Politicology

Politicology
  • 4.8 (16K)
  • Politics
  • Weekly

Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.

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  1. 3d ago

    The Campus Back Door

    For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus In this episode, Ron talks to Isaac Stone Fish (founder and CEO of Strategy Risks) about four new reports examining American university relationships with Chinese institutions and the risks they may raise.  They explore the party’s United Front Work Department and a curated 2024 trip that two Yale scholars took to Xinjiang, where the U.S. government has determined the CCP committed genocide.  Then, they turn to Wisconsin-Madison’s agreement with Southeast University, a Chinese school tied to the People’s Liberation Army, and the connected-vehicle technology that grew out of China’s national standards.  Later, they examine Michigan State’s joint degree with a Chinese university that calls itself a stronghold of party propaganda. They close on why universities should be debating these partnerships in public, and why China may be the next crisis for American higher education.  They discuss: 00:00) Why university ties to China deserve scrutiny (04:23) How the United Front recruits influence (07:08) The Yale scholars’ curated Xinjiang visit (09:14) Xinjiang repression and the purpose of staged tours (15:58) What the Xinjiang paramilitary corps does (17:40) Why Chinese universities answer to the CCP (21:42) Wisconsin’s connected-vehicle research partnership (27:41) Tencent, warning lists, and rising compliance costs (30:01) Xinjiang telescope research and dual-use concerns (34:51) Washington’s cryopreservation research and Origin Cell (39:53) Talent programs, disclosure, and technology-transfer concerns (43:37) Michigan State’s ties to a propaganda-focused university (50:48) Public-opinion monitoring and party orthodoxy (57:24) The broader case for public debate (1:01:18) Universities face a possible China crisis Check out the reports: https://strategyrisks.com/press/ Follow Ron on Twitter:https://twitter.com/RonSteslow Follow Isaac on Twitter: https://x.com/isaacstonefish Email your questions to podcast@politicology.com or leave us a voicemail at ‪(202) 455-4558‬  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  2. Oct 24

    Switching Sides — The Weekly

    Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence and information warfare) joins Host Ron Steslow to examine twelve consequential days in U.S.-Russia relations and whether Washington is switching sides in Russia’s war on Ukraine.  They begin with the diesel deal, separating the real driver of soaring fuel prices from the Trump-Putin arrangement. Next, they examine the pressure campaign on Kyiv, from a refinery truce that costs Moscow almost nothing to disrupt intelligence sharing and reported throttling of Starshield service. Then they unpack Steve Witkoff’s visit to St. Petersburg, his effusive praise for Putin, the Lukoil asset sale, and the Graham Act waiver that dwarfs the diesel story.  Finally, they debate whether the language of "competition" obscures a fundamentally adversarial relationship, and how the way Americans talk about China became a partisan question. In Politicology+, unpack the death of a young scientist at a Siberian anti-plague institute and the Kremilin’s suspicious response. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Check out Great Power: https://www.greatpower.us/ Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Molly McKew on X: https://x.com/MollyMcKew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  3. Oct 23 · Politicology+ Only

    [+] Fear Is the Payload [Members Only]

    Ron Steslow and Molly McKew unpack the death of a young scientist at a Siberian anti-plague institute, the Kremlin’s lurch from emergency quarantine to “nothing to see here,” and why the Soviet bioweapons legacy makes Russia’s silence so unnerving.

  4. Oct 3

    TAPPED: A Managed Cold War

    Hagar Chemali (Former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations) joins Host Ron Steslow to unpack Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington—and why the two powers keep meeting more often while agreeing on less. They begin with the administration's turn from tariffs to hospitality, and why a quickening calendar of summits signals not warming ties but a conflict neither side can resolve—with Beijing playing the longer game. Next, they examine the fragile trade truce beneath the pageantry—why rare earths and chip controls are ultimately questions of military advantage, and what it means that a crisis-communications pact remains unsigned. Then they compare the two governments' diverging readouts on Iran, Taiwan, and trade, and Xi's offer to host 100,000 young Americans—a soft-power play that could complicate the pipeline of future U.S. China experts. Finally, they debate whether the language of "competition" obscures a fundamentally adversarial relationship, and how the way Americans talk about China became a partisan question. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Hagar Chemali on X: https://x.com/HagarChemali Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. Sep 25

    From Ashes to Algorithms—Plus Preview

    Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid unpack the suspicious four-day push by some of the biggest AI companies begging to be regulated and why it’s less a safety awakening and more a bid to build a moat around who gets to control this technology.  Then, they turn to an essay by Franciscan sister Ilia Delio’s essay on why our fear of AI is really a fear of confronting what it means to be human. Read Ilia Delio: “We Will Not Be Killed By Machines. We Will Overthink Ourselves To Death.” https://iliadelio.substack.com/p/we-will-not-be-killed-by-machines?r=izyvx&utm_medium=ios  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  6. Sep 18

    Full Faith And Credit—The Weekly

    Mike Madrid (author of The Latino Century) joins host Ron Steslow trace how eroding trust, the kind that backs the electoral map and the dollar, is reshaping American politics and everyday affordability.  They start with the redistricting wars and how they eroded trust in institutions and how both parties traded credibility by using zero-sum tactics. Next, they turn to dealignment, the generation of Americans untethering from both parties, and how younger voters’ belief that the American dream was stolen shows their lack of trust in the stewards, not the republic.  Then they examine affordability through the bond market, where rising yields price mortgages and loans, and why the crisis can’t be understood without it.  Finally, they weigh the dollars fading neutrality, gold leaving U.S. vaults, reserves diversifying, and a world reorganizing around an America it trusts less.  In Politicology+, they discuss why some of the biggest AI companies are begging to be regulated and an essay by a Franciscan sister about why our fear of AI is really a fear of confronting what it means to be human.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Mike Madrid on X: https://x.com/madrid_mike Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. Sep 18 · Politicology+ Only

    [+] From Ashes to Algorithms [Members Only]

    Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid unpack the suspicious four-day push by some of the biggest AI companies begging to be regulated and why it’s less a safety awakening and more a bid to build a moat around who gets to control this technology. Then, they turn to an essay by Franciscan sister Ilia Delio’s essay on why our fear of AI is really a fear of confronting what it means to be human. Read Ilia Delio: “We Will Not Be Killed By Machines. We Will Overthink Ourselves To Death.” https://iliadelio.substack.com/p/we-will-not-be-killed-by-machines?r=izyvx&utm_medium=ios

  8. Sep 12

    From 9/11 to Surveillance Dollars — The Weekly

    Hagar Chemali (former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations) and Nick Anthony (Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute and a Fellow at the Human Rights Foundation) join host Ron Steslow to trace how the financial surveillance regime born after 9/11 is being rebuilt for programmable money. They begin with the machinery of financial surveillance: reporting, identification, blocking, seizing, and exclusion powers banks and payment companies wield on the government’s behalf, without warrants or recourse.  Next, they examine how private institutions became the system’s front line with millions of suspicious-activity reports a year, billions in compliance costs, and a public that wrongly assumes Fourth Amendment protection.   Then they turn to the shift underway, as stablecoins move those controls off intermediaries and onto individual digital dollars that can be frozen, seized, or burned coin by coin.  Finally, they weigh whether Americans still hold a right to transact privately, and what permissioned money would mean.  In Politicology+, they discuss an unspoken contradiction in the human rights movement: it backs sanctions that rely on centralized financial choke points while also championing Bitcoin, a currency built to erase that system.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Hagar Chemali on X: https://x.com/HagarChemali Nick Anthony on X: https://x.com/EconWithNick Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Politicology
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1K
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ℗ & © 2021 Politicology
  • Show Website
    Politicology
  • Provider
    Politicology, LLC

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