Conversations with Sergei Guriev Sciences Po

In the vast landscape of the Internet, YouTube is a giant, hosting over 14 billion videos that shape our digital experience. No one knew this number until Ethan Zukerman and his team calculated it using an advanced method they developed. Not only did they count the number of videos, but they also classified them, providing a vivid picture of YouTube’s cultural and linguistic diversity. This analysis also reveals the algorithmic dynamics that influence user experiences.

Ethan Zuckerman is an associate professor of public policy, communication and information at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He founds of the Institute for Digital Public Infrastructure.

Additional Resources:
How Big is YouTube?, Ethan Zukerman's blog Dec. 2023
"Building a More Honest Internet" Columbia Journalism Review, Ethan Zukerman, Fall 2019
Media Cloud, an open source search engine and tool for studying the open web, developed with Ethan Zukerman

Recorded on 20 March 2024
Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Jade SOULLARD, Sciences Po Master student. Sciences Po' studio produced and mixed it.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Many studies have shown the limited effectiveness of factual corrections in changing deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes. However, based on the results of his work, Yamil Velez is convinced that thanks to generative AI, researchers can create personalised rebuttals that adapt to individuals' stated positions. It may also be helpful to explore new ways to reduce polarisation and enhance critical thinking skills. A positive outlook explained by Yamil Velez, an Assistant Professor at Columbia University, visiting faculty at CEVIPOF.

Additional resources:
Latino-Targeted Misinformation and The Power of Factual Correctionswith Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood, Journal of Politics
Correcting Covid-19 Misinformation in Ten Countries with Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood, Royal Society Open Science
Factual Corrections Eliminate False Beliefs about Covid-19 Vaccines with Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood), Public Opinion Quarterly

Recorded on 16th February 2024.
Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Jade SOULLARD, Sciences Po Master student. Sciences Po' studio produced and mixed it.


Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

One thing is certain: discrimination is not only perpetuated by algorithms which reflect societal biases, but multiplied. If the constitution of databases and configuration of algorithms must be rethought, it will not be enough. It is essential to rely on law, especially the Europen one which prohibits a large number of discriminations. These legal protections must be adapted and developed, considering the specificities of algorithmic discrimination.
Raphaele XENIDIS, Assistant Professor at Sciences Po's Law School, helps us better understand the questions raised by these issues.Additional resources
Raphaële Xenidis. Beyond bias: algorithmic machines, discrimination law and the analogy trap. Transnational Legal Theory, 2024, pp.1-35.
Hilde Weerts, Raphaële Xenidis, Fabien Tarissan, Henrik Palmer Olsen, Mykola Pechenizkiy. Algorithmic Unfairness through the Lens of EU Non-Discrimination Law. FAccT Conference 2023, ACM, June 2023, Chicago. pp.805-816.
Recorded on 24th January 2024
Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series, with the help of Jade SOULLARD, Sciences Po Master student. Sciences Po' studio produced and mixed it.


Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Over the last decades, identity is rising as a new ideology influenced by postmodernism, postcolonialism, and critical race theory. While acknowledging the value of recognising and respecting diverse identities, Yascha Mounk invites us to be vigilant about the potential pitfalls of rigidly defining individuals solely based on their identity groups. It is crucial to strike a balance between celebrating cultural diversity and avoiding essentialism that may inadvertently leads to exclusion and division, threatening democracy.

Yascha Mounk is professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, a contributing Editor at The Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Moynihan Public Scholar at City College. Next spring he will be an Associate Professor at Sciences Po’s School of International Affairs.


Additional resources
The Identity Trap:A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, Penguin Press (2023)
The Great Experiment. Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure, Penguin Press (2022)
The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom is in Danger and How to Save It, Harvard University Press (2018)

Recorded on 24th November 2023
Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.


Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Political dynasties belong neither to the past nor only to authoritarian regimes. Think about the Trudeau family in Canada, Le Pen in France, or Kirchner in Argentina. An explanatory factor: having lived in a political environment provides skills.  Can the evolution of society towards a better level of education and more transparency put an end to these dynasties? Especially since we find a growing desire to reject the established political elites by implementing lotteries. Why this desire? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system? The research carried out indicates that lotteries can strengthen and improve our democratic systems.  Let’s see why.
Brenda Van Coppenolle is a Senior Research Fellow affiliated with the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) at Sciences Po. She is the Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant “Political Lotteries in European Democratisation”.

Additional resources

Brenda Van Coppenolle - Political Dynasties and Bicameralism: Direct Elections and Democratisation in the Netherlands, Electoral Studies, 2022
Brenda Van Coppenolle  -  How do Political Elites Persist? Political Selection, Political Inequality, and Empirical Historical Research, French Politics, 2020
All publications

Recorded on 17th November 2023
Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.


Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

You could be driving home, on your usual route, and you are lost in thought. Next thing you know you are home, and you don’t remember having taken any of the turns. That is intuition, what many of us use to think about politics. But democratic politics requires that we say stop, you need to reassess and come to a different decision. That’s reflection.
Are voters rational beings, choosing carefully whom to vote for based on their preferences and most desirable outcomes? Or are they more like cheerleaders, led by emotion and affect towards their preferred political parties? This heated and incredibly pertinent debate is the focus of this episode. Dr. Kevin Arceneaux delves into the topic of electoral choice, and revisits many of the arguments made in his book Taming Intuition, where he argues that every voter is different in the way he reaches a decision, and that some voters are more likely to be led astray by their gut feeling than others. 
Borrowing from social psychology, Arceneaux brings us through many interesting considerations of why voters behave the way they do, what connection that may have with increasing polarization, and how we can use reflection to, indeed, tame our intuition.
Kevin (Vin) Arceneaux is Professor of Political Science at the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po Paris (CEVIPOF) since June 2021. He studies how people make political decisions. He has published articles on psychological biases, the influence of partisan campaigns on voting behavior, and the role of human biology in explaining individual variation in predispositions.
Additional resource
Kevin Arceneaux, Ryan J. Vander Wielen. Taming intuition: how reflection minimizes partisan reasoning and promotes democratic accountability. Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Recorded on 24th November 2023
Conversations with Sergei GURIEV  is a podcast by Sciences Po. Hélène NAUDET supervised the production of this series., with the help of Blanca GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, Sciences Po Master student in Political Science. The Sciences Po audio department produced and mixed it.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.