Experts in the News | Miller Center

TikTok Would Be Significant Liability for Microsoft, Says Media Expert

Dr. Aynne Kokas, assistant professor of media studies at University of Virginia and author of "Hollywood Made In China," discusses a possible Microsoft Corp. acquisition of the U.S. operations of Bytedance Ltd.'s video sharing app TikTok. Dr. Kokas speaks on "Bloomberg Technology."

Aynne Kokas

AOC has 60 seconds to speak at the Democratic convention. That decision is ‘radically tone-deaf,’ some women say.

This is likely a somewhat strategic decision, said Jennifer Lawless, a professor of women and politics at the University of Virginia. Ocasio-Cortez is far to the left of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif). An extended appearance from Ocasio-Cortez, Lawless says, could “give fodder” to President Trump’s campaign, which is trying to hold onto the moderate Democrats who voted for him in 2016.

Jennifer Lawless

The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency

John Dickerson, correspondent for CBS’ 60 Minutes and contributing writer to The Atlantic, discusses his new book The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency. Barbara Perry, professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, moderates.

Barbara Perry

Q&A: TikTok ban underscores the need for better data legislation, home and abroad

To get a better handle on what is going on, UVA Today turned to Aynne Kokas, a University of Virginia media studies associate professor whose work focuses on the intersections between Chinese and U.S. media and technology industries.

Aynne Kokas

Governance

Regrets? Even Brent Scowcroft had a few

In an oral history released after his death, the former national security adviser revealed a few key moments in which his ideas failed in the war against Saddam Hussein.

Peter Baker

Betsy DeVos publicly absent as critical decisions are made on public school reopenings

Given the pandemic and its potential mental and physical health effects on schoolchildren, the education secretary could have, for example, convened an emergency interagency task force to ensure coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, states and school districts to provide detailed guidance, said Chris Lu, who was President Barack Obama's Cabinet secretary. "You have a secretary who has expressed, philosophically, little interest in public schools and in terms of her travel has visited very few public schools," Lu said. "So the idea of her actually convening an interagency task force on public schools is so antithetical to everything she's done or believes."

Chris Lu