Many a scholar and policy analyst has lamented American dependence on cars and the corresponding lack of federal investment in public transportation throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century. But as Nicholas Dagen Bloom shows in The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric Planning, and White Flight (U Chicago Press, ... Show More
Feb 10
Ron Hayduk, "Untangling the Political Roots of Immigration and Inequality in the United States" (Routledge, 2026)
Untangling the Political Roots of Immigration and Inequality in the United States (Routledge, 2026) examines the causes, consequences, and politics of mass migration and growing inequality by investigating the case of the United States – the quintessential immigrant nation. Whil ... Show More
30m 14s
Feb 4
Ning Leng, "Politicizing Business: How Firms Are Made to Serve the Party-State in China" (Cambridge, 2025)
In her new book, Politicizing Business: How Firms Are Made to Serve the Party-State in China (Cambridge, 2025), Ning Leng shows how Chinese officials systematically treat formally private firms as political instruments, extracting services that advance careers and maintain social ... Show More
55m 45s
Feb 4
Dafeng Xu, "Chinatown: San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake and the Paradox of American Immigration Policy" (JHU Press, 2026)
San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. Spanning 30 city blocks and home to tens of thousands of monolingual Chinese residents, its endurance is remarkable—especially given how close it came to erasu ... Show More
53m 53s
Mar 2023
Roger Biles and Mark H. Rose, "A Good Place to Do Business: The Politics of Downtown Renewal Since 1945" (Temple UP, 2022)
The “Pittsburgh Renaissance,” an urban renewal effort launched in the late 1940s, transformed the smoky rust belt city’s downtown. Working-class residents and people of color saw their neighborhoods cleared and replaced with upscale, white residents and with large corporations ho ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2023
Chhaya Kolavalli, "Well-Intentioned Whiteness: Green Urban Development and Black Resistance in Kansas City" (U Georgia Press, 2023)
Chhaya Kolavalli's book Well-Intentioned Whiteness: Green Urban Development and Black Resistance in Kansas City (U Georgia Press, 2023) documents how whiteness can take up space in U.S. cities and policies through well-intentioned progressive policy agendas that support green urb ... Show More
29m 29s
Aug 2024
Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria, "Mumbai on Two Wheels: Cycling, Urban Space, and Sustainable Mobility" (U Washington Press, 2024)
Mumbai is not commonly seen as a bike-friendly city because of its dense traffic and the absence of bicycle lanes. Yet the city supports rapidly expanding and eclectic bicycle communities. Exploring how people bike and what biking means in the city, Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria chall ... Show More
51m 29s
Jan 2025
Rick Caruso on LA’s Wildfires, Policy Failures, and the Path Forward
This week on No Priors, Elad sits down with Rick Caruso, LA real estate developer and runner-up in the 2022 mayoral race. With experience serving under three LA mayors, as well as on the police commission and the board of water and power, Rick offers a unique perspective on the s ... Show More
27m 11s
Jan 2025
Even More News: The D.C. Aviation Disaster and Trump's Funding Freeze Fiasco
<p>Hi. On today's episode, Katy, Cody, and Jonathan discuss the tragedy near Reagan National Airport, Trump's suggestion that "DEI" is to blame, and the White House's untimely elimination of FAA infrastructure. Plus, they discuss Trump's confusing pause of federal grants and more ... Show More
56 m
Aug 2024
'Propaganda Extravaganza' Coming to Chicago
The Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago on Monday, giving Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz an opportunity to present their vision for America.
But don’t be fooled by the Democrats’ glitzy gala, says John Tillman, CEO of the American Culture Pro ... Show More
25m 55s