Podcasts by This Week in Dystopia

The Balancing Act of a Pro-Life Obamacare Supporter feat. Bart Stupak from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.768072

Former Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) sat down with host Christopher Robichaud to discuss the choices and constraints he faced during the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Stupak, a lifelong p...

Sick with Worry from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.750790

Heralded by cries of “repeal and replace” from a party with a legislative majority, it was clear that going into 2017 the Affordable Care Act’s days were numbered. In the final month of the year...

Defending Democracy, 2018&Beyond feat. Robby Mook from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.734597

Political parties and campaigns are a critical part of American democracy. Our parties are complicated, multi-faceted, and at times, downright confounding. To better understand some of the promi...

The Conversation No One Wants to Have About Inequality from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.721157

New ways of governing, policy, protests, and more have been introduced across the globe for centuries to try and curb inequality. So, what actually worked? According to Walter Scheidel, author o...

The NFL, Politics, and Patriots from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.711378

In advance of Super Bowl LIII, tune in to hear host Christopher Robichaud in conversation with Mark Leibovich, Chief National correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, author of Big Game: T...

Politics&the Playbook from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.698237

In episode 20, we asked, can you keep politics out of football? The answer was a resounding no. Not only are politics a part of contemporary sports culture, but politics is woven throughout spor...

Us from 2023-12-13T20:11:57.684907

🚨 SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't already seen Us, listen at the peril of your movie-going experience. Better yet, go see the film and come right back to this episode!

Jordan Peel...

Who Watches the Watchmen? Race and Policing Through the Lens of Popular Entertainment from 2020-06-29T13:04:18

When HBO series Watchmen premiered in October 2019, the show—a dramatically different take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s original comic book/graphic novel—was noted for its direct confrontati...

Watchmen from 2020-02-25T11:00:20

Chris Lebron, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, returns to talk about the HBO TV series based on the 1980s comic.

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The Joker from 2020-02-11T10:30:03

We kick off season three of This Week in Dystopia with a discussion of The Joker. From the DC Comics’ character to Heath Ledger and then Joaquin Phoenix portrayal of the super villain, ho...

Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' from 2019-05-21T09:30

When Beyoncé gives you Lemonade, make a reader (and a podcast episode). We close out season 2 of This Week in Dystopia with a discussion of Beyonce's audio-visual experience and album.<...

Game Theory from 2019-05-14T09:30

Despite the persistent threat of video game domination, board games are still here and gaining popularity. And people aren't just dusting off their boxes of Monopoly and Life. New games are push...

Hail Satan? from 2019-04-25T09:30

The devil may be in the details, but Satan also has a home in Salem Massachusetts, the headquarters of the Satanic Temple. The Temple, both self-described and now labeled by the IRS as a religio...

Game of Thrones from 2019-04-17T09:30

Winter is here. Sunday, April 14th, 17.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the battle for the Iron Throne continue when the final season of Game of Thrones premiered. Ilya Somin, Professor of La...

America's Pastime from 2019-04-11T09:35

Baseball has long been called America's pastime, but some feel the pastime is just that, past. Do conversations happening in and around the NFL and NBA better reflect America today? Or is the ga...

Social Justice, Stage Right from 2019-03-26T10:30

The theatre has influenced political thought since at least the days of the Athenian Democracy. Today, the tradition of theatre as a medium to spark political debate is alive and well. Now, cont...

Fit Nation from 2019-03-19T09:30

From the moment your alarm goes off until your head hits the pillow at night, fitness is in your face. During the day, most of us will either go to the gym, think about working out, get a remind...

Captain Marvel from 2019-03-13T09:30

🚨 SPOILER ALERT: Host Chris Robichaud has already seen this movie (twice!) and the episode contains spoilers. If you haven't already seen Captain Marvel, listen at the peril of your movie-going...

Horror Noire from 2019-02-26T10:30

This week, host Chris Robichaud sits down with author, scholar, and executive producer Tananarive Due to talk about the complicated relationship Black filmmakers and Black audiences have with ho...

This is America from 2019-02-19T10:30

The Grammys have been criticized for lacking diversity and not giving hip-hop artists their due. This year, Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, took home both song and record of the y...

Pop Culture and Politics? No Apologies from 2019-02-12T10:30

Are comic books just for kids? Is there more to pop culture then pure entertainment? I think you know our answer. Tune in to hear host Chris Robichaud discuss why This Week in Dystopia ...

The Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School from 2018-03-27T09:30

On Tuesday, March 20th, the Institute of Politics hosted a conversation with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School titled, “#NEVERAGAIN: How Parkland Students are Changing the Conve...

Gun Rights&Democracy? from 2018-03-13T09:30

Gun rights have dominated headlines the past two weeks. This isn’t the first time that debate around gun control has erupted following a mass shooting, but momentum and teenage advocacy have som...

Black Panther from 2018-02-28T10:30

Do we need to say more than Black Panther?

Okay, maybe. 

Black Panther, the latest film in the Marvel universe, has been met with such excitement it’s hard to imagine a world (or a...

Idiocracy LIVE feat. Co-Screenwriter Etan Cohen from 2018-02-13T10:30

Idiocracy, an over a decade-old movie, is set in a world where corporations have taken over, the population’s IQ has declined dramatically, and the president is a reality TV star. Now a cult-cla...

Understanding Immigration&Refugee Rights from 2018-01-31T10:35

What rights do immigrants have? Did President Obama open the door for President Trump’s travel ban by instituting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)?
Immigration is a contentiou...

Superhero Dystopias from 2018-01-23T10:30

Do dystopian societies require a bad good guy? Why do we love superheroes who morals are all shades of grey? Comic fans, this one is for you. Host Chris Robichaud dives into the world of superhe...

Clinton and the Logic of Misogyny from 2018-01-16T10:30

Misogyny is hard to spell but much easier to find in modern politics and society. How do you define misogyny? What’s the difference between misogyny and sexism? What role does misogyny play in ...

The War on Christmas from 2017-12-19T10:30

Happy Holidays from This Week in Dystopia! ’Tis the season for gifts, holiday cheer, and divisive arguments about the role of religion in America. Host Chris Robichaud invites Lauren Kerby, Ph.D...

Can Our Democracy Be Bot? from 2017-12-12T10:00

It’s been over a year since the 2016 election. Campaigning has concluded, ballots have been cast, and the results are in. Despite this finality, the year’s events and subsequent questions still ...

The Story of a Former White Nationalist from 2017-11-21T10:30

Recent events have engendered a multitude of questions about the white nationalist movement. What draws people to the movement? Have social networks provided an opportunity to increase membershi...

F**e N***s from 2017-11-13T10:30

Join host Christopher Robichaud in his office as he sits down with Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan to discuss 2017’s Word of the Year, fake news; why that term should be banned from our voc...

Zombie Democracy from 2017-10-31T09:00

Happy Halloween from This Week in Dystopia. In a spooky episode host Christopher Robichaud illustrates what zombie apocalypse stories have to teach us about democracy. How are zombies useful in ...

White Nationalism, Media, and Lessons from Charlottesville from 2017-10-24T09:00

Nicole Hemmer, Assistant Professor in Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, joins host Christopher Robichaud for a discussion about the recent events in Charlottesv...

Can We Agree to Disagree? from 2017-10-16T23:27

Host Christopher Robichaud sits down with Julia Minson, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, to discuss her research into listening, cognitive dissonance, and disagree...

Democracy in Peril from 2017-10-16T23:11

In the second episode of This Week in Democracy host Chris Robichaud tunes into a conversation about whether or not democracies around the world, including our own, are in peril. Harvard Kennedy...

Are We Living in a Dystopia? from 2017-10-12T17:34

In the first episode of This Week in Dystopia host Christopher Robichaud introduces the series and answers the question, why is this series called This Week in Dystopia?

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