Tune in for a big announcement and a promo for the next episode, which will drop next week!

This is Episode 14: "Getting What You Paid For: The Murky World of Campaign Finance". While elections are a vital part of our history and democracy, campaign finance has become a source of debate and controversy. Where does the money donated go? Who regulates it, and who spends it? Where is it coming from in the first place, and how much of this are we allowed to know about, anyway? We'd like to thank our amazing sponsors: Deep Dish Podcast, which you can subscribe to here: https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/deep-dish-podcast and Ecosia, which you can visit at https://www.ecosia.org/. You can also find out more about what Ecosia does at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MMUghib3qE and at https://info.ecosia.org/project/#projects. For this episode, we featured footage and sound courtesy of the New York Times, CSPAN, and The Heritage Foundation. You can also visit our website for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, and bonus information referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

This is the promo for our next episode - and boy, is it going to be a good one! The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on Monday, February 5, 2018 for Episode 13, and have a great week in the meantime. 

This is Episode 13: "What is Your College Education Really Worth?". We ask many questions that need to be asked - what does "education" mean? Is a degree measured in dollars, or is it measured in something more? Is the financial risk of a college education worth it? Can someone be as successful without a degree? We'd like to thank author and entrepreneur Zak Slayback for his incredible insights and for helping us wade through these deeper issues. You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

We are back to Monday releases, starting with the next episode! The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on Monday, January 8, 2018 for Episode 13, and have a great week in the meantime. 

This is Part Two of "Decoding North Korea", a two-part topic. Part One set up many of the policy issues we address here, Part Two delves into some looming questions regarding North Korea, its leader, and the threat of a nuclear attack. Thanks to Dr. Marco Milani of the USC Korean Studies Institute for answering our (many) questions. You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on November 10, 2017 for Episode 12, and have a great week in the meantime. 

This is Part One of a two-part episode. Here, we will set up some of the bigger policy issues surrounding North Korea. Many questions loom regarding this isolated nation, its mysterious people, and its young dictator who seems hell-bent on destroying perceived enemies around the world. Part Two, which will be available on November 10, will feature interviews with North Korean policy experts and will address some of the bigger, tougher questions we set up in this first portion. You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on October 27, 2017 for Episode 11, and have a great week in the meantime. 

Episodes will now be released on Fridays (instead of Mondays)! Next Five Fast Facts will be released on 10/20, and Episode 11 will be released on 10/27. Tune in!

The past few months have been an all out assault, courtesy of Mother Nature. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fires, too numerous to unpack one by one, and each scenario has brought an onslaught of praise and criticism regarding the way public officials have handled the chaos and recovery. In the meantime, most of us simply wonder what "behind the scenes" actually looks like, what mechanisms the government has in place to deal, and why these events are so heavily politicized. This is an investigation of all of those topics - and more. You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com.

Hurricane Irma interrupted our plans to make Episode 10 available on 9/11. It will now be available on 9/25. Listen for more information. Also, if you haven't heard the Five Fast Facts Promo for Episode 10, which was available last week, then check that out now. Thanks, everyone! See you back here on 9/25.

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on September 11, 2017 for Episode 10, and have a great week in the meantime. Five Charities Recommended by Charity Navigator: http://www.houstonspca.org/, http://www.houstonhumane.org/, http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/, http://www.foodbankcc.com/, https://sahumane.org/ 

Sometimes you have to wonder if we, as a society, are obsessed with millennials - we love them, we loathe them, we study them, we question them. There is one thing that we can all agree on, though, and that is that millennials are frequently misunderstood. This episode is an attempt to understand this rising generation better, through an investigation of what policy issues are truly important to millennials. You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on August 28, 2017 for Episode 09, and have a great week in the meantime. 

This is the first of our TPS Audience Choice Topic Poll episodes - and what a way to kick things off! Whether you approve or disapprove of the legalization of marijuana, there's no denying that it is an interesting and multifaceted issue. With no blueprint for how to go about implementing these laws and no standard legislation from state to state, the process quickly becomes confusing policy. As each state and municipality navigates the waters of legalizing marijuana - medically, recreationally - we seek answers. Is anyone going about the process correctly? Is anyone just really messing this up? Are people being helped? Most importantly, how do we make this process more efficient and better for all parties involved? You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on August 14, 2017 for Episode 08, and have a great week in the meantime. 

We live in a "clickbait" world, where limited attention spans and an insane influx of information have given way to a new, lucrative business for those who peddle in falsehoods: Fake News. You could not have escaped this past election season without hearing all about "fake news", and it's becoming less of a nuisance and more of a genuine problem. As the integrity of legitimate journalism is questioned, news sources are blasted and criticized, and our nation sinks deeper and deeper into partisan divide, we need to ask just how large a role fake news plays here. Is this a passing phase, or something that has been around for a while? How do we discern information? Are there policy solutions? Fake news threatens to destroy democracy, some claim. What do we do to stop it? You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts is available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on July 31, 2017 for Episode 07, and have a great week in the meantime. 

If you haven't heard about the Opioid Epidemic that holds the United States in its grasp right now, then you've likely not been watching the news. Opioid use, addiction, and overdoses have reached epidemic levels in all 50 states, and statistics indicate that this massive problem will only gain steam and claim more and more lives. While legislators, the medical community, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies wrestle over how to solve this crisis and reduce skyrocketing death tolls, U.S. citizens are left struggling in the wake, and often pointing fingers. The solution isn't simple - and isn't known. The only truth that has emerged from all of this is that all of these parties must work together to create and enforce better policy across the board. With new legislation, budgetary debates, and Americans dying from opioid overdose at a rate of 91 per day (and rising), what is on the table, what can we do right now as a nation, and where do we go from here? You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, resources, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts will be available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on July 17, 2017 for Episode 06, and have a great week in the meantime. 

For Americans, the Fourth of July is a day to celebrate our independence and freedom - but it can also be a time to reflect upon those who served in order to secure that freedom. There are few causes as worthy as helping in the fight to improve care and demanding respect that our veterans deserve. Most agree that the Department of Veterans Affairs is in a state of chaos and corruption. There are allegations of poor and unclean conditions, lack of treatment, criminal investigations of neglect, and thousands of "delayed care" situations. Over 24 million veterans rely on the VA, but VA fails to honor their organizational promises and purpose. This episode features the profound story of U.S.M.C. Captain Paul Musser, a Gulf War veteran, as well as clips from CNN and CBS News. On The Policy Scout's website, you'll find a curated list of more information to help you form your own opinions about what needs to be done at the VA, as well as a list of legislative contact info and reputable nonprofits that give to veterans' causes. You can also visit for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com. 

The Policy Scout Shorts: Five Fast Facts will be available a week before each new episode. These quick policy briefers provide the upcoming episode topic title, as well as five fast facts about the upcoming topic to spark interest and thought. If you want to know what topic The Policy Scout will cover next in a full-length, biweekly episode, this is the only way to find out! Join us on July 3, 2017 for Episode 05, and have a great week in the meantime. 

In Episode 04, The Policy Scout explores the hot button education policy issue of Common Core. There is no shortage of sensational media coverage in both ideological directions. As lawmakers and philanthropists like Bill Gates sing the praises of Common Core standards, teachers and parents question their sanity as they attempt to wade their collective way through confusing math and heaps of standardized testing. With the United States teetering on the edge of mediocrity in terms of world education rankings, we ask (and try to provide answers to) the question, is Common Core a recipe for success - or failure? We will give you some insights and help you determine why Common Core is such a heated debate - all with the goal of helping you form your own opinion! This episode features interviews with Dr. Corinne Hyde (Associate Professor of Clinical Education at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education and "Edspiration" blog author) and Anthony Cody (retired teacher, author, and co-founder of the Network for Public Education). To read Dr. Hyde's blog, Edspiration, please visit: https://edspiration.net/. To learn more about Anthony Cody's book, visit: http://garnpress.com/books/the-educator-and-the-oligarch-a-teacher-challenges-the-gates-foundation/. Please visit our website for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). You can donate to TPS on Paypal or Patreon, just following the links on the TPS website. We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com.

Episode 03 of The Policy Scout covers a truly frightening topic. It doesn't garner nearly enough attention in the media, and it's one that quietly dominates many conversations in Washington: Cybersecurity. With recent FCC Rules rolled back by Congress and partisan blame games, one can't help but wonder what is truly on the minds of our leaders - our safety as consumers, or political warfare? The Policy Scout delves into the $83 billion online advertising industry, tracking, social media and corporate social engineering, hacking, scams, and even Ransomware, and makes some serious recommendations about what to do to protect yourself and better understand why this is a bigger deal than we'd all like to admit. As for choosing a side or forming an opinion - as always, we present truths from every angle and leave the rest up to you. This episode features interviews with Jesse Woo, Attorney and Cybersecurity Expert from Georgia Tech, who works with White House insider and former Cybersecurity "Czar" Peter Swire, as well as clips from interviews with Edward Snowden, Marcin Kleczynski, and Eric Schmidt. Please visit our website for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this episode. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com.  

In this episode, The Policy Scout explores the tricky, controversial world of free speech on college campuses. Heavily influenced by recent policy changes, free speech in academic arenas is becoming more and more "gray" - and many states currently ponder rolling out measures to clarify terms and allow for exchange of ideas. Do those who advocate censorship have valid points, or are colleges places that thrive upon open dialogue and diverse opinions? Are free speech zones and safe spaces even constitutional, and who decides what is "safe" and what isn't? 

This episode features interviews with Melba Pearson, Attorney and Deputy Director of the ACLU - Florida, and Lauren Cooley, Conservative Activist, Writer, and Co-Founder of Campus Red PAC. 

Please visit our website for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this podcast. You can read more about their services at www.resonaterecordings.com.

In the debut episode, The Policy Scout examines bias, using science and opinions from both sides of the political aisle. Bias factors into our daily consciousness, it directs big business and public policy, it affects policing and the news we watch and read. We hear about its elimination all the time, but can it truly be erased? Exploring bias further and spotting it everywhere is what prompted the beginning of The Policy Scout in the first place - and it seems like a fitting place to start this podcast journey.

This episode features interviews with:

• Matt Philbin, Media Research Center
• Liz Redford, Project Implicit
• Adam Johns, University of Southern California
• Leslie Kilgore, University of Southern California
• Amanda Raber, University of Southern California

Please visit our website for more details about this and other TPS episodes, announcements, bonus information, and links to interesting websites and articles referenced in this episode: https://www.thepolicyscout.com/, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (both @thepolicyscout). We would also like to send a very big thanks to Resonate Recordings for editing this podcast.

Get ready to form your own opinions! Coming in May 2017: The Policy Scout, an independently-produced podcast that will explore the most relevant policies and political issues of our time with objective critical analysis and a bit of humor. The Policy Scout is hosted by Kristin Matheny, and the first episode will unpack the issue of bias. Bias is a popular news buzzword, but what is it, really? How do different types of bias affect how we think, feel, and act? More so, how does bias affect policy decisions, our government, media, and policing? Tune in on May 8, 2017 to explore with us!

For more information, to stay up to date, and to donate, please visit http://www.thepolicyscout.com, or follow us on Facebook at The Policy Scout's page (@thepolicyscout), or by following @thepolicyscout on Twitter. 

Edited by: Resonate Recordings