Episode 114: The Politics of Wild Weather
From raging wildfires in Canada to record rainfall in New York City to an out-of-nowhere hurricane slamming into Mexico, 2023 has been yet another year with abundant evidence that our weather is getting harder to predict – and disasters harder to manage – as the planet continues to heat. Talbot Andrews, assistant professor of political science, focuses on how institutions, public policy, and the physical environment shape preferences and behavior related to climate change. She uses a combination of experiments, public opinion data, and formal theory to answer questions such as: When do people believe in climate change? When are they willing to support climate change mitigation policies?
She sat down with UConn 360 to talk about extreme weather and public policy, and, while it’s a sobering topic, delivers an optimistic message.
After that, UConn 360 travels back to 1989, to discover what it means to be a Suitcase Campus.