Episodes

Monday Nov 02, 2020
The Importance of Urban Planning and the Impact it has on Communities
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Today's podcast is includes an informative introduction to the Urban Planning specialization at NYU, with our special guest Jacquelyn Spade a MUP candidate. She will share her insights on the urban planning specialization at NYU, how it impacts communities, and how urban design perpetuates racial inequality.
She also examines the top down vs. bottom up planning, disciplines within the fundamental ideologies of planning, the importance of green space, and the importance of our live environment in positive habit formation.
Guest Speaker
Jacquelyn Spade is a second-year MUP Candidate at NYU Wagner specializing in International Development Planning. She currently interns for Komera doing data analysis. She has an academic background in Sustainable Community Development with a specialization in Climate Change and Green Infrastructure from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. Her professional background in management and renewable energy having spent time as a Fellow at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center working on their SolarizeMass program.

Friday Oct 30, 2020
CannaPolicy: Cannabis Justice is Racial Justice
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Friday Oct 30, 2020
This podcast episode focuses on the role CannaPolicy, a public policy and advocacy group working in the cannabis space. They discuss their mission to provide NYU students with the tools, resources, and education necessary to responsibly advance cannabis legalization, rebuild communities harmed by prohibition, and positively impact the development of the nascent cannabis industry.
CannaPolicy is a part of NYU’s larger Cannabis Network, a first of its kind intersectional ecosystem of student groups committed to advancing cannabis justice and equity in the policy, business, legal, and healthcare fields. Together the group work's to develop NYU students into thought leaders building a more responsible, equitable, and socially conscious cannabis industry for all.
TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00] Welcome and introduction from host Kyle Roland.
[01:23] Tosin Ajayi describes how she founded the CannaPolicy group,
[02:56] Michelle Smoler introduces herself and her mission for the CannaPolicy group, along with policy and racial justice issues,
[05:43] Christina Noland discuss the importance of legalizing cannabis.
Featured Photo Credit: YURI GRIPAS/REUTERS

Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Pre-Election Hallway Talks with Governance Expert Dr. Paul Light
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
With Election Day on Nov 3rd, MPA candidates Rhea Almeida and Luisa Portugal speaks with Dr. Paul Light as he shares insight on presidential candidates' ability, or inability, to deliver on their campaign promises. In light of the recent COVID-19 Pandemic, Dr. Light also examines the need to rebuild the political infrastructure in America. He covers a variety of topics, including: rebuilding institutions, relying on evidence-based policymaking, and increasing bureaucratic accountability. Tune in as he shares his ideology on the core problem within America, which may be a surprise to many.
Transcript
[00:00] Welcome from Rhea Almeida and Luisa Portugal,
[01:43] Professor Wagner begins his discussion on American governance.
Lectured Courses at NYU:
- Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation by Design (3 credits)
- Introduction to Social Impact (4 credits)

Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
Womxn + Politics: The Experience of Womxn in the Political Sphere
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
One week before the 2020 election, Wagner Womxn's panel explores what it means to be a womxn in the political sphere. They discuss identity politics, the importance of women's engagement in politics, and what NYU Wagner students can do to get out the vote in our own community.
Panelists include De'Ara Balenger, co-founder of Maestra and former director of engagement for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign; Jen Bendery, senior political reporter at HuffPost; Charlotte Clymer, activist and writer; Dianne Morales, candidate for Mayor of New York City; Kunoor Ojha, chief of staff for the Green New Deal Network and Elizabeth Warren presidential campaign alum; and Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications at Emily's List; moderated by Professor Katherine Grainger, co-founder of Supermajority.
Transcript
[0:00] Introduction by Alexis Richards, NYU MPA Candidate, President of Wagner Womxn, and staff writer for NYU Wagner Review,
[01:15] Katherine Grainger begins moderating and asks the guest speakers to introduce themselves,
[02:47] Kunoor Ojha introduces herself and discuss her role as an organizer,
[04:09] Dianne Morales, the first afro-latina candidate for NYC Mayor, introducers herself and discuss her role as an educator,
[05:10] Christina Reynolds briefly discuss her years of professional experience,
[05:47] Charlotte Clymer briefly discuss her past experience, and her role in the upcoming elections,
[06:42] Jennifer Bendery discuss her journalism role and topics she has covered,
[07:10] Katherine Grainger begins asking the panelist questions,
[36:03] De’Ara Balenger joins the group of panelist, introduces her past professional experience, and continues the conversation on voting.

Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Hallway Talks with Climate Economist Gernot Wagner
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Bloomberg columnist, author, and NYU professor Gernot Wagner describes how climate change is not only an opportunity for action, but also for-profit. He examines the social cost of carbon, the role of big fossil fuel companies, and key differences in the climate policies presented by US presidential candidates Joe Biden and president Donald Trump.
Finally, Professor Wagner provides a solution to a zero-carbon future through global policy action, innovative investment, and accountability.
Transcript:
[0:00] Welcome from Rhea Almeida and Luisa Portugal,
[2:09] Professor Wagner begins his discussion on climate change.
Guest Speaker:
Gernot Wagner is a climate economist. His research, writing, and teaching focus on climate risks and climate policy. He teaches climate economics and policy at NYU, where he is a clinical associate professor at the Department of Environmental Studies and associated clinical professor at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. Gernot writes the Risky Climate column for Bloomberg Green and has written two books.Prior to joining NYU, Gernot was the founding executive director of Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program (2016 – 2019). He has taught at Columbia, Harvard, and NYU, and has been a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Monday Oct 12, 2020
Vote 2020: Getting Involved in the 2020 Election
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
In this fight for American democracy, the VOTE 2020 initiative at NYU Wagner has three goals: (1) to encourage everyone in the NYU community to vote, (2) to enable community members to find volunteer opportunities to ensure greater voter engagement across the country, (3) to fund students to work for non-partisan, get-out-the-vote operations.
Luisa Portugal sits down with Professor Erica Foldy and the Vote 2020 Cohort, represented by NYU Wagner MPA candidates’ Alexis Richards and Abe Nelson, to discuss their efforts during the presidential election , the Vote2020 Fellowship and how students can get involved with the program.
Transcript
[0:00] Introduction by Tiffany Rose Miller, Editor-in-Chief of NYU Wagner Review
[00:45] Erica Foldy, an NYU Wagner professor, discuss Vote 2020’s initiative efforts,
[1:18] Luisa Portugal begins moderating, first question ask how Vote 2020 was started,
[3:12] Alexis Richards and Abraham Nelson, Co-Directors of VOTE 2020, discuss their involvement with the initiative,
[6:30] Alexis and Abe discuss how NYU students can get involved with election efforts,
[12:46] Things to know when voting by mail.

Thursday Oct 08, 2020
The Role of Activism in 2020: Climate Change Advocacy
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
This podcast features a speaker panel of experts and leaders in the field climate change. They discuss what environmental advocacy looks like one year after the monumental Climate Change protests in 2019, while also considering the backdrop of 2020.
The panel then reviewed rollbacks and changes in regulations that took place under the current Administration, as well as individual states’ activities and responses to those actions. They discussed how activism in 2020 has been shaped by ongoing unprecedented events and challenges of getting the Green New Deal legislation passed in Congress
Panelist included speakers from varying points in their roles as activists including Janiece Watts of Fresh Energy, Ben Longstreth of NRDC, and Joe Hobbs of Fridays for Future. They will explore how to best to combat Climate Change through an activism lens particularly while we are still living through a global pandemic.
The panel is moderated by Carolyn Kissane, Clinical Professor at NYU School of Professional Studies.
Transcript
[0:00] Welcome from Gioia Kennedy, NYU Wagner student and Chair of ACE,
[00:24] Gioia Kennedy reads The Alliance for Climate Change and Environment’s mission statement,
[1:40] Matt Minner, NYU Wagner student and Co-events Chair of ACE, introduces the speakers and moderator,
[5:48] Dr. Carolyn Kissane begins the panel discussion,
[7:07] Ben Longstreth discuss his work as a climate advocate,
[11:16] Janiece Watts explains her path to activism,
[18:44] Joe Hobbs walks us through his passion for climate activism at such a young age.

Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
NYU Law Professor Philip Alston draws on his decades-long experience in human rights, and explains why poverty is extremely political. We hear his views on the limitations of UN Sustainable Development Goals, and why technocratic economists are not the only experts we need to rely on, especially after COVID-19.
This podcast episode features Alston’s take on how multilateral organizations should evolve, why climate change needs a bolder approach, and why the eradication of poverty is not a priority of the elite power within global institutions.
We end discussing Professor Alston’s adventures in a remote village in Papua New Guinea.
Guest Speaker:
Philip G. Alston’s teaching focuses primarily on international law, human rights law, and international criminal law. He co-chairs the NYU Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. In the human rights area, Alston was appointed in 2014 as the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and has visited and reported on Chile, China, Mauritania, Romania, and Saudi Arabia. He was previously UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions from 2004 to 2010 and undertook fact-finding missions to: Sri Lanka, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines, Israel, Lebanon, Albania, Kenya, Brazil, Central African Republic, Afghanistan, the United States, Albania, and Ecuador.
Photo Credit: Philip Alston, United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. Photo by: Cia Pak / U.N.

Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Health Policies & COVID-19 Resources Around the World
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020

Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Hallway Talks with Health Economist and NYU Wagner Dean Sherry Glied
Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Sherry Glied, a health economist and Dean of New York University’s Wagner School, walks us through her professional journey: starting out as a labor economist to being part of the team who designed the Affordable Care Act. Glied gives us insight into her time at Washington, D.C. working on health policy under the Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations, and analyzes the ins and outs of Presidential Candidate Joe Biden’s healthcare policy. Finally she gives a glimpse into her past and present life in academia during her time at Harvard, Columbia, and now NYU.
Guest Speaker:
Sherry Glied is Dean of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. From 1989-2013, she was Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She was Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management from 1998-2009. On June 22, 2010, Glied was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services, and served in that capacity from July 2010 through August 2012. She had previously served as Senior Economist for health care and labor market policy on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in 1992-1993, under Presidents Bush and Clinton, and participated in the Clinton Health Care Task Force. She has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and served as a member of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking.