Political maps decide who has a voice in government, and who doesn’t. And right now, big legal battles in Texas and California are putting redistricting in the spotlight. Professor Michael Latner breaks down the difference between redistricting and gerrymandering, why unfair maps weaken voters’ voices, and what today’s gerrymandering fights mean for the future of American democracy. 

For more on this topic:

• Check out the book Latner co-authored, Gerrymandering the States: Partisanship, Race, and the Transformation of American Federalism

• Read his SSN brief: How Election Reforms Could Improve American Democracy

• Read the op-ed he co-wrote in the New York Daily News: How the Supreme Court Made Gerrymandering Worse

In the U.S., 2025 began with devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, followed by hundreds of tornadoes across the central states, and has recently been marked by catastrophic flooding in Texas and across the South and Midwest. These escalating weather disasters aren’t isolated events—they’re part of a global pattern in which climate change is making disasters worse, with the most vulnerable communities often getting hit hardest. Professor Farhana Sultana explains how the history of colonialism and ongoing inequalities shape who suffers most from climate disasters, both in the U.S. and around the world. Drawing from her experiences in Bangladesh and her global research, she makes the case for climate justice that addresses power dynamics, not just pollution.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Sultana’s book, Confronting Climate Coloniality: Decolonizing Pathways for Climate Justice

• Watch her interview with Al Jazeera about COP29: A New Era for Climate Finance 

• Read an op-ed she co-wrote in The Guardian: In 2023 we’ve seen climate destruction in real time, yet rich countries are poised to do little at Cop28