Comparative Policy
60 episodes · Page 2 of 3
#3546: Who Actually Writes Our Laws?
The invisible drafters shaping democracy—and why New Zealand tried to make laws readable.
#3469: When Landlords Make You Sign Away Your Rights
How Germany built a system to stop landlords from using unenforceable contract clauses — and why Israel and the US still struggle.
#3418: The Picture on the Wall: Renting with Dignity
How deposit disputes and administrative burdens turn tenants into guests in their own homes — and what other countries do differently.
#3389: Term Limits vs. The Will of the People
Can a democracy be too democratic? We explore the tension between term limits and majority rule.
#3267: The 15 Million People Living in Overseas Territories
Why only ~15 countries hold nearly all overseas territory — and what those places reveal about colonial history.
#3247: Where Does the Three-Class Model Actually Come From?
The three-class model isn't an official system — it's a folk taxonomy. Here's where it really comes from.
#3215: How the US Constitution Actually Works (A Guide for Non-Americans)
The short, old document that governs everything from free speech to gun rights — explained for outsiders.
#3172: Housing as Anchor vs. Safety Net
Is a universal guarantee of housing, food, and healthcare different from existing welfare?
#3160: The Five Pathways to Homelessness (You’re Wrong About One)
26,000 people tracked across 50 cities. Five distinct pathways. One surprising number: 40-50% are employed.
#3153: Law as Fallback vs Minimalist Codes
How Japan and the US take opposite approaches to legal codes — and what AI regulation reveals about the tradeoffs.
#3150: Can Life Skills Prevent Crime Before It Starts?
The evidence is decades old — why aren't we teaching life skills before people offend?
#3149: Who Actually Decides to Prosecute?
The King’s name is on every indictment, but he’s never asked. So who really decides who gets charged?
#3144: When Walls Talk: Graffiti's 17,000-Year Story
From Pompeii to Melbourne 2025 — how cities decide what stays on walls and what gets scrubbed.
#3136: 5000 Years of Prisons: From Debt to Mass Incarceration
From Mesopotamia to El Salvador — how prisons evolved from debt collection to the modern punishment system.
#3121: Can You Benchmark Government Value for Money?
A century of attempts to measure whether citizens get a good deal on taxes — and why none have fully worked.
#3086: How 2 Cities Banned Cars From Their Centers
Pontevedra and Ghent removed cars from their cores. Emergency response times actually got faster.
#2868: Measuring Hidden Opinions in Iran and China
How researchers use digital snowball sampling and list experiments to gauge real public sentiment under authoritarian rule.
#2853: What the Nordics Actually Struggle With
Beyond bike lanes and pastries—what Sweden, Denmark, and Norway have genuinely figured out, and where their model cracks.
#2847: How AI Could Transform Comparative Policy Analysis
Can AI agents do the work of a distributed think tank for cross-country policy learning?
#2838: Can Random Citizens Fix Broken Democracies?
What if the best way to fix democracy isn't voting, but picking lawmakers by lottery? Real experiments from Ireland to Belgium.
#2833: What Police Actually Do All Day
Most officers make one arrest every two weeks. Here's what fills the other 90% of their time.
#2723: Why No Country Has Ever Reached Communism
The real difference between socialism and communism — and whether either has ever produced a successful society.
#2615: Dual Citizenship: Loyalty, Law & Living in Two Countries
Two hundred million people hold multiple passports. How did dual citizenship go from taboo to normal?
#2613: What Makes an Election Actually Free and Fair?
From ballot secrecy to phantom voters — the real checklist election monitors use to separate genuine contests from theater.