Circumscription

About Circumscription

Much of what gives life meaning, continuity, and order is the act of setting boundaries. Much of what gives you a clear sense of who and what you are is a clear sense of who and what you're not. This is a podcast about drawing such lines. It's about the processes involved in setting and maintaining boundaries, but also stretching and crossing them. We explore questions about boundaries and identity in three areas: religion, foreign policy, and constitutional law.

Publisher

Michael Sargent

Category

science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Jul 2025

Latest episode

2 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Jun 2026

   Episode 18: Political Animals

   Rose McDermott (https://home.watson.brown.edu/people/faculty/watson-faculty/rose-mcdermott) is the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor of International Relations at The Watson School of International and Public Affairs, at Brown University. She’s also a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. McDermott studies a variety of topics, including international relations, nuclear strategy, gender, the role of emotion in decision-making, and genetic contributions to political attitudes and behaviors. We discuss a range of topics, including (a) whether her work is more psychological political science or political psychology, (b) what her work has to say about the Russia-Ukraine war, and (c) what smell has to do with politics. OTHER LINKS --Volodymr Zelenskyy's 2025 address to the UN General Assemply (transcript and video) (https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/volodymyrzelenskyunga2025.htm) --"Assortative mating on ideology could operate through olfactory cues," (2014) by Rose McDermott, Dustin Tingley, & Peter K. Hatemi, in the American Journal of Political Science (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajps.12133) --Wikipedia entry on Amos Tversky (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Tversky) --Wikipedia entry on Robert Jervis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jervis) --Richard Wrangham's Harvard online bio (https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/people/richard-w-wrangham) --"Drivers of female power in bonobos," (2025) by Martin Surbeck et al., in Communications Biology (https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-07900-8.pdf) --Wikipedia entry on the "tradwife" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradwife) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Afrikaans," by C. Scott --"Belview," by C. Scott --"Determinate," by C. Scott Special Guest: Rose McDermott.

2. 

   21 May 2026

   Episode 17: Entangled: Race, Politics, and Post-Callais America

   Guy-Uriel Charles is the Charles J. Ogletree Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he also directs the Charles Hamilton Institute for Race and Justice. Along with a coauthor, he’s also working on a book that focuses on the past and future of voting rights. He was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. Rick Hasen is Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, and he also directs the Safeguarding Democracy Project. He is an expert on election law, and is the author of A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy. We discuss Section 2 of the Voting Rights, and the aftermath of the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision. OTHER LINKS --"House Majority Leader William Lamberth cannot answer several questions from Rep. Jesse Chism (D)," from YouTube (https://youtube.com/shorts/HpofcvGWDRM?si=_88vqM9gBmwjuZ3m) --Louisiana v. Callais (et al.), Supreme Court opinion, decided April 29, 2026 (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf) --"Pathological racism, chronic racism, & targeted universalism," (2021) by Guy-Uriel Charles and Luis Fuentes Rohwer, in the California Law Review (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/640d6616cc8bbb354ff6ba65/t/644b5301ecffe743e1cd0def/1682658049842/5.5-Charles-Fuentes-Rohwer-postEIC.pdf) --Social dominance, (1999) by Jim Sidanius & Felicia Pratto, Cambridge University Press (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-dominance/frontmatter/071552BA7C5D4EF9BB161A7B1BAC95AC) --Wikipedia summary of Rucho v. Common Cause (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rucho_v._Common_Cause) --"Callais confusion, power-sharing, and the inevitability of proportional representation," (2026) by Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Michael Latner & Carlos Algara, in the Yale Law Journal (https://yalelawjournal.org/essay/callais-confusion-power-sharing-and-the-inevitability-of-proportional-representation) --Wikipedia summary of proportional representation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation) --A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy, (2024) by Rick Hasen, Princeton University Press (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691257716/a-real-right-to-vote) --the Safeguarding Democracy Project website (https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/safeguarding-democracy-project) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Monsters of the past," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Funky end," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guests: Guy-Uriel Charles and Rick Hasen.

3. 

   28 Apr 2026

   Episode 16: Threading the Needle

   Brandon Yoder is Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University. He holds a Ph.D. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He studies a range of topics, including foreign policy, international security, US-China relations, and signaling and credibility. He’s the author of a 2025 article in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, titled, “Will there be war over Taiwan? Structural stability and policy pitfalls in cross-Strait deterrence.” Yoder and I discuss stability in the relations between China and Taiwan. OTHER LINKS --"Wen and Bush in Oval office," from YouTube (https://youtu.be/G6A1VeODsag?si=yYAXEeZnCjdeRNvD) --"Obama tells Trump to 'think it through' on China," from YouTube (https://youtu.be/7To87jP4hbI?si=6omh69YOgdVNCDeI) --"Biden reaffirms 'One China Policy' after talks with Xi | ANC," from YouTube (https://youtu.be/n1bmbkymcrI?si=olk-7h26nNUgzRya) --"Will there be war over Taiwan? Structural stability and policy pitfalls in cross-Strait deterrence," (2025) by Yoder, in The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13691481251391641) --"The Taiwan tightrope: Deterrence Is a balancing act, and America is starting to slip," (2025) by Mastro and Yoder, in Foreign Affairs (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/taiwan/taiwan-tightrope-mastro) --"Iran war complicates contingency plans to defend Taiwan, some U.S. officials say," (2025, April 23) by Ward et al., in The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/iran-war-complicates-contingency-plans-to-defend-taiwan-some-u-s-officials-say-4384f7c1) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Precisamos de um plano," by rui --"Post Drone," by Uuriter --"Monsters of the past," by Pawel Feszczuk Special Guest: Brandon Yoder.

4. 

   3 Feb 2026

   Episode 15: Decline and Fall

   Chris Federico (https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/federico) is Professor of Political Science and Psychology at the University of Minnesota and the Arleen C. Carlson Professor of American Government and Politics. He’s also past president of the International Society of Political Psychology. Eric McDaniel (https://drericlmcdaniel.com/) is a Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, and author of two books, The Everyday Crusade: Religious Nationalism in American Politics (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/everyday-crusade/34A0EF92928EB4E3AC25B014B6DF0FFC), as well as Politics in the Pews: The Political Mobilization of Black Churches (https://press.umich.edu/Books/P/Politics-in-the-Pews2). The three of us discussed the background leading up to this moment in U.S. history, and what it might take for change to occur. OTHER LINKS --"McCain counters Obama 'Arab' question," from YouTube (https://youtu.be/jrnRU3ocIH4?si=LCgoNz8HbdG_9IXZ) --"Trump: They're eating the dogs, the cats," from YouTube (https://youtu.be/5llMaZ80ErY?si=nCYEDGsfGxkvepx3) --"New angle shows moment federal agents shoot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis," from YouTube (https://youtu.be/wBi_c_unAdI?si=rWf76XJQE6feST7S) --Lilliana Mason's website (https://www.lillianamason.com/) --Social dominance, by Sidanius and Pratto (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-dominance/ADA29C256881001463D6E2777404DB95) --"Curse and mark of Cain," Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_and_mark_of_Cain) --"Curse of Ham," Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_Ham) --"A new measure of affective polarization," (in press) by Campos and Federico, in the American Political Science Review (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/new-measure-of-affective-polarization/DEF7FCC26D4F09BDE5603BCC02B4765D) --Linda Skitka's website (https://sites.google.com/view/lindaskitka) --"The Sermon on the Mount," Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sermon_on_the_Mount) --"Crockett, Talarico locked in dead heat in Texas Senate primary: Poll," The Hill (https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5715767-jasmine-crockett-james-talarico-texas-primary-poll/) --"Polarized attitudes and anti-democratic attitudes: Robust evidence for paradoxical relationaships among American partisans," (2025) by Malka et al. in Political Studies (https://research.ebsco.com/c/fc2myp/search/results) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Funky End," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Imprecation," by Kevin Hartnell --"Pleasure," by Haunted Me --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guests: Christopher Federico and Eric McDaniel.

5. 

   21 Jan 2026

   Episode 14: Rough

   Paul Schofield (https://www.paulschofieldphilosophy.com/) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bates College. His areas of speciality are ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of film. He teaches a range of courses, including Capitalism and Its Critics; Wellbeing and the Good Life; and Human Natura, Morality & Politics. Much of his recent public-facing writing has focused on the problem of homelessness. OTHER LINKS --YouTube video of Rally for Housing and Services to End Homelessness (https://youtu.be/sV0SCOvEbdY?si=O5TpEZYnQalRxbXI) --Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women, by Elliot Liebow (1995) (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/324265/tell-them-who-i-am-by-elliot-liebow/) --"The necessity of guaranteed housing," by Paul Schofield (2022), Blog of the American Philosophical Association (https://blog.apaonline.org/2022/04/18/the-necessity-of-guaranteed-housing/) --Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion, by Paul Bloom (2018) (https://www.harpercollins.com/products/against-empathy-paul-bloom?variant=32122194853922) --Quixote Village website (https://hatc.org/collaborative-housing/quixote-village/) --"Trump says 'Housing First' failed the homeless. Here's what the evidence says," by Jason DeParle (2025), New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/us/trump-housing-first.html?unlocked_article_code=1.A1A.SBDQ.F739ttC3wXJM&smid=url-share) --Law professor Danieli Evans's website (https://www.law.uw.edu/directory/faculty/evans-danieli) --"The homelessness crisis is a crisis of democracy," by Paul Schofield (2025), Jacobin (https://jacobin.com/2025/07/homelessness-crisis-democracy-olympia-dehumanization) --King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (https://www.csuchico.edu/iege/_assets/documents/susi-letter-from-birmingham-jail.pdf) --"An inconvenient truth," by Paul Schofield (2023), Slate (https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/08/homelessness-homeless-shelter-sex.html) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Breath," by Kirk Osamayo --"Pleasure," by Haunted Me --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Paul Schofield.

6. 

   23 Dec 2025

   Episode 13: Exile

   Danieli Evans (https://www.law.uw.edu/directory/faculty/evans-danieli) is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, and later earned a Ph.D. from Yale Law, completing a dissertation titled, “Belonging, Equality, and the Law.” Her work investigates how people's experiences with government institutions influence their sense of belonging, and how levels of belonging influence their wellbeing and social opportunities. OTHER LINKS --Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "The Other America," 1967 speech at Stanford University (https://www.crmvet.org/docs/otheram.htm) --"The Fourteenth Amendment," at Constitution Annotated: Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution (https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/) --Dred Scott v. Sandford Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford) --The Cyberball game (hosted at Purdue University) (https://www3.psych.purdue.edu/%7Ewillia55/Announce/cyberball.htm) --"Institutionalized ostracism," by Danieli Evans (2025), Michigan Journal of Race and Law (https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-articles/1123/) --Plyler v. Doe Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyler_v._Doe) --"The new Equal Protection," by Kenji Yoshino (2011), Harvard Law Review (https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/vol124_yoshino.pdf) --Democracy and distrust: A Theory of judicial review (1980), by John Hart Ely (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674196377) --"The id, the ego, and equal protection: Reckoning with unconscious racism," by Charles R. Lawrence III (1987), Stanford Law Review (https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/6215b235-022e-4e14-b39b-55b996cd0805/content) --"A quantitative meta-analysis of functional imaging studies of social rejection," by Stephanie Cacioppo et al. (2013), Nature: Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep02027.pdf) --"Social pain and the brain: Controversies, questions, and where to go from here," by Naomi I. Eisenberger (2015) Annual Review of Psychology (https://escholarship.org/content/qt0k84g6vn/qt0k84g6vn_noSplash_efa40dbab7bfa18ea502f7f075ea8f03.pdf) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Imprecation," by Kevin Hartnell --"Pleasure," by Haunted Me --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Danieli Evans.

7. 

   10 Dec 2025

   Episode 12: This Land Is Your Land

   In this conversation, we discuss the history of birthright citizenship in the U.S., as well as the current controversy, including the role of the courts, especially the Supreme Court. My guest is Jacob Hamburger (https://jacob-hamburger.squarespace.com/). Hamburger is Assistant Professor of Law in the Marquette Law School. Previously, he taught at Cornell Law, and he earned his J.D. at the University of Chicago Law School. He teaches Immigration Law, Civil Procedure, and a seminar on Immigration Federalism. His research explores the legal processes at the federal, state, and local levels that shape the lives of noncitizens in the United States. OTHER LINKS --"Jeb Bush: Birthright citizenship is part of our global [sic] heritage," video clip from NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/video/jeb-bush-birthright-citizenship-is-part-of-our-global-heritage-509516867887) --President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/) --United States v. Wong Kim Ark Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wong_Kim_Ark) --"The consequences of ending birthright citizenship," by Jacob Hamburger, in the Washington University Law Review (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5106022) --Jus soli (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_soli) vs. jus sanguinis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_sanguinis) (Wiki entries) --December 8, 2025 edition of Steve Vladeck's "One First" Substack ("On the docket" section) (https://www.stevevladeck.com/i/180843145/on-the-docket) --"Statewide injunctions," by Jacob Hamburger, work in progress (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5463935) --"The rise of the 'immigrant-as-injury' theory of state standing," by Jennifer Lee Koh, in the American University Law Review (https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/aulr72&div=26&g_sent=1&casa_token=2JnUWN8DHM4AAAAA:Q4P8lGHEjFEeEV2PQczt-Ry88LuAGYmRFHYDE9Jk9RXGSYA3Jl_SaW4QHdxf3UdPgsdIIgc&collection=journals) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Funky End," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Pleasure," by Haunted Me --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Jacob Hamburger.

8. 

   25 Nov 2025

   Episode 11: Tatter Archives: "Slurred Speech"

   ABOUT THIS EPISODE The utterance and writing of gendered and racial or ethnic slurs has often evoked controversy. My philosopher colleague Lauren Ashwell has taken up slurs as a subject of scholarly inquiry. In this episode, we sit for a 90-minute conversation about such issues as what makes a slur a slur, whether slurs can be reclaimed by members of the target group, and why the study of slurs matters. LINKS --Lauren Ashwell's personal website (https://sites.google.com/site/lashwell/) --"Gendered Slurs," by Lauren Ashwell (requies JSTOR access) (https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24871341.pdf) --"CNN's Brooke Baldwin Chastises Trump Critic For Using N-Word On The Air," by Oliver Gettell, Entertainment Weekly (https://ew.com/article/2016/11/22/cnn-brooke-baldwin-guest-n-word/) --Myisha Cherry's interview with Luvell Anderson, about slurs, on The Unmute Podcast (http://www.unmutepodcast.co/season-2/4252016/episode-014-luvell-anderson-on-slurs) --Luvell Anderson's Syracuse profile (http://thecollege.syr.edu/people/faculty/pages/phi/anderson-luvell.html) --"Kreayshawn's White Girl Mob & The N-Word," by Brandon Soderberg, Spin (https://www.spin.com/2011/08/kreayshawns-white-girl-mob-n-word/) --"A History of Outrage Over the Word 'Pākehā'," by Branko Macetic, The Spinoff (https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/03-03-2018/a-history-of-outrage-over-the-word-pakeha/) --nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, by Randall Kennedy (https://www.amazon.com/Nigger-Strange-Career-Troublesome-Word/dp/0375713719) --"SlutWalks Sweep The Nation," by Laura Stampler, HuffPost (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/slutwalk-united-states-city_n_851725.html) --"An Open Letter from Black Women to SlutWalk Organizers," contributed by Susan Brison, HuffPost (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-brison/slutwalk-black-women_b_980215.html) --"Is The Word 'Queer' Offensive? Here's A Look At Its History In The LGBTQA+ Community," by Marissa Higgins, Bustle (https://www.bustle.com/articles/139727-is-the-word-queer-offensive-heres-a-look-at-its-history-in-the-lgbtqa-community) --Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny, by Kate Manne (https://www.amazon.com/Down-Girl-Misogyny-Kate-Manne/dp/0190604980) Special Guest: Lauren Ashwell.

9. 

   11 Nov 2025

   Episode 10: The Cloth of Protection

   This episode features a discussion of academic freedom with David Rabban (https://law.utexas.edu/faculty/david-m-rabban/), the Dahr Jamail, Randall Hage Jamail, and Robert Lee Jamail Regents Chair in Law, and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Previously, he served as counsel, and then general counsel, to the AAUP (American Association of University Professors), and he has chaired its committee on academic freedom and tenure. In his teaching and research, he focuses on free speech, academic freedom, higher education and the law, and American legal history. His most recent book (published in 2024) is Academic Freedom: From Professional Norm to First Amendment Right (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674291058). OTHER LINKS --CBS News interview with MIT professor Alan Lightman (https://youtu.be/Z0O9abefZp8?si=0E_d2_OUbDn5CtLK) --Homepage for the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) website (https://www.aaup.org/) --AAUP's 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure (https://www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/A6520A9D-0A9A-47B3-B550-C006B5B224E7/0/1915Declaration.pdf) --AAUP's 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure (https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/1940%20Statement.pdf) --Wikipedia entry on Brandenburg v. Ohio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Pleasure," by Haunted Me --"Breath," by Kirk Osamayo --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: David Rabban.

10. 

    28 Oct 2025

    Episode 9: Triggered

    Gerald Higginbotham (https://batten.virginia.edu/people/gerald-higginbotham) is an assistant professor in the Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from UCLA, and also a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University. He studies (in his words) “the imprint of history on people’s modern social perceptions and policy attitudes, and the psychological underpinnings of how people perceive history and its consequences.” OTHER LINKS --Ronald Reagan's 1983 address before the National Rifle Association (https://youtu.be/5-JoMVf_f4w?si=6FF_B6b_GxiJTuEX) --"The lasting legacy of 1967 Black Panther gun control protest at California Capitol" (article at CBS News, by Steve Large) (https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/lasting-legacy-black-panther-protest-california-capitol/) --Wikipedia entry on Ida B. Wells-Barnett (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_B._Wells) --"Historian uncovers the racist roots of the 2nd Amendment" (interview at National Public Radio) (https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1002107670) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Breath," by Kirk Osamayo --"Cello," by Ketsa --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Gerald Higginbotham.

11. 

    14 Oct 2025

    Episode 8: Unreconstructed

    Julia Azari (https://www.marquette.edu/political-science/directory/julia-azari.php) is Professor of Political Science at Marquette University. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, and she studies the American presidency, American political parties, political communication and American political development. She's the author of the 2014 book, Delivering the People’s Message: The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate. Her newest book (and the focus of this podast episode) is Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691246956/backlash-presidents)published in 2025. OTHER LINKS --President Johnson's remarks on the signing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 (July 2, 1964) (https://www.lbjlibrary.org/object/video/signing-civil-rights-act-1964) --Bright Line Watch (https://brightlinewatch.org/) --"Bill Clinton on being called 'first Black president': 'I took it as a great compliment'" (article at The Hill, by Cheyanne M. Daniels) (https://thehill.com/homenews/race-politics/5004618-bill-clinton-first-black-president/) --"'George Bush doesn't care about Black people' 20 years later" (NPR interview with Rodney Carmichael and Leah Donnella) (https://www.npr.org/2025/08/27/nx-s1-5517328/george-bush-doesnt-care-about-black-people-20-years-later) --Wikipedia entry on fainting goats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat) --The Bulwark (https://www.thebulwark.com/) --"Weak parties and strong partisanship are a bad combination" (article at Vox, by Julia Azari) (https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2016/11/3/13512362/weak-parties-strong-partisanship-bad-combination) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Breath," by Kirk Osamayo --"Monsters of the past," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Julia Azari.

12. 

    30 Sept 2025

    Episode 7: But What About Us?

    Clara Wilkins (http://depts.washington.edu/spia/) is Associate Professor and Earl R. Carlson Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington. Trained as a social psychologist, she leads the Social Perceptions and Intergroup Attiudes Lab (SPIA Lab). Along with her collaborators, she studies such topics as (a) the causes and consequences of dominant group members' perceptions of group-based victimization, and (b) how variation in racial and ethnic minorities’ physical appearance shapes the perceptions and experiences of disadvantaged group members. OTHER LINKS --Catherine Herridge 2020 interview of Donald Trump (https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/bynkBl3ZDBB5aaDNgBhYshh8evD0GQz7/) --"Exclusive: Trump says "anti-White feeling" is a problem in the U.S." (article at Time Magazine, by Nik Popli & Eric Coretellessa) (https://time.com/6972270/donald-trump-anti-white-bias-exclusive/) --"Religious 'Nones' are now the largest single group in the U.S." (report at National Public Radio, by Jason DeRose) (https://www.npr.org/2024/01/24/1226371734/religious-nones-are-now-the-largest-single-group-in-the-u-s) --Wikipedia entry on the "tradwife" phenomenon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradwife) --"Just Theory" (podcast interview from Tatter, featuring John Jost and the late Jim Sidanius, interviewed by Michael Sargent) (https://tatter.fireside.fm/38) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Electric Silence," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Pleasure," by Haunted Me --"Post Drone," by Uuriter --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Clara Wilkins.

13. 

    16 Sept 2025

    Episode 6: City of God

    Samuel Perry (https://www.ou.edu/cas/soc/people/faculty/samuel-perry) is the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, and has authored or co-authored five books, including Taking America Back for God, as well as The Flag and the Cross. He’s also written for such journalistic outlets as The Dallas Morning News, Time Magazine, and The Washington Post. In this episode, we discuss Christian nationalism in the U.S. OTHER LINKS --"The Christian nationalism we need" (Keynote address at the 2024 National Conservatism Conference, by Sen. Josh Hawley) (https://youtu.be/tgNbGxdDZ2I?si=AzLAlqiAp0LRRV47) --"What is Christian nationalism, exactly?" (essay at the New York Times, by David French) (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/opinion/christian-nationalism.html) --"White or woke Christian nationalists? How race moderates the link between Christian nationalism and progressive identities," by Samuel Perry, Allyson Shortle, Eric McDaniel, and Joshua Grubbs (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12166974/) --Profile for Amanda Tyler at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) (https://bjconline.org/amanda-tyler/) --"The Democrat who calls Trump a child of God" (article at The Economist about James Talarico) (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/08/26/the-democrat-who-calls-trump-a-child-of-god) --"Why are some Evangelicals drawn to--and stickying by--Trump? This pastor weighs in" (NPR interview of Pastro Chad Harvey, by Scott Detrow) (https://www.npr.org/2024/10/29/nx-s1-5165535/trump-christians-evangelical-harris-support) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Post Drone," by Uuriter --"Anti-Chill," by Jangwa --"Cello," by Ketsa --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Samuel Perry.

14. 

    2 Sept 2025

    Episode 5: Drawn Out

    David Gans (https://www.theusconstitution.org/staff/david-h-gans/) is Director of the Human Rights, Civil Rights & Citizenship Program at the Constitutional Accountability Center. In this episode, we discussed voting rights and redistricting, with an emphasis on the Louisiana v. Callais case that is set to be reargued before the Supreme Court on October 15, 2025. OTHER LINKS --Merrill v. Milligan (later retitled Allen v. Milligan) oral argument (https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2022/21-1086) --Allen v. Milligan opinion (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1086_1co6.pdf) --Wikipedia on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965) --"Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act: Vote dilution and vote deprivation," SCOTUSblog (https://www.scotusblog.com/election-law-explainers/section-2-of-the-voting-rights-act-vote-dilution-and-vote-deprivation/) --"Court asks for new briefs in Louisiana redistricting case", by Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog (https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/08/court-asks-for-new-briefs-in-louisiana-redistricting-case/) --"How the Supreme Court made racial gerrymandering easier in Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP," League of Women Voters Blog (https://www.lwv.org/blog/how-supreme-court-made-racial-gerrymandering-easier-alexander-v-south-carolina-naacp) --"Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson emerges as a leading dissenter in an era of Trump," by John Fritze, at CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/politics/ketanji-brown-jackson-leading-dissenter-trump-era) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Breath," by Kirk Osamayo --"Anti-Chill," by Jangwa --"Post Drone," by Uuriter --"Cello," by Ketsa --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: David Gans.

15. 

    19 Aug 2025

    Episode 4: Here Be Dragons

    Kimberly Rios (https://psychology.illinois.edu/directory/profile/kmrios) is Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She studies intergroup threat and also psychological issues at the intersection of religion and STEM. In this episode, we discuss the psychology of intergroup threat, applications to a salient contemporary case, and also issues involving religion and STEM. OTHER LINKS --Informational video on EPIC City (https://youtu.be/iWG6rSVeETA?si=rqCeLG2iWScuVxXC) --WFAA story on EPIC City (https://youtu.be/tXllDIZaRbs?si=Cr0uhJeSWiXFONLk) --Drinking Liberally, Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_Liberally) --"Fairness is Overrated," by Jonathan V. Last, at The Bulwark (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/fairness-is-overrated) --"The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics, and Society," by the Pew Research Center (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-science-and-popular-culture/) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Breath," by Kirk Osamayo --"Funky End," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Post Drone," by Uuriter --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Kimberly Rios.

16. 

    5 Aug 2025

    Episode 3: Equals Under The Law

    Paul Gowder (https://gowder.io/) is Professor of Law at the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University, in Chicago. He's the author of several books, including The Rule of the Law in the Real World (https://www.amazon.com/Rule-Law-Real-World/dp/1316502023), and The Rule of Law in the United States: An Unfinished Project of Black Liberation (https://www.amazon.com/Rule-Law-United-States-Unfinished/dp/150995466X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z5S15r9vNr5ZhFUKb2yZsO_P_412lbt4K9eWnVuNI5blKNrg6Cx_G7BWJZPP8-VIOkpHN5SsxTp_m6t2hckM-6I6PeSFyq5ojHNT70CT1E8.13xS4XB_qDeoAPfN19RNZU6G7v_d960u2wjfaATyG9s&qid=1754075495&sr=1-1). In this episode, we discuss the history and current status of the rule of law in the U.S., exploring connections to the historic struggle for Black Americans' civil and human rights OTHER LINKS --President Trump's May 4, 2025 appearance on NBC's Meet the Press (https://youtu.be/tuPI1-Gp_5s?si=9pVLgo0NfKSJ0tF2) --Wikipedia entry on Margaret Morgan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Morgan_(slave)) --Wikipedia entry on Dred Scott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott) --history.com page on the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 (https://www.history.com/articles/fugitive-slave-acts) --PBS Frontline documentary "Trump's Power & The Rule of Law" (https://youtu.be/28sQyweAPRs?si=0YFyuw8zMd4_769u) --Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html) --Lord Bingham's Sir David Williams Lecture: "The Rule of Law" (http://netk.net.au/RuleOfLaw/Bingham1.asp) --Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification, by Timur Kuran (https://www.amazon.com/Private-Truths-Public-Lies-Falsification/dp/0674707583) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Monsters of the Past," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Precisamos de um plano," by rui --"Light Lab," by Rest You Sleeping Giant --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Paul Gowder.

17. 

    23 Jul 2025

    Episode 2: Forever In The Path

    Arthur Remillard (https://www.francis.edu/academics/faculty-directory/arthur-remillard) is Professor of Religious Studies and Department Chair of Theology and Philosophy, as well as Dean of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engingeering, Arts, and Mathematics) at Saint Francis University, in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He is author of the book Southern Civil Religions, as well as a new book, Bodies in Motion: A Religious History of Sports in America. OTHER LINKS --"Civil Religion in America," by Robert N. Bellah (http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm) --"The Meaning of Prayer at a Political Convention," by Esau McCaulley (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/opinion/republican-convention-prayer.html) --"In Trump, We Have Abandoned Our Civil Religion — And We Are No Longer The Same," by John D. Carlson (https://religionnews.com/2025/01/23/in-trump-we-have-abandoned-our-civil-religion-and-we-are-no-longer-the-same/) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Light Lab," by Rest You Sleeping Giant --"Pleasure" by Haunted Me --"Funky End," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Post Drone" by Uuriter --"Caress me to sleep," by rui Special Guest: Arthur Remillard.

18. 

    8 Jul 2025

    Episode 1: God, Grace, and Grudges

    Mikey Pasek (https://psch.uic.edu/profiles/pasek-michael/) is a social psychologist, and is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. He leads the Belief, Identity, and Group Relations Lab (https://bigr.psch.uic.edu/) at UIC. We discussed a range of topics, including religion, big and moralizing gods, Christian nationalism, race, and how to alter anti-democratic attitudes. OTHER LINKS --White House Executive Order: Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/eradicating-anti-christian-bias/) --Beyond Conflict (https://beyondconflictint.org/) --Interfaith Philadelphia (https://www.interfaithphiladelphia.org/) --God Is Not Great, by Christopher Hitchens (https://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-Religion-Everything/dp/0446697966) --Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict, by Ara Norenzayan (https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691169743/big-gods) --Southern Poverty Law Center Page on The Westboro Baptist Church (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/westboro-baptist-church/) --"Black Liberation Theology, in its Founder's Word" (Interview on NPR's Fresh Air) (https://www.npr.org/2008/03/31/89236116/black-liberation-theology-in-its-founders-words) --"Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe" (Pew Research Center) (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/01/24/religious-nones-in-america-who-they-are-and-what-they-believe/) --Martin Luther King Jr. and the American Revolution (https://www.amrevmuseum.org/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-and-the-promises-of-the-american-revolution) MUSIC CREDITS (all songs from Free Music Archive, and each song carries the "cc by" license) --"The Trail," by Unheard Music Concepts --"Funky End," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Caress me to sleep," by rui --"Monsters of the past," by Pawel Feszczuk --"Precisamos de um plano," by rui --"Light Lab," by Rest You Sleeping Giant Special Guest: Michael Pasek.

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