“I’m not a racist, but…” In their new book, Racial Resentment in the Political Mind (University of Chicago Press), Goldman School Dean David C. Wilson and Notre Dame Professor of Political Science Darren Davis explore the concept of racial resentment. They argue that while prejudice and racism are fundamentally rooted in American politics, so are non-racial motivations, such as a belief in a “just” world, where people get what they deserve and deserve what they get. This instinct to make...

Join Secretary Janet Napolitano and Senator Mark Warner for a discussion about the risks and opportunities of emergent technologies for voting, political engagement, and more. Must innovation and security always be at odds? Is there a way to find a balance between the two? Tune in for a fascinating conversation between two national security experts and lifelong public servants. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 37661]

Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius explore the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009 and what lessons that pandemic might have for our current situation. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 37523]

The Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement (CCDE) at the Goldman School of Public Policy presents a special 2021 UC Berkeley Homecoming lecture featuring Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin. CCDE Faculty Director Dan Lindheim will interview Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin on how he went from Cal student to Berkeley's Mayor, and the key issues the City faces in terms of public safety, housing, homelessness, COVID, and its complicated relationships with the Berkeley campus. Series: "UC Public...

Disinformation - the intentional dissemination of false information to shape political and social outcomes - is an increasingly pernicious feature of the US political landscape. In just the past 18 months, disinformation has had direct, harmful effects on efforts to check the spread of COVID-19, on initiatives for racial justice and on the 2020 election and its aftermath. Clearly, disinformation costs lives and erodes democracy. This Berkeley Conversation convenes eminent scholars to explore...

David Beckmann reviews what we've learned from the Poverty, God & Politics series, talks about the students in his UC Berkeley class, and thanks the people—about 3,000 a week—who have watched webcasts and read the companion blog posts. He stresses the importance of advocacy with Congress this year and active participation in next year's elections. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36998]

Eugene Cho, president of Bread for the World, explains how this nationwide Christian citizens' movement repeatedly wins large-scale change for people struggling with hunger in this country and around the world. He concludes with Bread's current campaign to strengthen U.S. support for progress against child malnutrition worldwide.  Eugene is introduced by David Beckmann, who served as president until a year ago. These two leaders are different in many ways and Eugene is leading Bread for the...

John Carr provides a witty and incisive assessment of the liabilities and strengths of the Catholic community and its role in the politics of poverty. Its strengths include the leadership of Pope Francis and the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching. Carr is director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Teaching and Public Life at Georgetown University. Their educational programs are influential among Catholics in the United States and extend to thousands of people around the world. John...

Tom Hart, acting CEO and North American Executive Director of the ONE Campaign, explains how a strong advocacy community, including people of faith and faith-based organizations, have helped to reduce poverty, hunger, and disease around the world over the last generation. David Beckmann and Tom Hart open and close with lively discussions of two advocacy campaigns—debt relief for poor countries in the year 2000 and global child nutrition right now. Tom concludes with ambitious proposals to...

Many faith bodies and faith-related groups organize legislative advocacy. Amy Reumann, director of Witness and Society for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), explains how the ELCA's legislative advocacy is rooted in faith and theology, collective study of policy concerns, and ELCA ministries at the local, national, and international levels. The ELCA, its churches, and people are active in advocacy with state governments, the United Nations, and corporations as well as with...

Anna Eng, a senior organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), explains from experience how faith-based community organizing works. David Beckmann argues that the faith-based community organizing movement has contributed to increasing political participation among low-income Americans. He also talks about the Poor People's Campaign and the positive impact of social media. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36993]

911 dispatchers have some of the most stressful jobs in the world. They are constantly helping people through the toughest moments of their lives. All that stress can lead to high levels of burnout and turnover. That is bad news not just for the dispatchers, but for everyone who needs their help, and city budgets. Researcher Elizabeth Linos at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy has found a simple but effective way to address burnout among dispatchers by giving them a sense of...

Galen Carey, Vice President for Government Relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, explains the Evangelical movement, its ministries to people in poverty, and its relationship to politics. Then David Beckmann probes how it's possible that most White Christians, including a large majority of White Evangelicals, voted repeatedly for Donald Trump. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36992]

Eric Sapp, a pioneer in the use of digital communications for good purposes, explains uses of digital technology to repair the divide between the Democratic Party and many faith-based voters, to communicate with vaccine-hesitant people, and to counter Russian digital propaganda. He stresses the importance of really listening to people. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36991]

Henry Brady, Dean of Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, draws a data-based picture of how religious attendance affects politics. Churchgoers tend to be more charitable and engaged in civic organizations than other Americans. But they tend to prefer elections and negotiations to conflict and protests -- even though conflict is important in overcoming the country’s deep racial and economic divisions. In general, churchgoers are much more inclined than other Americans to be pro-life and...

Rev. Gabriel Salguero, Founder and President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC), explains the religious and political diversity among Latinos. Although Latinos are an important source of support for immigration reform, it is not a top priority political issue for most Latinos. Salguero explains how NALEC has amplified the voice of Latino evangelicals on immigration and other poverty-related issues. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36989]

Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee speak from the heart about how the Black Church has helped to build African American electoral power. It’s a powerful story with practical lessons for present times. Dr. Williams-Skinner is head of the Skinner Institute and Co-convener of the African American Clergy Network. Rep. Lee represents Berkeley, California. She is a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and now Chair of the House of Representatives’ foreign...

Hear remarks by Joshua Dickson to Berkeley's graduate seminar "Poverty and Communities of Faith in the Politics of 2021," taught by David Beckmann. Josh was the National Faith Engagement Director of the Biden-Harris campaign and is now Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Josh discusses the importance of persuading, mobilizing, and listening to faith voters; presents data on voting patterns across faith groups; and explains the Biden-Harris...

David Beckmann explains the purpose of his “Poverty, God, Politics” series—to highlight spiritual and political strategies that can move us from the current crisis in a way that puts us on track to end hunger and poverty. They are drawn from a joint seminar on poverty, communities of faith, and politics cosponsored by UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. David then discusses two foundational insights from his years as president of Bread...

A panel of domestic experts in election security practices focus their discussion on how we can advance our own election security practices by using the knowledge we’ve gained from our experiences in 2020 as well looking at best practices in other countries to improve our system overall. Panelists: Wayne Williams, former Colorado Secretary of State; Jennifer Morrell, former local election official and Partner at The Elections Group; Kammi Foote, Clerk Recorder and Registrar of Voters for...

Elected officials in some of the key battleground states in the 2020 election discuss their experiences, lessons they learned, and how we can better prepare for 2024. Panelists: Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, Michigan; Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State, Arizona; Josh Shapiro, Attorney General, Pennsylvania; Matthew Masterson, Former Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at CISA, Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moderator: Janet Napolitano,...

A panel of experts looks at election security from an international comparative aspect focused on election security practices in Brazil, India, and Sierra Leone. What might the United States be able to learn from what’s being done in these three countries to protect against election interference and voter fraud? Panelists: Katherine Casey is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Thomas Fujiwara is an Associate Professor of Economics at...

Following the police murder of George Floyd, there have been calls to “Abolish, Defund, and Reform” the police. Elected officials around the country have called for 50% reductions in the police budgets that account for much of local government spending. At the same time, there is little agreement on the meaning of what could or should be defunded or what can be reformed; in many cases, the very language of this movement has impeded the necessary public debate about the appropriate role of...

With Amazon's Alexa spying on her owners, a massive data breach masterminded by Cambridge Analytica, and evidence of election interference promulgated by Facebook, tech policy has never had more significant implications for our society and democracy. Roger McNamee—noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, and Facebook investor—talks with Henry Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, about how he came to realize the serious damage that Facebook...

Four former Secretaries of Homeland Security discuss current issues in homeland security, the overlap between security and politics, and how our country can move forward by embracing the challenges—and opportunities—the Biden-Harris administration will face in their first year. Panelists: Michael Chertoff (2005-2009), Jeh Johnson (2013-2017), Janet Napolitano (2009-2013), Tom Ridge (2003-2005). Moderator: Doug Wilson. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36811]