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Politics in Question

Politics in Question

By: Julia Azari Lee Drutman and James Wallner
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 A podcast about how our political institutions are failing us and ideas for fixing them. Join hosts Lee Drutman and James Wallner as they imagine and argue over what American politics could look like if citizens questioned everything. Politics In Question is a joint venture of New America and the Foundation for American Innovation. Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • How Are Social Movements Built?

    How Are Social Movements Built?
    Oct 16 2025

    In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and Julia talk with Hahrie Han, a recent MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, about the intricacies of local-level political organizing. Han is a Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute, Faculty Director of the P3 Research Lab, and author of Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church (Knopf, 2024).

    What are the mechanics of creating collective action? How is power negotiated and built within social movements? And what role do researchers play in shaping our understanding of political systems and power? These are the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode.

    Note: This episode is a rebroadcast, originally recorded in October 2024.


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    48 mins
  • What Can the Data Tell Us?

    What Can the Data Tell Us?
    Oct 22 2025

    In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee talks with G. Elliot Morris about all things polling. Morris is a data-driven journalist and author of Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them (W. W. Norton & Company, 2022).

    How should we evaluate the quality of polling data? What can polling data actually tell us about a candidate’s performance in an election? What factors cannot be measured through polling? These are the questions that Lee explores in this week’s episode.


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    44 mins
  • What is a Pocket Rescission?

    What is a Pocket Rescission?
    Sep 11 2025
    In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James discuss the context behind the looming government shutdown. They walk through the history of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and examine whether Congress can still play its constitutional role in checking the executive. What exactly is a rescission, and how does it work? How does a “pocket rescission” differ from the normal process? Should lawmakers amend the Budget Act? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week’s episode.
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    41 mins
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