Talk Policy To Me

Old problems. New solutions. In Talk Policy To Me, see public policy with fresh eyes by meeting the next generation of activists, advocates, and policymakers. In each episode, you’ll hear a young person’s story — and learn how they’re changing their corner of the world for the better.

There's Something in the Water 11/19/2024

There's Something in the Water Two recent college grads trying to address contaminated water in an isolated town. But what can two young people really do to help solve a 20-year-old problem embedded deep in the ground — and in local politics? We’re exploring water justice and public policy in California’s Central Valley and roadblocks on the state’s path to achieving the Human Right to Water. This episode is hosted by Sunny Singhal and tells the stories of Mateo Fernandez and Destiny Montes. /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/33986462

Rose, Rising 11/06/2024

Rose, Rising This is the origin story of a teen climate activist who made it to the White House. Host Ava Kargosha shares the journey of former youth climate activist Rose Strauss, who made headlines for confronting a state senator about the oil money lurking behind his climate change denial. Listen in to learn how Rose went from student activist to full-time climate policy-maker by the age of 24. /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/33810682

Don't be a WebQoof 10/22/2024

Don't be a WebQoof This episode takes us to India, where fake news on Whatsapp spreads like wildfire. Is addressing it a hopeless cause? Learn about solutions with Abhishek Anand, a Gen Z journalist who joined a Deli-based fact-checking team. Listen to discover the team’s techniques for battling an endless flow of falsehoods and how their efforts protect someone from becoming a “webqoof”. Hosted by Anjali Nambiar. /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/33553322

Farming Dreams 10/08/2024

Farming Dreams A bare plot of land. An innovative farming technique. And seemingly insurmountable challenges. This is the story of a 22-year-old farmer who crosses the country to help a small community facing food insecurity. Shamik Chandrachood moves from Kentucky to California to bring a technique called intercropping to a traditional farming town — and encounters unexpected roadblocks along the way. Hosted by Sunny Singhal. Hear more from Shamik – read his blog post: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/33367202

Pushing the (Age) Limits 09/24/2024

Pushing the (Age) Limits Emily Nguyen started working in the government as a teenager. Can teenagers get taken seriously in San Francisco City Hall? And why does it matter that youth like Emily participate in civics? Welcome to the first episode of Season 6, a story about the joys, surprises, and struggles of being young in local government. This episode hosted by Avalon Bauman features a conversation with Berkeley Institute for Young Americans policy director Dr. Erin Heys. /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/33179017

Trailer: Season Six 09/19/2024

Trailer: Season Six A new season of Talk Policy to Me is launching soon. /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/33118257

Professor Robert B. Reich speaks at Goldman School commencement 05/18/2023

Professor Robert B. Reich speaks at Goldman School commencement Professor Robert B. Reich was voted by the graduating students of UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy to be their faculty speaker. Always a beloved teacher, this occasion was especially meaningful because it marked Professor Reich's retirement from teaching. Robert Reich was introduced by Master of Public Policy student speaker Abraham Eli Bedoy. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/26877153

TN Rep Justin Jones speaks at Goldman School commencement 05/18/2023

TN Rep Justin Jones speaks at Goldman School commencement Tennessee Representative Justin Jones addressed the graduates at the Goldman School of Public Policy's commencement on May 14, 2023. Representative Jones came into the national spotlight when he was expelled from the Tennessee legislature for taking to the assembly floor to protest gun violence and the refusal of the legislature to take up this issue. See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/bonus-episode-tennessee-representative-justin-jones-speaks-at-gspp-commencement /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/26877087

Episode 512: Talking Agriculture, Drought, and Resilience 05/05/2022

Episode 512: Talking Agriculture, Drought, and Resilience This year, researchers found that the last 22 years were the driest consecutive years in the North American southwest in over a millennium. The pace and scale of climate change is forcing states and counties to adapt rapidly. In California, one of the industries at the forefront of the adaptation predicament is agriculture. In today’s episode, reporter Elena Neale-Sacks speaks with resilience researcher Amélie Gaudin, Sacramento Valley farmer Scott Park, and water policy research fellow Caity Peterson to understand how farmers and growers are, and aren’t, building resilience to drought. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/23017682

Episode 511: Talking the Rise of Anti-LGBTQ Legislation 04/28/2022

Episode 511: Talking the Rise of Anti-LGBTQ Legislation The annual number of anti-LGBTQ bills filed has skyrocketed over the past several years, from 41 in 2018 to 240 and counting in the first three months of this year. Half of these bills are targeting transgender people specifically. At the same time, surveys of the general public show over 70% say they support same-sex marriage and laws preventing discrimination across the LGBTQ community. And Gen Z are proudly and loudly identifying with both gender and sexual fluidity. How do we square these two realities? In this episode, Talk Policy to Me reporter Amy Benziger dives into how the rise in representation of people from across the gender and sexual spectrum in media, business, and government has caused a policy backlash by the old guard to solidify their conservative base. Our guests include Fran Dunway, Founder of ; Corey Rose, a student at UC Berkeley Journalism School and former reporter for ; and Pau Crego, Executive Director of the . See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/22940351

Episode 510: Talking Social Equity Cannabis 04/07/2022

Episode 510: Talking Social Equity Cannabis Show Notes In 2016, California voters legalized recreational cannabis through Prop 64. Now, five years after legalization, city’s are grappling with the difficulty of prioritizing social equity in the cannabis licensing process for Black, brown, and formerly incarcerated small business owners who were negatively impacted by the war on drugs. In this episode, Talk Policy to Me Reporter Noah Cole talks with Amber Senter, a cannabis advocate and Executive Director of Supernova Women and Chaney Turner, Chair of the Oakland Cannabis Regulatory Commission. This episode was supported by research from Nabil Aziz and Victor Vasquez of the Cal in Sac Diversity and Entrepreneurship Summer 2021 fellowship program. References See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/22707002

Episode 509: Talking Race-Class Fusion 03/17/2022

Episode 509: Talking Race-Class Fusion The Republican Party and the Democratic Party take different approaches to talking about race and racism. While politicians in the Republican Party have used coded language or “dog whistles” to stoke racial division, politicians in the Democratic Party either avoid talking about race in favor of talking about class issues or talk about race as a matter of white over nonwhite conflict. Each of these approaches have had difficulty resonating with a broad multiracial coalition of voters needed for electoral success. Berkeley Law Professor Ian Haney López has an alternative approach to messaging around race that could resonate with most Americans: Race-class fusion politics. In this episode, Talk Policy to Me Reporter Noah Cole speaks with Ian Haney López (Author of 2019’s “Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America”) about the race-class fusion approach to building a multiracial coalition for elections. Noah and Professor Lopez discuss the historical precedent for the approach, the focus groups that demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach, and criticisms of the approach. References - - Ian Haney Lopez Medium Article - Ian Haney López - Ian Haney López - Fusion politics messaging focus group findings - Poor people's campaign People’s action Race-Class Academy resources for learning about race-class fusion politics Audio credits - The Young Turks (Youtube) - Fox News (YouTube) (Full Debate) | NBC News NBC News (Youtube) (Youtube) (Youtube) See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/22476503

Episode 508: Talking a Voting Overhaul, Part 2 03/10/2022

Episode 508: Talking a Voting Overhaul, Part 2 This is the second episode in a two-part series about changing how we vote in the United States. In today’s episode, Talk Policy To Me reporter Elena Neale-Sacks talks with voting systems researchers Sara Wolk and Clay Shentrup about what they think the order of operations should be to get to a place where everyone can vote their conscience and votes accurately translate into who ends up in power. GSPP researcher and policy analyst Charlotte Hill will be back with her thoughts too. To learn more about STAR voting, which Sara discusses in the episode, go to . For more information on ranked-choice voting, go to . And check out a brand-new initiative to bring proportional representation to the House of Representatives at . See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/22398203

Episode 507: Talking a Voting Overhaul, Part 1 03/03/2022

Episode 507: Talking a Voting Overhaul, Part 1 In recent months and years, legislation meant to make it more difficult to vote, especially for Black and brown people, has proliferated in some state legislatures. But problems with the way we vote in the United States go deeper than these laws. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Talk Policy To Me reporter Elena Neale-Sacks talks to GSPP researcher Charlotte Hill about what it would look like to fundamentally change how we vote in this country. Look out for Part 2 next week. To learn more about proportional representation and what it could look like in the U.S., go to . See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/22317626

Episode 506: Talking Dating in a Digital World 02/17/2022

Episode 506: Talking Dating in a Digital World As of 2021, there were 30 million online dating users in the US and 321 million users worldwide. Despite this massive number of users, there's very little policy that regulates how users behave on these platforms. Studies show that a majority of women have experienced sexual harassment online and that rarely is any action taken by law enforcement in situations where technology is being used to commit acts of gender-based violence. Talk Policy to Me host Amy Benziger joins Ziyang Fan, the head of digital trade at the World Economic Forum, to interview Nima Elmi, head of public policy at . Most people know Bumble as the dating app that challenges outdated gender norms by only giving women the ability to send the first message when they connect with a match on the app. What you might not know is that Bumble has a female-led policy team doing amazing work to keep women safe, both online and offline. We'll explore how their team is challenging legislators in both the U.S. and the U.K. to protect women and how she views the future of dating in today's current digital landscape, the metaverse, and beyond. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/22168316

Episode 505: Talking Fair Chance Housing 12/16/2021

Episode 505: Talking Fair Chance Housing In February 2020, the Oakland City Council passed Oakland's Fair Chance Housing ordinance. The legislation was the first in California — joining cities nationwide like Seattle and Portland — to ensure that people returning home from the criminal justice system can legally live with family members and access, on their own, nearly all other forms of previously off-limits rental housing. In this episode, Talk Policy to Me host Amy Benziger talks to housing activists Margaretta Lin and Lee “Taqwaa” Bonner about the fight to bring this legislation nationwide. To support fair chance housing, visit See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/21505274

Episode 504: Talking Vaccine Deniers 12/01/2021

Episode 504: Talking Vaccine Deniers With 59% of the US population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the increased availability of booster shots, and the rise of a new variant, having a highly vaccinated public is incredibly important to the fight against COVID in the months ahead. In this episode, Talk Policy to Me reporter Noah Cole talks to psychologist and behavioral scientist Philipp Schmid and public health expert and data scientist Crystal Son about the do's and don'ts of effective vaccine communication. Referenced in the Podcast See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/21347237

Episode 503: Talking Oakland A’s—Will they still or will they go? 11/18/2021

Episode 503: Talking Oakland A’s—Will they still or will they go? The A’s proposal for a new waterfront baseball stadium at Oakland’s Howard Terminal is a multi-use development site that would include shops, parks, and housing. As the City of Oakland and Alameda County negotiate with the A’s over how these benefits are paid for, much has been made about the impact that sports stadiums have on communities. In this episode, reporter Noah Cole speaks with Dr. Richard Noll of the Stanford Economics Department and Veronica Cummings of the Oakland’s City Administrator’s Office about the economic impact of sports stadiums on cities and the equity-focused community benefits process for engaging the community in the proposal. Additional Reading Oakland City Council approved a Howard Terminal ballpark roadmap, but not on the terms the A’s want- Sports stadiums do not generate significant local economic growth, Stanford expert says- Oakland Waterfront Ballpark District at Howard Terminal Community Benefits- Community Benefits Agreements - Alameda County votes Yes to help fund Oakland A’s Howard terminal ballpark project- See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/21201560

Episode 502: Talking Trade-offs and the Electric Grid 11/04/2021

Episode 502: Talking Trade-offs and the Electric Grid As Congress struggles to pass a spending bill that includes some of the biggest climate legislation the U.S. has seen, there’s another big hurdle the country needs to clear to make big moves on climate change —the electric grid. In this episode, reporter Elena Neale-Sacks talks to energy policy expert Steve Weissman, environmental scientist Grace Wu, and energy equity researcher Daniel Raimi, to better understand how the grid needs to change to better adapt to the effects of climate change and mitigate future effects. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/21043154

Episode 501: Talking "Your Neighbor, the Bounty Hunter" 10/21/2021

Episode 501: Talking "Your Neighbor, the Bounty Hunter" Today's episode explores the new wave of "rights suppressing laws" with New York Times Op-Ed writers and legal scholars Jon Michaels and David Noll. Reference: See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/20892278

Season 5 Trailer 10/19/2021

Season 5 Trailer Season 5 of Talk Policy To Me is dropping soon, with new hosts Noah Cole and Amy Benziger. Listen and subscribe! See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/20866493

Episode 415: Talking with David C. Wilson 06/03/2021

Episode 415: Talking with David C. Wilson In this final episode of TPTM Season 4, we say goodbye to hosts Reem and Colleen and hello to the incoming Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy, Dr. David C. Wilson. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/19335917

Episode 414: Talking Lies Your High School Econ Teacher Told You 05/20/2021

Episode 414: Talking Lies Your High School Econ Teacher Told You Cash transfers discourage work, price ceilings and floors (like the minimum wage) are economically inefficient, and trade makes everyone better off. If you’ve ever taken a basic economics course in high school or even in college, these were probably the major takeaways. But these are myths --dire oversimplifications at best, and outright inaccuracies at worst --that often represent the most basic building blocks of conservative arguments against critical safety net policies. In this episode of Talk Policy To Me, GSPP economist Hilary Hoynes and TPTM reporter Reem Rayef unpacked the most nefarious myths to surface the truth about the impacts of economic policies, and imagine a better way to teach and learn economics. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/19171064

Episode 413: Talking Black Police Unions 05/06/2021

Episode 413: Talking Black Police Unions CONTENT WARNING: This episode involves mention of police violence against people of color. Since the 1970s, Black police officers have formed informal unions in response to racism within their departments and in the greater community. In this episode, reporter Elena Neale-Sacks talks to an economist, a law professor, and a former president of a Black police union to better understand the purpose these organizations serve, their limits, and the ways in which they differ from police unions with bargaining power, like the Police Benevolent Association and Fraternal Order of Police. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/18995432

Episode 412: Talking Public Spaces 04/29/2021

Episode 412: Talking Public Spaces As vaccine rates rise and health experts give more public activities the stamp of approval, people have begun shifting from private spaces to public ones. Today, we’re talking about what public spaces are and the policies that govern them. We’ll also talk about the unhoused folks for whom the distinction between public and private space is less clear. Archival audio from YouTube user Saul Rouda. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/18905351

Episode 411: Talking philanthropy—yesterday, today, and tomorrow 04/15/2021

Episode 411: Talking philanthropy—yesterday, today, and tomorrow On this episode of TPTM, we’re talking philanthropy yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Since the Gilded Age, philanthropists have positioned themselves as gracious, charitable forces in society who are experts in identifying and solving our social ails. But the institution of philanthropy has had its critics from day one. What are the origins of modern philanthropy in the US, and how did they lead us to where we are today? What role (if any) does philanthropy have in a democratic society? And if there are real problems with philanthropy, how should we address them? Should we focus our efforts on implementing regulations and reforms of modern philanthropic institutions? Is our goal to tear down the institution of philanthropy writ large, and put in place a (potentially erosive) wealth tax? Or should we rely on rich people to voluntarily spend down their wealth? Colleen and Reem will dig in to explore the past, present, and possible futures of modern philanthropy in the US. Want to learn more? Check out these follow-up resources: Resource Generation’s , , and Resource Generation’s National Partners, and by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence by Edgar Villanueva Read Find Philanthropy and Social Movements by Harvard Kennedy School students See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/18730139

Episode 410: Tok Policy To Me—Youth Political Mobilization through TikTok 03/25/2021

Episode 410: Tok Policy To Me—Youth Political Mobilization through TikTok With over 100 million users and counting in the US, TikTok is beginning to play a major role in the political education and mobilization of its young user base. In this episode, which was written and recorded in the aftermath of the November 2020 election, Talk Policy to Me reporter Noah Cole spoke with Aidan Kohn-Murphy and Toni Akande, two of the teens who run the “Gen Z for Change” TikTok page. Aidan and Toni touched on how they used traditional organizing practices to get out the vote through TikTok in the last election cycle, the tradeoffs between producing popular and substantive political content, and where they think the future of online political mobilization is headed. Noah also heard from four additional political TikTok creators during a speed round of questions on politics, policy, and online civic engagement. More info on: Gen Z for Change Quentin Jiles Elise Joshi Matthew Rein “The Dem Hype House” Colton Hess “Tok the Vote” See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/18441413

Episode 409: Talking Anarchism and Direct Action 03/11/2021

Episode 409: Talking Anarchism and Direct Action Last summer, as a part of the public reckoning with racialized police violence, chants and mantras like “Whose Streets? Our Streets” and “We Keep Us Safe” and “We Are The Change We’ve Been Waiting For” resounded in the streets and all over social media. What would it mean to take these slogans seriously? To actually imbue people and communities -- rather than political representatives and corporations -- with the power to create and change the world around them? Talk Policy To Me reporter Reem Rayef delved into the practice and philosophy of anarchism, in search of an answer. In this episode, Reem speaks with Bryce Liedtke (friend, anarchist, GSPP alum, and Policy Director of the Scout Institute) about how he reconciles the principles of anarchism with his work in the policy space. Then, we hear from Dana Ward (anarchist, professor emeritus at Pitzer College) about the historical and philosophical origins and transformations of anarchism, in the United States and around the world. Additional Reading The basics of anarchism as defined by Kim Kelly in Dana Ward’s by David Graeber See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/18276527

Episode 408: Talking Black History Month 2021 02/25/2021

Episode 408: Talking Black History Month 2021 Black History Month 2021 has been an eventful occasion at the Goldman School of Public Policy. One student organization, Black Students in Public Policy (BiPP) has been responsible for putting together a weekly speaker series on health and wellness, economic policy, politics, and social impact in the Black community. In this episode of Talk Policy To Me, we hear from 7 students in BiPP who share their path to public policy and the ways that they are celebrating Black History Month. For more information on the Black History Month Speaker Series, visit See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/18086108

Episode 407: Talking the U.S. Senate—Is It Still Relevant? 12/31/2020

Episode 407: Talking the U.S. Senate—Is It Still Relevant? The highly contentious Georgia Senate elections are right around the corner. The results will determine which party holds a Senate majority for the next two years. In this episode, we take a step back and examine the Senate as an institution in the current political context of hyperpolarization. Is it still functional as a mechanism of effective government? Maybe. Or, maybe not. To help make sense of it all, we spoke with UC Santa Cruz politics professor and co-author of The Invention of the United States Senate, Dan Wirls, and senior contributor at The Appeal, Jay Willis, who has written extensively on the Senate filibuster. Both Dan and Jay discuss the most worrisome aspects of the Senate—equal representation of states and the filibuster as a mechanism for gridlock—as well as potential paths forward. See show notes and full transcript here: /episode/index/show/goldmanschool/id/17296487

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