Policy 360

On January 27, 2021, the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security issued a first-ever National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin due to a heightened threat environment across the U.S., which DHS believes will persist in the weeks following the Jan. 6 Presidential Inauguration. In a recent guest column in the Tampa Bay Times, Duke Professor David Schanzer wrote “Jan. 6 demonstrated to all Americans what many observers have been warning about for years – we have a serious domestic terrorism threat on our hands." Schanzer joins Judith Kelly to explore options to reduce the threat. Schanzer directs the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security. Music: Blue Dot Sessions freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/ Music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ Learn more about the Sanford School of Public Policy: sanford.duke.edu

Duke Professor Anne-Maria Makhulu joins Dean Judith Kelley to compare the current racial and socioeconomic disparities of South Africa with the disparities that have been made increasingly apparent over the past decade in the United States. The scholars discuss the countries' similarities and differences with regards to the coronavirus response, responses to police violence, movements for racial equity, and more. Makhulu says that one lesson to be learned from this comparison is that "the intractable problems that South Africa confronts are in fact the same intractable problems that the United States confronts. And there has to be a conversation about the infrastructure of racism, which is economic [...]" Music: Blue Dot Sessions freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/ Music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ Learn more about the Sanford School of Public Policy: sanford.duke.edu

The end of the Cold War is often considered a bit of a geopolitical anomaly. In 1980 the increasing antagonistic relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union caused many to fear that the conflict was once again on the path to nuclear fallout. President Regan famously characterized the Soviet Union as the “evil empire” and while Soviet media described U.S. foreign policy as “nuclear insanity.” Then suddenly, things quickly shifted. The two superpowers started cooperating and even more surprisingly the Soviet Union collapsed by the end of the decade and just like that the Cold War ended. As historian John Lewis Gaddis has observed “Wars, hot or cold, do not normally end with the abrupt but peaceful collapse of a major antagonist.” So what changed in those 5 years that brought about the end of the Cold War? Simon Miles is an Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, and his recently released book Engaging the Evil Empire: Washington, Moscow, and the Beginning of the End of the Cold War see

In a special episode, Policy 360 joins a panel of Duke University experts for a debrief the day after election day 2020. Sanford professors Mac McCorkle, Director of POLIS: Center for Politics, and Deondra Rose, director of Research at POLIS: Center for Politics, moderate a discussion with four other professors here at Duke. John Aldrich is a professor of Political Science and an expert on politics in the United States. Duke Law School professor Guy-Uriel Charles is an expert on constitutional law, election law, campaign finance, and more political issues in the United States. He is also the Co-Director of the Duke Law Center on Law, Race, and Politics. Public policy and journalism professor Bill Adair is the director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy. Bill also created the Pulitzer Prize-winning website Politifact. Judith Kelley is the Dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy. She is an expert in international relations and has written extensively about election observation in an atte

This episode takes a look behind the curtain to see what actually happens during elections and just how your vote counts and is counted. Judith Kelley is joined by Damon Circosta, the Chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections.  

Since graduating from Sanford in 2015, Emily Feng has travelled all over China as a foreign correspondent covering topics ranging from human rights, to technology, to the environment. As foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, Feng uncovered key information surrounding the Chinese oppression of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China. Her coverage of the human rights abuses in Xinjiang won several human rights press and journalism awards. Feng now works as NPR’s Beijing correspondent and joins Dean Judith Kelly to discuss her path from Sanford graduate to award winning journalist, share stories from her work, and provide a unique insight on key issues she has reported on such as the Uighurs in Xinjiang, the protests in Hong Kong, and the coronavirus pandemic.

North Carolina has been at the center of discussions around race-based voter suppression, most recently focused on stringent voter ID requirements. With election day only two months away, there is growing concern among many in this pivotal swing state about whether their voice will be heard. James Leloudis, professor of history at UNC Chapel Hill, and Robert Korstad, professor of public policy at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, join Dean Judith Kelley to discuss the implications of voter suppression on the upcoming election and the complicated legacy of voting rights in the state.

Thomas J. Tierney is an expert in smart philanthropy and co-founder of the Bridgespan Group which provides management consulting to nonprofits and philanthropists.  He is the co-author of Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results, which is intended for philanthropists and nonprofits with the resources to do big things to make big changes in the world. Our guest host is Alex S. Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and former director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. This is part of a two-part series is produced in partnership with the Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

Billy Shore is a founder of the organization Share Our Strength, the umbrella organization of No Kid Hungry. Over the past 35 years, the organization has made huge strides in ending childhood hunger in the United States. How have they done it? Listen: This episode is hosted by Alex S. Jones - Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and former director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. It is part of a two-part series is produced in partnership with the Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Durham county back in March, the Durham city and county governments have had the tall task to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus while also responding to the struggles of local residents. Sanford alumni Ryan Smith and Mariel Beasley and current MPP candidate Mary Grace Stoneking join Dean Judith Kelley to talk about the local response to the pandemic. All three of our guests worked on the Durham Recovery & Renewal Task Force in order to consult the mayor and the county commissioner on local policy decisions that affected the lives of all Durham residents.  Ryan Smith is an Innovation Project Manager for the City of Durham. Ryan was tapped to head the Recovery and Renewal Task Force. He graduated with his Master of Public Policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy in 2014. Mariel Beasley is Principal at the Center for Advanced Hindsight and the Co-Director at the Duke CommonCents Lab. She joined Ryan to work on the "Back on the Bull" campaign whic

In late March President Trump said he considers himself a wartime president. The fight against COVID-19 has since intensified; the number of cases in the US doubled in that time. How does Trump compare to wartime leaders of the past? Bruce Jentleson is the William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. He has held positions as foreign policy advisors to politicians including Al Gore and Bill Clinton. His book is The Peacemakers, Leadership Lessons from 20th Century Statesmanship.

Discussions about providing direct cash payments to Americans have filled Congressional chambers in recent weeks. But discussions are one thing. Getting these payments to million Americans, including those without access to a bank or a stable address, is another. Here to discuss the many challenges of developing a strategy to provide payments to those who need it most is Lisa Gennetian, a professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy and an affiliate in the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy.

Many in the US were blindsided by the COVID-19 pandemic’s severity. Not Gavin Yamey. In early 2018 he wrote the op-ed, The Odds of a Devastating Pandemic Just Went Up. Yamey is a professor at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy and director of The Center for Policy Impact in Global Health, based at the Duke Global Health Institute.

Former Ambassador Frederick Barton has conflict management experience in over 40 crisis zones -- Haiti, Iraq, Nigeria, Turkey and more. He served as first Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations, and previously as U.S. Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York. He founded USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives among other roles. His book is called Peace Works: America’s Unifying Role in a Turbulent World.

In this episode, we sit down with two people with different views for a conversation about social media platforms and political advertising. Matt Perault is a former director of Public Policy at Facebook. Phil Napoli is author of Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age. Both are faculty members at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. Matt Perault's  podcast is TBD: Technology By Design  Phil Napoli's book is Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age Read the episode transcript Music: Blue Dot Sessions / Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution

Is tech moving too fast for policymakers to catch up? A conversation with Matt Perault. He served as a director of public policy at Facebook. He is now a faculty member at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke, and director of the Center on Science and Technology Policy.   Music: The Zeppelin by Blue Dot Sessions  Music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution  

Being obese puts people at risk for chronic disease like diabetes and is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. In this episode we explore a policy approach to deal with this epidemic – a tax on sugary drinks. Kelly Brownell, director of the World Food Policy Center at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University breaks down the research and policy behind the approach. Subscribe to the Leading Voices in Food podcast Read the episode transcript Music: Donnalee by Blue Dot Sessions / Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution  

Nivruti Rai is country head of Intel India and was recognized by Fortune India as one of the top 20 Most Powerful Women in Business in that country. She joins host Judith Kelley to discuss women in business and how private business and government can intersect, especially when it comes to a U.S.-based company and a country that is growing as rapidly as India. Read the episode transcript Music: The Zeppelin and Union Hall Melody by Blue Dot Sessions / Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution

Jason DeParle is a reporter for the New York Times and a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He was just a young reporter when he moved to the slums of Manila and lived with a local family. He has followed that family for three decades. The resulting book is remarkable; it provides an intimate yet sweeping perspective on migration. Book: A Good Provider is One Who Leaves, One Family and Migration in the 21st Century (Penguin Random House 2019) Read the episode transcript Music: The Zeppelin by Blue Dot Sessions - Music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution  

Medicaid is one of the largest social welfare programs in the United States. With over 70 million people enrolled, it covers 20 percent of the US population. Though the program is federal, it’s implemented by the state and some states offer generous benefits while others do not. Professor Jamila Michener argues these disparities are actually having an effect on democratic citizenship. Her research shows that when Medicaid expands, more people vote, and when it contracts (or there’s a narrower scope of benefits) then people are less likely to vote. Jamila Michener is an assistant professor at Cornell University. Her book is Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2018)   Read the episode transcript Music: Vittoro and Thannoid by Blue Dot Sessions / Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution