What is conservatism? What is its history? Is it a set of ideas or a kind of temperament? What are its core ideas? What are the differences among conservative thinkers? Is it right to call the GOP conservative? And why is it called "the right" anyway?

Donald Trump has been President for 100 days! Has it really only been that long? Why do we fixate on a President's first 100 days? How successful has Trump been, and how does he match up with other Presidents? And if this is what 100 days feels like, how will we feel after the next 1360? 

Why are college students always protesting? What is the history of campus protest? When are campus protests effective? How do ideals like academic freedom and free speech relate to protesting on campus? And how should we feel about protests of controversial speakers? Is 'no-platforming' a good way to prevent the proliferation of false or dangerous ideas, or an unreasonable affront to free speech?

Folks seem to be in a protesting mood these days, but how much do we really know about protests? What are the varieties of protests? What are the rights of protesters? How effective are protests in changing public opinion or policy?

What's the deal with filibusters? How do they really work & why do we have them? Do they only happen in the Senate? And why don't they still have to stand & talk to keep them going? 

What are the ethics of immigration? How can moral philosophy help us think about immigration policy? Is there such a thing as a right to immigrate? Do states have the right to exclude migrants? What about refugees - do they have a privileged moral status?

What do political scientists know about immigration? What is the history of our immigration laws and policies? How does immigration really affect the economy & national security? Do the president’s actions have any basis in these empirical realities? 

We haven't talked much about lawmaking because Congress hasn’t tried to do anything! Now Congress has a big agenda and the leadership is trying to act quickly on it. So let’s get everyone up to speed on what Congress can and can’t do, and how it does it (whatever it is that it is trying to do).

We hear a lot about the DNC & the RNC, but how much power do the national organizations really have? And are parties really driven by ideology, or is winning elections the only thing that actually matters to political parties?

What is gerrymandering and why are people (especially if they are democrats) so mad about it? Is it really to blame for all our problems? If not, what should we think about it? And where on Earth did that silly word come from? 

How important is competence in government? What is the civil service anyway? Are the Trump administration's early stumbles evidence of incompetence, or just the normal learning curve of a new president? 

With a President openly trafficking in conspiracy theories and his opponents developing their own about him, we explore the attraction to conspiratorial thinking. Why do folks believe conspiracy theories? How can we avoid succumbing to paranoid delusions?

Now that we've got a slate of cabinet nominees and a Trump Supreme Court nominee, how should we expect the Senate to advise & consent? Will (& should) Democrats play nice, or will they take the lessons of Merrick Garland to heart and play hardball?

What are the president’s powers? Can the president make or defy the law? What is the unitary executive theory, and what is the evidence supporting it? http://Afrwpodcast.wordpress.com

Final installment of our month-long series on politics & identity. Knowing what we do about racial identity & structural racism, how should Democrats and Republicans think about the role of identity politics in the future? 

We continue our month-long series on race, identity, & democracy with a look at institutional (or structural or systemic) racism, what kind of evidence there is for its existence, how we ought to feel about it, and what we might be able to do about it. 

We continue our a month-long discussion of the connections between race, racial attitudes, and politics in the United States today. This episode explores how identity groups form and relate to each other in democratic politics. How do people in those groups develop in-group and out-group attitudes, and how do those attitudes affect attempts to build coalitions and practice pluralistic politics? 

We continue our a month-long discussion of the connections between race, racial attitudes, and politics in the United States today. Today we talk about how and why some individuals develop group consciousness, and why we feel so conflicted about that.

This week we begin a month-long discussion of the connections between race, racial attitudes, and politics in the United States today. As our introduction we consider the prominent arguments from some who say that Democrats need to abandon identity politics. We ask: What is identity politics anyway? Is it possible or desirable to separate politics from identity?

New episodes coming soon! In the meantime, we want to hear your questions & ideas! Email afewreasonablewords@gmail.com or tweet to @afrwpod 

Today we discuss partisanship and how it affects our views of politics, the world, and the Election of 2016. In case you’ve missed it, Democrats and Republicans have had really different reactions to the election of Donald Trump. Is that the new normal? Is there a way to reasonably understand this election and the Trump presidency that isn’t shaded by partisanship?

Election 2016: What happened? How should we understand the surprising results? Why were the polls wrong? Why did Trump and the Republicans win? What does it mean for the future?

What is the Electoral College? Why do we have it? Where did it come from? Is it a good thing? Or is it anti-democratic? What would happen if we got rid of it and went with a national popular vote? 

Should I vote, and if so, how should I vote? If my vote won't determine the election, does it matter if I vote? Do citizens have a civic duty to vote? If so, is there an ethical duty to vote a certain way? Should I still vote if I don't really know all the information? Is there ever an ethical justification for not voting at all? Are voters morally responsible for the causal effects of their votes? 

This week we continue a month long series considering the question, “Should I vote?” This week, we consider the questions: Should I vote for a third party candidate? Can my protest vote send a message? Does voting third party mean I am throwing my vote away? We explain why America has a two-party system (that isn’t going anywhere) and consider the good and not-so-good reasons for supporting third party candidates. http://Afrwpodcast.wordpress.com