Oversight Matters Podcast
Oversight Matters takes a close-up look at important oversight efforts by Congress, state legislatures, and people in the broader oversight community. Listen in!
The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy presents “Oversight Matters,” a podcast series on legislative oversight. This podcast is a behind-the-scenes look at important oversight and investigations by Congress and state legislatures and the people involved in such work. You will hear personal stories and learn how legislators and their staffs uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs as well as the facts behind important issues. You’ll also hear how bipartisanship can strengthen the value of oversight and foster constructive debate in our democracy. Hosted by the Levin Center’s Ben Eikey.
Latest episodes *
* The views expressed on Oversight Matters do not necessarily represent the views of Wayne State University or Wayne State Law School.
Episode transcripts
- Episode 16 – Professor Keesha Middlemass
- Episode 15 – West Virginia Auditor
- Episode 14 – State Representative Jordan Harris on Corrections, Budget Hearings
- Episode 13 – State Representative Wes Newton Discusses State Oversight in the South Carolina Legislature
- Episode 12 – Phil Barnett on the Big Tobacco Investigation
- Episode 11 – Pablo Carrillo on the Abramoff Investigation and Lessons for Today’s Congress
- Episode 10 – Rufus Edmisten on Watergate, Oversight, and Barbecue
- Episode 9 – Journalist Jesse Drucker
- Episode 8 – Oregon State Senator Sara Gelser Blouin – Winner of the 2021 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight
- Episode 7 – Nebraska State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh
- Episode 6 – Youth and Government Program
- Episode 5- Ryan Alexander, Senior Fellow at ‘Taxpayers for Common Sense’
- Episode 4 – California Assemblymember Ken Cooley
- Episode 3 – Senator Carl Levin
- Episode 2 – What is oversight? How oversight generates positive reform. Part 2.
- Episode 1 – What is oversight? How oversight generates positive reform. Part 1.
Other Podcast Appearances
May 1, 2023: Understanding Congress – American Enterprise Institute Podcast series – Why Is Congressional Oversight Important, and How Can It Be Done Well? (with Elise Bean)
April 6, 2023: WDET public radio – Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson – Wayne State University program aims to help legislatures conduct oversight
February 2, 2022: WDET public radio – Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson – Governmental oversight does not always lead to true accountability. The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy has a new project titled “Portraits in Oversight,” which explores the history of such investigations throughout the United States’ past.
September 29, 2021: WDET public radio – Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson – The U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention the word “truth.” But the document does rely on Americans to seek it. In a world of mass disinformation where facts are often contested, scholars Jonathan Rauch and Levin Center Director Jim Townsend discuss the ways misinformation is being weaponized in contemporary America, how oversight can encourage honest fact-finding, and why the public should demand fact-based discourse in the public square.
