Thank Think Tanks: Finding Trustworthy Information in a Partisan Era

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Join Host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s executive director Jim Stergios as they discuss think tanks, their role in policy formation, and how they preserve trust and their integrity through independent, mission-guided research.

Guest:

Jim Stergios is Executive Director of Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank founded in 1988. Prior to joining Pioneer, Jim was Chief of Staff and Undersecretary for Policy in the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, where he drove efforts on water policy, regulatory and permit reform, and urban revitalization. His prior experience includes founding and managing a business, teaching at the university level, and serving as headmaster at a preparatory school. Jim serves on the Board of Advisors at Boston University, where he earned a doctoral degree in Political Science. Jim has been interviewed on numerous news outlets and appears regularly on local television and radio broadcasts, including WBZ, WHDH, WCVB, NECN, Boston 25, WGBH, WBUR, Nightside with Dan Rea, and WRKO. Jim’s opinion pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Boston Globe, and regional newspapers throughout New England.

Note: Today is Giving Tuesday, when people all around the world are making gifts to their favorite non-profits – including Pioneer! Programs such as “Hubwonk” are made possible thanks to the generosity of supporters like you. And you can double your impact when you give to Pioneer through Facebook.

Get new episodes of Hubwonk in your inbox!

Related Posts

Climate’s Brighter Future: COP26 Ignores Its Own IPCC Report

This week on Hubwonk, host Joe Selvaggi talks to Prof. Roger Pielke, Jr., Professor of Climate Science at the University of Colorado, about the widening gap between the catastrophic predictions proffered at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and the less dire observations contained in the UN’s own recent IPCC report.

Building Budgets Bigger: Unpacking Who Pays the Trillion Dollar Plus Tax Bill

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Kyle Pomerleau, senior fellow on federal tax policy at American Enterprise Institute about the Build Back Better Act now in Congress, to understand how those new taxes will affect individuals, business, and the economy.

Supply Chains Understood: Covid’s Global Demand Stress Test

https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chtbl.com/track/G45992/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1148317750-pioneerinstitute-hubwonk-ep-78-supply-chains-understood-covids-global-demand-stress-test.mp3 This…

Competition Amongst States: How Tax Policy Drives Residents to Seek Better Value

This week on Hubwonk (our debut video & audio edition), Host Joe Selvaggi talks with research analyst Andrew Mikula about the findings from his recent report, A Timely Tax Cut, in which he explored the relationship between state tax rates and policy and the direction of interstate migration.

Rent Control Re-Explored: What the Past Can Teach the Future

Hubwonk Host Joe Selvaggi talks with economist and MIT Professor Chris Palmer about his research and analysis of the effects of rent control in Cambridge during its 25-year implementation and in the aftermath of its repeal.

Defusing Ideological Tribalism: Methods for Communicating Across Political Language Barriers

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with economist and author Dr. Arnold Kling about his book, The Three Languages of Politics, Talking Across the Political Divides, which outlines the dynamics of political tribalism, defines the respective world view and vocabulary of progressives, conservatives, and libertarianism, and offers methods for communicating and persuading across ideological lines in a way that fosters civil, productive, public debate.

Marathon Endurance Test: Leaders Pave the Way for Boston’s Return

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Boston Athletic Association’s CEO Tom Grilk about the leadership challenges of cancelling the world’s oldest continuous marathon, a $200-million benefit to the region involving eight municipalities and 10,000 volunteers, in the face of a pandemic - and how cooperation among stakeholders brought back the epic event to be run this October.

Economic Long Covid: Mixed Health Messages for Baystate Businesses

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with NFIB’s Chris Carlozzi and Retailers Association of Massachusetts' Jon Hurst about the challenges and future prospects for businesses as they adapt to widespread consumer confusion caused by vague and often conflicting public health messaging from our political leadership.

Enduring the Maelstrom: Lessons from MassPort Leadership During 9/11

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with author and former MassPort CEO Virginia Buckingham about her recently released book, On My Watch: A Memoir, which chronicles her experience leading the organization through 9/11 and the life and leadership lessons learned from that tragic day.

Rescuing Afghan Refugees: Finding Redemption amidst the Wreckage of Collapse

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Jeffrey Thielman, President and CEO of the International Institute of New England, about the path refugees must take to resettle in the US, how organizations like his facilitate and integrate refugees including those recently displaced in Afghanistan, and what individuals concerned about the fate of refugees can do to support their resettlement. 

Untangling Variants & Outbreaks: Can Vaccines & Natural Immunity Outrun Delta?

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with author, surgeon, and public health expert Dr. Marty Makary about the COVID-19 Delta Variant, the durability of natural and vaccinated immunity, the benefits of booster shots, and the health risks for children as we move into the fall.

Targeting Pharma: Infrastructure Bill Employs Price Controls To Offset Unprecedented Price Tag

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences Dr. William Smith about how the price control features of the emerging $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill might affect the pharmaceutical Industry, both nationwide and here in Massachusetts, and what effect that change will have on drug consumers.

Examining Eviction Moratoriums: Testing Constitutional Limits of Executive Branch Power

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with constitutional scholar and George Mason Law Professor Ilya Somin about the flaws and legal vulnerabilities of the first and second CDC eviction moratoriums and discuss what current and future court rulings will mean for the limits of executive agency powers.

Pandemic Pension Payout: Essential COVID-19 Public Workers Rewarded Whether Essential or Working

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Director of Research and former Massachusetts Inspector General and State Representative Greg Sullivan about HB 2808, COVID-19 Essential Employee Retirement Credit Bonus, discussing the merits of the recently proposed joint bill, its cost, and our current public debt burden in the Commonwealth.

College Debt Explained: Education Pays When Students Choose Wisely

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with American Enterprise Institute resident fellow and education economist Beth Akers about the American student debt crisis (totalling $1.6 trillion). They explore who borrows, who is in debt, and which policy choices might best serve the financial needs of every student. 

Chasing Election Integrity: Strict Voter ID Laws’ Impact on Turnout and Fraud

Joe Selvaggi talks with Harvard Business School Professor Vincent Pons about his recently released NBER paper on the effects of strict voter ID laws on voter behavior and fraud across the United States over 10 years, examining the results of the 1.6 billion observation dataset by age, race, gender, and party affiliation.

The Oldest Hatred: Calling Out Antisemitism In Its Many Forms

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Boston Globe opinion writer Jeff Jacoby about the troubling increase in antisemitic incidents, including the recent attack on a Boston rabbi, and how our current political rancor fans the flames of bigotry nationwide.