Rachel Blum Spencer
Dr. Rachel Blum is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma. She specializes in political parties, congressional communication, public opinion of Congress, and computational methods. She received her PhD at Georgetown University in May 2016. Prior to her appointment at the University of Oklahoma, she held a faculty appointment at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Articles by Rachel Blum Spencer
$6,500 Goes a Long Way
McDowell County in North Carolina suffered an unemployment rate of 14.8% in 2009 (over 4% higher than the national rate). At a loss with what to do with the increasing…
Harry Potter and Running from Death
Our hero, Harry, demonstrates an attitude towards death that very few of us actually hold.
Summer Opportunity from the Rockford Institute
Read through this announcement by FPR contributor Stephen Heiner: Dear Fellow Front Porchers I wanted to invite you to an event which will be occurring in a couple months' time…
Meet a Folksinger
I recently received a song from Front Porch Republic reader Michael Johnathon. Michael is a Kentucky based folksinger, songwriter and host of the national syndicated broadcast of the WoodSongs Old-Time…
Extra, extra!
I grew up reading newspapers that serviced large metropolitan areas--the Denver Post and Tulsa World. Strangely, it was only after moving to a suburb of Washington, D.C. that I discovered local journalism…
The Sustainability Stampede
The diversity club ran its course, and has been replaced with "second-wave environmentalism," a.k.a. our culprit, sustainability.
Food: The Cornerstone of Christian Credibility
This spring, Joel Salatin spoke at Patrick Henry College on "Food: The Cornerstone of Christian Credibility." I'm happy to be able to make an audio recording of this lecture available…
Keep the Family, Can the Blog
For several years now, anyone tech-savvy enough to navigate blogspot or xanga has been able to share their thoughts with the internet world through their personal blog (or sometimes, a…
Distracted Achievement Gap
The problem is that public schools inherit children who are "overentertained and distracted."