Tatter Michael Sargent

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Since Tony Greenwald, Debbie McGhee, and Jordan Schwartz introduced the Implicit Association Test to the published literature in 1998, the IAT has taken social psychology by storm, and the notion that implicit bias is prevalent and impactful has taken the world by storm. But to what extent are popular beliefs, and popularizing claims, about implicit bias and the IAT well-supported by the science? What improvements are needed in the science of implicit bias? Does that research qualify as good science? Is it useful? And what does "implicit" even mean in this context? Psychologists Wil Cunningham and Ulrich Schimmack engage with each other and with me in a lively discussion of such issues, including conversation about Uli's 2019 paper, "The Implicit Association Test: A Method in Search of a Construct."


LINKS
--Wil Cunningham's profile at the University of Toronto
--Uli Schimmack's profile at the University of Toronto
--Project Implicit website
--Schimmack (2019), The Implicit Association Test: A method in search of a construct, Perspectives on Psychological Science
--link to a free version of the paper, housed at Schimmack's site
--Cunningham, Preacher, & Banaji (2001). Implicit attitude measures: Consistency, stability, and convergent validity. Psychological Science
Special Guests: Uli Schimmack and Wil Cunningham.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
John Pfaff is Professor of Law at Fordham University, and has areas of expertise that include prisons, criminal law, and sentencing law. Michael Rocque is Associate Professor of Sociology at Bates College, and his areas of expertise include criminological theory, racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and desistance from crime. He has also worked as Senior Research Advisor with the Maine Department of Corrections. In this episode, we use the recent death of Jeffrey Epstein as well as ongoing mass shootings as jumping off points for a wide-ranging conversation about jail and prison conditions, mental illness and mass public shootings, criminal justice reform, and more, including discussion of at least one U.S. presidential candidate.


LINKS
--John Pfaff's Fordham profile
--Mike Rocque's Bates profile
--Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform (by John Pfaff)
--"Actually, there is a clear link between mass shootings and mental illness," (by Grant Duwe and Michael Rocque, for the Los Angeles Times)
--Stephanie Kelley-Romano's Bates profile
--"What we know about the conditions at the prison where Jeffrey Epstein died," (from National Public Radio)
--Wiki entry on the Prison Litigation Reform Act
--"America's most interesting sheriff" (Economist article on Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart)
--Rocque's Scholars Strategy Network profile
--"Megan Rapinoe did not stomp on the flag. Here's why people got outraged regardless," (by Rocque, for Newsweek)
--"Justice and safety for all," (Bernie Sanders's criminal justice reform plan)
Special Guests: John Pfaff and Mike Rocque.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Steve Vladeck is the A. Dalton Cross Professor in Law at the University of Texas School of Law. He's also a prolific writer and CNN's Supreme Court analyst, and he's argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. He joined me to discuss the President's power to appoint individuals in an acting capacity in senior positions. This is a power that can be abused--and some would argue has been abused by President Trump. We discuss the power, and possible reforms that could limit abuse.


LINKS
Steve Vladeck's UT-Austin profile
"Trump is abusing his authority to name 'acting secretaries': Here's how Congress can stop him." (by Vladeck, for Slate)
"Trump relies on acting Cabinet officials more than most presidents. It's not an accident." (by Phillip Bump, for the Washington Post)
"How America got to 'zero tolerance' on immigration: The inside story," (by Jason Zengerle, for the New York Times)
"Supreme Court rules against Apple, as Kavanaugh sides with liberal Justices." (by Bill Chappell, for National Public Radio)
The Federal Vacancies Reform Act
Special Guest: Stephen Vladeck.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Political scientist Jeffrey M. Berry and sociologist Sarah Sobieraj co-authored the book The Outrage Industry, which examines media efforts to provoke outrage in audiences (including efforts that play fast and loose with the facts), as well as the conditions that have encouraged and rewarded such efforts. Berry joined me for a conversation about incivility, outrage rhetoric, and more.


LINKS
--Tufts University profile for Jeffrey Berry
--Tufts University profile for Sarah Sobieraj
--The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility, by Berry and Sobieraj (Amazon)
--"Anger is a business" (by Berry and Sobieraj, for Vox's Mischiefs of Faction)
--"New Republic: Rush Limbaugh's morality lesson" (by Jonathan Cohn, for National Public Radio)
--Forbes: The world's highest-paid celebrites
--"The caning of Charles Sumner" (from the United States Senate website)
--"Clear Channel renames itself iHeartMedia in nod to digital" (by Ben Sisario, for the New York Times)
--"Congress is more bipartisan than you think" (by Laurel Harbridge-Yong, for the Washington Post's Monkey Cage)
Special Guest: Jeffrey M. Berry.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Lori Beard-Williams is clinic director at Little Rock Family Planning Services, the only full-service abortion provider in the state of Arkansas (my home state). She is also on the Board of Directors of the National Abortion Federation. Given the legislation that's been coming out of such state legislatures as Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas, we thought abortion was a timely topic. We discuss her professional path, as well as her patients, and the challenges facing her, her team, and the patients they serve.


LINKS
--Little Rock Family Planning Services
--Arkansas Abortion Support Network
--"This Doctor Won't Stop Mailing Abortion Pills to the U.S.--Even Though the FDA Ordered Her To," by Carter Sherman (Vice News)
Special Guest: Lori Beard-Williams.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Julia Azari is a political scientist at Marquette University, as well as a frequent contributor to FiveThirtyEight. Seth Masket is a political scientist at the University of Denver, and a contributor to Vox.com's Mischiefs of Faction. The three of us talked about the prospects of impeaching Donald Trump, the potential aftermath, and why it all matters.


LINKS
--Julia Azari's Marquette University profile
--Seth Masket's University of Denver profile
--"The Trump Era Has Pushed Scholars to the Limits of Our Understanding," by Julia Azari (guest blogger) at Balkinization
--"'Impeachment Will Help Republicans' And Other Myths," by Seth Masket, in Pacific Standard
--A recent chat about impeachment, at FiveThirtyEight (including Azari)
Special Guests: Julia Azari and Seth Masket.