Author: stepht@duke.edu

What is it like to work on a presidential campaign? About 40 Duke students gathered Jan. 17 to hear stories from the campaigning front lines from experienced students and staff.

Are you a first-year or sophomore looking for something to do over Spring Break? The Office of Undergraduate Education’s Spring Breakthrough program offers four-day seminars taught…

What should we expect from Congress between January and the presidential election in 2020, now that Democrats have won back the House? Not much, according to one U.S. senator.

When the simple question – Do you plan to vote? – resulted in an F-bomb hurled his way, Gunther Peck took the high road. He inquired why the person was so angry. “I want you to vote,” he told the hurler.

By Hannah Miao ’21, POLIS What do typewriters, the Peace Corps, and former US Senator Jay Rockefeller have in common? Each played a key role…

  Political observers call it a “blue moon election.” Once every 12 years, North Carolinians go to the ballot box and face an election with…

We are now at capacity for this event. Thank you for your interest. Duke University’s student organization “Young Americans for Liberty” has successfully secured Senator…

Global Perspective series has foreign students provide insight into their country’s news-making events.

Virginia Rep. Kathy Tran, T’00, has an extraordinary American story, one that has taken her from her arrival at age 2 with her family as refugees from Vietnam to being a rising star in Virginia politics. 

Two statistics loom heavily in the discussions journalist Issac Bailey has with readers concerning the topics of race and crime.

“Don’t believe all the hype of Washington, D.C.,” Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) urged last week at a Duke panel discussion. That hype feeds a lot…

Major news of the summer began with a wedding and ended it with a funeral, with global summits and failed immigration policies in between, speakers said during a roundtable discussion.

On Saturday, November 10 from noon to 2:00pm in McClendon Tower (5th floor), Running Start instructor Krysta Nicole Jones — who led an introductory on-campus training in McClendon back in January — will lead a newly conceived workshop titled “Charting Your Course to Elected Office: Developing a Personalized Calendar for Your Future Run.”

Polis has retooled its Congressional Intern Program to ensure any/all interested students can participate. If you plan to pursue an internship in a congressional office…

About 250 Duke alumni, faculty and friends gathered Wednesday for the Sanford School of Public Policy’s annual “Sanford on the Hill” event at the Capitol…

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To understand NBC national political reporter Jonathan Allen, one need look no further than his two stints at POLITICO — first as a contract hire…

Three local activists from across the political spectrum described the joys and challenges of citizen activism at an April 17 panel in the Sanford School’s Rhodes Conference Room, sponsored by Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service (POLIS).

In the contemporary political scene, there are few true bipartisans remaining. Two of them came to Duke April 4 to discuss the state of political compromise in a time of deep ideological divisions.

Leading up to the election, Colin Duffy, at the time the president of Duke College Republicans (DCR) and a junior computer science and economics major, faced a difficult challenge: half of the club wanted to endorse the Republican nominee Donald Trump, while the other half wanted to avidly disavow him and endorse a third-party candidate.

By Jackie Ogburn Describing herself as “a recovering politician,” Sen. Olympia Snowe, former Republican senator and representative from Maine, Monday described the polarization in the…

POLITICO Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman will host a special Playbook University event with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.). The program will discuss policy, politics and how North Carolina intersects with Washington.

Nearly 40 students, faculty, and community members took a crash course on Egyptian politics on March 1 at the Sanford School of Public Policy, exploring Egypt’s complex history and how the growing power of the country’s president and his muzzling of civil society is affecting one of the most important countries in the Middle East.

Rachel Rubin is a Junior majoring in Public Policy and Information Science. The Fresno, California native sat down with us to tell us about herself and her connection with the POLIS mission.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) practices what he preaches. On Thursday, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran sat down with Duke POLIS Director Fritz Mayer and nearly 200 members of the Duke community to discuss topics ranging from bipartisanship to guns. Throughout the event, Moulton brought it back to having the courage to serve.

Do you fill out a March Madness bracket every year?  And do you have at least a passing interest in U.S. presidential history? If so,…

Alec Lintz, a junior public policy student, grew up in a family in Ohio where commitment to the community and the public good was a shared, passionate value. Following in this family tradition, Lintz has continued this spirit of engagement during his time at Duke. 

Join Nancy Bocskor, an expert in political fundraising and women’s leadership training, for a campaign fundraising and networking workshop for female Duke students and alumni.…

On January 30, Neil Newhouse, Republican pollster and Duke Alum (BA’74), spent half a day with Duke students to share perspectives on polling, contemporary politics, and Washington, DC careers. His visit was sponsored by POLIS: Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service.

On January 29, Politico senior reporter Michael Kruse spent half a day on campus with Duke students to share insights on political reporting and our current state of politics. His visit was sponsored by POLIS: Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service and was cosponsored by the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy.

More than two dozen female Duke students gathered for three hours on Jan. 27 to participate in an annual on-campus workshop sponsored by Duke’s Center…

Space is limited. Reserve a seat by clicking here. U.S. congressman and decorated Marine Corps veteran Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) will deliver a public talk about the…

Neil Newhouse, partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, will speak with students on Tuesday, January 30, at 1:15pm in Sanford 223. Neil was lead…

Michael Kruse, a senior staff writer at POLITICO and POLITICO Magazine, will speak with students on January 29 at 11am in Rubenstein Hall 200. Prior…

Running Start, a nonpartisan national organization that trains women on how to run for elected office, will be on Duke’s campus January 27 to lead…

A student-led initiative on college campuses  in North Carolina is tackling one of the most important issue of our time – political polarization. The project, called Leaders for Political Dialogue, convenes students from Duke, N.C. State, UNC and N.C. Central. Students spend a weekend learning how to communicate better with those whose political opinions may differ from their own. In this episode of the Policy 360 podcast, Kelly Brownell talks with the founder of the project, as well as three participants.

In this special episode of the Devil’s Discourse, we share just a few highlights from the first 15 episodes of these unscripted and unedited conversations…

Have you ever thought about running for office, but felt daunted by the financial cost of getting elected? According to Sanford School assistant professor Nick Carnes, you wouldn’t be alone.

Professor Jay Pearson was the guest speaker at this week’s Breakfast and Politics with Fritz, a biweekly series of breakfast and political conversations with guests speakers.…

On November 13, Politico reporter Daniel Lippman spent the day with Duke students to share insights on political reporting and our current state of politics. …

By Jackie Ogburn “What’s bad for conservatism, for Republicans and the nation is good for us,” Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist for The New York Times, said…

There is a crisis of political apathy in the United States, and it’s up to American political leaders to reverse that trend and improve deep…

Bloomberg columnist Megan McArdle and New York Times columnist Ross Douthat will discuss the future of conservatism during a free, public event Wednesday, Nov. 8,…

By Jackie Ogburn Former Congressman Barney Frank’s talk at the Sanford School on Oct. 24 was a defense of the embattled art of political compromise.…

Significant mistrust of politicians, concentrated presidential power, clear divisions among political parties and compulsory voting for all 18-to-70-year-olds are among dozens of issues raised Thursday…

https://soundcloud.com/user-853595532/episode-2-7-health-care Building on episode 2.6, this unscripted and unedited conversation once again will cover health care, and features Duke juniors Paul Forrester and David Wohlever Sánchez. You’ll…

More than 80 members of the Duke students, alumni, faculty, and staff from across the ideological spectrum gathered Oct. 12 for an evening of advocacy…

By Jackie Ogburn In these days of extreme political polarization, how do you get people from all political stripes working together and finding solutions? You…

Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank will discuss the current state of politics in the U.S. in a talk on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. The talk, which is…

https://soundcloud.com/user-853595532/episode-2-6-health-care This week’s discussion is on whether health care is a right or a privilege, and features those students who were affiliated last year with…

https://soundcloud.com/user-853595532/episode-2-5-immigration This unscripted and unedited dialogue on illegal immigration features Duke senior Tierney Pretzer and Duke sophomore Mitchell Siegel. Their views are entirely their own.…

https://soundcloud.com/user-853595532/episode-2-4-race-in-america This week’s discussion is on race in America, and features those students who were affiliated last year with the Listen First Project. LFP is…

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https://soundcloud.com/user-853595532/episode-2-3-climate-change This unscripted and unedited conversation on climate change features Duke sophomores Nikhil Sridhar and Michael Tan. In this podcast, you’ll hear students with different views…

https://soundcloud.com/user-853595532/episode-2-2-the-constitution September 17 is Constitution Day, so this episode highlights varying interpretation of the US Constitution. This unscripted and unedited conversation features Duke juniors David…

Our biweekly breakfast political conversation series, WTF (Wake To Fritz), returns this semester! Join us every other Tuesday in Sanford 201 for breakfast and conversations…

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Drop by Rhodes Conference Room (Sanford 223) on August 29 for a quick bite to eat and to hear about some of our programming for…

Despite the divisive nature of our politics, bipartisanship is still alive and well, according to two U.S. senators who spoke at the Sanford School of Public Policy’s annual “Sanford on the Hill” event at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on July 17.

Our final podcast of the season concerns the merits of the Senate filibuster, and features all four Duke students affiliated with the Listen First Project.

On April 2, Duke students gathered in Room 04 of the Sanford Building to be part of a “Political Participation Boot Camp.”

Despite their opposing political viewpoints, John Hood and Leslie Winner encourage others to look past the heated polarization of today’s politics.

Interested in learning about how to run a political campaign? Duke professor Michael Munger will be hosting a lunch chat in Sanford to discuss his experiences running for Governor of NC as the Libertarian candidate. RSVP if you would like to attend! Pizza will be provided.

Duke students Paul Forrester and David Wohlever Sanchez engage in a civil discussion on the justification and appropriate application of taxes. Sponsored by Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service, or POLIS.

A talk with a state senator, a political participation boot camp, a bipartisan discussion on the state of NC politics, and a lunch chat with a former gubernatorial candidate. Check out everything that’s happening at POLIS in April.

Two Duke women, sophomores Adaiya Granberry and Madison Laton, engage in a civil conversation about the potential benefits and pitfalls of Greek life on campus.…

Two Duke University students, first-year Nico Coleman and sophomore Alec Lintz, engage in a civil conversation about abortion and reproductive rights. Sponsored by Duke’s Center…