means for people with opposing views to debate these questions civilly. Presented by the Cal Class of 1968 and the Goldman School of Public Policy's Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement (founded by the Class of 1968). Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 34200]

California State Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León outlines the state’s efforts to protect its progressive agenda on climate, immigration and the economy as it girds itself from policies being implemented by the federal government. De León, a Democrat, is also running for the United States Senate but must first win one of two spots in California’s June 2018 primary before he can compete in November’s general election. He is presented by the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Berkeley Forum at UC Berkeley. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33564]

Oakland City Councilmember and Goldman School graduate Annie Campbell Washington talks about her career path in public service that has included stints as Chief of Staff for then-Oakland mayors Jerry Brown and Jean Quan, a partial term on the Oakland Unified School Board and then, in 2014, she ran successfully for elected office. Her inspiring story includes a nod to the quantitative analysis education that she received at the Goldman School because she says it taught her to properly evaluate municipal budgets. Washington also was recently named assistant dean for the Masters in Public Affairs program, working alongside Henry E. Brady, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33588]

In an effort to bridge political divides, the UC Berkeley Office of the Chancellor and the Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement host a spirited conversation on taxes, tariffs, trade and President Trump with two economists known for their opposing views: Goldman School of Public Policy Professor and former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and Stephen Moore, a visiting fellow for the Project for Economic Growth at the Heritage Foundation. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33505]

The ACLU is committed to civil rights and civil liberties issue. David Cole, National Legal Director of the ACLU and Georgetown law professor, explores what Trump's first year as president tells us about about constitutional law and the future of civil liberties and civil rights in the United States. David Cole was named Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union in 2016. He oversees approximately 1,400 civil liberties lawsuits, both state and federal. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33307]

Behavioral economist Elizabeth Linos talks about how to implement good public policy by focusing on needs of the people who serve in government. In this conversation with Henry E. Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, Linos argues that diversity in recruitment leads to better outcomes, particularly in law enforcement, and that burnout can be avoided if staffers are appropriately supported in their work environments. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 33485]

Political scientist Amy Lerman explores the roots of why trust in government has declined over time even as its performance has improved around the country. She gives examples of how some services are evaluated differently, based on whether they were perceived as being run by public or private organizations. To change these negative attitudes, Lerman suggests that public officials do a better job at explaining what governments do in this conversation with Henry E. Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33484]

Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the country’s preeminent constitutional scholars and dean of the University of California, Berkeley’s law school, looks at the intersection of the First Amendment and higher education in this talk sponsored by Student Affairs, the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, and the Law and Society Program at UC San Diego. Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 33388]

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and Goldman School of Public Policy Dean Henry E. Brady discuss free speech and hate speech in America. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 33584]

UC San Diego political scientist and noted Kremlinologist Philip Roeder takes a look at the history of Soviet and Russian propaganda and disinformation techniques in this fascinating and sobering talk sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC San Diego. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33340]

In "Confronting Political Intimidation and Public Bullying: A Citizen's Handbook for the Trump Era and Beyond," author and Literature professor emeritus Roddey Reid traces the origins of the current toxic environment back some 30 years to a culture of abuse in the workplace, media and the political arena. In conversation with sociologist Akos Rona-Tas, Reid reviews the strategies and dynamics of contemporary bullying: how it works, the danger it causes, and the lessons to be learned in pursuit of a more civil public life. Reid is presented by the Division of Social Sciences, the Division of Arts and Humanities along with the Program in Jewish Studies and the Department of Literature at UC San Diego. Series: "Library Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 33230]

Economist William Easterly describes how the fight against global poverty is linked to the migration from poor to rich countries and how the war on terror perpetrates a stereotype of poor people as violent, unintentionally fueling xenophobia and travel bans. The good news is that economic ideas are the best antidote to xenophobia, opening the door again to migration as a powerful vehicle for global poverty reduction. Easterly, a professor of economics at New York University, is a visiting scholar at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32993]

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explains in colorful detail how the gap in income and wealth has grown so vast in the United States and warns of consequences for democracy if this fundamental divide is not addressed. He references his new Netflix documentary, "Saving Capitalism," as he describes the frustration of voters who see the system as rigged against them. In this conversation with Henry E. Brady, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, Reich ends with signs of optimism, noting that the rise in political engagement around the country is critical to enacting reforms that will save capitalism for the many, not just the few. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33173]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes New Yorker staff writer George Packer for a discussion of the US political landscape. Packer recounts the insights he derived in researching and writing The Unwinding, his 2013 book about the US in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse. In the conversation, he traces the rise of the white working class, the failure of the Democratic Party to address their interests, and the emergence of Trump as a representative of enraged voters in the 2016 election. He identifies the 4 narratives that define the divisions in the US today. Packer concludes with an analysis of leadership and ideas that might change America in the future. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33175]

The Trump Presidency is a symptom of the fracturing in American society that goes deeper than economics and politics to the meaning of being an American. George Packer, Staff Writer for the New Yorker, argues that none of the currently available narratives of national identity point a way out of our failure and asks if there is another way to think of ourselves as Americans. George Packer is a contributor for numerous journals and magazines, including The New York Times magazine, Dissent, Mother Jones, and Harper’s. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33000]

Alice Rivlin, the founding director of the Congressional Budget Office who went on to serve as the Office of Management and Budget director under President Clinton and is now a Senior Fellow in Economics and Health Policy at the Brooking Institution, mulls today’s paradox. At a time where policy makers and legislators have access to more data-based evidence about potential costs and effects of policies than ever before, the institutions that produce these independent analyses are under increasingly strident partisan attack. Dr. Rivlin speaks how evidence-based practitioners got into this tough situation, and how to navigate their way out. She is presented by the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33107]

Looking at the Berkeley campus protests that made national news in 2017, and then back to the birth of the Free Speech Movement there in 1964, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and Goldman School of Public Policy Dean Henry E. Brady engage on what free speech, hate speech and academic freedom mean on today's university campuses. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 33156]

Harvard economist Edward Glaeser explains the dynamics of cities and the role they play in developing new industries, adding to human capital and directing overall economic growth. As author of the best-selling book, "Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier," Glaeser brings his considerable knowledge of urban life to the Economics Roundtable at UC San Diego. Series: "Economics Roundtable" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33043]

Economist Valerie Ramey of UC San Diego gives an insightful talk charting the rise, fall and rise again of income inequality in America over the last century. She highlights the special circumstances that created a "Golden Age" for the average worker in the 1950s and 1960s and then follows with the economic changes that led to today’s extreme disparity where the top 1 percent of US households earn nearly 20 percent of the nation’s income. Ramey is presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC San Diego. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 33094]

In “Behind ‘Farm to Table’: The Labor of Farming,” a panel of farmers, chefs, and farm advocates address the challenges of 21st century farming, including attracting a younger generation to this notoriously difficult field.  With more farms per capita than any other county in the United States, San Diego is poised to lead on connecting urban and rural communities by encouraging consumers to buy locally grown produce and to support farm-friendly public policies that benefit the entire region. This event is presented by the Berry Good Food Foundation.   Series: "Climate Solutions " [Public Affairs] [Agriculture] [Business] [Show ID: 32968]