Paul M. Collins, Jr.,  2015 PEP Fellow, comments in the Gazette about referendum questions on the state ballot. He says Questions 1 and 3 are written in a confusing manner. Collins says Question 3, where a "yes" vote would uphold a 2016 law that prevents gender identity-based discrimination in public accommodations, and a "no" vote seeks to repeal that law is an example of unclear language for ballot questions. Collins says Question 3 is unusual and attributed its inclusion on the ballot to the desire of some people to discriminate against transgender people. He also says ballot questions are sometime intentionally confusing as proponents try to influence the election results. "In think in an ideal world, experts in relaying information in plain English can be utilized. This is a common problem in the political world, that things get bogged down with jargon, and ballot measures are susceptible to this," Collins says.

Erica Scharrer, 2017 PEP Fellow, quoted in Thrive Global article about depictions of fatherhood in the media. She says fathers on television are shown as, " as bumbling, ineffectual and immature, almost like a child rather than a parental figure." The article then cites her 2010 study, “Wise to Foolish: The Portrayal of the Sitcom Father, 1950s to 1990s,” which shows how depictions of fathers went from distant but kindly authority figures to inept buffoons who were often the butt of family jokes; a shift she argues is concurrent with changes in women's economic position in and outside the home.

Paul M. Collins, 2015 PEP Fellow, comments in Baltimore Jewish Times and Slate about the recent controversy generated by the elevation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a commentary authored by Democratic U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Mazie Hirono and Sheldon Whitehouse, Collins' research is cited on the number of amicus briefs filed supporting liberal and conservative positions and what impact they have on the outcome of 5-4 cases. In another commentary, the author points to Collins' view that the nomination process was possibly the most controversial in history, not only because of the allegations of sexual abuse, but also what he calls "fairly substantial evidence that at a minimum he [Kavanaugh] misled the judiciary committee.

Paul M. Collins, 2015 PEP Fellow, is co-author of an essay in The Conversation on how during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices, interruptions by senators and the nominees have increased since the 1980s. Collins and his co-author Lori A. Ringhand of the University of Georgia, say overall the rate of interruptions is increasing and they echo and amplify racial, gender and partisan divides.