Why Does Money Matter?

In this week’s episode of Politics in Question, Lee chats with Danielle Thomsen about the role of money in politics. Thomsen is a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and author of The Money Signal: How Fundraising Matters in American Politics (The University of Chicago Press, 2025).

How does our current fundraising landscape reinforce inequality in politics? Who typically donates to political campaigns? How has the role of money in politics evolved over the last decade? These are some of the questions Lee explores in this week’s episode.