Ways & Means

In this episode: how a crusade shut down a coal-fired Chicago power plant for good. What the closing of that plant meant for children’s health and the environment. And what it didn’t mean. This is the eighth and final episode in our “Climate Change Solutions” series, where we look at research-based ideas to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests: Kimberly Wasserman is Exeutive Director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, and past winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize. Sarah Komisarow is Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Duke University. Emily Pakhtigian is a former PhD student in public policy at Duke, now Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy at Penn State University. Youki Terada is Editor at Edutopia from the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

In this episode of Ways & Means: the hidden role that climate plays in the story of migration. How a changing climate is driving thousands of people to enter the U.S. each year. And how relatively small, inexpensive changes on the ground could make a difference with a daunting geopolitical problem. This is the seventh episode in our “Climate Change Solutions” series, where we look at research-based ideas to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests: Sarah Bermeo is a political economist and associate professor of public policy and political science in the Sanford School at Duke University. She directs Duke’s Program on Climate-Related Migration. Abrahm Lustgarten is a ProPublica reporter. His new book, On The Move,The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America, explores the connection between climate change, American lives and migration. Pedro Santos is a Honduran farmer. Also: voices of migrants from Guatemala Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

In this episode: kicking America’s multi-billion-dollar food waste habit. How tons of wasted food contribute to climate change, and how one simple change – better food date labels – just might help make a dent in the problem. This is the sixth episode in our “Climate Change Solutions” series, where we look at research-based ideas to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests: Norbert Wilson, Director, Duke World Food Policy Center Roni Neff, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

In this episode of Ways & Means – New research into how solar mini-grids could change lives for farmers in Ethiopia, and why that matters for the climate as a whole. This is the fifth episode in our Climate Change Solutions series, where we look at surprising answers to the question of what we can do to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests: Jonathan Phillips, Director, James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke University Rahel Bekele, Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, DREAM Project Team Member Marc Jeuland, faculty member at Duke Sanford School of Public Policy and Duke Global Health Institute, Principal investigator DREAM Project Resources, Credits, Transcript  Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

Upgrading stoves for people in the developing world could bring about a double win: improving people’s lives while making a big contribution to fighting climate change. We follow along with Duke Professor Subhrendu Pattanayak on a research trip to rural Kenya, and are invited into people's homes to see how they cook, and what might make them change their methods. This is the fourth in our series Climate Change Solutions, a look at surprising answers to the question of what we can do to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guest:  Subhrendu Pattanayak, Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

In this episode of Ways & Means, we explore the impacts of meat production. Can we find a better way to raise animals as food and help the planet at the same time? This is the third in our series Climate Change Solutions, a look at surprising answers to the question of what we can do to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests:  Cameron Oglesby, journalist and Duke Sanford School of Public Policy Master of Public Policy student North Carolina farmer Johnny Rogers Jennifer Curtis, Firsthand Foods Lee Miller and Michelle Nowlin, Duke’s Environmental Law and Policy Clinic A-dae Romero-Briones, Native Agriculture and Food Systems program at First Nations Development Institute Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

Location, location, location. Place matters a lot when it comes to the impact solar panels can have on the environment. The biggest environmental benefit comes from regions powered by coal. If your local electric utility runs on coal and you install solar panels on your home, it means that the power plant doesn’t have to burn as much coal to power your home, and that is really good for the climate. In this episode of Ways & Means: getting strategic when it comes to solar subsidies. This is the second episode in our series, Climate Change Solutions. Guests: Joe Opyoke, retired coal miner Elizabeth Opyoke Cruikshank, Solar Holler in West Virginia Bobby Harris, PhD Environmental Economics and Policy, Duke, '22 Steven Sexton, professor, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

The Amazon has been called the lungs of the planet. Its dense jungles play a key role in absorbing the Earth’s greenhouse gases, but the forest is disappearing quickly. In this episode: research from Colombia, Africa and China illustrates how economics can help slow deforestation and combat the climate crisis. Guests: Lina Moros, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia Wumeng He, Wuhan University, China; Duke Kunshan University Alex Pfaff, Duke University This is the first in our series Climate Solutions. Find out more about the film Sonic Forest, including the song Let Me Breathe and the group Stand for Trees. Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

Special Takeover: The Debugger podcast has taken over the Ways & Means feed for a three-part series: Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech. This episode is the third of the series. Large technology companies are so powerful they now threaten democracy. They are too big to sue, and current regulations are not holding them responsible for their actions or outcomes. What can be done when a large tech company is doing something that is harmful to society? How can the technology companies that want to differentiate themselves demonstrate they are behaving responsibly? Well – this isn’t the first time the U.S. has been faced with a large, runaway industry that needed effective government oversight. We’ll look closely at the governance frameworks that are used for big banks, environmental polluters, drug companies to allow them to demonstrate responsible decision making. The series is produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Special Takeover: The Debugger podcast has taken over the Ways & Means feed for a three-part series: Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech. This is episode two of that series. Very large tech companies fit into a special tech category called “platforms.” Companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon are so big – it’s like they are on a raised on a platform at a country fair, and can be heard all over the fairgrounds. The platform gives them an advantage; because they can be heard by more people, their technology can have a more impactful reach. These companies have a lot of money, and power. But what if society becomes convinced one of these tools is hurting kids, or failing democracy, or polluting the environment, or stealing? Since they are so big that even fines don’t seem to scare them, what now? In this episode: we’ll explore what’s been tried to hold tech companies accountable. The series is produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Special Takeover: The Debugger podcast has taken over the Ways & Means feed for a three-part series: Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech. In this episode: It’s critical to understand just how hard it is to tell big tech companies what to do. The United States’ legal system is set up for a fair fight, but in practice tech firms are often able to act as their own judge and jury. They control everything from what apps we see, to what data they collect about us to whether or not misinformation and hate speech circulate widely online. Series produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Throughout history, the U.S. and other countries have paid reparations to a wide range of people and groups, for a variety of wrongs. But reparations to African Americans have not been paid to date. In the final episode of the  series The ARC of Justice – From Here to Equality, listen in on a live conversation about reparations. How would the debt be calculated? Who would qualify? What methods might work? This episode was recorded in front of a live virtual audience on Thursday, April 15, 2021. This is the fifth installment of the series "The ARC of Justice - From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits and transcript.

Throughout the nation’s history, time and again, promising signs of African American progress have been shattered by acts of violence serving the interests of white supremacy. The extent of that violence is widespread and ongoing. This is the fifth installment of the series "The ARC of Justice - From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits, transcript and discussion guide. Join us for the live season finale, Thursday April 15 at noon.

Episode 5 premieres April 7. It will explore white violence against Black people through the decades. Episode 6 premieres April 15 (Live!) Join us for a discussion with William A. "Sandy" Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen as well as other reparations experts. Don't forget to register for the live event. (Music in this teaser by Solomon Fox.)

In this episode: The GI Bill was a conveyor belt into the middle class for millions of white WWII veterans, but many African American veterans were excluded. Subsequent generations continue to feel the effects.  This is the fourth installment of the series "The ARC of Justice - From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits, transcript and discussion guide. Produced with North Carolina Public Radio WUNC. Made possible by the Duke Office for Faculty Advancement thanks to funding from the Duke Endowment.

In this episode: how the federal government promoted housing segregation and thwarted African American home ownership. This is the second installment of the series “The ARC of Justice – From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits and transcript. Produced with North Carolina Public Radio WUNC. Made possible by the Duke Office for Faculty Advancement thanks to funding from The Duke Endowment.

A tale of two promises made by the government – one kept, one broken. What happened, and what does this have to do with the existing wealth gap between African Americans and white Americans? This is the second installment of the series “The ARC of Justice – From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits and transcript. Produced with North Carolina Public Radio WUNC. Made possible by the Duke Office for Faculty Advancement thanks to funding from The Duke Endowment.

We’re dedicating the entire season of the podcast to this topic: what could have been done, and what could still be done, to start to close the wealth gap between white and Black Americans? The series “The Arc of Justice – From Here to Equality” is inspired by the research of professor William “Sandy” Darity Jr. He has co-written an award-winning book with the folklorist and arts consultant A. Kirsten Mullen, From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century. Get show notes, credits and transcript. Produced with North Carolina Public Radio WUNC. Made possible by the Duke Office for Faculty Advancement thanks to funding from The Duke Endowment.

The question of whether and how to compensate descendants of people formerly enslaved in the United States has hung over the country since the end of the Civil War. It’s getting new traction in the 2020 election. Duke Professor William "Sandy" Darity has created a Reparations Planning Committee to flesh out the details of how a reparations program would work. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Find out more at polis.duke.edu  

What makes a great political leader in a deeply divided time, and what can we learn from one of the most striking examples in history? Listen to the story of Nelson Mandela and learn about the surprising strategies that made his leadership work. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Find out more at polis.duke.edu