Podcasts about democracy works

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, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed, sociologist Eric Klinenberg takes on a journey back to that year and everything that happened in it through the eyes of seven New Yorkers, one from each of the city's boroughs.Klinenberg, who recently delivered the Colloquium on the Environment lecture for the Penn State Sustainability Institute, joins us on Democracy Works to discuss how the pandemic accelerated political polarization and distrust in institutions in America and what we can do to repair that damage before the next pandemic or other major crisis comes our way. The book and the podcast interview allow us to see 2020—and, ultimately, ourselves—with clarity and empathy. Klinenberg is the Helen Gould Shepard Professor in the Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He is the author of Palaces for the People, Going Solo, Heat Wave, and Fighting for Air. He has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Wired, and This American Life. He recently visited Penn State to present the 2025 Colloquium on the Environment for Penn State Sustainability; watch his lecture here. 

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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 of political violence until it's time for the next election. In fact, political violence continues to rise in the United States and throughout western Europe.Our guests this week, Rachel Kleinfeld of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Nicole Bibbins Sedaca of Freedom House and the George W. Bush Institute, are two of the leading voices on how to prevent political violence and create a healthier democracy. They join us to discuss what causes political violence and what democracies around the world can do to prevent it by addressing both cultural and structural issues in politics.After the interview, Chris Beem and Cyanne Loyle discuss whether non-violent protest movements can successfully combat political violence amid growing polarization and support for political violence from some elected officials and political leaders.Kleinfeld and Bibbins Sedaca are the authors of the article "How to Prevent Political Violence," which appeared in the fall 2024 issue of The Journal of Democracy.Journal of Democracy article: How to Prevent Political ViolenceAdditional InformationDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

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 election. We take some time to reflect on changes in America's political party, the decline of liberal democracy in the U.S., and how to harness the good from social media amid growing extremism and misinformation.Along the way, you'll hear from some of the guests who've appeared on the show this year:Joe Wright: How personalist parties destabilize democracyCassidy Hutchinson: Is there room for Republicans in the Democratic party?Alex Lefebvre: Can democracy exist without liberalism?Matthew Rhodes-Purdy: How populism spreadsCynthia Miller-Idriss: The rise of online extremismV Spehar: Social media as tool for community buildingFrom the entire Democracy Works team, best wishes for a happy holiday season! We'll see you in 2025.

We continue our Best of 2024 episodes with an  episode from the Democracy Works podcast, hosted by Jenna Spinelle, Christopher Beem, Michael Berkman. 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 Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University and author of the book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right. As you'll hear, PERIL takes a public health approach to preventing violent extremism and provides tools and resources to help communities create resilient democracies.In the interview, Miller-Idriss discusses how extremism and political violence are linked to our desire for community. This dynamic means that extremist ideas can pop up in seemingly innocuous places from martial arts groups to online wellness communities. She says understanding this dynamic is key to moving people away from extremist spaces and into constructive communities.Miller-Idriss visited Penn State as part of the Mellon-funded Sawyer Seminar exploring the theme, "Birthing the Nation: Gender, Sex and Reproduction in Ethnonationalist Imaginaries."Democracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We want to share a show with you! Democracy Works comes from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State and explores how our democracy impacts and is impacted by issues ranging from climate change to criminal justice to party politics.  In this episode, “The immigration stories that aren't told,” hosts Michael Berkman, Cyanne Loyle, and Jenna Spinelle talk with anthropologist Jason De León. De León spent seven years embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across the Mexico border. His time culminated in a book titled Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.  We hope you find their conversation as interesting and illuminating as we did.   Learn more about Democracy Works and listen to more episodes here.   Episode link: https://www.democracyworkspodcast.com/episodes/jason-de-leon   Links of interest: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672038/soldiers-and-kings-by-jason-de-leon/  

Democracy Works host Michael Berkman, director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy and professor of political science at Penn State talks with Christopher Claassen, a political scientist at the University of Glasgow, about how to measure support for democracy across countries and across generations. Claassen grew up in South Africa and was 16 when the country held its first democratic elections. His interest in democracy continued through college and into his career as a political scientist. Today, he is a professor of political behavior at the University of Glasgow. One area of his research focuses on how to measure support for democracy. In a recent paper, he and colleagues developed 17 survey questions that cover all eight components of liberal democracy as defined by the V-Dem project in an effort to refine what people mean when they say the support or don't support democracy.Berkman and Claassen also discuss how support for democracy is part of the 2024 U.S. election. Note that this interview was recorded in late October 2024 before the election took place.Referenced in this episode: McCourtney Institute for Democracy Mood of the Nation PollEpisode with Cynthia MIller-Idriss on communities and political extremismAdditional InformationDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

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 for Democracy and professor of political science at Penn State talks with Christopher Claassen, a political scientist at the University of Glasgow, about how to measure support for democracy across countries and across generations. Claassen grew up in South Africa and was 16 when the country held its first democratic elections. His interest in democracy continued through college and into his career as a political scientist. Today, he is a professor of political behavior at the University of Glasgow. One area of his research focuses on how to measure support for democracy. In a recent paper, he and colleagues developed 17 survey questions that cover all eight components of liberal democracy as defined by the V-Dem project in an effort to refine what people mean when they say the support or don't support democracy.Berkman and Claassen also discuss how support for democracy is part of the 2024 U.S. election. Note that this interview was recorded in late October 2024 before the election took place.Referenced in this episode: McCourtney Institute for Democracy Mood of the Nation PollEpisode with Cynthia MIller-Idriss on communities and political extremism

Plus Perplexity Launches AI Election Tracker Like this? Get AIDAILY, delivered to your inbox, every weekday. Subscribe to our newsletter at https://aidaily.us AI Set to Self-Improve: A New Era in Tech In a bold vision for AI, former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner suggests that AI, capable of enhancing itself, may be near. Sakana AI's prototype “AI Scientist” marks a significant step, autonomously conducting research, generating novel ideas, and publishing papers that meet early standards in machine learning. While current capabilities are basic, experts predict swift advancements, likening it to GPT-1's launch before rapid progression to GPT-3 and GPT-4. With leading firms investing heavily, the notion of self-improving AI may soon become a transformative reality, unlocking new opportunities and risks. Perplexity's AI-Powered Election Tracker Garners Expert Attention Perplexity launched an AI-based election tracker for the U.S. 2024 elections, providing real-time updates on races and ballot measures using data from AP and Democracy Works. AI experts view the hub as promising for election transparency but caution that hallucinations and bias remain risks in AI-generated information. AI-Powered Game Oasis Fails to Capture Minecraft's Appeal AI startup Etched unveils Oasis, an AI-generated Minecraft clone devoid of hardcoded mechanics and memory. The game's frames are created in real time, leading to unpredictable, chaotic gameplay. Etched anticipates AI will dominate future content, but critics argue Oasis exemplifies the pitfalls of generative AI's energy demands and uncanny outputs Diageo Integrates AI in New Whisky Tasting Kits Diageo's Single Malt Special Releases 2024 Tasting Experience introduces FlavorPrintConnect, an AI-driven digital platform that customizes whisky journeys. Users can compare tasting notes, access masterclass content, and receive personalized whisky recommendations. Launching in the UK, this immersive experience merges physical and digital whisky exploration.  Generative AI's E-Waste Crisis Looms Amid Rapid Expansion A new study estimates that large language models alone could generate 2.5 million tonnes of e-waste per year by 2030. The demand for upgraded GPUs and CPUs contributes significantly to electronic waste, containing toxic metals harmful to health and the environment. Researchers advocate for downcycling and regulatory incentives to mitigate AI's growing e-waste problem. Amazon and Walmart's AI Shopping Experiences Make Holiday Shopping Smoother Amazon and Walmart have introduced AI-powered shopping tools for the holiday season. Amazon's Virtual Holiday Shop offers a 3D shopping experience with curated gifts, while Walmart uses genAI for personalized recommendations, influencer content, and enhanced customer support in the U.S. and Mexico.

Chris Beem talks with political theorist Alexandre Lefebvre about why liberalism is more than just a political ideas and procedures, and how abiding by liberal principles can enhance your life far beyond politics. In his book Liberalism as a Way of Life, Lefebvre argues that liberalism isn't just a set of neutral procedures; it's a comprehensive way of life that shapes the way we live and think and work and love in innumerable ways. He also argues that it's a way of life worth robustly defending, drawing on examples from pop culture and recent history.Lefebeve is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney. He teaches and researches  political theory, the history of political thought, modern and contemporary French philosophy, and human rights.Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

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 and the smugglers who help them make the often dangerous journey to get here. In an effort to better understand this essential yet extralegal billion dollar global industry, anthropologist Jason De León embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across Mexico over the course of seven years. The result is the book "Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling," which we discuss on this episode.De León is visiting Penn State for a lecture on "Soldiers and Kings" Sept. 17 from noon-1:00 p.m. ET in 110 Henderson Building or via Zoom. Register for the webinar here.De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles with his lab located in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a research, arts, and education collective that seeks to raise awareness about migration issues globally while also assisting families of missing migrants be reunited with their loved ones. He is also a 2017 MacArthur Foundation Fellow and a Penn State alumnus.Finally, we are excited to welcome Cyanne Loyle, associate professor of political science at Penn State, to the Democracy Works team. She was a guest host in the spring and will be joining the permanent lineup with Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, and Candis Watts Smith.

Truth Be Told with Booker Scott – Vot-ER is a left-of-center voter registration and get-out-the-vote organization that focuses its efforts on individuals in the healthcare system. Focuses? Or targets? Either way the organization is a 501c3 and is the creation of ER physician and Kamala Harris' top medical advisor, Dr. Alister Martin. On Vot-ER's LinkedIn account they proudly boast they are now in over 500 hospitals and clinics...

On February 14, 2018, a former student opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with an assault rifle he'd purchased legally. Hiding in a janitor's closet, David Hogg recorded his classmates on his phone. "I interviewed my classmates so that if we didn't make it out of there, hopefully our voices would carry on,” Hogg told NPR.” And it wouldn't be possible for the NRA and gun lobby to say, 'Oh, you can't talk about this. You're politicizing this.'”Seventeen students and staff died that day. Later that year, David Hogg co-founded March for Our Lives, and helped organize hundreds of thousands of young people to rally for an end to gun violence in the United States. In the years since, they've had some wins, including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, which enhanced background checks for 18 to 21 year-olds, and provided funding for community violence intervention and mental health services. Hogg's new project, Leaders We Deserve, helps young progressives run for office. This week, we're bringing you a recent interview with David Hogg from Democracy Works, a podcast about what it means to live in a democracy, from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University. Something that stands out about Hogg, from our perspective as a podcast about peace, is how he works across the aisle to get laws passed. Like many in the peacebuilding field, Hogg recognizes that change is often incremental, and a compromise that will save lives is more useful than political gridlock.Democracy Works co-host Jenna Spinelle spoke with David Hogg on his trip to Penn State's campus this spring.You can find the original Democracy Works episode and a transcript here.Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions ABOUT THE SHOW Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with help from Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support this podcast Connect on social:Instagram @makingpeacevisibleLinkedIn @makingpeacevisibleX (formerly Twitter) @makingpeaceviz We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

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 taking a look back at some of our previous episodes:The real free speech problem on campus: Penn State's Brad Vivian on the problems with "campus free speech" discourse and media coverage. We discuss how this narrative has been applied to protests about the war in Gaza that happened on some campuses near the end of the spring semester. Follow Brad's Substack for his more recent work on the Gaza protests and more.A different kind of political divide - Yanna Krupnikov from the University of Michigan on the divide between people who follow politics closely and those who don't. We're seeing this divide play out in recent polling that shows support for Donald Trump is higher among people who say they are not politically engaged, while support for Biden is higher among those who follow news and politics more closely. Debating the future of debates: John Hudak from Brookings talks about the value of presidential debates to democracy. We recorded this episode in 2022 after the RNC announced it would not participate in events organized by the Commission for Presidential Debates. Now that two debates are scheduled for the next few months, we discuss whether they'll actually happen and how much they'll matter. This is our last new episode until early September. We'll use the next few months to plan for our fall season. Please send us an email if you have ideas for topics we should tackle or guests we should interview.  Have a great summer!Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

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 taking a look back at some of our previous episodes:The real free speech problem on campus: Penn State's Brad Vivian on the problems with "campus free speech" discourse and media coverage. We discuss how this narrative has been applied to protests about the war in Gaza that happened on some campuses near the end of the spring semester. Follow Brad's Substack for his more recent work on the Gaza protests and more.A different kind of political divide - Yanna Krupnikov from the University of Michigan on the divide between people who follow politics closely and those who don't. We're seeing this divide play out in recent polling that shows support for Donald Trump is higher among people who say they are not politically engaged, while support for Biden is higher among those who follow news and politics more closely. Debating the future of debates: John Hudak from Brookings talks about the value of presidential debates to democracy. We recorded this episode in 2022 after the RNC announced it would not participate in events organized by the Commission for Presidential Debates. Now that two debates are scheduled for the next few months, we discuss whether they'll actually happen and how much they'll matter. This is our last new episode until early September. We'll use the next few months to plan for our fall season. Please send us an email if you have ideas for topics we should tackle or guests we should interview.  Have a great summer!

Please join us in welcoming a special guest host for this episode! Cyanne Loyale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Penn State and a Global Fellow at the Pease Research Institute Oslo. Her research focuses on transitional justice and democratic rebuilding after conflict, which makes her the perfect person to reflect on South Africa's democratic transition.One additional programming note — Chris Beem lost power during this recording so the closing segment is Cyanne and Jenna reflecting on the interview.At the end of April, South Africa marked the 30th anniversary of its first post-Apartheid election — the first in the country where everyone could vote. South African writer and scholar Antjie Krog join us for a look at the state of South African democracy today, the impact of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and how South Africa has served as a model for other countries in democratic transition. Krog is a South African writer, scholar, and activist. She covered the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the South African Broadcasting Corporation and wrote about the experience in the book Country of My Skull. She has published more than a dozen volumes of poetry and translated Nelson Mandela's biography into Afrikaans. She is currently a professor at the University of the Western Cape.Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Le 27 avril 1994, tous les Sud-Africains étaient appelés à participer aux premières élections libres. Nelson Mandela allait être élu, mettant fin au régime d'apartheid. Une nouvelle Constitution serait ensuite écrite, protectrice de tous les Sud-Africains et présentée comme la plus progressiste du continent africain. La loi fondamentale est protégée par la Cour constitutionnelle, un monument important au centre de Johannesburg et dans le cœur de ses habitants. De notre correspondant à Johannesburg,C'est journée porte ouverte à la Cour constitutionnelle. Un groupe scolaire venu de Soweto, encadré par le Bukho Bami Youth Centre, prend place sur les bancs de la Cour. Les adolescents s'amusent à imiter les juges. Leur professeur appelle au calme et interroge ses élèves. L'un d'eux, Kamogelo Selemela, connaît très bien le rôle de la Cour constitutionnelle, même le nom de son président. « Si le gouvernement veut ajouter une loi à notre Constitution, il doit passer par les juges, comme Raymond Zondo. Et ils ne doivent pas seulement écouter le gouvernement, mais ils doivent aussi regarder les intérêts des citoyens Sud-Africains. »Ses camarades l'applaudissent en claquant des doigts. Son professeur, Daluxolo Magamdela, y voit un rapport particulier des Sud-Africains avec la politique. « Pour eux comme pour les Sud-Africains, la politique joue un rôle très important dans leur vie, donc même de manière inconsciente, ils savent qui dit ça et qui fait quoi. » Un lieu symboliqueLa Cour constitutionnelle a été construite sur le site d'une ancienne prison où ont été brièvement incarcérés Mahatma Gandhi et Nelson Mandela. « Du pire peut naître le meilleur », souligne Lorraine Mhlari, guide touristique. « La Cour a été construite ici pour la rendre accessible et ouverte à tous. C'est un lieu de transparence pour montrer qu'il n'y a rien à cacher dans notre Constitution. »La Cour constitutionnelle a beaucoup fait parler d'elle quand elle a condamné l'ancien président Jacob Zuma à 15 mois de prison pour outrage à la justice en juin 2021. Ce jugement était un signe d'indépendance, rappelle Lesego More, de la fondation Democracy Works. « Notre Cour constitutionnelle peut être saisie pour des affaires qui contestent les décisions de l'exécutif, du président et de son gouvernement. Et elle peut juger en défaveur du président. C'est la preuve d'une Constitution qui promeut l'État de droit, les droits de l'homme, qui tient les gens responsables de leurs actions. Et qui nous garantit des élections crédibles, c'est très important, donc c'est un document dont on est très fiers. »Les prochaines élections auront lieu le 29 mai et la Cour constitutionnelle a déjà été saisie pour statuer sur la validité de la candidature de Jacob Zuma.À écouter aussiTrente ans de démocratie en Afrique du Sud: quels résultats pour la politique de logements sociaux? [2/3]

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 featured students who organized a march event in State College, Pennsylvania. At the time, we thought it would be fantastic to get David Hogg on the show. Six years later, he's finally here to talk about what his life has been like since that fateful day in February 2018 and his work to change gun policy at the state and federal level. Hogg also discusses his new project, Leaders We Deserve, which helps young people run for elected office. Finally, we discuss youth voter turnout and waning enthusiasm for Donald Trump and Joe Biden among young people ahead of November's election.

At INFORMED 2024, a conference hosted by the Knight Foundation in January, one panel focused on the subject of information integrity, race, and US elections. The conversation was compelling, and the panelists agreed to reprise it for this podcast. So today we're turning over the mic to Spencer Overton, a Professor of Law at the George Washington University, and the director of the GW Law School's Multiracial Democracy Project.He's joined by three other experts, including: Brandi Collins-Dexter, a media and technology fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, a fellow at the National Center on Race and Digital Justice, and the author of the recent book, Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future. Brandi is developing a podcast of her own with MediaJustice that explores 1980s era media, racialized conspiracism, and politics in Chicago;Dr. Danielle Brown, a social movement and media researcher who holds the 1855 Community and Urban Journalism professorship at Michigan State and is the founding director of the LIFT project, which is focused on mapping, networking and resourcing, trusted messengers to dismantle mis- and disinformation narratives that circulate in Black communities and about Black communities; andKathryn Peters, who was the inaugural executive director of University of North Carolina's Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life and was the co-founder of Democracy Works, where she built programs to help more Americans navigate how to vote. These days, she's working on a variety of projects to empower voters and address election mis- and disinformation.

 “Arizona is NOT Safe” “Biden's War on Corporations” “Fani Willis vs Trump” “Dems Panic When Democracy Works” 

We're back! I didn't intend to take two full months off from the podcast, but as many of you know, I started a new job in January as the Chief Global Affairs Officer of Duco Experts - a technology consulting firm. It has been overwhelming, in a good way, but it took me a bit to get started again with the podcast. I've got some exciting guests lined up. I figure we'll do this season through the end of May, and then I'll re-evaluate for the rest of the year.To kick things off, I'm excited to have Luis Lozada, the CEO of Democracy Works. You may not have heard of Democracy Works, but you likely have encountered their work. They do the painstaking work of gathering all the information about where, when, and how to vote from the thousands of election officials across the country to put it in a readable format that companies like Google, TikTok, and Anthropic currently use. I started working with them when I was at Facebook, and we used them to power many of our U.S.-based Election Day reminders. I was invited to join the board while I was at Facebook and have now been a board member for five years.With the explosion of AI, Democracy Works is now helping companies think through the next generation of people getting election information. Luis and I cover that and more in our conversation.Enjoy!PS: If you are looking for the poll by the Bipartisan Policy Center, Integrity Institute and States United that we reference you can find it here.PS: We're now on video, too! With Season 2, I've launched an Impossible Tradeoffs YouTube channel if you'd like to watch our conversation rather than listen. Get full access to Anchor Change with Katie Harbath at anchorchange.substack.com/subscribe

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, who has more than 3 million followers on the TikTok account Under the Desk News. V built a reputation providing recaps of the daily news for an audience who might not consume news anywhere else. The Under the Desk News audience is politically diverse and V talks about some of the conversations that happen in the comments section. V's also seen how social media can bring people together in real life and encourage people to become civically informed and engaged.Check out V's new podcast, American Fever Dream. Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

When Democracy Works... Rush  Predicted it...https://www.audacy.com/989wordThe Tara Show Follow us on Social MediaJoin our Live StreamWeekdays - 6am to 10am Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/989wordRumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-2031096X: https://twitter.com/989wordInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/989word/ "Red Meat, Greenville." 03/05/24

South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s with a visionary constitution, but the promises of that constitution are largely unfulfilled to this day. Public leader Lindiwe Mazibuko explores how poor leadership failed to deliver a better life for the country's citizens — and shares her mission to cultivate a new generation of ethical leaders who can revitalize democracy in South Africa and beyond. After the talk, Modupe shares her hopes for US democracy.

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 Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University and author of the book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right. As you'll hear, PERIL takes a public health approach to preventing violent extremism and provides tools and resources to help communities create resilient democracies. In the interview, Miller-Idriss discusses how extremism and political violence are linked to our desire for community. This dynamic means that extremist ideas can pop up in seemingly innocuous places from martial arts groups to online wellness communities. She says understanding this dynamic is key to moving people away from extremist spaces and into constructive communities.Miller-Idriss visited Penn State as part of the Mellon-funded Sawyer Seminar exploring the theme, "Birthing the Nation: Gender, Sex and Reproduction in Ethnonationalist Imaginaries."Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

From talking heads on cable news to hot takes online, there seems to be more opinion than ever in journalism these days. There's an entire body of research about how this shift toward opinionated news impacts the people who consume news, but far less on how these changes impact the people who create it. Kimberly Meltzer tackles some of these questions in her book From News to Talk: The Expansion of Opinion and Commentary in U.S. Journalism (SUNY Press, 2019). The book features interviews with journalists like Maria Bartiromo and Brian Stelter about why the media landscape is changing, what role (if any) journalists play in the decline of civility in public discourse, and how they work together as communities of practice in an ever-changing profession. As Meltzer says, today's news landscape is complex. It recalls a past era of partisan newspapers, with the added wrinkle of 21st-century technology and a desire by some outlets to hold true to the standard of objectivity that became ubiquitous after World War II. In this interview, she offers some advice for journalists, news consumers, and journalism educators about how to think about the relationship between news, opinion, and civility today. Meltzer is Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. She is also the author of “TV News Anchors and Journalistic Tradition: How Journalists Adapt to Technology” and worked as a broadcast journalist herself before transitioning to academia. Jenna Spinelle is a journalism instructor at Penn State, host of the Democracy Works podcast, produced by Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

From talking heads on cable news to hot takes online, there seems to be more opinion than ever in journalism these days. There's an entire body of research about how this shift toward opinionated news impacts the people who consume news, but far less on how these changes impact the people who create it. Kimberly Meltzer tackles some of these questions in her book From News to Talk: The Expansion of Opinion and Commentary in U.S. Journalism (SUNY Press, 2019). The book features interviews with journalists like Maria Bartiromo and Brian Stelter about why the media landscape is changing, what role (if any) journalists play in the decline of civility in public discourse, and how they work together as communities of practice in an ever-changing profession. As Meltzer says, today's news landscape is complex. It recalls a past era of partisan newspapers, with the added wrinkle of 21st-century technology and a desire by some outlets to hold true to the standard of objectivity that became ubiquitous after World War II. In this interview, she offers some advice for journalists, news consumers, and journalism educators about how to think about the relationship between news, opinion, and civility today. Meltzer is Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. She is also the author of “TV News Anchors and Journalistic Tradition: How Journalists Adapt to Technology” and worked as a broadcast journalist herself before transitioning to academia. Jenna Spinelle is a journalism instructor at Penn State, host of the Democracy Works podcast, produced by Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

From talking heads on cable news to hot takes online, there seems to be more opinion than ever in journalism these days. There's an entire body of research about how this shift toward opinionated news impacts the people who consume news, but far less on how these changes impact the people who create it. Kimberly Meltzer tackles some of these questions in her book From News to Talk: The Expansion of Opinion and Commentary in U.S. Journalism (SUNY Press, 2019). The book features interviews with journalists like Maria Bartiromo and Brian Stelter about why the media landscape is changing, what role (if any) journalists play in the decline of civility in public discourse, and how they work together as communities of practice in an ever-changing profession. As Meltzer says, today's news landscape is complex. It recalls a past era of partisan newspapers, with the added wrinkle of 21st-century technology and a desire by some outlets to hold true to the standard of objectivity that became ubiquitous after World War II. In this interview, she offers some advice for journalists, news consumers, and journalism educators about how to think about the relationship between news, opinion, and civility today. Meltzer is Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. She is also the author of “TV News Anchors and Journalistic Tradition: How Journalists Adapt to Technology” and worked as a broadcast journalist herself before transitioning to academia. Jenna Spinelle is a journalism instructor at Penn State, host of the Democracy Works podcast, produced by Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

From talking heads on cable news to hot takes online, there seems to be more opinion than ever in journalism these days. There's an entire body of research about how this shift toward opinionated news impacts the people who consume news, but far less on how these changes impact the people who create it. Kimberly Meltzer tackles some of these questions in her book From News to Talk: The Expansion of Opinion and Commentary in U.S. Journalism (SUNY Press, 2019). The book features interviews with journalists like Maria Bartiromo and Brian Stelter about why the media landscape is changing, what role (if any) journalists play in the decline of civility in public discourse, and how they work together as communities of practice in an ever-changing profession. As Meltzer says, today's news landscape is complex. It recalls a past era of partisan newspapers, with the added wrinkle of 21st-century technology and a desire by some outlets to hold true to the standard of objectivity that became ubiquitous after World War II. In this interview, she offers some advice for journalists, news consumers, and journalism educators about how to think about the relationship between news, opinion, and civility today. Meltzer is Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. She is also the author of “TV News Anchors and Journalistic Tradition: How Journalists Adapt to Technology” and worked as a broadcast journalist herself before transitioning to academia. Jenna Spinelle is a journalism instructor at Penn State, host of the Democracy Works podcast, produced by Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luis Lozada joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career and his role as CEO at Democracy Works, a nonpartisan nonprofit that builds tech for democracy, focusing on voters and voting.

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 news or maybe tune iit out entirely. Scholars Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan argue that America might not be as polarized as we think because the media and political observers over-index on people who are deeply invested in politics at the expense of those who are not as engaged. They call this phenomenon "the other divide" and it's the subject of their most recent book. Krupnikov and Barry Ryan join us on the show this week to share their research on levels of political involvement and how it translates to media coverage.As Candis Watts Smith says at the end of the episode, we hope that this conversation will inspire some epistemic humility. Krupkniov is a professor of communication and media at the University of Michigan. Barry Ryan is associate professor of political science at the University of Michigan. They are the authors of The Other Divide: Polarization and Disengagement in American Politics.

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 occur when people make honest mistakes. Despite these challenges, Tammy Patrick, CEO for programs at the National Association of Election Officials, is confident that the tens of thousands of people charged with election administrators across the country this year will deliver free, fair, and secure  elections. She's also optimistic about their ability to rise above threats and uphold their commitment to democracy.Patrick has been working in the election administration space since 2003, most recently as the Senior Advisor to the Elections Program at Democracy Fund. Focusing on modern elections, she works to foster a voter-centric elections system and support election officials across the country.In this conversation, we dive deeper into what's in store for election workers this year and how Patrick and her team are helping them prepare to stand up against everything from misinformation campaigns to threats of physical violence.Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Between democracy and autocracy is an anocracy, defined by political scientists as a country that has elements of both forms of government — usually one that's on the way up to becoming a full democracy or on the way down to full autocracy. This messy middle is the state when civil wars are most likely to start, and the one that requires the most diligence from that country's citizens to prevent a civil war from breaking out.This week we're featuring an interview from our friends at Democracy Works, a podcast about what it means to live in a democracy  from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University. Host Jenna Spinelle speaks with  Barbara F. Walter, political scientist and author of the book How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them. Walter has spent decades studying civil wars around the world and working with other political scientists to quantify how strong democracy is in a given country. The interview covers those findings, how the democratic health of the United States has shifted over the past decade, and more.Barbara F. Walter is the Rohr Professor of International Affairs at the School of Global Policy & Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and completed post docs at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University and the War and Peace Institute at Columbia University.LEARN MORE:How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop ThemBarbara F. Walter on TwitterWe need your help to continue producing Making Peace Visible. Make a one-time or recurring tax-deductible donation here. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions ABOUT THE SHOWMaking Peace Visible is a project of War Stories Peace Stories. Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with help from Faith McClure. Learn more at warstoriespeacestories.org.

We continue our Best of 2022 episodes with an  episode from the Democracy Works podcast, hosted by Jenna Spinelle, Christopher Beem, Michael Berkman. Chris Beem talks with former Republican political operative Tim Miller about the party's loyalty to Donald Trump and where it might go in 2024 and beyond. Miller is a writer-at-large for The Bulwark and the author of the best-selling book Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. He was previously political director for Republican Voters Against Trump and communications director for Jeb Bush 2016. He also appears on MSNBC and The Circus on Showtime.Miller's book is a reflection on both his own past work for the Republican Party and the contortions of his former peers in the GOP establishment. He draws a straight line between the actions of the 2000s GOP to the Republican political class's Trumpian takeover, including the horrors of January 6th. In this conversation, Miller and Beem also discuss alarming trends among young conservatives and how they may continue, or even exacerbate, some of what Miller observed after the 2016 election.Democracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s with a visionary constitution, but the promises of that constitution are largely unfulfilled to this day. Public leader Lindiwe Mazibuko explores how poor leadership failed to deliver a better life for the country's citizens — and shares her mission to cultivate a new generation of ethical leaders who can revitalize democracy in South Africa and beyond.

South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s with a visionary constitution, but the promises of that constitution are largely unfulfilled to this day. Public leader Lindiwe Mazibuko explores how poor leadership failed to deliver a better life for the country's citizens — and shares her mission to cultivate a new generation of ethical leaders who can revitalize democracy in South Africa and beyond.

South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s with a visionary constitution, but the promises of that constitution are largely unfulfilled to this day. Public leader Lindiwe Mazibuko explores how poor leadership failed to deliver a better life for the country's citizens — and shares her mission to cultivate a new generation of ethical leaders who can revitalize democracy in South Africa and beyond.

Before we get to the show notes, we invite you to take our listener survey for a chance to win a Democracy Works coffee mug!COVID-19 brought the problems with government technology into sharp focus. The systems responsible for delivering unemployment benefits and healthcare were not prepared to mange the influx of requests they received, and the government employees who run those systems were often hobbled by a culture that focuses on regulation and oversight, not innovation and acting quickly.Beyond the day-to-day impacts of these systems not working, the long-term consequences include the erosion of trust in the institutions that comprise our democracy. So, what can we do? Jennifer Pahlka has a few ideas and she joins us this week to talk about them.Pahlka is the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. She is the former deputy chief technology officer of the United States and the founder of Code for America, a nonprofit that believes government can work for people in the digital age.Recoding America websiteMore information on Schedule F/Project 2025

Before we get to the show notes, we invite you to take our listener survey for a chance to win a Democracy Works coffee mug!Chris Beem talks with former Republican political operative Tim Miller about the party's loyalty to Donald Trump and where it might go in 2024 and beyond. Miller is a writer-at-large for The Bulwark and the author of the best-selling book Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. He was previously political director for Republican Voters Against Trump and communications director for Jeb Bush 2016. He also appears on MSNBC and The Circus on Showtime.Miller's book is a reflection on both his own past work for the Republican Party and the contortions of his former peers in the GOP establishment. He draws a straight line between the actions of the 2000s GOP to the Republican political class's Trumpian takeover, including the horrors of January 6th. In this conversation, Miller and Beem also discuss alarming trends among young conservatives and how they may continue, or even exacerbate, some of what Miller observed after the 2016 election. 

Before we get to the show notes, we invite you to take our listener survey for a chance to win a Democracy Works coffee mug!We're back from summer break and diving into the 2024 election season, Donald Trump's indictments, the spread of election deniers, and more. We also welcome Michael Berkman back from sabbatical and discuss the significance of "Democracy '24" as the backdrop for the first Republican presidential debate on August 23.For our listeners who teach American politics, we've put together a list of episodes designed to be a companion to your courses. Check it out at democracyworkspodcast.com/syllabus.Referenced in this episode: Votebeat piece by Jessica Huseman on Trump indictments 

Carl and Connor discuss Democrat women getting what they voted for.

In recent years, international indices and rankings such as the Democracy Index and the V-Dem Index have downgraded India's democracy. Although there are significant differences in the degrees of downgrading, most major indices suggest that Indian democracy is backsliding.Meanwhile, India is witnessing an increase in voter turnout, and people continue to participate actively and vociferously in politics. What is the reason for this disconnect between scholarly understandings of Indian democracy and ground realities?To help us make sense of this dichotomy, Rahul Verma joins Suyash Rai to discuss his recent essay titled “The Exaggerated Death of Indian Democracy.” In the essay, Dr. Verma argues that the claims of democratic backsliding in India are somewhat exaggerated.Episode ContributorsRahul Verma is a fellow at the Center for Policy Research and a visiting assistant professor at Ashoka University. His research interests include voting behavior, party politics, political violence, and the media. Dr. Verma has published papers in Asian Survey, Economic & Political Weekly, and Studies in Indian Politics. His book, co-authored with Professor Pradeep Chhibber, Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India, develops a new approach to defining the contours of what constitutes an ideology in multiethnic countries such as India. He has a PhD in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.Suyash Rai is a deputy director and fellow at Carnegie India. His research focuses on the political economy of economic reforms and the performance of public institutions in India. His current research looks at the financial sector, the fiscal system, and the infrastructure sector.---Additional ReadingsThe Exaggerated Death of Indian Democracy by Rahul Verma“Symposium: Is India Still a Democracy?” Journal of Democracy, July 2023The Possibilities of Indian Electoral Politics by Suyash RaiUnderstanding the Debate on Democratic Backsliding Through Two Papers by Suyash RaiIdeology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India by Pradeep K. Chhibber and Rahul VermaThe Rise of the Second Dominant Party System in India: BJP's New Social Coalition in 2019 by Pradeep K. Chhibber and Rahul VermaDalits in the New Millennium, edited by Sudha Pai, D. Shyam Babu, and Rahul VermaHow India's Ruling Party Erodes Democracy by Ashutosh VarshneyThe Expanding Role of Majoritarianism in India by Suhas PalshikarUnderstanding the Nature of Party Competition and Politics of Majoritarianism by Suhas PalshikarFor India, ‘Middle' Democracy Works by Subrata K. Mitra---Key Moments(00:00); Intro(4:24); Chapter 1: Why Rahul Wrote the Essay(9:53); Chapter 2: Paradoxes in Indian Polity (12:14); Chapter 3: Biases in Ranking Measures(18:53); Chapter 4: Comparing the Present with the Past(21:22); Chapter 5: Conflating Other Phenomena for Backsliding(29:20); Chapter 6: Party Dominance and Partisanship(35:03); Chapter 7: Unpacking Mass Polarization(41:00); Chapter 8: The Frequency of Protests in Past Years(49:22); Chapter 9: The Pew Survey on Religion in India(50:53); Chapter 10: Scholarly Discourse vs. Public Opinion(55:38); Chapter 11: The Current State of Indian Democracy(1:04:47); Chapter 12: Remaining Hopeful About Indian Democracy(1:08:18); Chapter 13: Closing Remarks by Suyash(1:11:52); Outro--Carnegie India Socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carnegieindia/ (@CarnegieIndia)Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarnegieIndiaWebsite: https://carnegieindia.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarnegieIndia/

The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you an episode of one of the best podcasts in the democracy space—Democracy Works.  Meet them: 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.  This episode of Democracy Works is Separating News From Noise, examining the very real dynamic of news avoidance.  How much news is too much? Or not enough? News Over Noise, the new podcast from Penn State's News Literacy Initiative explores that question and offers guidance on how to consume news that enhances your participation in our democracy without becoming overwhelmed by all the noise on social media and the 24/7 news cycle.  If your first reaction is to demonize people who don't want to read the news, hold up. Read this Washington Post piece by our favorite journalist Amanda Ripley "I stopped reading the news—is the problem me or the product." The Village Square is a proud member 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. Both The Democracy Group and Democracy Works are projects led by the wise and wonderful Jenna Spinelle of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University. If you don't know them already you should. Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall.

Before we take a break for the summer, we wanted to talk about some of the events that have been on our minds lately, and some of what we'll be watching over the summer. Chris Beem and Candis Watts Smith talk about what's happening in North Carolina, what we may hear from the Supreme Court in June, the fight over the debt ceiling, and more. Many of these conversations ultimately boil down to the question of how serious the representatives of our democracy are about protecting the things that make America democratic. We end the episode addressing the question of whether the perverse incentives and the unserious behavior they produce can be overcome — and what it will take to do so.New episodes of Democracy Works will return in late August. In the meantime, we'll be rebroadcasting some older episodes you might have missed and sharing episodes from our partners in The Democracy Group podcast network.

Hi Friends. It's Tim Villegas, and for this week, we are switching things up a bit with a feed drop. What's a feed drop, you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's where we share a podcast episode made by someone else that we think is great with you right here in our podcast feed. As Think Inclusive listeners, we know that building bridges is important to you, and that is why we think you are going to appreciate this episode. This week we are featuring the Democracy Works podcast, and in this episode, they are talking about civics education in the US. Chris Beem, Candis Watts Smith and Jenna Spinelle discuss the importance of civic learning with Emma Humphreys of iCivics and Ashley Berner of Johns Hopkins. They think that civics education is important because it teaches students about how government works and how they can participate in decision-making. They also believe that schools should teach controversial topics and provide students with the skills to handle them. The episode also discusses the knowledge and skills needed for civic learning, such as history, political theory, economics, and geography. Emma and Ashley suggest that schools need more resources and flexibility to teach civic learning effectively. And now, please enjoy the Democracy Works Podcast.Episode show notes + transcript: https://www.democracyworkspodcast.com/civic-learning-week/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People who want to improve the world often encounter problems of collective action (how to get many individuals to act in concert), of discourse (how to talk and think productively about contentious matters), and of exclusion. To get things done, they must form or join and sustain functional groups, and through them, develop skills and virtues that help them to be effective and responsible civic actors.Peter Levine, one of America's leading scholars and practitioners of civic engagement, identifies the general challenges that confront people who ask the citizens' question and explores solutions in his most recent book, What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life. Democracy Works host Chris Beem also thinks through these questions in his most recent book, The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Democracy.  In this conversation, Levine and Beem discuss how their approaches differ and how individual and collective actions can't be separated from each other when it comes to civic engagement. Levine is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs in Tufts University's Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life.What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic LifeThe Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy

We've had some incredible guests on the show in 2022. For our final episode of the year, we're taking a look back at what we've learned from them.  Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, Candis Watts Smith, and Jenna Spinelle revisit our episodes with:Jake GrumbachJeffrey SuttonFrancis FukuyamaJamelle BouieLilliana MasonJon MeachamJessica HusemanJoanna LydgateA programming note: Democracy Works will be moving to a bi-weekly release schedule in 2023. If you have ideas for people we should be talking to or topics we should cover, please get in touch! 

The media is going to breathlessly misread the votes in Kansas, democrats successfully get their preferred MAGA nominee a win in a Michigan primary race plus analysis from other races across the nation.

The media is going to breathlessly misread the votes in Kansas, democrats successfully get their preferred MAGA nominee a win in a Michigan primary race plus analysis from other races across the nation.