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The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a center for interdisciplinary research into the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality and the impact of related policies and programs. As the National Poverty Research Center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, IRP coordinates the U.S. Collaborative of Poverty Centers in an integrated set of activities with the ultimate goal of improving the effectiveness of public policies to reduce poverty and inequality and their impacts on the well-being of the American people.

IRP Podcasts – 2015

Hosted by David Chancellor.

Listen to our podcast on UW–Madison's iTunes U.

Past episodes: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
UW–Madison's iTunes U

Income Instability in the Lives of Hispanic Children (December 2015)

In this podcast, Lisa Gennetian of the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families discusses research about income instability in the households of Hispanic children and how better understanding the ways that race, ethnicity, and language affect the experience of poverty may matter when it comes to developing better public policy.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

The Mismatch between Family Law and Nonmarital Families (November 2015)

Our November 2015 podcast features Clare Huntington, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law at Fordham University. In the podcast, Huntington discusses how family law and the related institutions that support it do not align with needs of many of today's families, particularly given a shift in marriage trends in the United States in which lower income Americans are much less likely to ever get married.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

Why is Violence So Persistent in Some Areas of Chicago? (October 2015)

Neighborhood violence is often talked about as being a result of poverty or random threat but, in this podcast, University of Wisconsin–Madison sociologist Robert Vargas says that those characterizations can be very inaccurate. Instead, based on his extensive ethnographic research in a Chicago neighborhood, Vargas explains we can't understand problems of violence or disadvantage without understanding the political histories and structures of those neighborhoods.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

The Academic Achievement of Children in Foster Care (September 2015)

Does foster care lead to worse academic achievement for kids? In this podcast, IRP Director Lawrence Berger discusses a Wisconsin study he conducted with other IRP colleagues that explores the relationship between foster care and academic achievement using linked child welfare and Department of Public Instruction data.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

Family Complexity, Inequality, and Public Policy (August 2015)

In this podcast, UW–Madison School of Social Work Professor Daniel Meyer discusses the growth of family complexity in the United States, what that growth might mean for inequality, and the challenges that policymakers face in adapting U.S. family policy to the needs of more complex families.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

The Great Black Migration and Competition in Northern Labor Markets (July 2015)

In this podcast, UCLA Associate Professor of Economics Leah Boustan discusses the Great Black Migration that took place in the United States from 1915 to 1970 and how competition from migrants from the South affected wages in Northern labor markets.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

The Biosocial Links between Discrimination and African-American Health (June 2015)

In this podcast, University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist Bridget Goosby discusses her work on how the health of African American people may be linked to stress associated with discrimination.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

Pollution and Environmental Justice in Low-Income Communities of Color (April 2015)

In this podcast, Professor Dorceta Taylor discusses her book, Toxic Communities, which addresses the structural processes by which poor and minority Americans are disproportionately exposed to industrial pollution, and the state of environmental justice scholarship.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

Bureaucrats at the Front Lines of Government Service: Born or Made? (March 2015)

In this podcast, Zachary Oberfield of the Haverford College Department of Political Science discusses his research on how "street-level bureaucrats" develop in their first years on the job, and what that means for how they act and how the public experiences government.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.

Community-Level Interventions to Improve Food Access and Health (February 2015)

In this podcast, Case Western Reserve University Associate Professor Darcy Freedman discusses her work on food access and health, with a focus on two studies that took place at the Right Choice, Fresh Start Farmers' Market in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.