A new podcast episode of Policy Chats features a discussion with University of California, Riverside (UCR) professor of political science Ben Bishin about what to expect from a divided Congress entering President Biden’s first term in office.

According to his profile, Bishin’s interests reside in questions of democracy, representation, identity and ethnicity, public opinion, legislative politics, Cuban-American and LGBT politics. He is author of ‘Tyranny of the Minority: The Subconstituency Politics Theory of Representation’ and recipient of the 2001 Jewell-Loewenberg Award for the best paper on Legislative Politics. 

When discussing the future of Congress and the 2022 midterm elections, Bishin said, “The interesting thing about this upcoming election is that if there was ever an election where the incumbent party is likely to hold their seats, it's probably 2022.”

“Our conversation with Professor Bishin was enjoyable and insightful as it helped extend my knowledge and understanding of our U.S. government, specifically the obstacles certain bills face depending on which political party has more power in the U.S. Congress,” said Master of Public Policy candidate Laura Shah, who served as co-interviewer for the episode.

Launched in 2020, the UCR School of Public Policy podcast series explores current public policy issues with guests from throughout the policy world. Episodes are accessible via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Anchor. More information is also available through the UCR School of Public Policy podcast page.