The Democracy Group

Democrats are deciding how to trim their reconciliation bill, considering expiring programs, means testing eligibility, and using tax credits rather than spending. To make these new social programs last after Democrats lose power, today’s program design decisions are critical.  Eric  Patashnik  finds  that sustainable programs require incentivizing actors to see reforms through and not letting pol...

The family can often be a microcosm of America – divided and torn – wanting to heal and not knowing how. In honor of Thanksgiving, join The Democracy Group, Braver Angels, and Culture Shift Agency in this structured conversation exploring how to move from a divided table to one where everyone feels more nourished. Each guest for this panel has unique experience that informs their understanding of...

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question , Julia, Lee, and James discuss David Shor’s recent controversy-provoking advice for Democrats. What does Shor advise Democrats to do ahead of next year’s midterm elections? Why is his advice controversial? And what does the race-versus-economics debate that Shor’s advice sparked reveal about American politics more broadly and why our political instit...

As another election cycle approaches, moderates in the Republican Party have some choices to make. Will they continue to fight Trumpism from within? Or break out to form a new political party, perhaps in coalition with moderate Democrats who feel alienated by the party's leftward turn? Miles Taylor and Charlie Dent are two Republicans at the forefront of addressing that question through the Renew...

At the end of the day, I am optimistic despite all the evidence. First of all, I think there are a lot of resources that democracies can use. A lot of areas of law, where as long as we recognize what it is we're fighting for, democracy is worth fighting for and have a common view as to what that means that we can advance it in many places, not just here but abroad. And this might sound a little ho...

A legal matrix that incentivizes criminal convictions can motivate unethical prosecutors to bend or break the rules. In New York, a group of law professors is trying to curb that by pushing the system to discipline its own. Reported by Nina Sparling. Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here . Additional Information 70 Million Podcast More shows from The Democracy Group Ho...

Center Fellow Gloria Molina is joined by Antonio Villaraigosa, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles, strategist Cesar Martinez, and USC Professor Mindy Romero to discuss the growing impact of Latino voters and assess how political parties are reaching them, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Featuring: Gloria Molina - Fall 2021 Fellow, Center for the Political Future; Former LA County Supervisor and...

Much of the time when we talk and think about Congress, we don’t consider all the work that happens behind the scenes. Without the congressional staffers who constitute 97% of the legislative branch, legislating would be impossible. But, their ability to do this job is often hobbled by extremely low pay, leading to poor staff retention, low diversity, and ultimately, preventing Congress from fulfi...

Trigger Warning: This episode and associated images contain information regarding violence and hate aimed against Black Americans. In this episode, Stephen C. Poulson, Professor of Sociology at James Madison University, discusses his new book Racism on Campus: A Visual History of Prominent Virginia Colleges and Howard University (New York: Routledge Press, 2021). Racism on Campus provides a system...

In the season four opener of Politics In Question , Julia, Lee, and James unpack the rampant dysfunction on Capitol Hill. Why did Congress wait until the last minute to fund the government and raise the debt limit? What is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., endgame? And will Democratic divisions prevent Congress from passing President Joe Biden’s agenda moving forward? These are some...

“40% of the variance observed in political attitudes can be attributed to genetics” Twin studies have suggested that one third of our political orientation can be traced to our genes. But does that mean our politics are predisposed? John Hibbing is one of the greats of Political Psychology in the US. His work spans decades and has broken ground across multiple disciplines - from polling and repres...

The problems of disinformation, conspiracies, and cancel culture are probably familiar to many of our listeners. But they're usually talked about separately, including on this show. In his new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth , Jonathan Rauch ties these threads together and shows how they contribute to a larger problem of a departure from facts and truth in favor of feelings...

Have you ever considered hosting or producing a podcast to advance your work or address an issue? Podcasts are a great way to raise awareness and make connections with listeners in your own community and around the world. However, it takes a lot of work to create, maintain, and promote a podcast to keep listeners regularly tuning in. In this event for the National Conference on Citizenship, The De...

Intersectionality As an Assemblymember, González-Rojas works to address a variety of intersectional issues facing her community, ranging from housing to healthcare. Her prior experience as a reproductive justice advocate has trained her well for intersectional lawmaking, which is often siloed by the political process. This approach serves the people most marginalized and helps create dynamic bills...

Farai Chideya talks with Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington about her decision to have an abortion years ago, and her experience of the January 6th insurrection. Our Body Politic’s new economics analyst Jamila Michener of Cornell University discusses important policy changes that could benefit workers. Public health contributor Dr. Kavita Trivedi gives practical advice for families with...

The forever war claimed 243,000 lives and cost $2.3 billion over two decades, before coming to a chaotic end with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan last month. But what about the costs you can’t tally? In this first of a series on lessons learned from America’s longest conflict, Will and Siva speak with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Spencer Ackerman about the fallout on the home f...

There’s a place in rural St. Johns, Arizona, where teens who have encounters with officers of the law can play pool, make music, and get mentored instead of going to jail. It’s called The Loft, and it’s the brainchild of a judge who wanted to save the county hundreds of millions of dollars and divert young people towards the support many were not getting at home. Reported by Ruxandra Guidi. Find a...

Only  four in 10 Americans  say they have a lot of trust in the news media. That's a big problem for our democracy. While journalists are supposed to tell the truth and get the story right, just  35 percent  of right-of-center voters have some trust in what they see in the news. Democrats and independents are much more likely to trust journalists, but Americans of almost all shades of opinion  are...

Local news is losing out to online, nationalized, and more polarized outlets. How do the economics of news production and the contributors who write it affect the political content that Americans see?  Nikki Usher  finds  that local newspapers are losing staff, but declines are not concentrated in Red small towns.  Nick  Hagar  finds  that contributors to online media are an insular group, with co...

Biden's current policy is, you know, we want Putin to calm down, be stable for awhile and turn our focus to restraining China. I don't think that's going to happen. That's not in his interest to do that. So, I think taking our eye off Russia, underestimating it, is the biggest concern for the U.S. currently. Kathryn Stoner A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief prime...

The takeover by the Taliban in Afghanistan; a more aggressive China and Russia; a newly-elected hardline President in Iran: All are all major challenges facing President Joe Biden and his Administration.  Our podcast guests are Ned Temko, who writes the weekly international affairs column “Patterns” for The Christian Science Monitor, and Scott Peterson, the Monitor's Middle East bureau chief. Both...

“The world that we live in today is fuelled by heightened emotion…” Over the course of two seasons of On Opinion, we’ve looked at opinions through the lens of philosophy, psychology, social science, anthropology and evolution. But one area we’ve missed is that of feeling. Omar Kholeif and Jonathan Sklar take very different approaches to understand the world we live in, but both see emotion as some...

In this episode of  Politics In Question , Amanda Ripley joins Julia, Lee, and James to discuss political conflict.  Ripley  is an investigative journalist and  New York Times  bestselling author. Her most recent book is  High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out  (Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2021). Ripley's writing has appeared in the  Atlantic Magazine ,  Time Magazine , the  New York Tim...

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United states and explored the consequences of the U.S. response, the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement and JMU X-Labs have parterened to share and highlight the contributions of James Madison University alumni who commissioned through the ROTC and served in the Global War on Terror. In this episode, Lie...

In this episode, Adam Eichen speaks to Michael Li, senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. The two discuss gerrymandering, what the For The People Act would do to stop it, and the meaning of the upcoming Census deadline. Note: When the episode was recorded, the Census Bureau planned to release its data on August 16th. Since then, the date was moved to August 12th. Michael’s Wash...