100 episodes

The Poverty Research & Policy Podcast is produced by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) and features interviews with researchers about poverty, inequality, and policy in the United States.

Poverty Research & Policy Institute for Research on Poverty

    • Science
    • 4.9 • 23 Ratings

The Poverty Research & Policy Podcast is produced by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) and features interviews with researchers about poverty, inequality, and policy in the United States.

    Maretta McDonald on Wealth Inequality and Housing Values of Black Meccas in the New South

    Maretta McDonald on Wealth Inequality and Housing Values of Black Meccas in the New South

    Black Meccas are cities where it appears that Black communities thrive more-so than other places in the United States. However, the housing values of Black-owned properties in these areas are substantially lower compared to their white counterparts, revealing the presence of wealth inequality even in cities where Black people are thought to experience better overall economic well-being. In this episode, Dr. Maretta McDonald discusses her recent co-authored paper “Wealth Matters: Home Ownership, Housing Values, and the Model Minority Myth of Black Meccas in the New South.”
    Maretta McDonald is a 2022-2024 IRP National Poverty Fellow and an Affiliate Faculty of Sociology at Virginia Tech. Her teaching and research focus on racial inequality, criminology, family, gender, and public policy. 

    • 27 min
    IRP Book Talk: Luke Shaefer on “The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America”

    IRP Book Talk: Luke Shaefer on “The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America”

    Where you live can affect the quality of education you receive, your chances of finding a good job, and even how long you might live. In their new book, “The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America,” Dr. Luke Shaefer and his co-authors Kathryn Edin and Timothy Nelson create a new way of looking at poverty, called the Index of Deep Disadvantage. Their team spends time in and learns about the communities that have the worst scores, and find that legacies of profound racism, extractive big industry, and crumbling social infrastructure contribute to generations of people struggling to thrive. But even in these communities that face multiple layers of challenge and trauma, there are rays of hope and residents determined to improve their lives and those of their neighbors.
    Luke Shaefer is an IRP Affiliate and the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He is a Professor of Social Work, and the Director of Poverty Solutions, also at the University of Michigan.

    • 37 min
    Jessica Pac on the Effects of Child Poverty Reductions on Child Protective Services Involvement

    Jessica Pac on the Effects of Child Poverty Reductions on Child Protective Services Involvement

    Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement is common, especially for children experiencing poverty, or who are Black or Native American. About a third of children are subject to a CPS investigation before their 18th birthday, but research shows reducing child poverty could help change this. In this episode, Dr. Jessica Pac discusses the recent paper she co-authored titled, “The Effects of Child Poverty Reductions on Child Protective Services Involvement.”    
    Jessica Pac is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Pac’s research broadly harnesses applied econometric and data science methods to provide novel insight on mandatory reporting behaviors and the effects of antipoverty and work-family policy supports on maternal employment, safety and health, and infant and child safety and health.

    • 21 min
    William Darity Jr. and Kirsten Mullen on Why It’s Time to Pay Reparations to Black Americans

    William Darity Jr. and Kirsten Mullen on Why It’s Time to Pay Reparations to Black Americans

    Reparations for Black Americans is not a new idea—before the U.S. Civil War had ended, there was a proposal to provide freed Black people with “40 acres and a mule.” That did not materialize, and in the ensuing century and a half, the Black descendants of formerly enslaved people have faced systemic injustices, discrimination, and violence. In this episode, Professor William “Sandy” Darity, Jr. and Kirsten Mullen explain what a meaningful reparations program for Black Americans would entail, how eligibility should be determined, and why the federal government is both the “culpable and capable party.”
    Sandy Darity is the Samuel Dubois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, African and African-American Studies, and Economics at Duke University. He is also an IRP Affiliate. Professor Darity's research focuses broadly on stratification; economics on inequality by race, class, and ethnicity; and the economics of reparations. Kirsten Mullen is a writer, folklorist, museum consultant, and lecturer whose work focuses on race, art, history, and politics. Together they are the authors of "From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century," and are also two of the editors of "The Black Reparations Project, A Handbook for Racial Justice."

    • 46 min
    Dayna Johnson on How Racism and Poverty Contribute to Sleep Disparities

    Dayna Johnson on How Racism and Poverty Contribute to Sleep Disparities

    Many people suffer from not getting enough sleep from time to time. But for many people of color and those who are living in low-income neighborhoods and housing, additional factors may contribute to chronic poor sleep quality. Those factors can have long-term impacts on their health and well-being, including higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, and depression. 
    In this episode, Dr. Dayna Johnson shares her research into how experiences of racism, variable work schedules, and neighborhood conditions contribute to sleep and health inequities for African Americans. Dr. Johnson is a sleep epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. Her research is aimed at understanding the causes and health consequences of sleep health disparities.

    • 35 min
    Tiffany Green on How Charging Dads for the Medicaid Costs of Their Baby’s Birth Affects Child Support

    Tiffany Green on How Charging Dads for the Medicaid Costs of Their Baby’s Birth Affects Child Support

    Wisconsin is one of a few states with a Birth Cost Recovery program, which bills unmarried, non-custodial fathers for the birth costs of their child when the mother is on Medicaid. But the impacts of these policies on the children and both parents have not been studied closely. 

    In this episode, Dr. Tiffany Green discusses the report that she co-authored titled, “Effects Of Medicaid Birth Cost Recovery Policy Changes On Child Support Outcomes,” which draws on IRP’s Wisconsin Administrative Data Core (WADC). Tiffany Green is an associate professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology within the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is an IRP Affiliate.

    • 19 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
23 Ratings

23 Ratings

Thai 274 FHA ,

Great show

I listen to this show religiously. As a member of the nonprofit sector, it’s really important to hear this research broken down in an accessible and understandable way! Also, it’s just really interesting information regardless of career/field.
Don’t love some of the speakers sometimes…(I understand diversity is important but Michael Strain, really? He made fun of college students for being poor. I would think the IRP has better taste.)
Either way, I look forward listening to (nearly) every episode, and anxiously await more!

Eric B G ,

So needed

As someone who works in the non profit sector helping to eliminate poverty everyday, it is so incredibly helpful to have real research available. The podcast format allows me to learn while I’m driving or exercising or working in the yard. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would take the time to learn as much as I should.

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