NCSL Podcasts

NCSL

Learn about the people, policies and politics of America's state legislatures with NCSL's three podcasts: "Our American States," "Across the Aisle" and the special limited series "Building Democracy."

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Top 10 NCSL Podcasts Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best NCSL Podcasts episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to NCSL Podcasts for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite NCSL Podcasts episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Free College? It’s More Complicated Than That | OAS Episode 140

NCSL Podcasts

08/22/21 • 70 min

Our American States

podcast The cost of higher education, the amount of student loan debt, the percentage of students who receive degrees and other related issues have been debated in legislatures and on the campaign trail. Proposals for a new federal state-partnership on higher education and for free community college are among the issues being debated.

On this podcast we hear from Kevin Carey and Jason Delisle, both experts on higher education policy. Carey is the vice president for education policy and knowledge management at New America, a policy research organization. Delisle is a senior policy fellow at the Urban Institute.

The two discussed the track record on affordability, access and outcomes in U.S public higher education and the different approaches states have taken. They also assessed proposals for state-federal partnerships and the likelihood that different states might have very different attitudes toward the type of partnerships being proposed.

While they differ on a number of points, both agreed the complexities of how a federal-state partnership would work are largely missing from the public debate.

This topic also will be on the agenda for NCSL’s Legislative Summit in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 3-5.

Kevin Carey, New America Jason Delisle, Urban Institute

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Isolation and Loneliness Amid the Pandemic | OAS Episode 122

NCSL Podcasts

02/15/21 • 28 min

Social isolation and loneliness are topics most of us have first-hand experience with after a year of a pandemic has left us unable to spend time with family and friends. The ill effects of such isolation are not just on our mental health but also can affect our physical health just as much as cigarette smoking or obesity.

Our guests are Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University in Utah, and Lori Gerhard, director of the Office of Interagency Innovation at the U.S. Administration for Community Living.

Holt-Lunstad, who has studied the topic for decades, discusses groups in society most at risk for social isolation and how public policy can help address the problem. Gerhard addresses particularly how social isolation affects older Americans and how policies at the federal and state level can help them with these challenges.

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COVID-19 and the Challenges for Higher Education | OAS Episode 111

NCSL Podcasts

11/02/20 • 23 min

COVID-19 swept through some colleges and universities this fall as schools reopened with a variety of approaches. Beyond the headlines, however, higher education and post-secondary training have been profoundly affected by the pandemic in other ways.

Our two guests on this podcast fill us in on the challenges ahead and the role legislators will play in dealing with state colleges and universities.

Our first guest is Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, a private foundation that is a major player in supporting efforts to expand higher education and post-secondary learning. He discusses how the pandemic has affected the world of higher education, how it has laid bare the need for more post-secondary training and how legislators can play a role.

Our second guest is Scott Jaschik, editor of the news website Inside Higher Ed. Jaschik gives us an up-to-date assessment of reopening efforts at colleges and universities around the country and discusses the fiscal landscape state legislators will face in the wake of the pandemic.