Podcasts
The Ballpark is the LSE US Centre’s regular online audio show on US politics, policy, and research. In each episode, hosts Denise Baron, Sophie Donszelmann, and Chris Gilson take a closer look at American politics, economics, policy and news. We’ll feature and dissect the research of academics from the LSE and around the world.
Episode 1: The strongest economy for who?
We take a look at the US’ economic recovery and how its benefits might not have been felt by everyone equally.
Contributors: Jeff Clemens, Assistant Professor at UC San Diego, and Michael Amior, Research Officer at the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance.
Released on 3 March 2016
Episode 2: This is not a hot take
We dive into the current state of American politics, but instead of giving you a "hot take," we present you with a historical perspective from 1920 and a political theory on polarisation.
Contributors: Mona Morgan-Collins, Fellow, LSE Government Department, and James Snyder, Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard University.
Released on 18 March 2016
Episode 3: Power, Person, People: US Foreign Policy
We take a look at contemporary theories around American power and the factors that influence US foreign policy.
Contributors: Nick Kitchen, Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the LSE US Centre, Xenia Wickett, head of the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House, and Lloyd Gruber, Lecturer in Political Economy of Development at the LSE's Department of International Development.
Released on 25 April 2016
Episode 4: The Almighty Dollar
We look at the almighty dollar and decipher US monetary policy, central banking, and exchange rates.
Contributors: Jeff Frieden, Professor of Government at Harvard University, Gianluca Benigno, Professor of Economics at the LSE, and Chris Parkes, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the LSE.
Released on 13 May 2016
Episode 5: What’s a political poll got to do with it?
We look at what political polling can tell us about democratic participation, public policy, and political priorities.
Contributors: Daniel Laurison, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the LSE’s Sociology Department, Larry Jacobs, Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies at the University of Minnesota, and Jamie Weinstein, Senior Editor of The Daily Caller.
Released on 3 June 2016
Episode 6: Place Matters
We take a look at the role geography plays in politics, inequality, and more.
Contributors: Jonathan Rodden, Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University and Margaret Weir, Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown University.
Released on 23 June 2016
Episode 7: Federalism, the longest lasting debate in America
We dive into one of the oldest and longest lasting debates in American history: federalism vs. states’ rights. Even though it’s centuries old, this issue keeps popping up, and we walk you through the implications of this debate.
Contributors: Waltraud Schelkle of the LSE’s European Institute, Sierra Smucker, PhD student at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Visiting Student at the LSE US Centre, and Chris Parkes, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the LSE.
Released on 26 July 2016
Episode 8: America’s contentious and complicated criminal justice system
This episode takes us beyond the headlines to investigate what societal structures makes America’s criminal justice system so different from those of other countries, and we take a look at what role the Black Lives Matter movement plays in this contemporary debate.
Contributors: Nicola Lacey of LSE’s Law Department and Michael McQuarrie of LSE Sociology.
Released on 20 September 2016
Follow The Ballpark
There are lots of ways to catch-up with upcoming episodes of The Ballpark podcast: this website, our SoundCloud page, subscribe on iTunes or iTunesU, or add this RSS feed to your podcast app.
The Ballpark is produced with help from the LSE’S HEIF5 fund and the US Embassy in the UK. Our theme tune is by Ranger and the “Re-Arrangers”, a Seattle based gypsy jazz band.