Podcasts about pricevideoservices

In today's episode, Penelope Fergison and Karla Fernandez speak with Oscar Monge, Associate Director & Community Development Director at T.R.U.S.T. South LA. They discuss T.R.U.S.T. South LA's work around USC's campus in the Exposition Park neighborhood to preserve affordable housing through participatory planning and community land trusts, a form of shared equity homeownership placing ownership of community land in the hands of its members. Comprising just a small share of the nation's housing stock, community land trusts are gaining visibility for creating long-term and permanently affordable housing that addresses racial inequality and housing crises worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. This interview was originally conducted in August 2020 Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @thepriceofpolicy. Podcast art by Alexander Sarno. Contributors include Penelope Fergison, Karla Fernandez, Jonah Chang, Jordy Coutin, and Katie Lee.

An interview with author of Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works, Rucker C. Johnson. (Follow Rucker on Twitter: @ProfRucker) Rucker stopped by USC for a conversation with the Gary Painter, Director of the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation. While on campus, Rucker was also gracious enough to spend some time with our Executive Director, Aubrey Hicks. The conversation covers the goals behind the book and the hopeful idea that we can provide good education for our children given what we've learned in the 65 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Read along with us! For December, we’re reading Trailblazer by Dorothy Butler Gilliam and in January we're reading On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. Join the conversation about each episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Or email us at bedrosian.bookclub@usc.edu.  

The film world is a completely different universe than it was when Better off Dead came out in August 1985. "Savage" Steve Holland's film about a jilted nerd, skiing, and the foreign exchange student who saves him, is perhaps the quintessential cult teen film of the 80s.  “Those video stores just completely saved Better Off Dead,” Holland told Fast Company. “It was always out at any Blockbuster Video I walked into, and then I’d talk to the guys who worked there and they were like, ‘You know, people rent it and they don’t bring it back.’” Is this a case of hindsight isn't so Pretty in Pink, or does it stand some of the tests of time? Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago and Aubrey Hicks. Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP Email: reel.review@usc.edu

What is a summer book club without a good detective novel? Our conversation today dives into Robert Galbraith's third installment of the Cormoran Strike novels, Career of Evil. Today's host is convinced that Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) might have the best descriptions of the complexity of London since Dickens! Host Richard Green is joined by Lisa Schweitzer and Aubrey Hicks. Join the conversation about each episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Or email us at bedrosian.bookclub@usc.edu.

If models of the world are all wrong, why are they critical to understanding our complex world? Today, host Pamela Clouser McCann discusses the book The Model Thinker with guests Jeffery A. Jenkins and James Lo. For links to some of the things we discuss, check out the showpage! Join the conversation about each episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Or email us at bedrosian.bookclub@usc.edu.

Can the way a person plays golf really explain their whole personality? Famed golf writer Rick Reilly aims to make the case in Commander in Cheat. Detailing with excruciating detail and humor the myriad of ways President Trump cheats in the golf world. Does Reilly make the case for using golf as a metaphor for President Trump's governance? Listen as we hash that out. Host Lisa Schweitzer is joined by Anthony W. Orlando, David Sloane, and Richard Green. Join the conversation about each episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Or email us at bedrosian.bookclub@usc.edu.

Layli Long Soldier is the author of our book for June 2019, Whereas, winner of the National Book Critics Circle award, and finalist for the National Book Award. She is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Whereas in response to an "apology" to Native Americans which was buried in a department of defense appropriations bill during the Obama administration. It is a stunning use of language to build and re-build America, the land of the Plains Indians as others before the colonizers.  The book is at turns devastating, celebratory, adept, clever, playful and always unique.  Apologies for our terrible attempts at Lakota, while we tried to find proper pronunciation we failed. Our failure is another record of the violence perpetrated in our name again our Native brothers and sisters.  David Sloane and Deborah Natoli join host Aubrey Hicks in discussion of this work by Layli Long Soldier, Lakota and American.   

Depending on who you talk to, The Godfather is either a story of an "aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son" or, the "greatest gangster film of all time." We discuss why the film is still watched ... and loved almost 50 years later. Listen as host Erroll Southers discusses the first of the trilogy, The Godfather, with Carla Della Gatta, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz.  Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @CarlaDellaGatta @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP  

In today's episode, we discuss Nnedi Okorafor's Afrofuturist novel Who Fears Death. A young woman, named Onyesonwu meaning Who Fears Death learns she is a child of rape, deals with being an outcast, and after a trauma finds out she has special powers. She learns she is at the center of a prophecy that could change the world.  We discuss some themes of the book: gender, friendship, love, hatred, violence, nature, the desert, cities, and life during and after genocide.  Joining host Aubrey Hicks for this discussion are Marisa Turesky and David Sloane.  Join the conversation about each episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Or email us at bedrosian.bookclub@usc.edu. 

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks with Pamela Ban, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego. Ban discusses her recent research. First, she looks at how policy outcomes might change as Congress has a bit more gender representations. Then they discuss the revolving door and lobbying - how the cool off period has affected the lobbying industry. Finally, she thinks about how to use empirical data from newspapers to think about political power.    Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter

In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins's guest is Elisabeth R. Gerber, Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement; Jack L. Walker, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy (UMich). They discuss the move from Political Science departments to public policy departments - how the focus has moved from theory development to theory application, and how engagement with community stakeholders outside of the university can help solve real world problems. Plus they look at some of the other questions Gerber asks in her research ... including her interest in the future of work.    Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter

State of Resistance: What California's Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America's Future by Manuel Pastor Another bonus episode! Host Lisa discusses Professor Manuel Pastor's latest book, State of Resistance. The book looks at the last several decades of economic, social, and environmental transformations in California. Pastor then looks to the future to ask what these transformations can predict for the larger United States.  Warnings: spoilers  Read along with us! Let us know what you think of the book & our podcasts on Facebook or Twitter. Our April read: White Fragility: Why It's So hard for White People To Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo

From the mind the brought us Get Out, is the new film scaring audiences across the states. In Jordan Peele's latest film, Us, doppelgängers menace a family trying to enjoy their summer vacation. But ... as in Get Out, everything isn't quite that simple. What mirror is Peele holding up for us now? Warning: Spoilers! Host Erroll Southers is joined by Alex Ago, Aubrey Hicks, & Keith Nelson. Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @AubreyHi This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

  Based on a true story, Fighting with My Family is a British comedy meets WWE. Paige is born into a wrestling family. When she and her brother get a chance to try out for WWE (and meet Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) they are thrilled. Of course, there is a catch ... only Paige earns a spot. We're interested in how the story is translated to screen as well as the real complicated women portrayed. Host Erroll Southers is joined by Prof Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro and Alex Ago. Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @AngeMarieH This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

National Party Committees and Political Power In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and political Boris Heersink, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Fordham University, look at the national party committees. What kind of power do the national committees have? What is the role of the committees, outside of the conventions? What role does the President play? Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter @jaj7d @Boris_Heersink

Using the case of Thames Town, an English-like village in Shanghai, The Real Fake looks at Chinese ideas of spacial construction and what authenticity means in (re)making spaces. In today's episode, host Lisa Schweitzer talks with the author of the new book The Real Fake: Authenticity and the Production of Space, Maria Francesca Piazzoni. Read along with us! Let us know what you think of the book & our podcasts on Facebook or Twitter. Lisa on Twitter: @drschweitzer For more on the Bookclub, check out the showpage.

Democracy & Inequality of Political Influence In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins talks  economic and political inequality in democracies with Martin Gilens, Professor of Public Policy at UCLA Luskin. The degree of political influence is dramatically unequal for people within the United States, public policy can help increase democratic representation and Gilens walks us through a some history as he expresses policy options to get us to more democracy, rather than less. Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter

One of the larger problems for government, is that taking risks is difficult. Risks are expensive, and can lead to a host of problems when those risks don't give desired results.  Here's where social innovation is taking a chance. In the UK you have pay for results programs, called pay for success here in the states. How do these programs work? Who takes on the economic risk? How do we measure success? Can pay for success and social impact bonds help solve some of the wicked problems? Host Lisa Schweitzer talks with two of the co-authors of the new book Payment by Results and Social Impact Bonds, Gary Painter and Christopher Fox.  Read along with us - next month, Antigone! Let us know what you think of the book & our podcasts on Facebook or Twitter. Lisa on Twitter: @drschweitzer Gary on Twitter: @GaryDeanPainter  Christopher (Policy Evaluation& Research Unit) : @MMUPolicyEval

This month, Aubrey, Ange-Marie, Jeff, and David discuss the new book from renowned literary critic Michiko Kakutani, The Death of Truth : Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump. Or, perhaps ... death by a thousand "realities." Read along for next month : Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward Find what we're reading and more on the showpage.  You can email us at bedrosian.center@usc.edu. This podcast was produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound production by the Brothers Hedden. Follow us on Twitter. Please like the Bedrosian Bookclub on Facebook.

Social Network Roles in Foreign Capital and Research  In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and Benjamin A. T. Graham, assistant professor in the School of International Relations at USC, discuss the role that migrants can play in bringing foreign capital into countries. He uses case studies from the Philippines and Georgia to get at what kinds of social networks evolve in developing countries.  Migrant affiliated firms have capabilities that other foreign forms can't match, as the social ties between the firm and local people are extremely important in getting things accomplished. Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter, @jaj7d, @SPECLabUSC, @uscpoir   Podcast production by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound editing by the Brothers Hedden.

Political Influence of Public Protest In this episode of the PS You’re Interesting podcast, Jeff Jenkins and LaGina Gause, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego, discuss the pro-democracy (small d) results of her study on legislative responsiveness to collective action by marginalized groups. Her findings seem counterintuitive, in that the relationship between the costs faced by protesters and legislative action. "Evaluating contemporary collective action data, I find that following protest, legislators are more likely to support the interests of racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, and other groups that face greater costs to participation than they are to support groups with greater access to the political system." Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu Twitter: @BedrosianCenter, @jaj7d, @LaGina_Gause Podcast production by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound editing by the Brothers Hedden.

We are thrilled to share this conversation about Powwow Highway with you! A. Martinez, Amanda Wyss, Joanelle Romero, from the film join host Jonathan Schwartz and USC Profs Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro and Chris Finley in conversation about the making, legacy, and meaning of this cult classic. If you haven't seen it, be ware, there are a ton of spoilers. Powwow Highway is the story of two Native Americans, Philbert and Buddy (A. Martinez) who journey from Montana to Santa Fe to bail Buddy's sister Bonny (Joanelle Romero) out of jail. A classic road movie, Buddy and Philbert travel to Santa Fe by way of South Dakota and a few different Indian reservations as they go. Reaching Santa Fe the men find Bonny, her children, and her close friend Rabbit (Amanda Wyss). They travel the highways through a seemingly broken American Dream to the possibility of hope through friendship and family. @BedrosianCenter, @jonHLYP, @AngeMarieH, @_AmandaWyss, @ABoneMartinez, @NDNCinema,  @USCPrice This podcast is part of a series on Indigenous films in partnership with the Red Nation Celebration Institute, and the Red Nation Film Festival. It is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse.  Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden. https://bedrosian.usc.edu/ppr/powwow-highway-cast

Does the biopic about a 19th century French writer Colette bring her to life? This episode features a conversation on a film which seems to be of the moment. Gender dynamics, intellectual property, relationships ... history. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by podcast favorites Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Anita Dashiell-Sparks, and Alex Ago. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @AngeMarieH, @esouthersHVE, @jonHLYP, @USCPrice, @AlessandroAgo

A quick update from our Producers:  We will use this feed, for the Our American Discourse podcast, to bring you a new series of conversations. We will change the title to PS You’re Interesting. PS will be a series of conversations on new and novel research in political science. We’re conceiving this as a way to keep Anthony’s amazing work alive, and continue on in his tradition. The Our American Discourse podcast will still live on his website and ours. So the archive of episodes will remain on all the different platforms to give other humans a chance to discover. Since you’re already a subscriber, we wanted to make sure you had a chance to check out the new series. We’ll pivot to this new conversation series with host and director of the Bedrosian center, Jeffery A. Jenkins. Jeff will be a tad more focused on political science rather than everything we do at the Price school. We hope you’ll like what we’re doing to keep this idea alive and that you’ll let us know what you think about it. Look for our first episode on September 26th. The first episode will feature Jeff in conversation with Ben Newman from UC Riverside. Ben is doing experimental work to look at discrimination in the policing of anti-immigrant hate crimes. We hope you’ll give it a listen and send in feedback! Follow us on social media: https://twitter.com/BedrosianCenter https://www.facebook.com/BedrosianCenter https://www.instagram.com/bedrosiancenter/  Email us if you have questions or ideas: bedrosian.center@usc.edu

Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley. The film follows a young Cassius (Cash) Green who joins an Oakland telemarketing company, adopting a white accent to thrive, propelling him up the ladder. He is faced with the dilemma of success and the ethics of what he's selling. The ensemble cast, the Oakland setting, the themes explored in this film make this one to talk about! Explore this nuanced film with us! Featuring host Erroll Southers and guests Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @AngeMarieH, @esouthersHVE 

Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley. The film follows a young Cassius (Cash) Green who joins an Oakland telemarketing company, adopting a white accent to thrive, propelling him up the ladder. He is faced with the dilemma of success and the ethics of what he's selling. The ensemble cast, the Oakland setting, the themes explored in this film make this one to talk about! Explore this nuanced film with us! Featuring host Erroll Southers and guests Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @AngeMarieH, @esouthersHVE 

Anyone who reads or watches the news might feel like we are in a news assault. The news happens so fast, technology helps us disseminate and consume with speed, and media outlets are in a relatively new competition: a competition for relevancy. As “papers of record” are being attacked as “fake,” the question of how to communicate with fairness about important issues has never been more relevant. John McPhee has had a long, storied career in writing for magazines “of record” using in-depth long-form journalism. Draft No. 4 is McPhee’s 32nd book of nonfiction. It is a series of essays on his writing process. In today’s episode, we use McPhee’s thoughts on structure and nonfiction to discuss some of the difficulties of communicating policy and research in today’s frenetic climate of news and propaganda and anti-elitism.  Policy communication should be nuanced and deep, how can we do this in an age of immediate consumption and tribalism?

Power is up for grabs in Washington. A controversial President, an unpopular Congress, and a midterm election all make 2018 a battleground for political control. Who will win? How will they do it? And what role do you play? This is story of the most consequential game ever played, and it’s told by one of the leading Congressional experts of our time. In this episode, Jeffery A. Jenkins teaches us the strategy of legislative power: who has it, how they get it, what they do with it, and why we should care. For more, check out the showpage.

Think of all the public policy problems that the government hasn’t been able to solve. Now imagine that you had a solution for one of them. The government should be interested, right? If your solution really works, they should want to invest in it. They should want to encourage you to make it happen, perhaps monetarily if possible. Well, until recently, they didn’t have many avenues to do so. Enter…“social impact bonds,” and the new system of “payment by results.” In this episode, Gary Painter walks us through some examples of these new “outcome-based” payment systems to encourage innovative risk-taking to solve wicked problems in public policy. For links and more, check out the showpage.

Special bonus track! An interview with one of the co-authors of Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society, E. Glen Weyl. (Follow Glen on Twitter: @glenweyl) As part of a nationwide book tour for this new book, full of radical ideas, Glen stopped by USC for a book talk to some of our Econ, PoliSci, and Public Policy students, faculty, and staff. While here in sunny SoCal, Glen was also gracious enough to spend some time with our Executive Director, Aubrey Hicks. The conversation covers some of the radical ideas in the book, as well as some of the books which have influenced the author.  Read along with us! Let us know what you think of the book & our podcasts on Facebook or Twitter. For links and more, check out the showpage.

Dana, a black woman living in 1976 Los Angeles and protagonist of Octavia Butler's Kindred, must confront the violent acts that begin her direct familial line. She is drawn back in time again and again to save one Rufus Weylin from death. Rufus turns out to be the white slave owner who will eventually (if he lives) become Dan's own great, great, great, grandfather. Dana must choose to save this terrible man in order to both protect the many generations of her own family, her self. How does the legacy of slavery live on in the present? Join us for a conversation of this classic and important novel. Host Jeffery Jenkins (@jaj7d) is joined by guests Ange-Marie Alfaro (@AngeMarieH), Caroline Bhalla (@Coodence), and Aubrey Hicks (@AubreyHi). Listen here or wherever you listen to podcasts. For links and more, check out the showpage: bedrosian.usc.edu/bookclub/kindred

How It’s Possible to Talk About and Improve Diversity and Inclusion Diversity and inclusion sound like universally accepted ideas, but when we try to talk about how we fall short of them and how we can improve, they become two of the most controversial political sparks in the fire that rages around our American discourse. Many people believe they can’t speak the truth in their hearts, and so they see no path forward. At the USC Price School, we have been challenging this assumption and lifting up these voices to unfurl a path that had been blocked until only recently. In this episode, LaVonna B. Lewis tells the story of this new effort, known as the Initiative on Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice, and she implores us to follow the Price School’s lead in our everyday lives. Prof. Lewis is a teaching professor in the Sol Price of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, where she currently serves as Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives. You can read more about these initiatives on the “Moving Forward” website at pricediversity.usc.edu. To listen to this episode of Our American Discourse, click the arrow in the player here. Or  download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play,  Stitcher, or your favorite podcasting app – click the links or search “usc bedrosian.” Follow us on Twitter! @BedrosianCenter, @AnthonyWOrlando  For links and more, check out the showpage.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann brings readers back to Osage County Oklahoma in the 1920s. After discovering oil, members of the Osage U.S. state/federal governments, the money was often held in guardianship for tribe members. Soon, the Osage were found murdered, or killed under mysterious circumstances. What followed is a tale of greed and corruption at multiple levels. Who were the heroes of this story? How did Hoover use these murders to create a narrative to bolster the FBI, during a period in which the nation was wary of a Federal institutions? Which institutions prevailed, which failed? Did Grann tell the story of the Osage well? Host Jeffery Jenkins (@jaj7d) is joined by guests Richard Green (@keynesianr), Lisa Schweitzer (@drschweitzer), and David Treuer (@DavidTreuer). @BedrosianCenter To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of the "Killers of the Flower Moon" episode click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting app! For links and more, check out the showpage: https://bedrosian.usc.edu/bookclub/killers-of-the-flower-moon/

You have a choice. Will you listen to this podcast? Or will you choose one of the other millions of glittering objects clamoring for your attention? You want to know how & why we compete for your time? Let’s peak behind the curtain at the wizard and all the machinations there. In this episode, Jonathan Schwartz explains how we do what we do every time we broadcast over your smartphone—and how we fight the growing distractions and distortions that loom in the media landscape.

Our American Discourse is a small piece of a big effort. We’re not the only ones trying to raise the level of public debate in this country. Take a walk through the Price School, and you’ll see room after room of scholars who genuinely care about the public interest. Stop at the Bedrosian Center, and you’ll find the people who have taken it upon themselves to engage directly with the public. That’s where I spend most of my days on campus, and it’s where I want to take you today to meet the leader who makes it all happen…

Democracy in Chains begins as the story of James Buchanan, the Nobel Prize winning economist who popularized public choice economist. MacLean argues that Buchanan joined up with wealthy special interest individuals to influence politics. In partnership with the Koch brothers, MacLean argues that Buchanan and other public choice economists, worked directly to benefit a small group of propertied individuals over the will of the majority. The work was short listed for the National Book Award while also being widely and sharply criticized by conservative think tanks and public choice economists. Featuring host Jeffery Jenkins (@jaj7d ‏), and guests Matthew Kahn (@mattkahn1966), Anthony Orlando (@AnthonyWOrlando), and Abby Wood (@yesthatabbywood). For links and further reading, check out the showpage: https://bedrosian.usc.edu/bookclub/democracy-in-chains

Bernstein and Woodward published All the President's Men a mere three months before Nixon's resignation. We're revisiting (or visiting for the first time) this classic work of political journalism in the wake of the many callbacks since the 2016 Presidential election. Are dirty tricks just part of politics? What role does the press play? Are there parallels to the Trump administration? Featuring host Jeffery Jenkins (@jaj7d ‏), and guests Aubrey Hicks (@AubreyHi), Lisa Schweitzer (@drschweitzer), and Donnajean Ward (@DonnajeanWard). @BedrosianCenter For more info: https://bedrosian.usc.edu/bookclub/all-the-president’s-men

Voters have long suspected that politicians are corrupt, so much so that they’ve demanded a long list of ethics rules and anti-bribery regulations over the years. But it turns out there are still plenty of tricks left up their sleeves. The question is, do they use those tricks? Do they really have the power to enrich themselves at our expense? Today, we have a wealth of new evidence that finally answers those questions… In this episode, Jordan Carr Peterson unveils the concerning conclusions of a series of research papers that pull back the veil on the financial interests of our policymakers—and the power they wield in their own favor.

In this episode, philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen shares his vision of a progressive, cooperative future where people and technology work together to build an inclusive, intelligent society. With “populists” speaking openly about returning to the past, we found someone who’s investing real money to look forward to make a better future. For links and more details, check out the showpage.

Donna Spruijt-Metz, MFA, PhD, is the director of the USC mHealth Collaboratory at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. Donna researches ways of using smartphones and other Internet of Things platforms to take individuals' temporally dense, context-specific data, such as mood and eating behaviors, from individuals and devise just-in-time interventions to address obesity. “This is NOT to replace medicine or public health, and I'm not so sure if they're making it easier. We're here to make it better.” For more information and to find links to some of the things we talk about check out the showpage, https://bedrosian.usc.edu/lahashtags/health-fitness-data/

For the second season of Policy at the Playhouse, we're switching things up. Rather than addressing one performance of one play, we'll be looking at the larger themes in theatre as it can pertain to our civic lives. This episode will look at how two plays being performed here on campus this Fall: Passion Play by Sarah Ruhl, and Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker. In this episode, Aubrey Hicks, Oliver Mayer, Christopher Shaw, and John Sonego examine "how, over time, the rituals that we enact color, reflect, refract back upon who we are, at any time - politically, culturally," as Oliver points out so poetically. These two plays feature characters whose creative work reflects back onto their civic and personal lives. Will these plays, theatre in general, help a polarized country learn to spend time with each other, and listen? Can theatre help us make order from chaos? What can they reflect about America today? For more, check out the showpage (https://bedrosian.usc.edu/policy-playhouse/metatheatre-reflections-and-civic-life)

The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich is a true crime memoir. After encountering the child murderer Ricky Langley, Alexandria's desire to work as a lawyer to fight against the death penalty is up-ended. She spends several years investigating Ricky's story as a way to confront the story of her own child abuse. This is a deeply moving book, and a relatively easy read given the morose topic - a testament to the author's skill. Our conversation ranges from the effects of trauma on individuals and communities to the genre itself. If you haven't read it yet, beware that we assume you've read it, spoiler alert! Featuring Jeffery A. Jenkins (@jaj7d ‏), Lisa Schweitzer (@drschweitzer), Brettany K. Shannon (@brettanyshannon), and Deborah Winters Follow us on Twitter! @BedrosianCenter Special thanks to Flatiron Books for sending us review copies! To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of The Fact of a Body click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play https://bedrosian.usc.edu/bookclub/the-fact-of-a-body

Director Michael Cuesta brings the fictional hero of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp novels to the big screen in the new film,American Assassin. The all-star cast includes Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, and Taylor Kitsch as a threesome tied together through the specter of betrayal and revenge, set upon a backdrop of international espionage and nuclear threat.  We discuss the level of violence in the film, its portrayal of U.S. black-ops and anti-terrorism efforts, the film's space within the spy thriller genre, the motivations of the studio, the acting, the gender themes, how millennials may be viewing it, and so much more. Host Erroll Southers is joined by spectacular guests Alessandro Ago, Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson, and veteran actor David Warshofsky. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter.