Ways & Means

We’re dedicating the entire season of the podcast to this topic: what could have been done, and what could still be done, to start to close the wealth gap between white and Black Americans? The series “The Arc of Justice – From Here to Equality” is inspired by the research of professor William “Sandy” Darity Jr. He has co-written an award-winning book with the folklorist and arts consultant A. Kirsten Mullen, From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century. Get show notes, credits and transcript. Produced with North Carolina Public Radio WUNC. Made possible by the Duke Office for Faculty Advancement thanks to funding from The Duke Endowment.

Live event for Duke Energy Week 2020. Guests: Hilton Kelley, Goldman Environmental Prize winner. A former Hollywood stuntman, Kelley returned home to Port Arthur, Texas to battle for environmental justice. Karen Torrent of The National Whistleblower Center and Duke Prof. Tim Profeta discuss the new Climate Risk Disclosure Lab initiative. Co-hosts: Journalist Lindsay Foster Thomas; Prof. Deondra Rose of Polis: Duke Center for Politics; Duke Master of Public Policy student Raffi Wineburg.

The question of whether and how to compensate descendants of people formerly enslaved in the United States has hung over the country since the end of the Civil War. It’s getting new traction in the 2020 election. Duke Professor William "Sandy" Darity has created a Reparations Planning Committee to flesh out the details of how a reparations program would work. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Find out more at polis.duke.edu  

What makes a great political leader in a deeply divided time, and what can we learn from one of the most striking examples in history? Listen to the story of Nelson Mandela and learn about the surprising strategies that made his leadership work. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Find out more at polis.duke.edu

Today, we're announcing a new chapter in Ways and Means - we have a new host! Lindsay Foster Thomas is a content director at WUNC and has worked at NPR's Marketplace, On Second Thought at Georgia Public Broadcasting with host Celeste Headlee, and was also part of the national production team at WAMU that launched NPR's 1A with founding host Joshua Johnson. We're beyond excited to have her with us. Welcome, Lindsay!

The decline in local news is having a real effect on democracy. A look at why local news is struggling -- and what can be done about it. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Find out more at polis.duke.edu

On this episode we ask – how did the gun control movement become a force in American politics after being overshadowed for so long by the NRA? In a word: money.  This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis: the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy

For some reason there's a big gap between young Americans' intention to vote and the chance that they will actually do it. In this episode: why so few young people in the United States vote. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis: the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy

We explore research into how government-funded afterschool programs for poor families are empowering politically motivated parents. Hear from staff and parents about how these programs have inspired change in their community and learn what elements build effective programs. This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis: the Center for Politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy

Season 5 of Ways & Means relaunches Thursday, August 20, 2020. The season is dedicated to issues in U.S. politics and civic life and hot topics in the 2020 elections. The season originally premiered in the spring of 2020, but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season is a co-production of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and Duke's Polis: Center for Politics. https://polis.duke.edu/   Music: "Pinky" by Blue Dot Sessions

We’ve decided to pause in releasing new Ways & Means episodes for now. With the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone’s attention is on the coronavirus and that’s as it should be.  So we’ve decided to take a break. We will be back this fall with the complete series of stories on ideas for sealing the cracks in our democracy. That series is in partnership with Polis, Duke’s Center for Politics. Until then, stay safe, stay apart and please wash your hands.

Season 5 of Ways & Means returns Wednesday February 19, 2020. This season we are partnering with Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy to look at big ideas related to the 2020 election.

Four-year-olds are expected to be able to behave in the classroom, but more and more preschools are kicking children out for bad behavior. In this episode: new research into how to best help children control themselves in the classroom. Read a transcript of this episode. Music: Theme music by David Schulman. "Rate Sheet," "Lina My Queen," "Tiny Putty," "Rose Ornamental," by Blue Dot Sessions. Music licensed under Creative Commons attribution.

On this episode we go inside an innovative, free public program that helps new moms and dads adjust to life with a newborn. In each location where the Family Connects program is offered, all families, rich and poor, are eligible to have a visiting nurse come right to the home after the birth of a child. The program has been shown to improve parenting behavior and reduce emergency medical care for infants. Read the episode transcript Music: Theme music by David Schulman. “Calm and Collected,” “Tendon,” “Stuffed Monster,” “Dance of Felt,” “Heather,” “Gale,”  by Blue Dot Sessions. Music licensed under Creative Commons attribution.  

Climate change is affecting both nature and the economy. Who will take the hardest hit financially as the world heats up, and can anything be done about it? We meet a commercial clammer in Maine who is figuring out how to deal with the effect climate change is having on his industry. And environmental economist Billy Pizer has been calculating the future costs of climate change. Pizer is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Subscribe to Ways & Means. Music: Theme music by David Schulman. “Softly Villainous", "Lakeside Path", "The Nocturne", "Fresno Alley", "Crumbling Dock", "An Oddly Formal Dance" by Blue Dot Sessions.  Music licensed under Creative Commons attribution.  Also "Khreshchatyk" and "Gaia in Fog" by Dan Bodan and "Fresno Alley" by Josh Lippi & The Overtimers, No Copyright Music/YouTube Free Music Library. Read the episode transcript. Special thanks to the Duke Sanford World Food Policy Center for their support. The

A research team from Duke University treks into the Himalayas to investigate why a promising way to deliver electricity to those who need it, the micro-hydro minigrid, sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. This is the third of a four-part series on understanding and dealing with a changing climate. Music: Theme music by David Schulman. “Heather,” “Ultima Thule,” “Sylvestor,” “Slate Tracker,” “One Quiet Conversation,” “A Certain Lightness,” and “Greyleaf Willow,” by Blue Dot Sessions.  Music licensed under Creative Commons attribution.  Read a transcript of this episode.  

What motivates commuters to leave their cars behind, and take the bus or a bike to work instead? A government innovation team in Durham, North Carolina recently tested several ideas with real commuters. The best one was so effective, it landed a million-dollar prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Guests include Durham mayor Steve Schewel and Joey Sherlock of the Duke University Center for Advanced Hindsight. Sherlock teaches the Behavioral Economics for Municipal Policy Class at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. This is the second of a four-part series looking at policy ideas for understanding and dealing with a changing climate. Music: Theme music by David Schuman. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Licensed under Creative Commons attribution.

There is about a 40-percentage point gap between Democrats and Republicans in their concern for climate change. New research suggests a solution for working around this deep-seated partisanship. PhD candidate Emily Pechar has found that when parents think about  parental identity rather than partisan identity, they are more likely to be concerned about climate change. Guests include Megan Mullin, an associate professor of environmental politics at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University and former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis. This is the first of a four-part series on understanding and dealing with a changing climate.

Season 4 of Ways & Means returns Wednesday, February 20, 2019. We’re kicking off with a miniseries on climate change. We'll look at new research into what it takes to turn climate change skeptics into climate change believers. Also, how can cities can nudge commuters into doing the right thing for the climate? And we'll head to Nepal for a look at how to bring power to places in the developing world where the electric grid simply can’t go. It’s the Ways & Means miniseries featuring policy ideas to help in the fight against a changing climate.

Season 4 of Ways & Means will be available in January.   (Music: Blue Dot Sessions)