- alle zwei WochenErscheinungsrhythmus
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- 19. Okt.letzte Folge
The Democracy Works podcast seeks to answer that question by examining a different aspect of democratic life each week — from voting to criminal justice to the free press and everything in between. We interview experts who study democracy, as well as people who are out there doing the hard work of democracy day in and day out.
The show’s name comes from Pennsylvania’s long tradition of iron and steel works — people coming together to build things greater than the sum of their parts. We believe that democracy is the same way. Each of us has a role to play in building and sustaining a healthy democracy and our show is all about helping people understand what that means.
Democracy Works is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
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Federalism and power in Trump 2.0
This episode explores how the relationship between national and state politics changed from the first Trump administration to the second one, and how the administration is using its levers of power differently this time around to target com
How identity fuels political divides
From Brexit to the 2020 election, the United States and the United Kingdom seem more divided than ever as media, political polarization, and other factors combine to form what Mitchell Smith describes as "the Great Perceptual Divide." Smith
Who pays for American democracy?
Our guest this week argues that you can't talk about the history of democracy in America without talking about the history of taxation in America. After listening to this interview, we agree and we think you will, too. Vanessa Williamson is
Political status and the DSA summer
While we were away over the summer, it was hard to miss stories about Democratic primary elections and seeming rise of the Democratic Socialists of America — followed almost immediately about the challenges DSA candidates will face in Novem
How to create social change that sticks
Changing the world is difficult. One reason is that the most important problems, like climate change and democracy reform are structural. They are larger than any one person can solve on their own, yet we're bombarded with information about
Talk Nerdy: Black Evidence with Candis Watts Smith
Democracy Works host Candis Watts Smith joins Cara Santa Maria on the Talk Nerdy podcast to discuss her new book, Black Evidence: A History and a Warning (https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324036272). From Reconstruction to Redemption, from th
When politics enters the doctor's office
From the COVID-19 pandemic to debates over vaccines and the Make America Healthy Again movement, politics and medicine are intertwined in ways not seen in previous generations. When politics enters the doctor's office, what does it mean for
The Declaration of Independence and democracy renovation
Danielle Allen's work straddles the line between past and present. On one hand, she's on the road this year talking about America's 250th anniversary in the context of her book on the Declaration of Independence. On the other hand, she's ha
Janet Napolitano on higher education and democracy
What is the role of higher education in a democracy? To what extent should American universities respond to the demands of those in power? Are we meeting this moment? As a former governor, cabinet secretary, and university president, Secret
Is public media still public?
Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and Weekend Up First, joins us to discuss what it's like being a political reporter in a polarized country and what the "public" in public media looks like amid the loss federal funding. R
Embracing mindful democracy
Democracy is often framed as a battle between political candidates or parties that have opposing viewpoints and are trying to win over voters to join their side. However, there’s another way to think about democracy as a system of self gove
How AI is changing democracy
AI is changing many aspects of our lives, so it's reasonable to expect that it will impact democracy, too. The question is how? Two experts in technology and politics join us to discuss how we can harness AI's power to strengthen democracy.
How America's political divides affect foreign policy
In the aftermath of the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, we explore how rising political divides are leading to bigger swings in America's foreign policy — and what that means for our future in the liberal international order. In her book Po
The Context: Seven ways anyone can fight authoritarianism
While Democracy Works is on winter break, we're bringing you an episode from our colleagues at The Context (https://kettering.org/thecontext/), a podcast from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and a fellow member of The Democracy Group (h
Troubling times for higher education and democracy
We end this season where we started — a conversation about higher education and democracy. This time, Michael Berkman, McCourtney Institute for Democracy director and professor of political science at Penn State, sits down with Brad Vivian,
Fixing the information ecosystem starts with us
It's easy to blame algorithms and AI for corroding our information ecosystem, but our guest this week argues that we have just as much, if not more of a role to play in creating the environment we want to see. Ray Block Jr (https://polisci.
The dismantling of USAID and the death of government oversight
Paul Martin was fired from his role as USAID Inspector General after he published a report warning that the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle USAID placed more than $480 million in food and other commodities in danger of spoilage or
Disorder: Democracy lessons from Europe and beyond
We bring you a special crossover episode with Disorder, a show that explores the fundamental principles lurking behind today's most pressing global issues. Jenna Spinelle talks with Disorder host Jason Pack, an associate fellow at the Royal
How AI is shaping the news
This episode is a collaboration with our colleagues at News Over Noise (https://newsliteracy.psu.edu/podcasts), the podcast from Penn State's News Literacy Initiative. We recorded this interview on October 27, the first day of U.S. Media Li
A Republic, if you can teach it
Civic education is full of nostalgia. Horace Mann, John Dewey, and the Cold War era often come up in conversations about the current state of affairs. Judge Marjorie Rendell knows this well because she grew up in the postwar era and underst
The new gerrymandering battles
The movement to end gerrymandering is something we've covered on the show several times over the years. Until recently, the conversation focused on independent redistricting commissions formed as a result of grassroots action from voters wh
How misogyny fuels political violence
The last time Cynthia Miller-Idriss was on the show, (https://democracyworks.simplecast.com/episodes/miller-idriss) we discussed how political extremism was making its way to the mainstream through a variety of channels. This time, we're lo
Standing up for higher education
Summer is typically a quiet time for higher education but this summer has been anything but quiet amid funding cuts, lawsuits, and questions about the value of American colleges and universities. Our guests this week are part of Stand Toget
Ben Rhodes on America's changing role in a changed world
For our final episode of the season, we present a conversation with Ben Rhodes recorded at in Washington, D.C. at the end of May. Democracy Works is going on summer break. We'll be back with new episodes in September! The Democracy Group's
How mental health shapes democratic engagement [rebroadcast]
In a rebroadcast from 2023, we discuss how to meet the demands that democracy places on us without sacrificing our own personal mental health in the process. Many of us can conjure moments when politics made us feel sad. But how often do th
Inside the MAGA black hole
Jeff Sharlet has spent the past few years embedded in the deepest corners of the growing far-right movement in the United States. He's come to think of it as a black hole, something that can pull people in with ever-shifting grievances and
How 2020 changed America
From fights over masks and vaccines to the loss of social connection, the year 2020 accelerated many of the trends that were already happening in America and created new obstacles for the country to overcome. In his book 2020: One City, Sev
An update on the states
Last week's Wisconsin Supreme Court election put a spotlight on state-level politics and the way that national politics can influence what happens in the states. But there are a lot of other developments happening at the state level that yo
The problem(s) with platforms
Cory Doctorow coined the term "enshittification" to describe how tech platforms have eroded over time. According to him, the process goes something like this: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things b
Lessons from Charlottesville and January 6
As the lead investigator into both the 2017 racist riot in Charlottesville and the January 6 insurrection, Tim Heaphy has a unique perspective on the cynicism and anger that also fueled Trump’s return to the presidency. All three events, bo
