Biden’s First 100 Days

Biden’s First 100 Days

Author: UCL Political Science May 6, 2021 Duration: 33:34

This week, we’re focusing on politics in the United States. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been in office for a little over 100 days now. So how is it going? 

Has Biden been sleepy Joe? Has he pursued the path of moderation and coalition-building that has characterized so much of his long career? Or has he turned out much more of a radical than many expected? What role is being performed by Vice President Harris? How, meanwhile, have Republicans responded to their defeat? And just want is Donald Trump up to now that he is out of office and banned from Twitter?

Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson

Dr Thomas Gift

Dr Colin Provost

Dr Julie Norman


Ever wonder what happens when sharp academic minds turn their focus to the headlines? UCL Uncovering Politics pulls back the curtain on the forces shaping our world, straight from the heart of one of the world's leading universities. This isn't a lecture series, but a series of conversations where complex ideas about power, culture, and society are made accessible and urgent. You'll hear researchers from UCL's Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy dissect everything from voting behaviour and international conflict to the philosophy underlying our social structures, connecting rigorous scholarship directly to current events. Each episode feels like sitting in on a fascinating discussion between experts who are as curious about the "why" behind political phenomena as they are knowledgeable. The podcast serves as a direct line to cutting-edge analysis, offering depth and context that goes far beyond the daily news cycle. By spotlighting the fantastic work done within the department, it provides listeners with a richer, more nuanced understanding of the mechanics behind culture, government, and the news we consume. Tune in for a thoughtful and genuinely enlightening exploration of contemporary politics, grounded in research but always engaged with the real world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 161

UCL Uncovering Politics
Podcast Episodes
Parliament’s Role in Brexit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:32
Politics in the UK is in a state of turmoil. Every time we think it can’t get any crazier, it finds a way of doing just that. Many of the roots of the trouble can be found in Brexit. Whatever you think of Brexit, it’s cl…
Robots and Immigrants [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:00
Rhetoric around immigrants ‘stealing people’s jobs’ has become common in contemporary British politics, especially during the debates around the 2016 Brexit referendum. Meanwhile, rising automation has spurred discussion…
How to Run Public Administration [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:44
We’re focusing this week on public administration. While mention of the word bureaucracy rarely lifts hearts, it’s incredibly important for the development of public policy, for the delivery of public services, and for a…
The State of the World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:02
The podcast has been on its summer break over the last few months, but politics certainly hasn’t stopped. The war in Ukraine has rumbled on. The global energy crisis, partly a result of the war, has forced policymakers t…
The Role of Blame [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:38
Tackling injustice is one of the main motivations that many people have for getting involved in politics. Whether those injustices relate to income inequalities, the harms caused by climate change, discrimination based o…
Disabilities in the Workplace [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:31
It is estimated that around a fifth of people working in the UK today are disabled in some way. Many of these people report feeling that their employers do a poor job at accommodating their requirements to make their wor…
The Limits of Technocracy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:23
‘It’s the economy, stupid’. That, famously, was one of the organising principles of Bill Clinton’s campaign for the US presidency in 1992. Thirty years on, amidst a cost of living crisis, economic policy decisions still…
Public Opinion in Russia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:17
It almost goes without saying that public opinion matters in a democracy, where leaders can be scrutinised in the free press and held accountable at free and fair elections. But public attitudes matter in authoritarian c…
How to Transform Our Politics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:36
Uniquely, this week we are discussing both a new publication and a new institution. The publication is a book called Out of the Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again. This book examines the p…
Population Displacement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:36
Displacement of civilian populations is a feature of politics in many parts of the world. War is perhaps the most familiar driver of displacement – we have seen that, of course, on a tragic scale in Ukraine in recent mon…