The Week in Policymaker Ignorance
by Scott Scheall
Latest episode
La semaine dans l'ignorance des décideurs politiques
La semaine dans l'ignorance des décideurs politiques
About this podcast
A podcast for all things related to the ignorance of our political representatives. We discuss the latest academic research on policymaker ignorance, analyze infamous instances of policymaker ignorance from world history, and scour the weekly news for examples of politicians doing especially ignorant things.
policymakerignorance.substack.com
Episodes
The newest 20 of 56 episodes
- La semaine dans l'ignorance des décideurs politiques · 27 minScott discusses the role that the ignorance of French policymakers has played in fostering the disaffection currently on violent display in the streets of France. This is a…
- WIPMI Book Club - David Zweig's An Abundance of Caution and Stephen Macedo & Frances Lee's In Covid's Wake · 38 minScott discusses two recent books, David Zweig's An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions, and Stephen Macedo & Frances Lee's In Covid's…
- The War in Iran · 20 minScott discusses the key question about the war in Iran - decapitation operation or regime-change war? - through the lens of the problem of policymaker ignorance. This is a…
- DOGE and the Epistemic Burdens of Liberalism and Liberalization · 25 minScott discusses one of his works-in-progress, "Liberalism's Ouroboros: DOGE and the Liberal Transition Problem in Stark Relief," which argues that the failures of the Department…
- Maduro, Minnesota, and Policymaker Ignorance · 12 minScott considers the significance of policymaker ignorance for the recent removal of Nicholas Maduro and ICE protests in Minnesota. This is a public episode. If you would like to…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Vietnam War, Part 6: The Fall of Saigon and Series Overview · 15 minIn the sixth and final episode of the series on policymaker ignorance and the Vietnam War, Scott discusses the end of the War and the fall of Saigon, and provides an overview of…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Vietnam War, Part 5: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Never-ending Endgame · 27 minScott discusses the part that policymaker ignorance played in the Vietnam War during the Nixon-Kissinger years. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Vietnam War, Part 4: LBJ Cries "Uncle" · 24 minYour intrepid host examines the role that policymaker ignorance played in some of the crucial events of the Vietnam War between mid-1965 and Spring 1968. This is a public…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Vietnam War, Part 3: Escalation Obfuscation · 23 minScott analyzes the series of events and decisions (and lies, lots of lies) that led to the United States taking over the task of fighting the Vietnam War from the South…
- Trump Tower (of Babel?): DOGE, Tariffs, and Policymaker Ignorance · 24 minScott analyzes DOGE's activities through the lens of the problem of policymaker ignorance and briefly considers Trump's tariff policies, whatever, exactly, they might be. This…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Vietnam War, Part 2: The Kennedy Years · 40 minScott discusses the catastrophic reign of Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, the emergence of the Viet Cong and development of the Ho Chi Minh trail, and the calamitous…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Vietnam War, Part 1: The First Indochina War, Điện Biên Phủ, and All That · 35 minScott discusses the role that policymaker ignorance played in the French decision to try to re-conquer their former colony in Indochina following WWII, the American decision to…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the Los Angeles Fires · 11 minScott considers the role that policymaker ignorance played in the failure to contain the Los Angeles fires and the legitimacy of the "climate change" excuse for said failure…
- Policymaker Ignorance and the 2024 Presidential Election · 25 minScott considers the 2024 American Presidential Election, the candidates, and their campaign promises through the lens of the problem of policymaker ignorance. This is a public…
- Consensus, Censorship, and the Problem of Policymaker Ignorance · 46 minScott discusses the relationship between the widespread obsession with maximizing consensus, increasing calls for censorship in Western societies, and the problem of policymaker…
- Making Democracy Effective in a World of Policymaker Ignorance · 16 minScott discusses various methods of promoting popular sovereignty in contexts where policymakers are too ignorant to realize goals associated with voters' preferences. This is a…
- Democracy, Popular Sovereignty, and Policymaker Ignorance · 12 minScott discusses the problems that policymaker ignorance raises for democratic government. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or…
- Price Controls, Industrial Policy, and Policymaker Ignorance · 20 minScott discusses the Democrats' price control policy and the Republicans' proposed industrial policy through the lens of the problem of policymaker ignorance. This is a public…
- An Update on Some Previously Discussed Topics · 40 minScott returns to address a few issues discussed on previous episodes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus…
- WIPMI Book Club - James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed · 37 minScott discusses a classic work of academic political science, James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed This is a…
