Politics and Government

In testimony before the U.S. Senate banking committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the economy is “a long way from the Fed’s employment and inflation goals.” As Congress debates the next round of coronavirus relief funding, some prominent economists have raised concerns about its potential impact on inflation. Fabio Ghironi, professor of economics at the UW, is interviewed.

A study by Adrian Raftery, statistics professor, is cited in this article about how much global emissions must fall to halt climate change.

“In practice, monetary sanctions have emerged as a ‘predatory’ punishment imposed by the criminal legal system with a varied set of penological aims to punish, generate local and state revenue, and expand social control,” writes UW sociology Professor Alexes Harris.

One and done. That’s been the story of late when it comes to the number of terms Seattle mayors serve. Seattle Met asked three experts, including UW history professor Margaret O’Mara, to offer their takes.

Dig a little, and Seattle’s scrubby past inevitably pops up. We might be all high-tech now, all digital wizards, but back there are the city’s ancestors. They could be rough. Really rough. John Findlay, professor emeritus of history at the UW, is referenced.

Aseem Prakash, professor of political science, explains why the United States will need to expand its transmission capacity.

A nationwide study is delving deep into the beliefs and attitudes of self-described Trump supporters. Christopher Parker, professor of political science at the UW, and his team surveyed hundreds of people in the Make America Great Again movement, both before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Science Friday producer Christie Taylor talks to legal scholar Veena Dubal, and Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, about a rise in union activity, and the way tech companies have impacted our lives — not just for their customers, but also for their workers.

Mary Callahan, associate professor of international studies at the UW, says that there hasn’t been significant opposition to military leadership in Myanmar within the officer ranks in 50 years. [This is an NPR broadcast on KUOW]

A new study says that carbon emission cuts need to be about 80% more ambitious to stay below 2 degrees Celsius global warming — considered a threshold for climate stability and climate-related risks such as excessive heat, drought, extreme weather and sea level rise. The UW's Adrian Raftery, a professor of statistics, and Pieran Lu, a doctoral student in statistics, are quoted.

Homeland Security agents transferred ancient coins seized at the Canadian border to the University of Washington on Thursday. UW classics professor Sarah Stroup and Sandra Kroupa, UW Libraries’ book arts and rare books curator, are interviewed.

Margaret O’Mara, professor of history at the UW, says too much screen time in the COVID-19 era may have led to the proliferation of conspiracy theories, especially among “QAnon yoga moms.” [This clip teases a later story in which O’Mara is not interviewed]

“Watching the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, an epochal event in U.S. history, I could not take my eyes from the rostrum. Though attentive to the words being spoken, with their pointed meaning and sharp emotion, I could not unseize my view from the polished stone wall that framed every speaker. It was — and is — as arresting as anything said during this extraordinary, profoundly disturbing trial,” writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW.

The Cowlitz County Youth Services Center in Longview, WA — one of the last detention centers in the country that holds undocumented immigrant youth — has moved to terminate its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice at the UW and director of the UW Center for Human Rights, is mentioned.

The Republican Party’s most-Trump and pro-Trumpism contingent and the forces in the party pushing its growing radical and antidemocratic tendencies are often not national Republicans, but those at the local and state levels. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.