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In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James talk with their former co-host Julia Azari about the role of presidents in shaping of racial norms. Azari is a Professor of Political Science at Marquette University and author of Backlash Presidents (Princeton University Press, 2025). How have presidents shaped racial norms? Why was President Andrew Johnson a “backlash president”? What role does Congress play in coalition-building and norm shaping? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James dive into the “moderate debate.” They discuss Lee’s recent Substack essay, The Moderation Debate Fiddles with 2% While Democracy’s Dimensionality Collapses. Should parties move to the center? How do we define “moderate”? And what would it take to reinvigorate dimensionality in party politics? These are some of the questions Lee and James ask in this week’s episode. Links to the previous episodes referenced: Why do Americans use primary elections to select candidates for office? (featuring Robert Boatright) How did the Great Migration help shape today's politics? (featuring Keneshia Grant) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of Politics in Question, host Lee Drutman talks with Leader Stacey Abrams about the current state of democracy. Leader Abrams is a strategist, novelist, and host of the podcast Assembly Required. How do we create a sustainable democracy? What’s the difference between autocracy and authoritarianism? What role does civil resistance play in sustaining democracy? These are some of the questions Lee asks in this week's episode of Politics in Question. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James talk with Matt Glassman about the state and stakes of the government shutdown. Glassman is a Senior Fellow at The Government Affairs Institute and the author of the Substack Matt’s Five Points. What's the underlying cause of this shutdown? How do you "win" a shutdown? What will be the future political costs for the Democratic Party in trying to make a healthcare policy deal? These are the questions that James and Lee explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee talks with G. Elliot Morris about all things polling. Morris is a data-driven journalist and author of Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them (W. W. Norton & Company, 2022). How should we evaluate the quality of polling data? What can polling data actually tell us about a candidate’s performance in an election? What factors cannot be measured through polling? These are the questions that Lee explores in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and Julia talk with Hahrie Han, a recent MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, about the intricacies of local-level political organizing. Han is a Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute, Faculty Director of the P3 Research Lab, and author of Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church (Knopf, 2024). What are the mechanics of creating collective action? How is power negotiated and built within social movements? And what role do researchers play in shaping our understanding of political systems and power? These are the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode. Note: This episode is a rebroadcast, originally recorded in October 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James discuss the context behind the looming government shutdown. They walk through the history of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and examine whether Congress can still play its constitutional role in checking the executive. What exactly is a rescission, and how does it work? How does a “pocket rescission” differ from the normal process? Should lawmakers amend the Budget Act? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee sits down with Oscar Pocasangre and Dustin Wahl to discuss the representation of young people in politics. Pocasangre is a Senior Data Analyst at New America, and Wahl is the Executive Director of Fix Our House. Together, they co-authored a new report, The Age Divide, published by Protect Democracy (2025). Is gerontocracy a uniquely American problem? How can we bring more young people into politics? And what changes to our electoral system could make politics more representative? These are some of the questions Lee explores in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James catch up on the state of redistricting in the U.S. They discuss Lee’s latest Substack piece, “Democracy in Pieces: Did the Texas Gerrymander Just Break the Districting Game ?” Who writes the rules? Does the Democrats’ response to redistricting in Texas affirm the idea that political actors ultimately control the electoral process? And does it undermine Democrats’ past claims of supporting independent redistricting? Do the people still have meaningful influence over the process? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of Politics in Question, Lee Drutman discusses with Anne Meeker how case work and constituent services would work under proportional representation. Meeker is Deputy Director of POPVox and co-author of a white paper titled How Would Constituent Services in American Multi-Member Districts Work?  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James discuss the role of conflict in policy making, guided by E.E. Schattschneider's The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America (1960). How can conflict drive change? How do our current views of partisanship and conflict inform decision-making? How does who controls the scope of conflict shape democratic participation? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s special live episode of Politics In Question, James and Lee talk with Soren Dayton about cycles of electoral reform. Dayton is the Director of Governance at the Foundation for American Innovation. What are the boundaries of presidential power? How has power been centralized within the Executive Branch throughout history? What role does partisan politics play in the current conflicts over the separation of powers? These are some of the questions James and Lee explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s special live episode of Politics In Question, Lee and Julia talk with Didi Kuo about the evolution of political parties in America. Kuo is a Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and author of The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't (Oxford University Press, 2025). Why do we need strong political parties? What is the foundation for a “good” political party? And how do we get them? These are some of the questions Lee and Julia explore in this week’s episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and James talk with Jonathan Rauch about Christian nationalism and its relationship to democracy. Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and the author of Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press, 2025). How new and distinct is this version of Christianity in American public life? What has been the historical role of Christianity in American democracy? And what exactly is civic theology? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and James talk with Samuel Bagg about participation and democracy. Bagg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina and the author of The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2024). What are the origins of deliberative democracy? What is the role of participation in the 21st century? How should we think about democracy beyond individual decision-making? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.