- alle zwei WochenErscheinungsrhythmus
- 47 mintypische Länge
- 19. Okt.letzte Folge
Folgenzu den neuesten
Christianity as a democratic institution
Chris Beem, McCourtney Institute for Democracy managing director and research professor of political science at Penn State, talks with author Jonathan Rauch about why the current crisis in American Christianity is also a crisis in American
The power of practicing peace
It's easy to feel defeated in the face of political challenges, but this episode shows that everyone has the capacity to create positive change and contribute to a culture of peace in their communities. In her book "Peace by Peace: Risking
Pushing back against political violence
Instances of political violence around the 2024 election and vote certification on January 6, 2025 did not come to fruition the way some experts feared they would throughout last year. But that doesn't mean that we can forget about threats
Democracy reform in 2025 and beyond
The results of the 2024 election — from Donald Trump's victory to the failure of democracy reform efforts like ranked-choice voting and citizen-led redistricting — took some in the pro-democracy movement by surprise. How could voters make d
Season finale: Reflecting on a new political era
This episode marks the first time that all five of our hosts (Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, Cyanne Loyle, Candis Watts Smith, and Jenna Spinelle) are together on one episode. It's also the first time we've all been together since the electio
Sustaining democracy during wartime
Balazs Trencsenyi, co-director of Invisible University for Ukraine (https://www.ceu.edu/non-degree/Invisible-University) (IUFU), joins us to discuss the university's work to uphold education and democracy in Ukraine amid the country's ongoi
Telling America's story at the National Archives
Colleen Shogan, archivist of the United States, joins us for a conversation about democratizing access to national records and running a non-partisan organization in an increasingly polarized country. Shogan was appointed by President Biden
Bad Watchdog: The Red Herring
We're excited to bring you an episode from Bad Watchdog (https://www.pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog), the podcast from the Project on Government Oversight and one of our colleagues in The Democracy Group (http://democracygroup.org) podcast
How strong is support for democracy?
We are collecting our thoughts about what's next for democracy following the 2024 election and will take up the question during our end-of-year episode in December. Democracy Works host Michael Berkman, director of the McCourtney Institute
How the Supreme Court could shape the 2024 election
Dahlia Lithwick has covered the Supreme Court since the landmark Bush v. Gore decision in 2000. In that time, she's seen a sea change in the court itself, as well as the way that journalists cover it. We discuss those trends in this episode
Eddie Glaude Jr. on the peril of outsourcing democracy
With just weeks to go before the election, voting and candidates are top of mind of many of us. It's easy to think that once our preferred candidates win, our obligations to democracy are finished until the next election. Scholar and author
Liberalism is a lifestyle
Chris Beem talks with political theorist Alexandre Lefebvre (https://www.alexlefebvre.com/) about why liberalism is more than just a political ideas and procedures, and how abiding by liberal principles can enhance your life far beyond poli
The immigration stories that aren't told
Immigration is a perennial issue in American politics, but the rhetoric we hear from candidates on the campaign trail is often very different than the day-to-day experiences of migrants traveling from central America to the United States an
How the National Popular Vote could change presidential elections
We're back from summer break with a deep dive on the National Popular Vote (https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/) campaign, an effort to render the Electoral College obsolete when states pledge their electors to the winner of the nationwide
Making Peace Visible: In search of good conflict
While Democracy Works is on summer break, we bring you an episode from our friends at Making Peace Visible, a podcast that ignites powerful conversations all over the world about how the media covers peace and conflict. This episode feature
Season finale: Protests, debates, and the "meh" election
We've reached the end of another school year and another season of Democracy Works. Before we go on summer break, Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, and Candis Watts Smith reflect on recent events and what's to come this summer. We do this by tak
How elected strongmen weaken democracy
Democracies today are increasingly eroding at the hands of democratically-elected incumbents, who seize control by slowly chipping away at democratic institutions. Penn State political science professor Joseph Wright (https://sites.psu.edu/
30 years of democracy in South Africa
Please join us in welcoming a special guest host for this episode! Cyanne Loyle (https://www.cyanneloyle.com/) is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Penn State and a Global Fellow at the Pease Research Ins
David Hogg on leaders we deserve
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida happened around the same time Democracy Works launched in 2018. In fact, one of the first episodes (https://democracyworks.simplecast.com/episodes/generation-z-and-th
Democracy is the sum of us
Heather McGhee made her career in pushing for economic policy changes at the think tank Demos. But she couldn't help but feel that something was missing from her work. So she embarked on a cross-country road trip to understand what's at the
Cassidy Hutchinson on what comes after January 6
Cassidy Hutchinson, and aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows whose testimony captured the nation's attention in the January 6 Congressional hearings, joins us this week to discuss her time in the Trump administration and h
How discontent destabilizes demoracy
If there's one thing that people across the political spectrum can agree on, it's a sense of discontent with the current state of American politics. This week, we explore the origins of that discontent and why it's damaging to democracy. Ou
A different take on social media and democracy
We've talked about social media a lot on this show over the years — usually focusing on algorithms, echo chambers, polarization, and the other ways it's damaging to democracy. This week, however, we hear a different take from V Spehar (http
How to combat political extremism
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, one of America's leading experts on the far right, joins us this week to discuss what draws people to political extremism online and offline — and what we can do to combat it. Miller-Idriss is the director of the Pola
A different kind of political divide
As a Democracy Works listener, you probably follow politics pretty closely. And we're going to go out on a limb and say that many of the people in your life do, too. But what about everyone else? People who casually keep up with political n
Tim Alberta on evangelicals and Republicans
Chris Beem talks with journalist Tim Alberta (https://www.bytimalberta.com/) about the role that Evangelical Christians play in the Republican Party — and what that means for the future of American democracy. Alberta is a staff writer at Th
How election officials are preparing for the year ahead
The past few years haven't been easy for election officials and their teams. They had to pivot during the pandemic and face ongoing threats that have resulted in unprecedented staff turnover. This turmoil brings more scrutiny of errors that
Finding hope in 2024
Happy New Year! We're starting off 2024 with a conversation about finding hope in politics. We often hear from listeners that our show brings feelings of hope, and this episode is no exception. Rep. Derek Kilmer of Washington state joins us
Year in review: Media, mental health, and threats to democracy
For our final episode of 2023, we revisit some of our episodes from throughout the year and reflect on what's in store for democracy in 2024. We talk about: • Mental health and media consumption • Bureaucracy and the prospect of Project 202
Making Peace Visible: The state of democracy in India
This week, we're bringing you an episode from Making Peace Visible (https://www.warstoriespeacestories.org/podcast), a podcast that helps us understand the human side of conflicts and peace efforts around the world. The episode explores the
