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Ways & Means

Ways and Means features bright ideas for how to improve human society. The show is produced by the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

Ranked #1

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S5 Episode 6: Reparations: How it Could Happen

S5 Episode 6: Reparations: How it Could Happen

The question of whether and how to compensate descendants of people formerly enslaved in the United States has hung over... Read more

29 Oct 2020

21mins

Ranked #2

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S5 Episode 4: When Local News Dries Up

S5 Episode 4: When Local News Dries Up

The decline in local news is having a real effect on democracy. A look at why local news is struggling -- and what can b... Read more

1 Oct 2020

24mins

Ranked #3

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Season 5 Postponed

Season 5 Postponed

We’ve decided to pause in releasing new Ways & Means episodes for now. With the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone’s atte... Read more

15 Apr 2020

Ranked #4

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S2 Episode 2: Who is White?

S2 Episode 2: Who is White?

In the early 20th century many new immigrants to the U.S. had blonde hair and blue eyes yet were not considered “white.”... Read more

25 Oct 2016

18mins

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Ranked #5

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S2 Episode 1: Dan Ariely, Gov't Innovation

S2 Episode 1: Dan Ariely, Gov't Innovation

Every four years, candidates promise change. But is change possible? Duke professor Dan Ariely says resistance to change... Read more

14 Sep 2016

17mins

Ranked #6

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Episode 3: Women in Politics, Shout or Whisper?

Episode 3: Women in Politics, Shout or Whisper?

The paradox of gender equality. We look at how women gained a political voice in the U.S. – and then (surprisingly) in s... Read more

19 Jan 2016

19mins

Ranked #7

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S3 Episode 3: How Do Criminals Get Their Guns?

S3 Episode 3: How Do Criminals Get Their Guns?

Duke professor Philip J. Cook has been tracking the underground gun market in the U.S. for the last 15 years. For one pr... Read more

31 Jan 2018

20mins

Ranked #8

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S2 Episode 3: Crazy Districts, Lopsided Elections

S2 Episode 3: Crazy Districts, Lopsided Elections

Gerrymandering (drawing voting districts to favor one political party) has reached a whole new level in recent decades.W... Read more

4 Nov 2016

21mins

Ranked #9

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Episode 4: Sugar Fix

Episode 4: Sugar Fix

Public health advocates are waging battle against added sugar in our foods. And they’re taking pointers from another pub... Read more

16 Mar 2016

18mins

Ranked #10

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S2 Episode 5: Bootstraps and Silver Spoons

S2 Episode 5: Bootstraps and Silver Spoons

Most of us prize stories of people who start with nothing in life, and then become rich. Americans even have a saying fo... Read more

7 Feb 2017

19mins

Ranked #11

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Episode 5: The Extraordinary Search for Ordinary Politicians

Episode 5: The Extraordinary Search for Ordinary Politicians

On this episode we explore one of the most vexing issues in politics - how to get more ordinary people to run for office... Read more

21 Apr 2016

16mins

Ranked #12

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S5 Episode 1: How Afterschool Programs Can Empower Parents

S5 Episode 1: How Afterschool Programs Can Empower Parents

We explore research into how government-funded afterschool programs for poor families are empowering politically motivat... Read more

20 Aug 2020

22mins

Ranked #13

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S3 Episode 6: Life After Loss for Orphans in Africa

S3 Episode 6: Life After Loss for Orphans in Africa

For more than a decade, a multinational team of researchers has been exploring ways get mental healthcare to nearly 50 m... Read more

6 Jun 2018

23mins

Ranked #14

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S3 Episode 1: Slum Detectives

S3 Episode 1: Slum Detectives

Today, for our Season 3 premiere, we begin a three-part series, New Ideas for Policy in the Developing World. In this ep... Read more

18 Oct 2017

19mins

Ranked #15

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S4 Episode 6: Beyond Elmo: How Puppets Teach Preschoolers Self-Control

S4 Episode 6: Beyond Elmo: How Puppets Teach Preschoolers Self-Control

Four-year-olds are expected to be able to behave in the classroom, but more and more preschools are kicking children out... Read more

13 Sep 2019

12mins

Ranked #16

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S3 Episode 5: Childbirth, Babies & Bonuses

S3 Episode 5: Childbirth, Babies & Bonuses

More than 800 women die in childbirth every day in the developing world - often because doctors know what to do, they ju... Read more

28 Mar 2018

17mins

Ranked #17

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S4 Episode 3: A Small Green Idea to Power Rural Nepal

S4 Episode 3: A Small Green Idea to Power Rural Nepal

A research team from Duke University treks into the Himalayas to investigate why a promising way to deliver electricity ... Read more

20 Mar 2019

18mins

Ranked #18

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S4 Episode 2: A Greener Commute: One City's Story

S4 Episode 2: A Greener Commute: One City's Story

What motivates commuters to leave their cars behind, and take the bus or a bike to work instead? A government innovation... Read more

6 Mar 2019

16mins

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