Articles about events and initiatives at the Center for the Political Future and Unruh Institute, as well as contributions from our team to significant publications in California and beyond. For media inquiries, please contact cpf@usc.edu.

Mike Donilon, the ex-senior adviser to former President Joe Biden, called out the Democratic Party for forcing him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race while seeking re-election. (Source: Getty Images)
Thursday, November 20, 2025

New York Post – Ex-advisor tears into ‘disloyal’ Democratic Party, says forcing Biden out was ‘undemocratic’

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Elex Michaelson and panelists discuss America's future at the 2025 Warschaw Conference.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – ‘Opponents are not our enemies’: USC hosts political experts to examine America’s future

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New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. (Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)
Monday, November 10, 2025

Los Angeles Times – New York’s Zohran Mamdani’s win offers a lesson for Newsom

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Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general-elect for Virginia, on election night. (Source: Al Drago/Bloomberg News)
Thursday, November 6, 2025

The Wall Street Journal – Jay Jones Sent Violent Texts. Voters Didn’t Seem to Care.

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Does Mamdani represent the future of the Democratic Party? (Source: Channel 4 News)
Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Channel 4 News – Does Mamdani represent the future of the Democratic Party?

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Message from CPF on the Passing of Setti Warren (Source: Setti Warrren, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Message from CPF on the Passing of Setti Warren

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Zohran Mamdani voting in New York on Tuesday, Nov. 4. (Source: AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)
Tuesday, November 4, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – New York City’s next mayor could mean change for national politics

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Students lined up at a voting center on S Hoover Street on Tuesday to cast their votes on California's Proposition 50. (Source: Luisa Tripoli)
Tuesday, November 4, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – USC community casts votes in California special election

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Gavin Newsom speaks during a campaign event on Proposition 50 in Los Angeles. (Source: Ethan Swope / AP)
Tuesday, November 4, 2025

The Guardian – Could a win on California’s Prop 50 aid Gavin Newsom’s presidential hopes?

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The Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy of Creative Commons)
Tuesday, October 21, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – U.S. Supreme Court poised to end key provision from landmark civil rights law

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CPF Director Bob Shrum moderates a conversation with legal experts on September 29. (Source: Milica Samardzic)
Saturday, October 18, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – Legal lines and political power: USC panel dissects James Comey’s indictment and the courts’ role in democracy

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The iconic Tommy Trojan statue outside of USC’s Bovard Administration Building. (Photo courtesy of Chris/Flickr)
Tuesday, October 14, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – USC launches Open Dialogue Project, introducing new approach to free speech on campus

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The Capitol is seen in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Source: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Tuesday, October 14, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – USC students chew on the government shutdown at ‘Pizza and Politics’ event

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Frank Lavin, Fall 2025 CPF Fellow and former Undersecretary for International Trade during the Bush administration, says that he doesn’t see China keeping global export controls in place on a permanent basis, adding that it’s a “lose-lose” situation for both sides. (Source: CNBC)
Monday, October 13, 2025

CNBC – Former U.S. trade official sees room for U.S.-China de-escalation

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President Trump lashed out at Jimmy Kimmel and ABC in a social media post, threatening legal action. (Source: Leon Neal / Getty Images; Randy Holmes / Disney)
Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Los Angeles Times – Trump’s attacks on Kimmel and ABC put him at odds with high-profile conservatives

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Joe Manchin signs copies of his book “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense.” (Source: Daniela Mattson / USC Annenberg Media)
Monday, September 22, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – Former U.S. Senator Joe Manchin speaks at USC on his new memoir

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The Red Bee Group Principal and Co-Founder Kelly Corley Joins CPF’s Board of Councilors
Friday, September 19, 2025

The Red Bee Group Principal and Co-Founder Kelly Corley Joins CPF’s Board of Councilors

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Joe Manchin reached out to the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy as a part of his tour to promote his new memoir “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense.” (Source: Stella Muzin / Daily Trojan)
Friday, September 19, 2025

Daily Trojan – Joe Manchin discusses memoir

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Student groups table at an event hosted by the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future in honor of National Voter Registration Day, Sept. 17. (Source: Brianna Rieux)
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – USC hosts annual National Voter Registration Day fair

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Kamy discusses the importance of curiosity in a polarized time, key strategies for engaging with people you disagree with, and the value of community. (Source: Civic Encounter, JCI Worldwide)
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Civic Encounter by JCI Worldwide – Kamy Akhavan on Bridging Divides, Mentorship & Hope for Our Political Future

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Frank Lavin, Fall 2025 CPF Fellow and former U.S. Ambassador, joined the Chuck ToddCast to reflect on the state of American politics. (Source: The Chuck ToddCast)
Monday, September 15, 2025

The Chuck ToddCast – Is There Any “Reagan” Left In Trump’s Republican Party?

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Students and faculty alike were in attendance, congregating at the end of the panel to meet the speakers and learn more about their views. (Source: Dahlia Beck / Daily Trojan)
Friday, September 12, 2025

Daily Trojan – Panel on Gen Z voters unpacks a disconnect with democracy

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Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, shortly before he was fatally shot in the neck. (Source: Tess Crowley / Associated Press)
Thursday, September 11, 2025

Los Angeles Times – Charlie Kirk shooting reignites campus free speech issues in Trump era

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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposition would require new state congressional maps that will create additional Democratic seats in the House of Representatives. (Source: Office of the Governor of California / Wikimedia Commons)
Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Daily Trojan – Campus reacts to Newsom’s redistricting plans

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Pan Wenjun and Wei Jiawen's daughter holds red envelopes that were given to her parents on the day of their wedding, in Shanghai, China, August 16, 2020.(Source: Aly Song/Reuters)
Sunday, August 24, 2025

National Review – China Can’t Solve Its Birth Dearth by Throwing Money at the Problem

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CPF Director Bob Shrum comments on ABC 7 story on
Thursday, August 7, 2025

ABC 7 – Trump seeks to change how census collects data and wants to exclude immigrants in US illegally

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President Donald Trump walks to speak to the media at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on August 3, 2025. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Monday, August 4, 2025

The Bulwark – Killing Democracy—And Not Bothering to Hide It

CPF Director Bob Shrum was a guest on the
Monday, July 28, 2025

Impolitic with John Heilemann – Bob Shrum: Deep State Donald & The Democratic Messaging Imperative

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom tours downtown Mullins, S.C., with Mayor Miko Pickett on July 8. (Source: Sam Wolfe/For The Times)
Monday, July 21, 2025

Los Angeles Times – Column: Newsom needs to stop kidding around. He’s running for president

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Activists protest in downtown Los Angeles in early June, when immigration raids set off protests, prompting President Trump to order thousands of troops into the city. (Source: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Sunday, July 20, 2025

Los Angeles Times – After six months under Trump, California and L.A. are battlegrounds. Who benefits?

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Many people inside and outside of the podcasting world are working to use the medium as a way to promote democracy and civic engagement. (Source: Getty Images, Sergey Mironov)
Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The Fulcrum – Ben Rhodes on How Podcasts Can Strengthen Democracy

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A person displaying multiple flags walks past a burning car during protests over the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles. (Source: Ethan Swope/AP)
Sunday, June 15, 2025

The Guardian – In California, Trump finds his perfect antagonist

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Conclaves to select the next pope have been taking place since 1294. (Photo: Courtesy of Vatican Media.)
Tuesday, May 6, 2025

USC Dornsife News – What you need to know about the papal conclave

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In this March 9, 2009 file photo, The Harry S. Truman Building, headquarters for the State Department, is seen in Washington. (Source: AP Photo/Scott Applewhite, File)
Thursday, May 1, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – Applied. Accepted. Rescinded. Why are some students having their internships in the federal government cancelled?

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Voters work on their ballots at a polling place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Simi Valley, Calif. (Source: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – California Governor Gavin Newsom won’t be running for re-election. Who’s next?

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FOX 11 Los Angeles
Saturday, April 19, 2025

FOX 11 Los Angeles – The Issue Is: Rob Bonta; Bob Shrum & Jessica Milan Patterson

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Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks during an interview in Washington in 2022. (Source: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)
Monday, April 14, 2025

Los Angeles Times – Becerra boasts about his anti-Trump resume in bid for governor

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces “Vogue World: Hollywood” a fashion event that celebrates the conversation between film and fashion scheduled for October 2025, at a news conference at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. (Source: Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Los Angeles Times – Centrist or podcast bro? Newsom’s latest rebranding effort is available to download

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H’wood Dem Donors Rage: ‘Ask Me for Another Dollar, I Dare You’ on The Ankler (Photo illustration by The Ankler)
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The Ankler – H’wood Dem Donors Rage: ‘Ask Me for Another Dollar, I Dare You’

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A protest was organized the USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation on February 27. (Source: Tamara Almoayed)
Thursday, March 6, 2025

USC Annenberg Media – USC community expresses concern over Trump’s threat to pull funding from universities over “illegal protests”

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President Trump speaks as he is joined by Elon Musk, and his son X Æ A-Xii, in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11 in Washington. (Source: Alex Brandon / Associated Press)
Monday, March 3, 2025

Los Angeles Times – Many Californians fear that democracy is in peril

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CPF held its annual Warschaw Conference on Practical Politics
Thursday, February 6, 2025

USC Dornsife News – Why Trump took back the White House

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The Fetal Personhood Bill Just Introduced in Congress, Explained (Images: Getty, Design by Allie Folino)
Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Glamour – The Fetal Personhood Bill Just Introduced in Congress, Explained

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Archived CPF News

Archived CPF News

Check out the archived news stories that highlighted CPF.