Espresso with the Experts

What is behind the recent wave of unionization efforts across the United States, and what is its future? In this episode, we have a coffee with Professor Suresh Naidu, Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and Katy Habr, PhD student in Sociology and organizer for the Student Workers of Columbia.Together, we discuss the state of U.S. labor unions today, the structural challenges facing worker organizing, and the victories of and tensions within labor movements. Katy Habr also shares her experience from the historic graduate student strike at Columbia, and Professor Suresh Naidu reflects on whether there is a future for the U.S. labor movement—and what it might look like.Whether you're a labor organizer, econ student, or just curious about the future of work, this conversation is for you.

With the rise of social media and developments in artificial intelligence, several ethical challenges have emerged. How can we address the spread of misinformation and harmful content on social media platforms? And what can be done to counter the biases introduced by algorithms? In this episode, SIPA Professor Tamar Mitts and Miriam McKinney, founder and CEO of McKinney Gray Analytics, guide us through the difficult tasks of introducing ethical standards in AI and social media and the best practices. Join us for an insightful conversation to learn about how academic work and private research can come together to combat online harm.

What is the future of climate solutions and how are they legally being shaped, what are the policies passed by Congress in support of curbing climate change and what should we expect to be politically feasible next?  In this episode, we explore the controversial realm of geoengineering, from carbon capture technologies and storage to solar radiation management. Are these cutting-edge innovations our climate's saving grace, or do they pose a risky distraction from green energy? Plus, we unravel the mystery of nations threatened by rising seas. Join us and Professor and lawyer Michael Gerrard for a thought-provoking episode that's not to be missed!

The crisis of party politics is an established fact in today’s democracies. In response to the distrust towards politicians, the use of lotteries to nominate representatives in democratic institutions has been revived. The so-called “lottocrats” claim that these new procedures would improve representativeness and decision making. In this new episode, Nadia Urbinati, Professor of Political Theory and Alessandra Casella, Professor of Economics, discuss when such systems can support, ameliorate or hinder the functioning of our democracies.

Matthew Connelly, Professor of History and Co-Director of the Institute for Social Science and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP) at Columbia University, just recently published a new book, The Declassification Engine. His work traces the nature of secrecy in the United States, demonstrated by the over-classification of documents. In this first episode of our new podcast series, Espresso with the Experts, Leila and Bea discuss the research which went into his new book, along with his work with the History Lab, a lab at Columbia which uses data science tools, natural language processing, and machine learning tools in order to analyze historical data.

Welcome to our new podcast series! Espresso with the Experts, sponsored by ISERP and moderated by Beatrice Bonini and Leila Travaglini, PhD students in Political Science. Join us on our coffee break to learn more about the main social, economic and political challenges we face.