In the midst of a cascade of violent acts against political figures in the United States, a few questions keep coming up — how did we get here, and how much worse could it really get?

Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago and one of the country’s leading voices on political violence, discusses why violence is on the rise and what it would take to stop it.

Guest: Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

Background reading:

• Is the United States in a politically violent age? This is what the data and history say.
• Here’s how to understand claims about U.S. political violence and threats to presidents.

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times, Kenny Holston for The New York Times and Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

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Roughly a year ago, a team at The New York Times Magazine set about tackling a nearly impossible task: creating a list of the greatest living American songwriters. But how to take the tens of thousands of songwriters working in this country and narrow them down to a digestible list? The answer involved thousands of voting ballots, hundreds of music industry insiders and a series of closed-door meetings among a small group of music experts. The result, The Times’s list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, was published this week.

Today, Michael Barbaro talks with Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor of The Times Magazine, who oversaw the project, as well as Joe Coscarelli and Jody Rosen, two members of the cadre of critics assigned with compiling the final list. They discuss the list-making process, what defines a great songwriter and why Billy Joel didn’t make the final cut.

We also hear from some of the songwriters featured on the list, including Taylor Swift, Nile Rodgers and the songwriting team of Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.

On Today's Episode:

Sasha Weiss is a deputy editor of The New York Times Magazine.

Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter for The Times. He is a co-host of “Popcast,” a producer of the “Song of the Week” video series and the author of “Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story.”

Jody Rosen is a contributing writer for the magazine and the author of “Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.”

Background Reading:

The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters

Cast Your Vote for the Greatest Living American Songwriters

Photo credit: Stefan Ruiz for The New York Times

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The conservative media commentator split with the administration over the war in Iran. Will the breakup last?

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