The Democracy Group

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question , Julia, Lee, and James discuss the Supreme Court and democratic legitimacy in front of a live audience at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. How does public opinion influence the Supreme Court? What role does the Court play in the federal government? Is it the ultimate arbiter of controversial policy questions? And should it be reformed? These...

A recording from our Twitter Space Event with Voting Smarter. Hosts Justin Kempf , Host of Democracy Paradox Guests   Terry Crandall , Founder of Voting Smarter If you would like to listen and ask questions live, follow us @GroupDemocracy or subscribe to our newsletter are democracygroup.org/newsletter to be the first to know about upcoming events. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm...

Coming to you live this week from the American Political History conference at Purdue University, it’s Democracy in Danger's season finale. Will and Siva speak with three historians — Liette Gidlow, Derek Musgrove and Thomas Zimmer — about the past, present and future of government by the people. Our guests ponder the Jan. 6 hearings, D.C. statehood, social mobilization and the structural problems...

Sung Yeon Choimorrow is the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, whose mission is to elevate AAPI women and girls to impact policy and drive systemic change in the United States. We discuss age-old and hardened stereotypes, changing the narrative about who Asian-Americans are, and activating Asian communities to take civic action. The term model minority was coi...

When you hear people talk in such disparaging tones, that everything is broken, that nothing is possible, you need to ask yourself, is that right? When you look around, the answer is no. There are these examples where things do go right, where people work together and create a neighborhood or a community for themselves in which they can be prosperous and build better lives. And that's really what...

Over the next few weeks, the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is holding a series of historic hearings to shed light on the events leading up to and on January 6, 2021. During the hearings,  “Swamp Stories” is having a special series to bring listeners in-depth analysis by some of the country’s leading political experts on what we...

In this reported series, Jenna Spinelle tells the stories of activists, legislators, academics, and average citizens who changed their cities, states, and the country by taking important issues directly to votes — like Medicaid expansion in Idaho, sentencing reform in California, and LGBTQ workplace protections in Ohio.   From The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, When the People D...

Every day on social media and cable TV, in newspapers and magazines, we're told that we live in a red-versus-blue world of rigid divides. Our podcast guest, Tony Woodlief, begs to differ. "In reality, most people fall somewhere in the middle, or else have a complex blend of views from both sides of the aisle, Tony tells us. His new book "I, Citizen" uses polling data, political history, and on-the...

In 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting , E.J. Dionne and Miles Rapoport argue that all members of a democracy must participate in elections. Universal voting would be the surest way to protect against voter suppression and the active disenfranchisement of a large share of our citizens. And it would create a system true to the Declaration of Independence's aspirations by calling for a gov...

After a hiatus, Another Way is back! In this episode, Larry Lessig speaks with Bill Galson, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Co-Founder of No Labels. The two discuss the origins of No Labels, the rise of political polarization in Congress and whether democracy reform is needed to combat it, and if and how the filibuster should be reformed. Lessig and Galson also tackle the infamous...

How do societies respond to great demographic change? This question lingers over the contemporary politics of the United States and other countries where persistent immigration has altered populations and may soon produce a majority minority milestone. Or where the original ethnic or religious majority loses its numerical advantage to one or more foreign-origin minority groups. Until now, most of...

There's something natural and organic about perceiving that the people in power are out to advance their own interests. It's in part because it’s often true. Governments actually do keep secrets from the public. Politicians engage in scandals. There often is corruption at high levels. So, we don't want citizens in a democracy to be too trusting of their politicians. It's healthy to be skeptical of...

Evan Burfield joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as an entrepreneur, investor and author. And his work co-founding Helm, where with co-founder Emma Bloomberg, he has 90 people working to provide pro-democracy organizers and education and other advocates and activists with data, tools and software. Additional Information The Great Battlefield Podcast More shows from The De...

Entering the United States without permission is a crime. But should it be? This time on the show, we hear from a couple of lawyers who have been fighting to decriminalize unauthorized immigration. They say federal law unfairly targets Latin Americans — locking up hundreds of thousands of migrants who cross America’s southern border, costing billions of dollars each year. Plus, Will speaks with a...

Marie Yovanovitch is the former Ambassador to Ukraine and best-selling author of her memoir, Lessons from the Edge . In a live event for Big Tent USA, we discuss the powers of diplomacy, the corrosive effects of corruption, and the war in Ukraine. Her memoir details her illustrious career, her courage and integrity, and her patriotic dedication and service to the United States. She exemplifies how...

Women are underrepresented in American political institutions, despite the positive track record of women in office and the willingness of voters to support women candidates. Gender differences in political ambition originate in childhood and are difficult to counteract.  Mirya  Holman  finds  that girls tend to think of politicians as men and politics as a man’s world—and those perceptions build...

100 Coffees.   Coffee and people are two of the joys of Alex Workman’s life. He has a long-standing goal of trying to have coffee with someone he’s never met (or doesn’t know very well) once a week. In 2021, Alex embarked on a challenge to meet 100 people for coffee – he reached his goal by May and kept right on going. 163 coffees later he tells us what he learned. We think it will change your lif...

What role can and should investors play in strengthening democracy? Ian Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative, discusses impact investing, universal voting, foreign money in U.S. politics, the so-called wealth tax and more. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2022/04-26-democracy-matters-episode-103.shtml Additional Information De...

Center Director Bob Shrum joins a panel of energy experts and industry leaders to discuss the latest national policies advancing cleaner energy and curbing the effects of climate change, in commemoration of Earth Day. Featuring: Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife Ted Bardacke - CEO, Clean Power Alliance Ivan Penn - Energy Corre...

The recent mass shootings in Sacramento, California, and at a subway station in Brooklyn, New York have prompted renewed calls for action on gun control. In this podcast episode, we gain a unique perspective on the raging debate with a former gun industry executive who says the NRA and its supporters have gone too far. Our guest, Ryan Busse grew up around guns— hunting and shooting with his father...

How do you harness the power of money for the greater good? This week, Farai speaks to philanthropist Mona Sinha, founder and CEO of the Insight Circle Fund, about what it means to make an impact as a woman of color in the worlds of finance and of giving. In the series “Our Body Politic Presents…” Aimée Eubanks Davis, host and creator of the podcast After 1954 speaks to author of Black Teachers on...

Partisanship is up, trust is down and social media encourages us to believe we're right and everyone else is either ignorant, stupid or evil. But avoiding difficult conversations with those we disagree with is a big reason why our nation is so bitterly divided. Journalist Mónica Guzmán set out to discover what was blinding us and learned that the best tool we have we're not using: Our own curiosit...

Social media has become a part of our daily lives, as we scroll endlessly through curated feeds. But it’s clear that these platforms are having a negative impact on our lives and our society in ways we never imagined. Platforms that were once a way to connect people have become a place where disinformation flows freely, controversy and division turns a profit, and people are pushed into echo chamb...

A recording from our Twitter Space Event with Campaign Legal Center . Hosts Justin Kempf , Host of Democracy Paradox Simone Leeper , Legal Counsel for Campaign Legal Center, Host of Democracy Decoded Guests Trevor Potter , President, Campaign Legal Center Adiv Noti , Vice President & Legal Director, Campaign Legal Center If you would like to listen and ask questions live, follow us @GroupDemocracy...

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question , Julia, Lee, and James consider what could have been if things happened differently at key moments in American political history. What would politics look like today if Richard Nixon defeated John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election? Would Barack Obama’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election alter the trajectory of American politics over...