Policy dork that I am, I can hardly watch a movie anymore without seeing something policy-relevant. From Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to last year's Ides of March, political stories have been a Hollywood favorite. But many great movie moments with strong political messages are often overlooked. Here's are the top five political movie moments that you didn't even know were political. SPOILER ALERT: READ THE TITLE FIRST, AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, SKIP IT.

After you've read the list: What are your favorite cinematic policy moments that you found in unusual places? Comment at the bottom.

[More]

If you missed this fall's Press & Public Policy Seminar, don't fret: We have the recordings below. The first link includes Jim O'Shea's entire speech. The second includes all the Q&A session the followed.

[More]

Today we're introducing a new feature at the IPS Blog called "This Week in Policy." It will be a round-up of five newsworthy items in the policy arena from the past week, deriving from a range of sources, from the informal blog to the peer-reviewed journal article.

We hope to spur discussion about new policy research and debates brewing here in Baltimore, around the nation, and abroad (we welcome comments at the bottom of our posts). In general, we'd like the blog to be more interactive. Beyond being able to comment on current posts, we encourage you to email us with your suggestions for what items should make next week's list (email jwogan2@jhu.edu).

So take a look and let us know what you think.

[More]

Zeke Berzoff-Cohen '12 is overseeing a candidate forum for Baltimore City's mayoral primary election Aug. 10. The event is free, open to the public, and any first-year IPS students should consider this an opportunity to learn more about urban politics in Baltimore. 

[More]

With limited mainstream press coverage outside of New England, legislation to authorize and enact the nation’s first single-payer health care system by 2014 is currently moving through the Vermont state legislature.  The system was designed in consultation with Dr. William Hsiao of the Harvard School of Public Health, who also helped to develop single payer systems in Taiwan and China. Vermont’s single payer plan is intended to provide universal coverage for all state citizens. It aims to reduce spending through state centralization of health care administration, as well as economic incentives to align physician service provision with patient outcomes rather than numbers of services provided. Private insurance companies would bid against one another to offer health care services under state guidelines.

[More]

Remember to check out our three speaker series events this week (April 4-8).

1. At 4 p.m. April 5 in Shriver Hall’s Shriver Board Room, Bill Adair, the editor of PolitiFact, will discuss fact checking the debate on last year’s health care reform bill. The event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP with Laura Vernon-Russell at lvr@jhu.edu.

2. At 4 p.m. April 6 in IPS' large conference room (526 Wyman Park Building), Amani Kandil, the executive director of Arab Network for NGOs, will explore the role of civil society in democratic transformation; the impact of current unrest and protest movements on civil society in the Middle East; and the future role of civil society in the Arab world. The event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP with Chelsea Newhouse at chelsea.newhouse@jhu.edu.

3. At 4 p.m. April 7 in IPS’ large conference room (526 Wyman Park Building), Kathryn Edin, professor of public policy and management at the Harvard Kennedy School, will talk about her most recent book, Unmarried Couples with Children, an analysis of a four-year study of 50 unmarried couples who shared a birth in 2000. The event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP with Laura Vernon-Russell  at lvr@jhu.edu.

Next week, IPS is scheduled to host guest speaker Bill Adair, Editor of PolitiFact and the Washington Bureau Chief for the St. Petersburg Times. The event will be held at the Shriver Board Room in Shriver Hall, 4-5:30 p.m., April 5. Adair’s seminar is entitled “Death Panels, Microchips, and the ‘Government Takeover of Health Care:’ Fact-checking the Debate on Health Care Reform.” The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Email Laura Vernon-Russell at lvr@jhu.edu if you plan to attend. 

[More]

Since 1993 radio news interviewer Marc Steiner has trained a critical eye on public policy issues in places as near as Baltimore City and as far as Egypt. “The Marc Steiner Show,” a forum on civic and political affairs, now airs on WEAA after 15 years on Baltimore’s local NPR affiliate. Steiner will speak about the decline of American cities at Johns Hopkins' Institute for Policy Studies at 3 p.m. March 4. The event is free and open to the public.

[More]