Conversations with Sergei Guriev

In the vast landscape of the Internet, YouTube is a giant, hosting over 14 billion videos that shape our digital experience. No one knew this number until Ethan Zukerman and his team calculated it using an advanced method they developed. Not only did they count the number of videos, but they also classified them, providing a vivid picture of YouTube’s cultural and linguistic diversity. This analysis also reveals the algorithmic dynamics that influence user experiences. Ethan Zuckerman is an associate professor of public policy, communication and information at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He founds of the Institute for Digital Public Infrastructure.Additional Resources:How Big is YouTube?, Ethan Zukerman's blog Dec. 2023"Building a More Honest Internet" Columbia Journalism Review, Ethan Zukerman, Fall 2019Media Cloud, an open source search engine and tool for studying the open web, developed with Ethan ZukermanRecorded on 20 March 2024Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Jade SOULLARD, Sciences Po Master student. Sciences Po' studio produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Many studies have shown the limited effectiveness of factual corrections in changing deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes. However, based on the results of his work, Yamil Velez is convinced that thanks to generative AI, researchers can create personalised rebuttals that adapt to individuals' stated positions. It may also be helpful to explore new ways to reduce polarisation and enhance critical thinking skills. A positive outlook explained by Yamil Velez, an Assistant Professor at Columbia University, visiting faculty at CEVIPOF.Additional resources:Latino-Targeted Misinformation and The Power of Factual Correctionswith Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood, Journal of PoliticsCorrecting Covid-19 Misinformation in Ten Countries with Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood, Royal Society Open ScienceFactual Corrections Eliminate False Beliefs about Covid-19 Vaccines with Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood), Public Opinion QuarterlyRecorded on 16th February 2024.Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Jade SOULLARD, Sciences Po Master student. Sciences Po' studio produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

One thing is certain: discrimination is not only perpetuated by algorithms which reflect societal biases, but multiplied. If the constitution of databases and configuration of algorithms must be rethought, it will not be enough. It is essential to rely on law, especially the Europen one which prohibits a large number of discriminations. These legal protections must be adapted and developed, considering the specificities of algorithmic discrimination.Raphaele XENIDIS, Assistant Professor at Sciences Po's Law School, helps us better understand the questions raised by these issues.Additional resourcesRaphaële Xenidis. Beyond bias: algorithmic machines, discrimination law and the analogy trap. Transnational Legal Theory, 2024, pp.1-35. Hilde Weerts, Raphaële Xenidis, Fabien Tarissan, Henrik Palmer Olsen, Mykola Pechenizkiy. Algorithmic Unfairness through the Lens of EU Non-Discrimination Law. FAccT Conference 2023, ACM, June 2023, Chicago. pp.805-816.Recorded on 24th January 2024Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Jade SOULLARD, Sciences Po Master student. Sciences Po' studio produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Over the last decades, identity is rising as a new ideology influenced by postmodernism, postcolonialism, and critical race theory. While acknowledging the value of recognising and respecting diverse identities, Yascha Mounk invites us to be vigilant about the potential pitfalls of rigidly defining individuals solely based on their identity groups. It is crucial to strike a balance between celebrating cultural diversity and avoiding essentialism that may inadvertently leads to exclusion and division, threatening democracy.Yascha Mounk is professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, a contributing Editor at The Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Moynihan Public Scholar at City College. Next spring he will be an Associate Professor at Sciences Po’s School of International Affairs.Additional resourcesThe Identity Trap:A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, Penguin Press (2023)The Great Experiment. Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure, Penguin Press (2022)The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom is in Danger and How to Save It, Harvard University Press (2018)Recorded on 24th November 2023Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Political dynasties belong neither to the past nor only to authoritarian regimes. Think about the Trudeau family in Canada, Le Pen in France, or Kirchner in Argentina. An explanatory factor: having lived in a political environment provides skills.  Can the evolution of society towards a better level of education and more transparency put an end to these dynasties? Especially since we find a growing desire to reject the established political elites by implementing lotteries. Why this desire? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system? The research carried out indicates that lotteries can strengthen and improve our democratic systems.  Let’s see why.Brenda Van Coppenolle is a Senior Research Fellow affiliated with the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) at Sciences Po. She is the Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant “Political Lotteries in European Democratisation”.Additional resourcesBrenda Van Coppenolle - Political Dynasties and Bicameralism: Direct Elections and Democratisation in the Netherlands, Electoral Studies, 2022Brenda Van Coppenolle  -  How do Political Elites Persist? Political Selection, Political Inequality, and Empirical Historical Research, French Politics, 2020All publicationsRecorded on 17th November 2023Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

You could be driving home, on your usual route, and you are lost in thought. Next thing you know you are home, and you don’t remember having taken any of the turns. That is intuition, what many of us use to think about politics. But democratic politics requires that we say stop, you need to reassess and come to a different decision. That’s reflection.Are voters rational beings, choosing carefully whom to vote for based on their preferences and most desirable outcomes? Or are they more like cheerleaders, led by emotion and affect towards their preferred political parties? This heated and incredibly pertinent debate is the focus of this episode. Dr. Kevin Arceneaux delves into the topic of electoral choice, and revisits many of the arguments made in his book Taming Intuition, where he argues that every voter is different in the way he reaches a decision, and that some voters are more likely to be led astray by their gut feeling than others. Borrowing from social psychology, Arceneaux brings us through many interesting considerations of why voters behave the way they do, what connection that may have with increasing polarization, and how we can use reflection to, indeed, tame our intuition.Kevin (Vin) Arceneaux is Professor of Political Science at the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po Paris (CEVIPOF) since June 2021. He studies how people make political decisions. He has published articles on psychological biases, the influence of partisan campaigns on voting behavior, and the role of human biology in explaining individual variation in predispositions.Additional resourceKevin Arceneaux, Ryan J. Vander Wielen. Taming intuition: how reflection minimizes partisan reasoning and promotes democratic accountability. Cambridge University Press, 2017.Recorded on 24th November 2023Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Does it matter who controls the media? What are the democratic implications of the increasing concentration of the media industry in the hands of oligarchs? Is this a result of the weakening of the industry? What changes can we expect in the upcoming years? To answer these burning questions, Julia Cagé lays out some democratic solutions that her research finds promising to break away from editorial political lines and protect the public good that is information. Additionally, she delves into the main conclusions of her latest work, “Une Histoire du Conflit Politique”, co-authored alongside Thomas Piketty, where she investigated geosocial factors of voting behavior and its consequences for current issues like EU membership or radical party voting. Julia Cagé is an associate professor at the Sciences Po's Deparment of economics. She is also member of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Her main fields of study are political economy, organizational economics and economic history, with a particular focus on the media. Additional resources Media Competition, Information Provision and Political Participation: Evidence from French Local Newspapers and Elections, 1944-2014, Journal of Public Economics, 2020, 85. Saving the Media. Capitalism, Crowdfunding and Democracy, Harvard University Press, 2016 Une histoire du conflit politique. Élections et inégalités sociales en France, 1789-2022, with Thomas Piketty. Paris, Le Seuil, 2023. English translation: Harvard University Press, to be published in 2024 Recorded on 11th October 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Egypt, which for so long has been a great referent in the Arab World, seems to be entering decline, politically and economically. Could its authoritarian military regime have something to do with this? In this new episode of our series on Democracy and Populism, we have the pleasure of welcoming Egypt expert Eberhard Kienle. We discuss the particularities of Egypt’s authoritarianism and its institutions, the role of the military, the legacy of the Arab Spring, as well as some prospects for Al-Sissi in the upcoming December elections.  Eberhard Kienle is a researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and a director of research at Sciences Po’s Centre de Recherches Internationales (CERI). He focuses on state transformation, failed states and state varieties, political economy and sociology, and interstate relations in the Middle East.   Additional resource Eberhard Kienle. Egypt. A Fragile Power. Routledge, 2021 Eberhard Kienle. Why Have “Failed States” Failed to Disappear?. Les Dossiers du CERI, 2021 Eberhard Kienle. Revisiting the State, Again. Centre de recherches internationales. Les Dossiers du CERI Eberhard Kienle. A Grand Delusion. Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2001 Recorded on 4th October 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What encourages voters to support populist right parties? What has made Marine Le Pen’s discourse so powerful, especially with regards to its female vote share? What policies do radical right parties generally look for at the European Union level? Could support for the radical left and the radical right overlap? In this episode, Nonna Mayer, a specialist in radical ideologies and populism, answers these and many other questions regarding the rise of right-wing populism in France and Europe at large. Nonna Mayer is an emeritus researcher at France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). She is also a researcher at Sciences Po’s Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics, and was president of the French Association of Political Science between 2005 and 2016. She focuses on the rise of the radical right in Europe and France, issues of antisemitism and racism, and the intercultural interplay between minorities and majority, and amongst minority groups.  Additional resources: Mayer, N. (2022). Undermining Democracy: Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour’s Populist Politics. Institut Montaigne.    Durovic, A. & Mayer, N. (2022). Wind of change? The reconfiguration of gender gaps in the 2022 French presidential election. The reconfiguration of gender gaps in the 2022 French presidential election. Revue française de science politique (72), p. 463-484.   Amengay, A., Durovic, A. & Mayer, N. (2017). The impact of gender on the Marine Le Pen vote. Revue française de science politique (67), p. 1067-1087.  Recorded on 15th September 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Social networks pose very complex challenges to governments. Those who want to sell news have become very good at creating clickbait on negative news, knowing that we are naturally more sensitive to this kind of news. Social media discourse also contributes to exaggerating minority positions. Even scientific knowledge, which is one of the factors informing good government policy, can be challenged that way, as we have seen during the pandemic. Even more worrying, social media has a feedback effect on traditional media and mainstream politicians are tempted to join in the populist drive. What can be done to counter this trend? Answers by Emiliano Grossman, a researcher at Sciences Po’s Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics. His research focuses on political  life  institutions in Europe and more specifically in France.  Additional resource Emiliano Grossman, Media and Policy Making in the Digital Age, Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 25, pp. 443-46 Recorded on 14th September 2023. Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this conversation, Alexander Etkind sets out the reasons why environmental challenges are largely ignored in Russia, by public authorities and more generally by society. If this is largely explained by the weight of fossil fuels in Russia's income, there are other factors to take into account, such as state ideology, education and demography. Alexander Etkind also presents his conception of the Anthropocene, based on the thinking of Bruno Latour on Gaia modernity. Alexander Etkind, Professor of international relations at the Central European University. He has now launched a major project : “Politics of Anthropocene Interdisciplinary Hub”, jointly conducted by CEU and Sciences Po.  Additionnal ressources Russia Against Modernity, April 2023, Polity  Nature's Evil: A Cultural History of Natural Resources, Wiley, Oct. 2021    Recorded on 14 June 2023 Talk with Sergei is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène Naudet supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaelle Vergonjeanne. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The vulnerability of agriculture and energy production to water scarcity is not so new. Historically, this issue has been mainly addressed through the regulation of water sharing. A major problem today is that the water scarcity is worsening and that past solutions are not sufficient to resolve the problem. What are the new parameters to take into account? What public policies should be put in place? How can we adapt to the new hydrological conditions which promise to last for a long time? This is what Giacomo Parrinello, an environmental historian, devotes a large part of his research to. In this episode Giacomo Parrinello shares with us the results of his research. An assistant professor and researcher at Sciences Po’s Centre for History, Giacomo Parrinello is also a member of the European Society for Environmental History. For a long time, he has in particular investigated the history of the Mediterranean coast. Additional Resources (Open Access) Giacomo Parrinello - Times of Drought, Visualizing Climate and Loss, Center for History and Economics, Harvard University, 2022  Giacomo Parrinello, G. Mathias Kondolf -  The social life of sediment. Water History, 2021 Giacomo Parrinello, Simone Bizzi and Nicola Surian - "The retreat of the delta: a geomorphological history of the Po river basin during the twentieth century." Water History, 2021 Recorded on 9 June 2023 Talk with Sergei is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène Naudet supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaelle Vergonjeanne. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The mobilisation of children for climate policies started in 2018, with Greta Thunberg benefiting from strong media coverage and social media.  After her speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, it became a concern at the level of international organisations. If children's rights were already a concern of UNICEF, the approach radically changed since international organizations had to consider young people as actors and no longer as simple victims. How did this process take place? What are its real consequences? This is what Anaelle reveals to us. Anaëlle Vergonjeanne, is a young researcher at the Sciences Po’s Centre for International Studies. She has dedicated her doctoral thesis ‘How dare you?’ : The United Nations and children's climate commitment » (in French). Additional Resources Anaëlle Vergonjeanne - Les enfants au chevet de la planète :  émergences d’une environnementalisation de l’enfance aux Nations Unies, Annuaire français de relations internationales, 2023, Éditions Panthéon-Assas. Recorded on 10 May 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

It’s a well-known fact that rich countries pollute more than poor countries. What is less taken in account is that it is within countries and especially inside emerging countries that inequalities in terms of pollution are increasingly significant. The middle classes, in India, China or Latin America, are beginning to pollute just as much as the western middle classes. What policies should be put in place to reverse the trend? Answers by Lucas Chancel, Associate Professor of Economics at Sciences Po's Center for Research on Social Inequalities  and affilited to the Department of Economics. Lucas Chancel is also Co-Director of the World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics and Senior advisor at the European Tax Observatory.   Additional Resources Lucas Chancel, Philipp, Bothe, Tancrède Voituriez -  Climate Inequality Report 2023, World Inequality Lab Study 2023 Lucas Chancel - Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019. Nat Sustain, November 2022  Gregor Semieniuk, Lucas Chancel, Eulalie Saïsset, Philip B. Holden, Jean-Francois Mercure, Neil R. Edwards - Potential pension fund losses should not deter high-income countries from bold climate action, Joule, Issue 7, 2023   Recorded on 30th May, 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaëlle VERGONJEANNE. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Decay, frugality, green growth; so many concepts that invite us to rethink our growth appeal as it dominated the 20th century. Where does our conception of limitless economic growth come from? What would have been the opinion of the economists of the 18th and 19th centuries who have laid down the first ideas of what growth should be? What did they think about the relationship between growth and nature? Did they really not see that natural resources are not unlimited? Answers by Thomas Kayzel, who joined the Sciences Po’s Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) as  a post-doc  of the Bruno Latour Fund. Recorded on 5 May 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaëlle VERGONJEANNE. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What do social movements have to say about climate change? What is their role in local and global governance of climate change? How do climate activists coordinate alternative futures in a postapocalyptic present? Some people say individual changes are needed, while others think it should come from systemic change. How does the climate movement reconcile both?  Answers by Joost de Moor, a researcher at Sciences Po’s Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics, who has been working on these issues for years. Additional Resources Joost de Moor, Jens Marquardt, Deciding whether it’s too late: How climate activists coordinate alternative futures in a postapocalyptic present, Geoforum, 2023 Joost de Moor, Postapocalyptic narratives in climate activism: their place and impact in five European cities, Environmental Politics, 2022 Joost de Moor, The ‘efficacy dilemma’ of transnational climate activism: the case of COP21’, Environmental Politics, 2018 Joost de Moor, Michiel De Vydt, Katrin Uba, et al. ‘New kids on the block: taking stock of the recent cycle of climate activism ’, Social Movement Studies. 2020 Recorded on 20 April 2023  Talk with Sergei is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaelle VERGONJEANNE. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Small island states - that have 65 million inhabitants  - are all strongly impacted by climate change. What can they do, given their limitations in terms of financial and human resources ? Carola Klöck, who has been working on this subject for years, explains to us  their adaptation policies, their influence in international negotiations… Carola Kloeck  is an Associate Professor at the Sciences Po’s Centre of International Studies (CERI).  Carola’s research is located at the  interface of political science, human geography and development studies, and examines adaptation to climate change, and the politics of climate change more generally. Transcription  Additionnal ressources Carola Klöck, Elle Ledger, Climate justice through climate finance? Australia’s approach to climate finance in the Pacific. 2023. Pre-print Florian Weiler, Carola Klöck, Donor interactions in the allocation of adaptation aid: A network analysis, Earth System Governance, Volume 7, 2021 Klöck, Carola, Paula Castro, Florian Weiler, et al. (eds.). Coalitions in the climate change negotiations. Abingdon, Oxon. Taylor & Francis Group. 2020. (Global environmental governance series (Online)  Nunn, P.D. et al. (2020). Adaptation to Climate Change: Contemporary Challenges and Perspectives. In: Kumar, L. (eds) Climate Change and Impacts in the Pacific. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham.  Recorded on 26 March 2023 Conversations with Sergei is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaelle VERGONJEANNE. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Welcome to the first episode of the environmental transformation series of the Sciences Po’s podcast “Conversations with Sergei Guriev”. In this series, Sergei Guriev talks with our best researchers to understand the fundamental issues of environmental transition. Let’s start with the decisive role of cities in building a sober world. Cities are the main sources of pollution, but they also are the major actors for struggling against it. What are the challenges ? How to meet them ? Can cities be sober and low-carbon?  Whereas cities are so different from each other, how can we devise common solutions? How to combine solutions to be implemented immediately and a long-term strategy? Answers by Charlotte Halpern, a researcher at  Sciences Po’s Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics, who has been working on these issues for years.  Transcription Additional Resources European project CIVITAS SUMP-PLUS website Building Governance Capacity To Achieve Sustainable Urban Mobility Transitions, a Policy Brief by Charlotte Halpern, Dan Broghan, Anna Emilie Wehrle)Enabling Governance to Support Sustainable Mobility Planning, a presentation by Charlotte Halpern  Recorded on 17th March 2023 Conversations with Sergei GURIEV is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, accompanied by Anaelle VERGONJEANNE. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.     Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Do you want to understand better the change that is happening in our societies and to our societies? The environmental transformation, the digital transformation, the challenges to our democracies coming from populism and authoritarian leaders, the rise of inequalities discrimination, globalisation,  the return of History in geopolitics? Sciences Po faculty is conducting frontier research on these issues. This is why we start this podcast on Sciences Po Research where Sergei Guriev Provost of Sciences Po will talk to our researchers.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.