Ways & Means

In this episode: kicking America's multi-billion-dollar food waste habit. How tons of wasted food contribute to climate change, and how one simple change – better food date labels – just might help make a dent in the problem. This is the sixth episode in our “Climate Change Solutions” series, where we look at research-based ideas to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests: Norbert Wilson, Director, Duke World Food Policy Center Roni Neff, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

In this episode of Ways & Means – New research into how solar mini-grids could change lives for farmers in Ethiopia, and why that matters for the climate as a whole. This is the fifth episode in our Climate Change Solutions series, where we look at surprising answers to the question of what we can do to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests: Jonathan Phillips, Director, James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke University Rahel Bekele, Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, DREAM Project Team Member Marc Jeuland, faculty member at Duke Sanford School of Public Policy and Duke Global Health Institute, Principal investigator DREAM Project Resources, Credits, Transcript  Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

Upgrading stoves for people in the developing world could bring about a double win: improving people's lives while making a big contribution to fighting climate change. We follow along with Duke Professor Subhrendu Pattanayak on a research trip to rural Kenya, and are invited into people's homes to see how they cook, and what might make them change their methods. This is the fourth in our series Climate Change Solutions, a look at surprising answers to the question of what we can do to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guest:  Subhrendu Pattanayak, Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

We are thrilled to welcome Lauren Rosenthal to the Ways & Means host chair! Lauren is an award-winning reporter and audio producer. Recently she's been focused on climate stories. (Check out her work on Season 2 of "In Deep," a podcast from APM Reports + American Public Media which explored "one city's year of climate chaos.") Lauren will start by hosting the next episodes of our Climate Change Solutions series.

In this episode of Ways & Means, we explore the impacts of meat production. Can we find a better way to raise animals as food and help the planet at the same time? This is the third in our series Climate Change Solutions, a look at surprising answers to the question of what we can do to help cool a rapidly heating planet. Guests:  Cameron Oglesby, journalist and Duke Sanford School of Public Policy Master of Public Policy student North Carolina farmer Johnny Rogers Jennifer Curtis, Firsthand Foods Lee Miller and Michelle Nowlin, Duke's Environmental Law and Policy Clinic A-dae Romero-Briones, Native Agriculture and Food Systems program at First Nations Development Institute Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

Location, location, location. Place matters a lot when it comes to the impact solar panels can have on the environment. The biggest environmental benefit comes from regions powered by coal. If your local electric utility runs on coal and you install solar panels on your home, it means that the power plant doesn't have to burn as much coal to power your home, and that is really good for the climate. In this episode of Ways & Means: getting strategic when it comes to solar subsidies. This is the second episode in our series, Climate Change Solutions. Guests: Joe Opyoke, retired coal miner Elizabeth Opyoke Cruikshank, Solar Holler in West Virginia Bobby Harris, PhD Environmental Economics and Policy, Duke, '22 Steven Sexton, professor, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University. Find out more about the Duke Climate Commitment.

The Amazon has been called the lungs of the planet. Its dense jungles play a key role in absorbing the Earth's greenhouse gases, but the forest is disappearing quickly. In this episode: research from Colombia, Africa and China illustrates how economics can help slow deforestation and combat the climate crisis. Guests: Lina Moros, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia Wumeng He, Wuhan University, China; Duke Kunshan University Alex Pfaff, Duke University This is the first in our series Climate Solutions. Find out more about the film Sonic Forest, including the song Let Me Breathe and the group Stand for Trees. Season 8 of Ways & Means is made possible thanks to support from the Office of the Provost at Duke University.

Large technology companies are so powerful they now threaten democracy. They are too big to sue, and current regulations are not holding them responsible for their actions or outcomes. What can be done when a large tech company is doing something that is harmful to society? How can the technology companies that want to differentiate themselves demonstrate they are behaving responsibly? Well – this isn't the first time the U.S. has been faced with a large, runaway industry that needed effective government oversight. We'll look closely at the governance frameworks that are used for big banks, environmental polluters, drug companies to allow them to demonstrate responsible decision making. This episode is the third of a three-part series, Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech, a collaboration between Ways & Means and the Debugger podcast. The series is produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Very large tech companies fit into a special tech category called “platforms.” Companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon are so big – it's like they are on a raised on a platform at a country fair, and can be heard all over the fairgrounds. The platform gives them an advantage; because they can be heard by more people, their technology can have a more impactful reach. These companies have a lot of money, and power. But what if society becomes convinced one of these tools is hurting kids, or failing democracy, or polluting the environment, or stealing? Since they are so big that even fines don't seem to scare them, what now? In this episode: we'll explore what's been tried to hold tech companies accountable. This episode is the second of a three-part series, Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech, a collaboration between Ways & Means and the Debugger podcast. The series is produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

It's critical to understand just how hard it is to tell big tech companies what to do. The United States' legal system is set up for a fair fight, but in practice tech firms are often able to act as their own judge and jury. They control everything from what apps we see, to what data they collect about us to whether or not misinformation and hate speech circulate widely online. This episode is the first of a three-part series, Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech, a collaboration between Ways & Means and the Debugger podcast. The series is produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Season 7 launches Wednesday March 2 with a series: "Defending Democracy (And Us!) From Big Tech." The three-part series explores how powerful big tech companies are, and what governments can do to keep them accountable. The series is hosted by journalist Bob Sullivan, and is a collaboration with the Debugger podcast. Thanks to the Cyber Policy program at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics. Promo music: Footsteps on Alden and the Corner Office. Blue Dot Sessions, Creative Commons license.

Throughout history, the U.S. and other countries have paid reparations to a wide range of people and groups, for a variety of wrongs. But reparations to African Americans have not been paid to date. In the final episode of the  series The ARC of Justice – From Here to Equality, listen in on a live conversation about reparations. How would the debt be calculated? Who would qualify? What methods might work? This episode was recorded in front of a live virtual audience on Thursday, April 15, 2021. This is the fifth installment of the series "The ARC of Justice - From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits and transcript.

Throughout the nation’s history, time and again, promising signs of African American progress have been shattered by acts of violence serving the interests of white supremacy. The extent of that violence is widespread and ongoing. This is the fifth installment of the series "The ARC of Justice - From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits, transcript and discussion guide. Join us for the live season finale, Thursday April 15 at noon.

Episode 5 premieres April 7. It will explore white violence against Black people through the decades. Episode 6 premieres April 15 (Live!) Join us for a discussion with William A. "Sandy" Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen as well as other reparations experts. Don't forget to register for the live event. (Music in this teaser by Solomon Fox.)

In this episode: The GI Bill was a conveyor belt into the middle class for millions of white WWII veterans, but many African American veterans were excluded. Subsequent generations continue to feel the effects.  This is the fourth installment of the series "The ARC of Justice - From Here to Equality." Get show notes, credits, transcript and discussion guide. Produced with North Carolina Public Radio WUNC. Made possible by the Duke Office for Faculty Advancement thanks to funding from the Duke Endowment.

In this episode: how the federal government promoted housing segregation and thwarted African American home ownership. This is the second installment of the series “The ARC of Justice – From Here to Equality." 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.

A tale of two promises made by the government – one kept, one broken. What happened, and what does this have to do with the existing wealth gap between African Americans and white Americans? This is the second installment of the series “The ARC of Justice – From Here to Equality." 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.

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.

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.

In this “Short Takes” episode, host Deondra Rose talks with Bruce Jentleson about his research into great political leaders, specifically Nelson Mandela, in his book, The Peacemakers: Leadership Lessons from 20th Century Statesmanship. Jentleson's work was the topic of the Ways & Means Podcast episode: Secrets of Great Political Leadership. 

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!

Today: a post-Ways & Means episode conversation with professor Kristin Goss about the rise of the gun control movement in America.  Goss's work was the topic of last week's Ways & Means episode: The Battle Over Guns in America: What's Changed. The host of Short Takes is Deondra Rose, Director of Research for Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University. Music: Blue Dot Sessions, CC Attribution, Non-Commercial License

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

Today: a post-Ways & Means episode conversation with John Holbein of the University of Virginia about how to get more young people to vote. Holbein's work, along with Duke faculty member Sunshine Hillygus, was the topic of last week's Ways & Means episode: Why Young People Don't Vote - And How to Change That Deondra Rose is Director of Research for Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University. Music: Georgia Overdrive by Blue Dot Sessions, CC Attribution, Non-Commercial License

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

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.

In this "Short Takes" episode, host Deondra Rose talks with Carolyn Barnes about her research into how government-funded programs can help parents become politically engaged rather than leaving them feeling as if their voices don't matter. Barnes' work was the topic of the Ways & Means Podcast episode: How Afterschool Programs Can Empower Parents.

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

This is a bonus conversation with Professor Phil Napoli. Phil's work was featured in last week's episode, "When Local News Dries Up." He talks with Deondra Rose, Research Director for Polis, Duke University's Center for Politics. Among other things, they talk about what is hopeful in today's journalism environment.

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

New to Ways and Means in Season 5: Short Takes. Short-form bonus interview content featuring the subjects of this season's episodes. Deondra Rose, Research Director for Polis, Duke University's Center for Politics, sits down with Prof. Sandy Darity for a continued discussion of reparations. Topics include the Reparations Planning Committee, the role of educational institutions in reparations policy, and arguments that make it hard for Sandy to stay professional.  This season of Ways & Means is supported by Polis, the Center for Politics at Duke University. 

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. Read the transcript. 

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. Their podcast is called The Leading Voices in Food.

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)

For more than a decade, a multinational team of researchers has been exploring ways get mental healthcare to nearly 50 million orphans in Africa. With a new, five-year $3.4 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, a team led by professors Kathryn Whetten at Duke and Shannon Dorsey at the University of Washington is testing a novel approach. They are training local people with no mental health background to provide Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in schools and community health centers, under the supervision of lay supervisors. And the idea is working.

More than 800 women die in childbirth every day in the developing world - often because doctors know what to do, they just don't do it. (There's even a name for this: the know-do gap.) In this episode, testing different types of incentives for getting doctors to do the right thing during the birth of a child. Sponsor: Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund. Original Music by David Schulman. Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Before the 1960s, colleges routinely used gender quotas to suppress the number of women on campus. Some colleges excluded women entirely. There's a curious backstory to how more women ended up in college, and it starts with the Soviet’s launch of the satellite Sputnik in 1957. In this episode: turning politics of crisis into a law that eventually opened the door to college to millions of American women.

Duke professor Philip J. Cook has been tracking the underground gun market in the U.S. for the last 15 years. For one project, his team went to one of the largest jails in the country and asked the inmates a simple question: "Where do you get your guns?" Also, former Chicago gang member "Samuel" talks candidly about his experiences with guns. Before his 15th birthday, Samuel had shot someone, and been shot himself.

We will be back next month with a new episode. In the meantime, take a listen to the most popular episode we've produced so far. If you're black with a college degree, your household will likely have $10,000 less in net worth than your white neighbor who didn't finish high school. A look at the racial wealth gap.

How diplomacy and public shaming are helping shine a light on a problem that depends on secrecy to survive. This episode is the second of a three-part series, New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. 

Today, for our Season 3 premiere, we begin a three-part series, New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. In this episode, high-tech meets high-need. How researchers are using Google Earth to find the undocumented slums of India. Series supported by the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund.

Season 3 will launch in October with a three part series - New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. In the season premiere, we'll hear about how researchers are using Google Earth to find hidden slums in India.