Good on Paper

The Atlantic
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Good on Paper Podcast

Have you ever heard a commonly held belief or a fast-developing worldview and asked: Is that idea right? Or just good on paper? Each week, host Jerusalem Demsas and a guest take a closer look at the facts and research that challenge the popular narratives of the day, to better understand why we believe what we believe.

  1. The Wandering Officer

    5 DAYS AGO

    The Wandering Officer

    Police rarely move between jobs and departments. But according to a paper co-authored by the University of Chicago law professor John Rappaport, officers aren’t necessarily choosing to stay in the same place—a lot of policies have made it costly for them to switch. And that lack of mobility can have all kinds of ripple effects. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min
  2. Who's Responsible for the Housing Crisis?

    3 SEPT

    Who's Responsible for the Housing Crisis?

    Americans love local government. In a December 2023 Pew Research survey, 61 percent of respondents had a favorable view of their local government while 77 percent had an unfavorable view of the federal government. But behind this veneer of goodwill is a disturbing truth: Local government is driving a housing crisis that is raising rents, lowering economic mobility and productivity, and negatively impacting wages.  Host Jerusalem Demsas talks to Atlantic deputy executive editor Yoni Appelbaum and Yale Law professor David Schleicher about how local government is fueling the housing crisis. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m
  3. How Slaves Used the Law

    27 AUG

    How Slaves Used the Law

    There’s a traditional line of thinking about the history of Black people and the law. It describes how slaves were entirely shut out of the legal system, disenfranchised and bereft of even a modicum of legal know-how or protection. But research from the UC Berkeley professor Dylan C. Penningroth (in his book Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights) upends that narrative by tracing the overlooked history of how Black people used the law in everyday life: through rights of contract, property, marriage, and more—even under slavery and Jim Crow. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    51 min
  4. Is Wokeness Dead?

    20 AUG

    Is Wokeness Dead?

    The 2010s saw attitudes—on issues such as race, immigration, and gender—shift to the left. Liberals became more liberal. And then a "wokeness" backlash began. The backlash, though, didn’t just come from conservatives. It came from people all over the political spectrum. Host Jerusalem Demsas talks with the New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg about the death of "wokeness"—and whether we might miss it when it’s gone. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    46 min
  5. Running-Mate Myths with Matt Yglesias

    13 AUG

    Running-Mate Myths with Matt Yglesias

    Is there such a thing as “balancing the ticket”? How much can a vice-presidential nominee influence the election? Host Jerusalem Demsas talks with political commentator and journalist Matt Yglesias about Kamala Harris’s recent pick of Tim Walz as her running mate and whether that choice could sway undecided voters. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    54 min
  6. What Do We Really Know About the Maternal-Mortality Crisis?

    6 AUG

    What Do We Really Know About the Maternal-Mortality Crisis?

    From 1999 and 2019, researchers found that the maternal-mortality rate in the U.S. more than doubled. Over the years, these findings filtered their way through academic journals and the news media to the general public. But was there something more to this story? How had the U.S. become such a deadly place for pregnant women? In this episode of Good on Paper, host Jerusalem Demsas talks to Saloni Dattani, a researcher at Our World in Data. Her work—built on the research of other skeptical scientists—found that the seeming rise in maternal deaths was actually the result of something very simple: a measurement change. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min
  7. Why Is Texas Beating California on Wind and Solar?

    30 JUL

    Why Is Texas Beating California on Wind and Solar?

    If Democrats care more about climate change than Republicans, then why is Texas the nation’s leader in renewable energy? Host Jerusalem Demsas talks to Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University, about how the Lone Star State emerged as America’s No. 1 renewable-energy producer, despite its politics—and about the broken bureaucracy that’s preventing more states from going green. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min
  8. Can Religion Make You Happier?

    23 JUL

    Can Religion Make You Happier?

    America is in a “loneliness epidemic.” But is turning to religion the answer? Host Jerusalem Demsas talks to Arthur Brooks, a professor at the Harvard Business School who teaches classes on leadership and happiness. He’s also a contributing writer for The Atlantic where he has written that happiness comes, in part, through faith.  Brooks argues that the “nones”—people who identify with no religion—are unhappier (at least, on average) than people who believe in a greater power. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    36 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Have you ever heard a commonly held belief or a fast-developing worldview and asked: Is that idea right? Or just good on paper? Each week, host Jerusalem Demsas and a guest take a closer look at the facts and research that challenge the popular narratives of the day, to better understand why we believe what we believe.

Information

  • Channel
    The Atlantic
  • Creator
    The Atlantic
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2024 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    Good on Paper

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