What the Heck Is Going On?!

With the recent leak of the draft opinion on Roe vs. Wade, it has become important to discuss how Supreme Court Justices arrive to these opinions and decisions that ultimately result in how laws are interpreted for us to follow. This creates policy implications that, as you have probably come to realize, can change significant issues that our society deals with. In this episode I discuss how Supreme Court Justices arrive to their opinions and decisions and the things that are most influential in determining how they interpret the law.

When trying to derive solutions for problems that exist in human lives or society, we often look at what others are doing and ask; why not just try that? However, something that works for someone else or somewhere else might not always work for you or where you live. This is the case for discussing how to address gun violence in the United States. We often hear people compare the US to Australia or Switzerland, but we very seldom provide context to our argument. We use hand-pick statistics that fit our perspective without providing evidence of a comprehensive understanding of the situation. Such is the goal for this episode. I finally talk about my own personal research in gun policy and a piece of work that I have spent months putting together. The goal is to create a more well-rounded discussion and introduce important questions we should be asking around this controversial issue. Time Stamps: 0:00 - 9:45 - Talking about progress in my PhD 9:45 - 25:45 - Introduction to my research 25:45 - 1:34:00 - Breakdown of Gun Policies by Country 1:34:00 - 2:06:15 - Analysis of Gun Violence and Data 2:06:15 - End - Summary and Conclusion

Whether someone likes the President and thinks they are doing a good job depends on who you talk to. This is because there are many factors that impact our evaluation of the President and how they are doing their job. This episode looks at many of these factors and how it influence our Presidential Approval.

Taxes, Inflations, Interest Rates, Gas Prices; what role does the President play in all this? I take a look at the scholarship to see what economists and political scientists have to say about the impact of the President on the economy.

In this episode we take more of a textbook approach to explain what the president's job is. I discuss their executive powers, legislative powers, and judicial powers. I also discuss controversial things presidents do like executive orders and pardons.

Everyday people are not the only ones who think about whether the president is good or bad at their job. Scholars have developed ways of thinking about this and even propose that we can possibly predict whether someone will be a successful president. This episode takes a look at a some of these perspectives as a fun way of thinking about the success or failure of presidents.

This episode dives into what the scholars are saying about the impact that the Electoral College has on voting power, campaigns resources, and campaign strategies.

As a result of the recent events between Russian and Ukraine, Kory talks about the dominating theories of foreign policy and how they impact the way countries think about their place in the world. 

Kory goes over the literature on representation to explain whether politicians actually care about what their voters have to say. The answer might surprise you.

This episode discusses campaign finance and what it means for our democracy. Does donating money to politicians and campaigns influence their decisions? Is the government owned by the rich and large corporations?

Why would someone who already has a political positions seek a higher one? Kory explains why this might be.

Kory talks about why we keep seeing politicians get re-elected over and over again and what we can do about it.

Kory talks about how the rules of congress have changed and how it impacts lawmakers' behavior.

Why does it seem like you can never feel the impacts of decisions the government makes at home or in your community? Kory talks about federalism and why understanding who is making the decisions determines why and/or how we might feel the impacts of them. Scholarly Works O’Toole, Laurence J. & Christensen, Robert K. (2013). American Intergovernmental Relations: Foundations, Perspectives, and Issues. California. CQ Press. Elazar, Daniel J. (1964). Federal-State Collaboration in the Nineteeth-Century United States. Political Science Quarterly. 72.2. Retrieved from http://www.jstore.org/stable/2146065 Rubin, Edward L., Feeley Malcolm M. (2008). Federalism and Interpretation. Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 38.2.  Retrieved from https://doi-org.proxy.lib.wanye.edu/10.1093/publius/pjn004 O’Toole, Laurence J. & Christensen, Robert K. (2013). The Paradox of the Middle Tier-Martha Derthick. American Intergovernmental Relations. California. CQ Press. Gerald C. Wright, Jr., Robert S. Erikson and John P. McIver. Public Opinion and Policy Liberalism in the American States. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Nov., 1987), pp. 980-1001 Vickie D. Ybarra1, Lisa M. Sanchez1, and Gabriel R. Sanchez1. Anti-immigrant Anxieties
in State Policy: The Great Recession and Punitive Immigration Policy in the American States, 2005–2012. State Politics & Policy Quarterly 2016, Vol. 16(3) 313–339 Christopher Z. Mooney and Mei-Hsien Lee. Legislative Morality in the American States: The Case of Pre-Roe Abortion Regulation Reform. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Aug., 1995), pp. 599-627 O’Toole, Laurence J. & Christensen, Robert K. (2013). American Intergovernmental Relations: Foundations, Perspectives, and Issues. Techniques for Intergovernmental Regulations. California. CQ Press. O’Toole, Laurence J. & Christensen, Robert K. (2013). American Intergovernmental Relations: Foundations, Perspectives, and Issues. The Politics of Unfunded madates. California. CQ Press. O’Toole, Laurence J. & Christensen, Robert K. (2013). American Intergovernmental Relations: Foundations, Perspectives, and Issues. Another Look at Bargaining and Negotiating in Intergovernmental Management. California. CQ Press. Wood, Dan B. (1991). Federalism and Policy Responsiveness: The Clean Air Case. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Aug., 1991), pp. 851-859. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2131582

Podcast host Kory discusses a little about his background and the inspiration for the creation of the podcast.