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© 2025 The Periphery from the Pulaski Institution
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A podcast about politics, economics, and culture in places away from the traditional centers.
36 Episodes
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Benjamin Carter Hett is Professor of History at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at City University of New York. He specializes in German history, and his books include The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic; The Nazi Menace: Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Road to War; and more. He is one of my favorite historians, and I was really excited to get to have him on the show. We dive into the parallels he thinks do and don't...
Franziska Wagner studied comparative political sciences at the University of Mannheim and at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Sciences Po. Her research interests lie in party politics, far-right politics, social media, and computational approaches to social sciences. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D in Political Sciences at the Central European University, where she works on party communication on social media, and the role of discourse and emotions. Franziska is a researcher at the...
Today, I'm talking with Dr. Keri Leigh Merritt about her recent piece in Aeon Magazine, entitled "The southern gap." The piece explores the roots of economic underdevelopment in the American South, a problem that still plagues the region. From there, we talk more broadly about the politics of the South and what it means to be a Southerner today. Keri Leigh Merritt works as a historian and writer in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her B.A. from Emory University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Un...
Dr. Kristin Lunz Trujillo from the University of South Carolina joins to discuss ruralness and identity in America. We talk about the new book, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman, as well as some of the broader ideas about who is rural and what that means for the people living in those places. You can read Kristin's Newsweek response to White Rural Rage here: 'White Rural Rage' Cites My Research. It Gets Everything About Rural America Wrong&n...
Pulaski fellow Bailey Fairbanks joins to talk about the potential for a mifepristone ban and the practice of judge shopping.
Dr. Alex Middlewood of Wichita State University joins to talk about her new venture, IKE Lab. At IKE Lab, Alex and Brian Amos are building data and analysis of Kansas elections down to the most local level. We also talk about a new anti-DEI bill in Kansas, the challenges of brain drain, and crackdowns on local authority in red states. Read Dr. Middlewood's previous essay for Pulaski's 50 Takes on Democracy series here.
Matt McManus joins to talk about his newest book, The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity (Routledge). The book is a wide-ranging and gripping exploration of right-wing arguments against egalitarianism. We talk about as many of McManus's subjects as we can fit into an episode, including Fyodor Dostoevsky, Patrick Devlin, Patrick Deneen, Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Schmitt, and more. Matt lectures at the University of Michigan.
Itoro Bassey is a first-generation Nigerian-American who grew up in Southbridge, Massachusetts. She is a journalist, playwright, cultural worker, educator, and novelist. Her debut novel, Faith, was published by Malarkey Books in 2022. Itoro has previously worked as a correspondent for Arise News and is now a segment producer for the BBC, based in Washington, D.C. We talk about her experiences growing up in rural New England, her time living in Nigeria, and how identity and ruralness pla...
Dr. Kevin Vallier is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University, where he directs their program in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law. Vallier’s interests lie primarily in political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE). He is also an affiliate with the Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. His newest book is All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Al...
Pulaski fellows Dr. Hanah Stiverson and Dr. Dominik Stecuła join Dr. Michael Simeone from New America and Arizona State to discuss some of the dangers of misinformation and disinformation, with particular attention given to rural and exurban America. A link to the video version of the panel is here: (488) A Pulaski Panel: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Offline Effects in America's Heartlands - YouTube
Craig Calhoun is University Professor of Social Sciences at Arizona State University. Previously, he was Director of the London School of Economics, President of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), founder of the Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU, and a professor there and at UNC-Chapel Hill, Columbia, and Princeton. He is also a member of the Pulaski Board. Calhoun’s newest book is Degenerations of Democracy (Harvard 2022, co-authored with Dilip Gaonkar and Charles Taylor). This...
Samuel C. Spitale is a media studies expert who has written for Huffington Post, as well as Geek magazine and Advocate.com. Previously, he worked at Lucasfilm Ltd. in global product development. In addition to How to Win the War on Truth, he is the author of Star Wars: Collecting a Galaxy. We talk about his book, the ways in which he thinks about our emotions and biases, and how to better navigate a fraught informational landscape.
Matt McManus is a lecturer in political science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is the author of The Emergence of Postmodernity and Liberalism and Liberal Rights: A Critical Legal Argument amongst other books. His forthcoming work includes the essay collection Nietzsche and the Politics of Reaction for Palgrave MacMillan and The Political Right and Equality for Routledge Press. You can also find Matt's writings around the web, at places like Arc Digital, Liberal Currents, and ...
William Kristol has been a major figure in American political life for decades. He was a founder of The Weekly Standard, and is a regular guest on leading political commentary shows. Prior to his work at The Weekly Standard, Kristol led the Project for the Republican Future, an organization that helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory. From 1985 to 1993, Kristol served as chief of staff to Education Secretary William Bennett in the Reagan ...
Dr. Justin Ellis is a senior lecturer in criminology at the Newcastle School of Law and Justice. His research into digiqueer criminology critically analyses the relationship between digital media technology, criminal justice, and queer representation and resistance. His broader research focus is on the relationship between digital technologies on institutional accountability and responsible government. He is also joining Pulaski as new fellow! Helpful links: A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong: ...
Dr. Shaun Casey was U.S. special representative for religion and global affairs and director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs. He is also a non-resident fellow at Pulaski. His new book is Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom: The Future of Religion in American Diplomacy. From the publisher: "In this fresh and provocative narrative, Casey writes frankly about his work integrating sophisticated, research-driven policy into the State Department under Secreta...
This episode's guest is Tom Nichols, professor emeritus at the United States Naval War College and staff writer at The Atlantic. Tom is the author of the Peacefield newsletter and the Atlantic Daily newsletter. His most recent book is Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from within on Modern Democracy. In that book, he "challenges the current depictions of the rise of illiberal and anti-democratic movements in the United States and elsewhere as the result of the deprivations of globalizat...
Dr. Alex Middlewood joins for another conversation in our 50 Takes on Democracy Series. Dr. Middlewood is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Wichita State University. Her areas of specialization include gun politics, public opinion, political behavior, civic engagement, and gender. Her research focuses on the political participation and attitudes of American gun owners. She is also a Policy Fellow at the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University and a membe...
Dr. Luke Perry joins to talk about New York politics, with a focus the upstate regions away from New York City. Dr. Perry is Professor of Political Science at Utica University and Director of the Utica University Center of Public Affairs and Election Research. Perry’s recent books include The 2020 Presidential Election: Key Issues and Dynamics, The 2020 Democratic Primary: Key Lessons, Dynamics and Lessons for 2024, and Donald Trump and the 2018 Midterm Battle for Central New York. His New Y...
In the second of our 50 Takes on Democracy episodes, Dr. Kevin Baron of Austin Peay State University joins to talk about Tennessee. We discuss anti-CRT and anti-LGBTQ legislation, the state of Tennessee's education system, and the challenges of representation. You can read Kevin's 50 Takes essay here: Cultivating Anti-Democratic Tendencies in Tennessee — The Pulaski Institution
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