In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Jonathan Rodden joins Julia and Lee to discuss the challenges presented by urban-rural polarization in American politics. Rodden is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. His work focuses on the comparative political economy of institutions. He has written on various topics, including federalism and fiscal decentralization, the geographic distribution of political preferences within countries, legislative bargaining, the distribution of budgetary transfers across regions, and the historical origins of political institutions. He is also the author of Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Divide (Basic Books, 2019).
What is urban-rural polarization? How do political parties perpetuate it? Does America’s presidential system exacerbate the underlying problem? And what reforms can help Americans bridge the urban-rural divide in their politics? These are some of the questions Jonathan, Julia, and Lee ask in this week’s episode.
What is the state of American Democracy?
Do white rural Americans pose a threat to democracy?
What is the right way to do politics?
Is the House broken?
Why can't Americans compromise?
Are Americans democracy hypocrites?
What does 2023 tell us about what could happen in American politics in 2024?
What does political polling miss?
Why are political leaders important?
What will American democracy look like in the 21st century?
Why does the House need a Speaker?
What can social movements teach us about American politics?
What's wrong with American politics and how can we make it right?
Are state legislators really accountable to their voters?
How did Trump threaten American self-government when he was president?
Where do busy people find the time to participate in democratic self-government?
What can storytelling teach us about politics?
Why Congress?
Why is it so hard to buy things with nickels? (plus questions about the debt limit debate and 2024 presidential election)
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