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PODCAST

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon

The Scholars Strategy Network

No Jargon, the Scholars Strategy Network"s bi-weekly podcast, presents interviews with top university scholars on the politics, policy problems, and social issues facing the nation. Powerful research, intriguing perspectives -- and no jargon. Find show notes and plain-language research briefs on hundreds of topics at https://scholars.org/podcast.

government social sciences

All Episodes

35:19

Episode 249: Unhoused and Underserved

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2023/06/06

In an annual report, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that over half a million Americans were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2022. According to Professor Megan Welsh Carroll, racial discrimination, criminalization, and of course, the high cost of housing all contribute to this growing crisis. And while progress is being made, many critical public services remain out of reach for this group, including one that has led to serious public health issues: a lack

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26:17

Episode 248: Fifty Years of Mass Incarceration

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2023/05/02

2023 marks 50 years since the beginning of mass incarceration in 1973, when the U.S. prison population started increasing every single year for nearly four decades, according to Professor Nazgol Ghandnoosh. Ghandnoosh, who works for The Sentencing Project, shared some sobering numbers: today, over five million people are under supervision by the criminal legal system, and nearly two million people, disproportionately Black, are living in prisons. During this conversation, she delved into the

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25:40

Episode 247: The Flurry of Anti-Trans Legislation

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2023/04/04

In states across the country, a flurry of new laws are being considered, and often passed, that specifically target transgender individuals – from bills that bar access to gender-affirming healthcare for youth to legislation that bans transgender people from competing in athletics. Professor Zein Murib shared where things stand, why transgender people have become the focus of so much legislative activity, and what these laws mean for the future of the LGBTQ+ movement and American society as a

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39:36

Episode 246: No Box to Check

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2023/03/07

Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans may at times feel as though they’re invisible. An estimated 3 million of them live in the U.S. yet have no box to mark their identities on government forms, such as the Census, and other surveys. Professor Neda Maghbouleh, who has spent years studying the exclusion faced by MENA Americans, laid out how the misrepresentation of their race impacts their lives. She explained what steps need to be taken to increase visibility for those who fall in the

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36:47

Episode 245: Invisible Barriers in STEM Education

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2023/02/07

In the American school system, math and science are considered essential building blocks of a good education. But for many students, those building blocks can topple over somewhere along the way. We spoke to Professor Lara Perez-Felkner, who laid out invisible barriers faced by racially minoritized and economically disadvantaged students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Perez-Felkner discussed ways that school administrators, policymakers, and families can come together

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27:37

Episode 244: Avoiding a Cyber Catastrophe

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2023/01/04

Gone are the days of file cabinets, wall calendars and phone books, as advances in technology have made storing information easier than ever. But given a slew of high-profile data breaches in recent years – both at governmental agencies and private companies – cybersecurity is quickly becoming one of the most pressing issues facing our country. How can our government better protect against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks? And how might these data breaches impact the lives of everyday

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32:41

Episode 243: Prison Cell or Recovery Center?

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/12/06

According to the CDC, more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021. And a record-breaking 627 of those deaths occurred in the state of Maine. Substance use disorder is seen as a public health emergency by the medical community – but drug arrests continue to increase all over the country. In light of these developments, professor of political science Rob Glover, alongside his colleague Karyn Sporer (professor of sociology), set out to discover Mainers’ attitudes about current drug

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28:37

Episode 242: Midterm Trailblazers

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/11/01

With the midterm elections around the corner, all eyes are on the record-breaking number of Black female candidates on the ballot. We spoke to professor of government Nadia E. Brown, who shared her research on what’s contributing to the rising numbers of Black women seeking office. During the conversation, Professor Brown explored what the combined identity of being Black and female means for those who enter into politics and ways in which prior political participation becomes a key motivator for

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28:39

Episode 241: In Search of a Home

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/10/04

With rent prices and mortgage rates continuing to skyrocket, finding and keeping stable housing is getting increasingly challenging for many Americans. But according to sociology professor Prentiss Dantzler, those challenges are amplified for members of marginalized groups, such as Black Americans. Professor Dantzler spoke to us about the ways racial discrimination persists in the housing market, despite laws - such as the Fair Housing Act of 1968 - that were put into place decades ago to prevent

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30:19

Episode 240: Falling Through the Social Safety Net

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/09/06

Millions of Americans are poor, food insecure, housing cost-burdened, or medically uninsured. This is where the U.S. social safety net comes in – with programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and unemployment insurance – to catch their fall. But how many experience a smooth landing? And how can society provide tangible relief to those who miss the net entirely? We sought answers from professor of public policy Chris Howard, who broke down what’s included when we talk about the “social safety net” and

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29:43

Episode 239: Supporting the Needs of Refugees

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/08/02

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine have brought an increased number of refugees to America over the past year. Enter refugee resettlement agencies – organizations that provide food, shelter, and of course, job placement to newly arrived refugees. But according to sociologist Dr. Nicole Kreisberg, their current strategy of job placement is deeply flawed: prioritizing immediate yet low-wage work over long-term reliable employment. Kreisberg spoke to us about the harms of this

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29:50

Episode 238: The "Neutral" Umpires of the Supreme Court

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/06/29

The US Supreme Court has a long history of firmly defending its philosophy of neutrality and did the same for the recent and historic overturn of Roe. Wade. But according to law professor Cedric Merlin Powell, the Court’s neutral stance on cases impacting marginalized groups – including women and communities of color – ignores inequalities and in doing so, worsens them. Professor Powell sat down to speak with us about the serious harms caused by a judicial branch whose decisionmaking ignores the

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24:26

Episode 237: Who’s Really in a Student Debt Crisis?

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/06/07

More and more Americans are facing massive student debt and daunting payment plans once the federal pause on loan payments runs out. But this burden is not spread evenly, and neither are the challenges of paying it off. In this episode, we spoke to Associate Professor of Public Policy Fenaba Addo about who is really facing a student debt crisis, what contributes to student debt accumulation, and how race and family wealth factor into it all. For more of Fenaba Addo’s work: Check out her report on

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27:16

Episode 236: How White Millennials Really Think About...

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/05/03

Millennials are often seen as a progressive-minded generation – as 80’s and 90’s kids, they grew up in a digital landscape that exposed them to a diversity of perspectives. But while expectations were high that this generation would be on the frontlines in the fight for racial equality, recent research by Associate Professor of Political Science Candis Watts Smith paints a different picture. During our conversation, Professor Smith discussed how white millennials’ really think about race and the

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39:28

Episode 235: The Real Culprits of Climate Change

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/04/05

Conversations around climate change often focus on the consumption habits of everyday people: the cars we drive, the food we eat, our electricity bills. But according to geography professor Matt Huber, the carbon footprints of consumers are not what we should be so concerned about, despite all the rhetoric. During our conversation, Professor Huber focused on what (and who) he argues are largely responsible for our alarmingly high rate of carbon emissions – and offered solutions. For more of Matt

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28:27

Episode 234: Election Disinformation

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/03/01

The 2020 presidential election brought disinformation – defined as false information with the intent to mislead – to the forefront of public conversation. Subsequent events, such as the January 6 riot, reveal the serious danger disinformation can pose to democracy. To learn more about the far-reaching consequences of digital disinformation, we spoke with nationally recognized election law expert Rick Hasen, a Professor of Law and Political Science at University of California, Irvine. During the

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33:02

Episode 233: Pandemic Postpartum

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/02/01

The postpartum experience can be challenging enough for American mothers in normal times, but add a pandemic to the equation, and you may be left with a postpartum nightmare. To better understand what the birthing and postpartum experiences looked like in the early days of the pandemic and how the current Omicron surge mirrors those early days for new mothers, we spoke with Dr. Tova Walsh, an Assistant Professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Walsh has spent the last two years

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35:44

Episode 232: Reflecting on Two Years of Trauma

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2022/01/04

Amidst the dizzying onslaught of crises facing the nation – and the world – over the past several years, we are starting the new year by reflecting on how Americans react and respond to traumatic events, both as individuals and as groups. How do frightening circumstances facing our communities impact us psychologically? Why does so much disparity exist in the ways we process the same harmful events? How can we connect and find unity amidst all the chaos? These are some of the questions we explored

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30:18

Episode 231: Broken Promises for Native American...

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2021/12/07

Tribal communities are entitled to federally funded healthcare under treaties signed with the U.S. government. And yet, Native Americans often struggle to access quality healthcare, creating health disparities that take a tremendous toll on their lives . In this episode, research scientist Dr. Emily Haozous explains what those health disparities have looked like over the past few decades, where they stand now, and what needs to be done to better meet the health needs of tribal communities. For

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29:30

Episode 230: America's Childcare Crisis

Scholars Strategy Network"s No Jargon ·

2021/11/02

The decades-long childcare crisis in America -- worsened by the pandemic -- continues to deepen: parents all across the nation have been facing immense challenges in finding quality, affordable childcare, all while childcare providers continue to deal with poor working conditions and cripplingly low wages. This month, we spoke to labor economist Mary King, who focuses on the public provision of high quality preschool and childcare. During our conversation, Dr. King offered a detailed examination of

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306 results

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