Save Democracy

Defend yourself against emotional hijack, or, in the technical term, "malign cognitive influence", as it's coming after you! your vote, your money, your time, and your identity! For a healthy democracy, we need to protect and nourish our own agency, and preserve independence of thought. This half hour may well help you strengthen your defences. Joining host Katherine Davies is Cambridge University...

This episode may surprise you and leave you with a greater sense of agency. How can you engage effectively with your rep (or MP), and raise an issue with your parliament (or the equivalent in your country) - what’s good to know? Cristina Leston‑Bandeira is a leading authority on citizen engagement with parliaments and representative assemblies. Cristina advises legislatures worldwide, authors prac...

The reach of authoritarian states will surprise you. In democracies around the world, HRW research reveals the silencing of citizens by the Chinese state. The fear employed? The threat to friends and family back in China. The how? Getting people inside the diaspora to spy on each other. For our interviewee, it's personal. China Researcher for Human Rights Watch, Yalkun Uluyol, has no idea where hi...

A non-partisan pressure group wins a tough high stakes campaign in the UK parliament, defending democracy. How did they do it? Alongwith a coalition, and plenty of grit and relationship building, amid many setbacks, they just kept getting back up again, and again and again, fighting for the foundations beneath the feet of the British people. Enjoy an inspiring 30 minutes with a passionate lifelong...

Be inspired and enjoy some positive news on the defense of democracy, from Stanford Professor James Fishkin. Explore some of the remarkable (and scalable) results from AI-assisted deliberative democracy, and how it can help connect the will of the people to what is done in their name. In just over half an hour, find out what's important to know. Enjoying the pod? Please help others find us by subs...

Familiar with disinformation? My expert guest, Dr Halyna Padalko, reveals what happens when you add AI. Prepare yourself for what's to come - help innoculate yourself in 30 minutes. We are all vulnerable. Dr Padalko helps us to appreciate the current and future threats. Awareness is key. Halyna also lays out the ways we can use AI to counter the threats, and how, as individuals, we can best prepar...

This episode is a quick check-in and reflection from your host and podcast creator Katherine Davies, as in parts of the world, it seems that the clouds over democracy are darkening. Katherine shares briefly some of the lowlights, and her thoughts on one way to navigate the run of bad news. The episode closes on an update about the podcast, and some good news headlines from Ukraine and the UK. Save...

Why quality independent media matters and is essential to a functioning democracy. What can we do to support it? And the lessons for the world from what happened in Hungary, where a propaganda machine was created inside the European Union. Jamie Wiseman, IPI's Senior Europe Advocacy Officer joins Host and Creator Katherine Davies. Jamie is a media freedom advocate at the International Press Instit...

Explore democracy with a renowned philosophy professor (western and eastern) Professor Jay Garfield, interviewed by Save Democracy podcast host, Katherine Davies. Why trust and solidarity matter, how fear is used to divide us, the importance of getting out of the way of one’s 'self', and much else! It is a rich thirty minutes you might find yourself listening to more than once! Jay L. Garfield is...

A driver of democratic decline is job insecurity. And the impact of AI... is a whole new level of insecurity! One way to help address it - at least in part - is to provide (where possible) access to continuous learning and training. In this, Denmark is a world leader. Host Katherine Davies speaks to Danish think tank DEA's CEO, Stina Vrang Elias, who speaks with deep experience about the lessons o...

The big picture of what is happening in the world re democratic backsliding, and the rise of autocracy. Cathryn Grothe, Senior Analyst from Freedom House, gives a masterful overview, revealing the key trends, what the alternative is to democracy (!) and concrete ways we can engage locally to help support democracy where we live. Note: During the interview, Cathryn refers to the (Save Democracy) po...

In this episode, I speak to Arsen Yatsenko, a long-time community organiser in Ukraine, and now a fifth year PhD candidate, with research focused on community and local NGOs (in Ukraine), at Poland's Wroclaw University. His journey offers remarkable insights into what it's like to step from relative isolation to engaging in your community, and how it can change your life. Informed by his research*...

In this episode, you'll get a sense of what life is like under a junta—what it feels like when your country (Myanmar) sits at or near the bottom of the global democracy indices, along with Afghanistan and North Korea. For safety reasons, we have employed a voice actor to protect his identity. Towards the end of the interview with the source, when I asked him a question which was very hard to ask.....

Modern autocrats use a sophisticated toolbox, and one of the most powerful and covert set of strategies, is how they use something we all rely on, and many of us don't often think about. In this episode, I speak to an expert on how autocrats, behind a cloak of legitimacy, use the law to dismantle democracy and entrench their regimes. They count on you and me to look the other way. Enjoy clarity on...

Hello, This is short trailer for the Save Democracy podcast which has just launched. The podcast website is savedemocracy.today Email the host and creator at katherine@savedemocracy.today Thank you for stopping by! Good wishes Katherine Music from Uppbeat: Niafunke by Arnito

Welcome! Pod host/creator Katherine Davies : I stopped recently into a student cafe in the centre of Copenhagen (thank you to the staff at Studenterhuset!) to find out what it's like to live in a healthy democracy - Denmark is one of the top 3 in the world*. University students Sarah, Hamza and Mathias graciously stopped what they were doing, and what followed, was an insightful and inspiring conv...

Today's guest is civic leader Artem Zozulia , President of Foundation Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland. A dedicated voice for Ukrainian democracy for nearly two decades, Artem's journey began as a youth volunteer in his hometown of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, challenging Russian propaganda, and campaigning for a pro-European future. Today, the foundation he leads serves as a vital lifeline, helping re...

Corruption corrodes democracy. Podcast host and creator Katherine Davies joins international anti-corruption specialist Scott Collins as he explores how corruption works and what can be done about it. Now based in Canberra, Scott's twenty years in the field has taken him to Papua New Guinea, West Africa, and the Carribean, as a criminal justice advisor specialising in anti-corruption capacity deve...