The Backdrop podcast is a monthly interview program featuring conversations with UC Davis scholars and researchers working in the social sciences, humanities, arts and culture. Hosted by public radio veteran Soterios Johnson, the conversations feature new work and expertise on a trending topic in the news.
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Episode 4
Lizbeth De La Cruz on “Humanizing Deportation”
In a typical year, hundreds of thousands of people are deported from the U.S. for entering or staying in the country illegally. A digital storytelling project at UC Davis, called “Humanizing Deportation,” aims to document their stories.
On this month’s episode, Ph.D. candidate Lizbeth De La Cruz, discusses the project’s goals, how it got started and her experience working as a member of one of the research teams collecting and preserving these stories.
More from The Humanizing Deportation Project
Project website
Humanizing Deportation documentary
Episode 3
Magdalena Wojcieszak on New Studies Finding Exposure to Media Does Not Increase Political Polarization
Conventional wisdom has held that as people are exposed to more partisan news, they become more polarized. But a new study finds that’s not so. On this month’s episode of The Backdrop, Magdalena Wojcieszak discusses a couple of new studies she has co-authored that found no correlation between media exposure and political polarization.
Wojcieszak, a Professor of Communication at UC Davis, studies how the changing media environment creates both opportunities and challenges for informed publics, tolerant citizenry, and responsive governance.
More from Magdalena Wojcieszak
Free Speech And The Rise Of Misinformation And Conspiracy Theories
‘Interview: UC Davis professors discuss combatting COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
An Internet Without Trump
Episode 2
Eric Rauchway on Contentious Presidential Transitions
More from Eric Rauchway
‘Nothing like this has ever happened before:’ Historians reflect on mob violence in Washington
‘I Have Never Heard Of Anything Like This Happening’: A Look At Past Contentious Elections
Episode 1
Kathryn Olmsted on Conspiracy Theories
More from Kathryn Olmsted
What Birthed Modern Conservatism?