Consequential

Consequential is a narrative podcast about public policy, its impacts, and its potential for building a better future. The show is produced by Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. https://hnz.cm/consequential

Putin's War Of Aggression, One Year In 02/13/2023

Putin's War Of Aggression, One Year In How we got here and what needs to happen next with Russia and Ukraine. In the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a cohort of young Westerners flocked to Moscow, including many idealists who were eager to support the evolution of a democratic Russia. Today, Russia is on the other side of the looking-glass, nearing the one-year anniversary of the unprovoked invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine. Russian citizens now find themselves conscripted into a military accused of human rights crimes on the warfront. And at home, the Kremlin's propaganda, brutality, and corruption abound. If there is a bright, shining light of democracy, Russia is a chilling place far from it. Today on the show: How did this happen? And what additional policy response is needed as Russia and Ukraine enter their second year of this waking nightmare? Our guest is Sarah Mendelson, a former UN Ambassador, an expert in global development, human rights, and foreign policy, and the head of Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College in Washington, DC. She was also once one of those up-and-comers who moved to Moscow in the early 90s. Mendelson reminds us that while the world is rightfully focused on protecting Ukrainians, Vladimir Putin's war has also made victims of Russians, and those who advocate on their behalf. This episode featured recordings from the documentary film, "," courtesy Kirill Nenashev. To learn more about our guest and see the sources we referenced for this episode, visit: /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/25915368

Next Steps for Gun Reform 02/07/2023

Next Steps for Gun Reform In June, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law. While full of good news for gun-reform advocates, this law—which was inspired by mass shootings—has been criticized for not actually doing much to address them. In this episode, a closer look at gun-death statistics suggests that’s not exactly the case. Importantly, the new law does at least begin to close gaps in protections against domestic homicides, which are the lion’s share of mass killings in this country. Still, we have a long way to go. With this crucial first step behind us, what comes next for gun reform? The University of Michigan’s April Zeoli, an expert in domestic violence and gun laws, and Carnegie Mellon’s Dan Nagin, a criminologist and professor of public policy and statistics, share their wish lists. UPDATE: As we prepared to publish this episode, on February 2nd, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the restraining-order gun restriction is unconstitutional. While Texas and Louisiana have their own state laws on this that are still valid, it is now legal in Mississippi for domestic abusers under restraining orders to own a gun. Zeoli warns the ruling will put families in danger. Zeoli warns the ruling will put families in danger. For more information—including a recent op-ed coauthored by Zeoli, a 2020 TedTalk about her research, and videos of Dan Nagin addressing Congress with the NSF-funded workshop’s recommendations, visit . /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/25848603

Is AI Shrinking the Middle Class? 01/31/2023

Is AI Shrinking the Middle Class? There’s been a lot of anxiety lately about AI replacing workers. But what many economists are really worried about is not mass unemployment, but polarization. Emerging technology, they say, isn’t coming for all our jobs—it’s shrinking the middle class, specifically. Experts warn that we’ve seen this movie before with globalization a generation ago. Without a smart policy response, the coming shifts in the labor market could not only heighten economic hardship, but also sow even more division in our increasingly polarized society. In this episode, we ask: Could the robots come between us? And what can we do about it? MIT’s and , Stanford’s , and CMU’s suggest ways we can work together to ensure the Fourth Industrial Revolution is an economic reboot for the better. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/25767756

Economy, Rebooted 01/24/2023

Economy, Rebooted Gee wiz, ever wonder why the 1950s were so swell for the economy? Technological advancements in things like telecommunications, transportation, and consumer electronics helped ignite the most expansive period of growth and productivity we’ve ever seen. For some time, economists have been watching AI and other tech-industry wonders of the present, and wondering: Could a new boom be on the horizon? What policies could help usher in a new era of economic prosperity? CMU’s and MIT’s have some ideas. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/25697544

Season 5 Trailer | Welcome Back, Congress. … Now what? 01/13/2023

Season 5 Trailer | Welcome Back, Congress. … Now what? This season on Consequential, we’ll ask experts about a range of pressing issues that are top of mind as policymakers get down to business: How to reboot our economy for the better; workforce polarization in the age of AI; next steps for gun reform; and how to think about Russia policy as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine nears its first anniversary. Season 5 premiers Tuesday, January 24. For more info or to subscribe, visit . /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/25587915

Consequential Policymaking: What's Next? 02/16/2022

Consequential Policymaking: What's Next? After a bill as significant as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is signed into law, both regulators and the general public have important roles to play. In our season finale, we're discussing regulatory policymaking and the future of infrastructure investment, with guests Ramayya Krishnan and Susan Webb Yackee. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/22144547

Investing in our Future Workforce 02/02/2022

Investing in our Future Workforce The pandemic may have accelerated the future of work, but it is certainly not the only factor necessitating targeted investment in the workforce. This week's episode looks at legislation aimed at reskilling and workforce development, with guests Jose-Marie Griffiths and Joe Trotter. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/21996140

The Infrastructure of Care 01/19/2022

The Infrastructure of Care Care is one of the most integral aspects of our society, and one of the most contentious aspects of infrastructure legislation. This week's episode looks at the role the care sector plays our workforce and economy, as well as the long-term effects of investing in care as infrastructure, with guests Maria Cancian, Brigid Schulte, and Jodi Sandfort. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/21819710

Transit of the Future 12/22/2021

Transit of the Future Public transportation is one of the most critical aspects of our infrastructure, but it is also one of the most imperiled and underfunded. This week's episode looks at how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan's historic investment in public transit and other targeted policymaking can build the transportation systems of the future, with guests Stan Caldwell, Eric Goldwyn, Anthony Foxx, and Corey Harper. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/21568346

The World's Largest Machine 12/08/2021

The World's Largest Machine Our electrical grid has been called the world's largest machine, but it's in need of some serious updates. This week's episode looks at a few areas of investment in our energy infrastructure that could make a strong, long-term impact, featuring Jennifer Hiller, Lori Bennear, Akshaya Jha, and John Graham. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/21415697

Intro to Infrastructure 11/24/2021

Intro to Infrastructure While infrastructure may have taken center stage in this year's policy discussions, the United States has been trying to figure out what to do about our infrastructure for a long time. This week's episode looks at the current state of our infrastructure, as well as past and future infrastructure reform, with guests Price V. Fishback, Jodi Sandfort, and Ramayya Krishnan. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/21262133

Season 4 Trailer | Infrastructure 11/10/2021

Season 4 Trailer | Infrastructure What are the long-term impacts of targeted investments in our physical and human infrastructure? Beginning November 24, Season 4 of the Consequential Podcast will examine how policymaking in such areas as public transportation, energy, and workforce development will affect our future. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/21076151

Is Information Democratized? 02/17/2021

Is Information Democratized? In the age of the Internet, a lot of information is at our fingertips. But is it accessible, reliable and up-to-date? In the season finale of Consequential, we're discussing information inequality with guests Asia Biega, Stephen Caines, and Myeong Lee. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/17975138

Language, Power and NLP 02/03/2021

Language, Power and NLP Natural language processing is the branch of AI that allows computers to recognize, analyze and replicate human language. But when it’s hard enough for humans to say what they mean most of the time, it’s even harder for computers to get it right. In this week’s episode looks at sentiment analysis, search engine prediction, and what AI and human language can teach us about each other, with guests Alvin Grissom II of Haverford College and Alexandra Olteanu of Microsoft Research. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/17792870

Why does open source have such a wide gender gap? 01/20/2021

Why does open source have such a wide gender gap? Open source software is the infrastructure of the Internet, but it is less diverse than the tech industry overall. In this deep-dive on gender in open source, we speak to CMU’s Laura Dabbish and Anita Williams Woolley about what’s keeping women from participating in open source software development and how increased participation benefits society as a whole. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/17613458

Is the presence of a human enough to regulate an AI decision-making system? 12/30/2020

Is the presence of a human enough to regulate an AI decision-making system? From helping to identify tumors to guiding trading decisions on Wall Street, artificial intelligence has begun to inform important decision-making, but always with the input of a human. However, not all humans respond the same way to algorithmic advice. This episode of Consequential looks at human-in-the-loop AI, with guests Sumeet Chabria, David Danks, and Maria De-Arteaga. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/17309591

Enron, Wikipedia and the Deal with Biased Low-Friction Data 12/16/2020

Enron, Wikipedia and the Deal with Biased Low-Friction Data The Enron emails helped give us spam filters, and many natural language processing and fact-checking algorithms rely on data from Wikipedia. While these data resources are plentiful and easily accessible, they are also highly biased. This week, we speak to guests Amanda Levendowski and Katie Willingham about how low-friction data sources contribute to algorithmic bias and the role of copyright law in accessing less troublesome sources of knowledge and data. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/17211887

Can automation make peer review faster and fairer? 12/02/2020

Can automation make peer review faster and fairer? Peer review is the backbone of research, upholding the standards of accuracy, relevance and originality. However, as innovation in the fields of AI and machine learning has reached new heights of productivity, it has become more difficult to perform peer review in a fast and fair manner. Our hosts are joined by Nihar Shah to unpack the question of automation in the scientific publication process: could it help, is it happening already, and what does it have in common with the job application process? /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/17025137

Enjoy The Long Weekend! 11/25/2020

Enjoy The Long Weekend! We're taking a day off today from our episode and will be back in December. Have a great holiday weekend! /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/16953932

Is Crowdsourcing the Answer to our Data Diversity Problem? 11/11/2020

Is Crowdsourcing the Answer to our Data Diversity Problem? Traditional scientific research has a data diversity problem. Online platforms, such as Mechanical Turk, give researchers access to a wider variety and greater volume of subjects, but they are not without their issues. Our hosts are joined by experts David S. Jones, Ilka Gleibs, and Jeffrey Bigham to discuss the pros and cons of knowledge production using crowdsourced data. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/16761188

If Banning Bots Won't Stop Disinformation, What Will? 10/28/2020

If Banning Bots Won't Stop Disinformation, What Will? Disinformation is as old as the printing press, if not older. So what has accelerated its spread now, and what can be done to stop it? On this special bonus episode of Consequential, we speak to the experts about disinformation, the election, and COVID-19. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/16576283

The Story of the EEG 10/21/2020

The Story of the EEG In the first episode of Season 3 of Consequential, hosts Eugene and Lauren look at how underlying biases in the development of the EEG have impacted healthcare, medical technology, and scientific research, with guests Ben Amaba, Arnelle Etienne, Pulkit Grover, and Shawn Kelly. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/16478117

Season 3 Trailer | Knowledge is Power 10/08/2020

Season 3 Trailer | Knowledge is Power In Season 3 of Consequential, hosts Eugene and Lauren will be exploring knowledge production in the Information Age. Beginning on October 21, this season will examine how AI and machine learning will impact research practices and data collection, as well as the development and dissemination of knowledge. Topics will include combatting disinformation, the ethics of crowdsourced research, and representation in open source software development. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/16314143

How Do You Reopen A State? 06/11/2020

How Do You Reopen A State? Today we're asking our experts: how do you coordinate a crisis response to an issue like COVID-19, where every public health decision has economic ramifications, and every economic decision has a direct impact on public health? To answer these questions, we speak to Dean Ramayya Krishnan of Heinz College; Professor of Machine Learning and Public Policy, Rayid Ghani; and Distinguished Service Professor Richard Stafford. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/14755301

An Update from Consequential 06/03/2020

An Update from Consequential With consideration to the events of the past week and in order to hold space for the voices that are boldly challenging systemic racism and injustice, we have decided to postpone the release of our new episode. We would also like to echo the sentiment expressed by Carnegie Mellon's President Farnam Jahanian, that it is up to each one of us – no matter our background – to confront and dismantle racism and injustice wherever they exist. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/14670098

Death by a Thousand Emails 05/20/2020

Death by a Thousand Emails Can teams still be effective when working together remotely? Is working from home the future of work? In this week’s episode, hosts Eugene and Lauren talk to Professor Anita Williams Woolley of Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business to learn about how communication and collaboration change once teams are no longer face-to-face, and we hear from people in a variety of fields about their experience working remotely. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/14484413

How will COVID-19 Change Higher Ed? 05/06/2020

How will COVID-19 Change Higher Ed? In the span of just two weeks, the entire American higher education system moved online due to COVID-19. While this is often considered a temporary measure, the truth is that higher ed may never fully go back to normal. And in some regards, we may not want it to. In this week’s episode, hosts Eugene and Lauren talk to professors across the United States about the future of higher education. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/14290775

Sorry, Your Phone Says You Have Anxiety 04/22/2020

Sorry, Your Phone Says You Have Anxiety How will certain new standards for data sharing and surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic impact the future of healthcare? In episode two of Consequential's two-part deep-dive on pandemics, public health and privacy, hosts Eugene and Lauren talk to David S. Jones of Harvard University and Henry Kautz of the National Science Foundation about the impact of big data on health and privacy. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/14087639

Pandemics, Public Data, and Privacy 04/08/2020

Pandemics, Public Data, and Privacy Mobile data records, tracking devices and government-mandated selfies have played a role in both enforcing quarantines and providing data to better understand the coronavirus. In this week’s episode, we talk to Wilbert Van Panhuis, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh; Tom Mitchell, the Block Center’s Lead Technologist; and Scott Andes, the Block Center’s Executive Director, about the challenges of balancing public health and the value of privacy. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/13889366

Season 2 Trailer | COVID-19 04/01/2020

Season 2 Trailer | COVID-19 In light of recent developments related to COVID-19, we have decided to push back our second season to focus instead on what we can learn from the coronavirus in terms of technology and society. In our mini-season, we will cover the use of large-scale public health data, remote education, and the future of work. /episode/index/show/consequentialpod/id/13786739

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