AEI Podcasts

The Art of Association

Business EN ↓ 5 episodes

The Art of Association is a monthly podcast on big themes spanning philanthropy, civil society, and democracy in America – and the interplay between and among these areas. Following Tocqueville, the podcast presumes that the health of democracy depends far more than we realize on our ability to associate with each other in constructive ways. Doing this helps us solve problems we face together and, at the same time, become citizens more capable of self-government.

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AEI Podcasts

Episodes

Hahrie Han of Johns Hopkins University on What Moves People to Act Together 24.06.2026 44:33

Hahrie Han is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, where she served as the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute and is the Faculty Director of the P3 Research Lab . She joins The Art of Association podcast to talk with host Daniel Stid about her research on belonging, civic action, and transformational community organizing. Hahrie sha...

Liz Joyner of The Village Square and Ash Hanson of Department of Public Transformation on “An Invitation to a New Civic Future” 27.05.2026 1:02:56

Episode Summary Liz Joyner is the Founder and President of The Village Square and Ash Hanson is the Creative Executive Officer for the Department of Public Transformation. They join Daniel Stid to talk about “ An Invitation to a New Civic Future ,” a public letter that the three of them co-signed with nine other colleagues earlier this year. The invitation focuses on shifting from top-down, techno...

Heather Gerken of the Ford Foundation on Supporting Democracy and the Rule of Law 22.04.2026 28:52

Heather Gerken is the new President of the Ford Foundation . She joins The Art of Association podcast to discuss her leadership journey and her vision for how the Ford Foundation and other philanthropic organizations can promote democracy and the rule of law. Addressing critiques of large philanthropic organizations for being overly political, Heather emphasizes that philanthropies must be allowed...

Brian Hooks of Stand Together on Practicing Pluralism in Philanthropy 25.03.2026 45:37

Brian Hooks is Chairman and CEO of Stand Together and the President of the Charles Koch Foundation . He joins The Art of Association podcast to talk with host Daniel Stid about Stand Together’s efforts to advance pluralism and human flourishing through a vibrant, entrepreneurial civil society. They reflect on Brian’s long partnership with Charles Koch and a new edition of their co-authored book, B...

Charlie Brown on Supporting Civic Life in Rural and Small Town America 24.02.2026 45:28

Charlie Brown , Executive Director of the Trust for Civic Life , joins The Art of Association podcast to talk with host Daniel Stid about the Trust’s work. Three years into this initiative, the Trust is off to a great start in pooling funds from national philanthropic funders and in turn regranting them to support bottom up civic renewal efforts, with a special emphasis on rural and small town Ame...