Democracy Nerd

The January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol was a fascist attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election, using force to disenfranchise 81 million American voters and prevent a peaceful transition of power. The collected writings in The U.S. Anti-Fascism Reader couldn't be more timely. In this episode, host Jefferson Smith speaks to the co-editors of this volume, Bill Mullen and...

In the late 20th century, various perceived threats to American's suburbs helped fuel the rise of right-wing media and the era's political conservative dominance. On this episode of Democracy Nerd, Jefferson speaks with Kyle Riismandel, author of "Neighborhood of Fear: The Suburban Crisis in American Culture, 1975-2001" about the political and social response to these threats--and how this respons...

In 2020, voters in Alaska passed a ranked choice ballot measure by the slimmest of margins. Now, in upcoming state and federal elections, Alaskan voters can vote for all preferred candidates, instead of just one. On this episode of Democracy Nerd, host Jefferson Smith is joined by Alaskan attorney Scott Kendall, one of the initiative's primary authors, and Alaska State Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins...

Recorded the day after the attempted violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Laura Williamson, Senior Policy Analyst from think Demos, joins Democracy nerd to discuss the previous day's events, the victories of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the run-off elections for Georgia's U.S. Senate seats, and the possibility to advance an agenda to help 'accelerate democracy' under the incoming Biden a...

In this excerpt from XRAY-FM's morning show, Jefferson speaks with Karen Spencer, who uses her experience as a first-time political candidate to use game theory to help explain the obstacles facing first-time candidates, particularly women and candidates of color.

In 1980, after a military coup, Chile adopted a constitution that prioritized private property and right-wing capitalist ideology. Forty years later, Chile voters approved a measure to rewrite a new constitution to allow for a representative democracy and more equal society. "Democracy Nerd' is joined by Jennifer Piscopo from Occidental College and Peter Siavelis from Wake Forest University who he...

Yochai Benlkler, the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, joins 'Democracy Nerd' to discuss his research looking back on the 50-year strategy of relying on negative propaganda loops to increase outrage from supporters while also increasing voter suppression efforts in the face of changing demographics to win elections.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution came out of the bloodiest and divisive periods in American history. Michael Bellesiles, author of "Inventing Equality: Reconstructing the Constitution in the Aftermath of the Civil War" joins 'Democracy Nerd' to discuss how the Reconstruction Amendments promised to expand democracy throughout the United States--and how they ultimately fa...

Matthew C. MacWilliams, author of "On Fascism: 12 Lessons From American History," joins Democracy Nerd to explain how Trump's brand of authoritarianism has "hollowed out" American democracy, and also provides examples of how defining characteristics of fascism have been present throughout U.S. history.

In this excerpt from XRAY in the Morning, Jefferson speaks with Majorie Connelly from the National Opinion Research Center about recent poll results showing nearly half of Americans believe democracy "isn't working."

Roman Krznaric, one of Britain's "top public philosophers," joins Democracy Nerd to explain the connections between chalk horses, cathedrals, long-term planning and healthy democracy. What would the world look like if our political decisions were made with future generations in mind?

Robert Lieberman, the co-author of "Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy" joins Democracy Nerd to explain how Dondald Trump is a "dangerous convergence" of the four threats that have faced democracy throughout U.S. history: polarization, xenophobia, income inequality, and executive power.

Jefferson is joined by political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson to discuss their new book "Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules In An Age of Extreme Inequality" and explore "the conservative dilemma" of securing the majority of votes to win elections despite supporting the interests of a wealthy minority.

On this episode of Democracy Nerd, host Jefferson Smith is joined by Terryl Ross, founder of Mosaic Nation, to discuss the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George FLoyd's murder, police reform, and America's changing demographics.

In this episode, Jefferson speaks with Mike Konzcal, Director of Progressive Thought from the Roosevelt Institute who points out the threats of conservative economic policy to our democracy.

Although vote-by-mail may be the safest option to cast ballots during the COVID pandemic, some states will continue to see voters line up at the polls in November. In this episode of Democracy Nerd, Jefferson speaks with Barry Burden from the Elections Research Center about the reality of widespread use of vote-by-mail in this year's presidential election.

In response to Wisconsin's April 7th primary held during the middle of the COVID pandemic--overturning the postponement order by the state's Governor--host Jefferson Smith discusses partisan politics, gerrymandering, and the primary's surprising results with a panel that includes David Daley, author of "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count," Ruth Greenwood from Campaign Legal Center, and Jay Hec...

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries responded in different ways. In this episode of Democracy Nerd, host Jefferson Smith speaks with George Lakey, noted activist and author of "Viking Economics" regarding the response by Scandinavian countries to the pandemic and consider whether the United States is ready for a "Nordic model" of government.

In response to the second consecutive Oregon legislative session interrupted by Sente Republican walkouts, Kristin Eberhard from Sightline Institute discusses her proposal to eliminate the state Senate, along with other ideas to save democracy in Oregon.

Progressive radio host Thom Hartmann—author of "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human RIghts"—joins Democracy Nerd to discuss how corporations have claimed 'human rights' under the U.S. Constitution along with the political dangers posed by corporate personhood.

In this episode, Jefferson Smith talks with Linn Davis from Healthy Democracy. Linn oversees the Citizens Initiative Review, in which Oregon voters deliberate a ballot initiative and provide a statement for the voters' pamphlet. The use of citizens' juries to weigh in on public policy has been exported to other states and other countries, including Switzerland where Linn Davis visited in the Fall...

In a representative democracy, voters should be expected to choose their representatives. However, the practice of partisan gerrymandering allows politicians to choose their voters. The practice of gerrymandering determines whether district lines are drawn that either strengthen or dilute the voices of targeted voters. This episode of Democracy Nerd examines efforts to reform partisan gerrymanderi...

For many Americans, our electoral system can be described as "corrupt" and "undemocratic." How did the vision of a democratic republic as imagined by the Framers of the Constitution become "the best democracy money can by?" This episode of Democracy Nerd traces that evolution, looking at the past four decades of Supreme Court cases allowing unfettered "dark money" to influence national politics, t...

During the 2019 legislative session, Oregon lawmakers considered passing campaign finance reform that would place limits on campaign spending for state elections. With a Democratic super-majority, passing spending limits should be an easy task. However, past efforts to pass campaign finance reform were deemed a violation of the free speech clause in Oregon's state constitution. To pass campaign fi...

Free speech is a treasure right in the United States. Political campaigns, however, are very expensive. Highest-funded candidates typically win on Election Day, America's political-funding systems benefits wealthy donors and corporations, while shutting out ordinary Americans. The Pacific Northwest has become an epicenter for campaign finance reform, with Seattle and Portland passing various measu...