Best History And Public Policy Program Podcasts (2025)

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María Corina Machado [Extended Interview] 24:02

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7h ago24:02

24:02

María Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader, escaped from Venezuela last week to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Margaret Brennan spoke to her Friday in an exclusive interview, her first comments to U.S. media since receiving the coveted award. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.aud…

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María Corina Machado, Sen. Mark Warner, Director Kevin Hassett 50:22

18h ago50:22

50:22

This week on Face the Nation, breaking overnight, mass shootings at Brown University and at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia, plus our exclusive interview with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace prize winner María Corina Machado. On Saturday, the president paid tribute to our nation's finest in that time honored American tradition, the…

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Water Update (12/10/25) 14:29

5d ago14:29

14:29

This week, Rin and John talk about flows on the Rio Grande, planning for a new federal river management project south of Socorro, groundwater contamination questions, and the future of federal clean water regulation. Rio Grande With the irrigation season over and the Rio Grande’s riparian vegetation shutting down for the winter, river flows are up …

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Integration Through Art: Documentary and Dance in Estonia 24:01

6d ago24:01

24:01

Over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have come to Estonia at some point since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Of those, tens of thousands remain in the country, building their own communities and integrating with local Estonians. For many, art is an important assertion of Ukrainian identity, but also a bridge to their new neigh…

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Buzzword Bingo 46:38

7d ago46:38

46:38

In this Christmas special, Caroline, Alison and Danielle unwrap the public service’s most gear-grinding buzzwords, what they’re supposed to mean and what they have now quietly become. With words crowdsourced from the fine listeners of TWT, we talk: Big serious words and how their technical meanings have drifted The corporate visitors who arrived an…

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Secretary Scott Bessent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Jim Himes, Dr. Scott Gottlieb 50:31

8d ago50:31

50:31

This week on Face the Nation, as Americans say they're feeling the pain of higher prices this holiday season, we speak exclusively with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. And as Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubles down on those boat strikes in the Caribbean, the debate over whether they were lawful ramps up on Capitol Hill. We talk to the…

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Rep. Mike Turner, Sen. Tim Kaine, Director Kevin Hassett, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot 50:25

15d ago50:25

50:25

This week on Face the Nation, President Trump escalates his anti-immigration crackdown in the wake of a deadly shooting of national guard troops in DC. The suspect is an Afghan national and the president is accusing the Biden administration of allowing thousands of Afghans in the country without proper vetting. We bring you the latest on the shooti…

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Imagine if... you were leading an orchard of bad apples 55:42

21d ago55:42

55:42

Your shiny new promotion turns out to be more than you bargained for. In this scenario-based "Imagine if..." episode, Caroline and Danielle assume the role of a newly promoted manager who steps into a team they didn’t choose and some character-building challenges. ⚠️ Mild trigger warning for the depiction of toxic colleagues - we've all had one! We…

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Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Rand Paul, Rep. Jason Crow 50:33

22d ago50:33

50:33

This week on Face the Nation, divisions between Congress and the White House grow on crucial conflicts, both foreign and domestic. Breaking overnight, Secretary of State Rubio and other administration officials are in Geneva, meeting with European allies about the administration's 28 point plan to end the war in Ukraine. But does the proposal favor…

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7: Is Water for Fighting Over? 30:29

24d ago30:29

30:29

Guest: John Fleck A decade ago, the Utton Center's Writer in Residence John Fleck published his book Water is For Fighting Over and Other Myths About Water in the West, an exploration of water governance in the Colorado River Basin. Amid an often pessimistic literature, led by iconic titles that Fleck read as a young journalist - Mark Reisner's Cad…

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Sen. Bill Cassidy, Sec. Dan Driscoll, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen 50:42

29d ago50:42

50:42

The shutdown is over, but the problems that led to the crisis persist, and politicians are scrambling to find ways to make prices affordable for Americans. President Trump is testing ideas to help consumers, including potential tariff dividends and fifty year mortgages Those may be a tough sell, but Mr. Trump did move to roll back tariffs on some f…

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05 | James Curran: Trump’s gift 41:55

30d ago41:55

41:55

In our fifth and final Boyer Lecture for 2025, James Curran, professor of modern history at the University of Sydney, analyses our partnership with the world’s most powerful democracy, the USA, addressing options for how we can deal with, and even construct, a post -American future. In his talk, Professor Curran argues that we need to stop hoping f…

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Water Update (11/12/25) 9:09

1M ago9:09

9:09

Rin Tara and John Fleck discuss water conditions in New Mexico for the week of November 10.By Utton Transboundary Resources Center

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Imagine if … your sleepy grants program woke up 52:23

1M ago52:23

52:23

When politics meets process, what’s a conscientious public servant to do? This “Imagine if…” episode puts Alison and Danielle in the shoes of a project manager caught between legality, leadership and media heat — and explores what good judgment looks like when everyone’s waiting to be told what’s important. The first in an “Imagine if…” series as r…

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Director Kevin Hassett, Gov. Wes Moore, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger 50:55

1M ago50:55

50:55

This week on Face the Nation, there's no end in sight to the longest government shutdown in history. With each passing day, the impact of the government shutdown grows, with millions of Americans now facing major disruptions, from mass flight cancellations and delays because of staffing shortages, to growing lines at food banks, as the Supreme Cour…

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04 | Amelia Lester: AI on Australia’s terms 39:48

1M ago39:48

39:48

In the fourth Boyer Lecture for 2025, Amelia Lester, deputy editor at Foreign Policy Magazine in Washington, explores why it is so difficult to have meaningful discussions about the possible repercussions of Artificial Intelligence in all our lives. Given it is being described as possibly more transformative than electricity, even more transformati…

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Dan Crenshaw 50:11

1M ago50:11

50:11

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as the government shutdown stretches on, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw join to discuss the impacts. Plus, Anthony Salvanto breaks down the latest CBS News poll. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: …

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03 | Larissa Behrendt: Justice, ideas, inclusion 38:41

1M ago38:41

38:41

Larissa Behrendt, AO a Euahleyai/Gamillaroi woman and Distinguished Professor of Law and Inaugural Chair in Indigenous Research at the University of Technology, is passionate about the Australian courts’ record of upholding democracy, but reminds us the legal system has been used to exclude and discriminate against First Nations people. In the thir…

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The Battle for Memory: Populism vs. Pluralism in Public History 46:16

2M ago46:16

46:16

Baltic Ways presents a bonus episode from our partners at the EUROPAST podcast. The EUROPAST podcast explores Europe’s most pressing challenges of public history, investigating the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism, and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. In this episode, hosts Professor…

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Water Update (10/29/25) 11:30

2M ago11:30

11:30

Rin Tara and John Fleck discuss water conditions in New Mexico for the week of October 27. A full interview episode will be available later this month.By Utton Transboundary Resources Center

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Inside the public service's ‘Human Handbrake’: why reform stalls and how to fix it 50:03

2M ago50:03

50:03

Demos has released a fascinating paper, The Human Handbrake, on the five human habits that stall public sector reform. In this episode we pick through each of them - fear, heroics, tribes, tidiness, and tempo - and test practical fixes from risk stratification to outcome-focused equity. Topics covered include: fear-driven risk culture and how to st…

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Lindsey Graham 50:37

2M ago50:37

50:37

This week on Face the Nation, President Trump travels to Asia hoping to make trade deals with foreign friends, and adversaries, alike. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shares breaking news in advance of the much anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi. As the president works to make deals abroad, the standoff over funding the government continues …

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02 | Hon John Anderson AC: Our civilisational moment 40:10

2M ago40:10

40:10

In the second Boyer Lecture for 2025, the Hon John Anderson, AC, farmer, grazier and former deputy prime minister of Australia, takes a sweeping look over our history and concludes that the liberal world order that has so far defined us, is ending. While such turning points require big and important decisions, what happens to Australia, he understa…

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Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Katie Britt, Christine Lagarde 50:27

2M ago50:27

50:27

This week on Face the Nation, tensions build in the Caribbean and President Trump continues to push for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East. The commander in chief raises the pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as U.S. forces continue their campaign against alleged drug traffickers on the Latin American nation’s coast. We get the latest f…

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01 | Professor Justin Wolfers: Australia is freaking amazing 54:24

2M ago54:24

54:24

The Keynote Boyer Lecturer for 2025 is Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Policy from the University of Michigan and visiting Professor at the University of NSW. After many years teaching in the USA, he argues that Australia’s political institutions are unique; in fact, they are the very key to its prosperity and asks if we require a…

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6: Adaptive Agriculture in Northern New Mexico 19:36

2M ago19:36

19:36

Irrigated from the Acequia del Llano running across the upper end of his four acres outside Española, New Mexico, Don Bustos' Santa Cruz Farms feels as if it has been there as long as the land itself. A rambling walk through the farm follows ditches carrying the water past patches of asparagus and the last of the blackberries, down one side past so…

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“It’s just a minor restructure” said no calendar ever 49:11

2M ago49:11

49:11

In our second change management episode, Danielle pulls apart the myth of the “minor” restructure and lay out a practical way to change without breaking the work. From function mapping and ministerial comms to union engagement and the “fourth trimester”, we consider how to make change stick with clarity and care. why six to nine months is realistic…

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Vice President JD Vance, Sen. Chris Murphy, Rep. Jim Himes 50:17

2M ago50:17

50:17

President Trump prepares to head to Israel as the deadline to release the remaining hostages nears. Meanwhile, some federal employees will miss paychecks -- others face pink slips as the government shutdown drags on. We'll talk to Vice President JD Vance. Hopeful Gazans have begun the trek back to their homes as the cease-fire between Israel and Ha…

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Secretary Marco Rubio, Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer 50:40

2M ago50:40

50:40

This week on Face the Nation, nearly two years after the October 7 massacre, is a serious plan for a full hostage release and cease-fire in Gaza finally materializing? Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells us where that deal stands, and what's ahead for the region. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the government shutdown continues, with no end in sight. …

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The State of Baltic Studies 34:57

3M ago34:57

34:57

What is the ongoing relevance of Baltic Studies? As the new academic year gets underway, we speak with three scholars in the field about what it means to study the Baltic region today. What challenges is the field facing, and what might the future look like? What does the broadening of Baltic Studies beyond the three Baltic states mean for the fiel…

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Who Really Moved My Cheese? Tales from the change management trenches 43:26

3M ago43:26

43:26

Danielle takes us on a romp through change management, starting, as with all good contrarians, with a challenge to the idea of ‘change management’ itself. Some of the ideas covered: Change is happening all the time in government, not just during formal "change management" periods Most people dislike uncertainty rather than change itself Mission and…

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Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Mike Turner, Sen. Tim Kaine 50:34

3M ago50:34

50:34

This week on Face the Nation, President Trump says another blue city needs federal protection for agents conducting immigration roundups. How will Americans be impacted by the president's latest announcement? We talk with the head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Rand Paul, to hear his thoughts on the president's plans. Then, as the clock…