Political science meets political drama in a new project from the School of Public Service

American stories spanning more than a century come to life in a new podcast, “Scandalized: A Podcast of Political Impropriety.”

Hosted by School of Public Service faculty Jaclyn Kettler and Charlie Hunt in partnership with Boise State Public Radio, the podcast explores some of the nation’s most notorious political scandals: from a lawmaker using campaign funds to buy tickets from airplane for a pet rabbit to a governor flipping and trying to sell a seat in the US Senate. The hosts combine good storytelling and conversation with an academic angle on the political process, governance and accountability. Through their eight episodes (published weekly until mid-November) they consider the long-term impacts of some of the country’s darkest chapters.

“It’s been nice to get a little bit out of the traditional venues of academic research and reach a larger audience,” Hunt said. “Political scandals are the kind of subject that a lot of people outside academia know about and have opinions about, but don’t always know what to think about. So for me, this was the ultimate opportunity to do It’s really our job to fill that knowledge gap and educate the public about something they care about.”

Deciding what to cover was a challenge, Kettler said. So she and Hunt aimed for variety. The first political scandal of its formation dates back to the 1850s. Charles Sumner, an abolitionist senator from Massachusetts, delivered an impassioned speech against slavery in Congress. Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery congressman from South Carolina, was deeply offended and struck Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor, causing serious injuries. The confrontation symbolized in a more tangible way the country’s deep divisions.

For Kettler, one of the “mind-blowing” stories on the podcast is that of Mark Sanford, former governor of South Carolina. His mistakes, dubbed the “Appalachian Trail” scandal, involved him disappearing for six days in June 2009. Even his security detail lost track of his whereabouts. Sanford told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, then admitted he had been in Argentina, visiting his mistress on a public dime. Remarkably, Sanford finished his term as governor despite pressure to resign. Voters elected him to Congress in 2013. Hunt and Kettler use this story to ask broader questions about what it means when a public official goes so far outside the bounds of expected behavior.

“What happens when no one knows where a governor is?” Kettler said. “Different questions arise about who is in charge and what should happen, about what citizens think when a governor is fair. gone.”

The hosts hope the podcast will entertain while fostering a deeper appreciation of the American political system. “It would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of these scandals, but we also highlight where the system stood, where accountability mattered,” Kettler said. “We are not naive, but we are optimistic about the resilience of our institutions.” (in both the pet rabbit/airline scandals and the moneyed seats in the Senate, the right things happened and the criminals suffered the consequences).

A great experience for a research student

In keeping with the tradition of the School of Public Service, the project provided significant opportunities for student involvement. Kettler and Hunt hired then-student Payton Jenkins (BS, political science, 2022) as a research assistant. Now a law student at the University of Oregon, Jenkins, of Meridian Idaho, considers her work with faculty a highlight of her time at Boise State.

“For me, it wasn’t about the pay. I would have done it for free,” Jenkins said, adding that she willingly put in the extra hours even as she juggled a full-time academic schedule and a full-time job at her father’s used appliance business .

“I wanted to find all the information there was on a certain subject. That took a lot of time and effort because I’m a perfectionist,” Jenkins said. “I would fall down a lot of rabbit holes, searching obscure websites for test audio.” In addition to research, Jenkins was an on-air talent. “My voice is in the third episode. Sumner’s wand. I’m Sumner,” she said.

One of the stories that drew Jenkins was that of Jason Ravnsborg, former South Dakota attorney general. In 2020, Ravnsborg was driving and struck Joe Boever, a pedestrian walking on a rural road. Boever died and Ravnsborg faced charges, only misdemeanors, such as careless driving and illegal lane usage. The incident led to Ravnsborg’s impeachment and removal from office in 2022. Most recently, in September 2024, the South Dakota Supreme Court suspended his law license for six months, citing professional conduct violations in connection with his actions after the accident.

“He didn’t do any felony time, even though he killed somebody,” Jenkins said. “It was a tragedy in every way. Stories like these remind you why we need to tell them to begin with. They have an impact.”

Still, he said, his work wasn’t about the subjects, no matter how absorbing they were. “It was loyalty to my teachers,” Jenkins said. “When you have people (like Hunt and Kettler) who are so incredibly brilliant, but also approachable, you want to hang out with them. And I loved seeing their reactions whenever I found something good.”

tune in

Visit the Boise State Public Radio website to read more about and listen to the episodes. Additional information can be found on the “Outrageous” website. The co-hosts recently shared more about their podcast on Boise State Public Radio’s “Idaho Matters.”

Kettler and Hunt also co-host “The Big Tent” public affairs show on Radio Boise (Thursdays, 3:30 p.m., 93.5 FM, or on Spotify) or listen online.