Unlocked: Who Enforces America’s Immigration Laws?
On this episode of “Unlocked,” host Nancy Gibbs taps Syracuse University professor and leading immigration policy expert Austin Kocher to help break down the complex world of immigration enforcement in the United States, and untangle the roles of agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Homeland Security. They discuss the challenges journalists face on the immigration beat, and the importance of verifying data and centering immigrants' real stories when reporting on this issue.
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18:07
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18:07
Unlocked: Understanding the Federal Debt
Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs talks with Karen Dynan, Professor of the Practice in the Harvard University Department of Economics and at the Harvard Kennedy School, about the federal debt—who the U.S. owes money to, why it matters, and what the implications of rising debt are for state and local governments and the lives of everyday Americans.
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24:47
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24:47
Unlocked: Who is collecting America’s climate data—and why does it matter?
On this episode of Unlocked, Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs talks with Justin Mankin, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at Dartmouth College, about the impacts of government-collected climate data. They discuss the history and vital importance of publicly funded data collection, the growing risk of privatization, and what it means for access to life-saving information in the face of climate change. Tune in to learn why the future of weather and climate data affects everyone—and who could be left behind if access is restricted.
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15:22
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15:22
What is the role of US Inspectors General? With Michael Missal
What do Inspectors General actually do, and why has their role become a battleground in recent years? On this episode of Unlocked, Michael Missal—former Inspector General of the US Department of Veterans Affairs—joins host Nancy Gibbs to break down the vital work of IGs in safeguarding federal agencies from waste, fraud, and abuse. Together, they explore the unique independence of IGs, the importance of transparency, and what happens when oversight is threatened by political interference. Missal shares firsthand stories from his tenure serving under multiple presidential administrations—detailing how investigations are handled, and explaining the legal requirements for the removal of IGs. With a recent wave of firings and mounting pressure on independent oversight bodies like the Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, this episode examines the essential work of these government watchdogs.
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12:15
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12:15
What Makes Government Inefficient? With Mina Hsiang
Mina Hsiang served as the Administrator of the United States Digital Service from 2021 until January 2025. She joined Nancy Gibbs to talk about what the USDS did to build both government services and efficiency, as well as a broader conversation about the role of government in society, the hurdles to making government more efficienet, and some of the nuts and bolts that most people only see from the inside, like how hiring works in the federal government, and what it took to make data systems talk to one another and why that was important for people like military veterans.
From Nancy Gibbs and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Unlocked is a new series to help journalists and those taking on the task of explaining the news today better understand how the U.S. Government actually works, what it does, and the people, policies, and programs that drive it. In collaboration with The Journalist's Resource, "Unlocked" is also a series of print explainers on related topics. Visit ShorensteinCenter.org/Unlocked to learn more.
Intro music by https://pixabay.com/users/nikitakondrashev-42823964/
USA