The Democracy Group

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Biden’s Disastrous Debate and a Bunch of Big Supreme Court Decisions | The Politics Guys Jul 08, 2024

Show notes

Mike and Jay open with a discussion of President Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate. Mike was actually hoping for a worse outcome that would all but force Biden from the race, which he doesn’t think will happen, despite multiple calls for Biden to step aside. Jay wonders how Biden’s closest confidants and top advisors allowed things to get to this point. Mike suggests that Biden may still be able to handle the non-public-facing parts of the job, which Jay doubts, particularly in the event of a national security emergency.

After that, they turn to the Supreme Court ending Chevron deference, in a ruling that will have major implications for government agencies, Congress, and the courts. Mike has long been a supporter of Chevron but thinks that the Court made the right call here, which both surprises and pleases Jay, who’s never been a fan of Chevron.

Following that they discuss two other major decisions of the Court – one that allows women in Idaho to obtain abortions to preserve their lives and health and another in which the Court decided that plaintiffs arguing the government censored their social media posts don’t have standing to sue.

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Renée DiResta, INVISIBLE RULERS: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality | Talkin Politics & Religion Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

"Disinformation. Spam and Scams. Trolls." For those of us paying attention, one thing is clear: We got problems! Fortunately, Renée DiResta is helping with exactly that by studying online manipulation, and what we can do about it. And yeah, we get quite a primer on the concept of "bespoke realities."

Renée DiResta is the Technical Research Manager at Stanford Internet Observatory. In this conversation we delve into the challenges of misinformation, online manipulation, and the impact of algorithmic curation on public discourse. Renée discusses her career journey, her work on election integrity, and the concept of "bespoke realities." The episode explores how media ecosystems shape our perception and the importance of fostering meaningful dialogue across differing viewpoints.

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The Red Herring | Bad Watchdog Jul 01, 2024

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Established in the wake of September 11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was entrusted with protecting the U.S. from national security threats. Since then, much of the agency’s focus has been on the southern border — with tens of thousands of people held in its detention centers on a daily basis. Host Maren Machles explores how this came to be and delves into what happens to people held in immigration detention centers with the presumption that they may be national security threats. And she asks the question: How does this relate to the way DHS addresses the most dangerous threat currently facing our nation — far-right violent extremism?

To find out, Maren talks with Daryl Johnson, who recounts his work as the former lead analyst for domestic terrorism at DHS. She also speaks with Alejandro Beutel, a criminologist who focuses on domestic terrorism, and Berto Hernandez, who shares their story of being brought into the U.S. as a child and held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement years later.

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Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Leaders Together in the Same Room: Reverend Anne Fowler and Francis Hogan | Let's Find Common Ground Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Abortion is one of the most passionate, divisive, and emotional issues in the 2024 election campaign. The debate is often dominated by extremes on both sides.

But what if passionate pro-life and pro-choice movement leaders could get together in the same room and learn how to disagree better? That is exactly what happened in Massachusetts, beginning in the mid 1990's. Leaders on both sides held secret discussions over the course of several years .

These wrenching conversations began in the mid 1990’s at a very difficult time— after two women were murdered by an anti-abortion extremist in Brookline, Massachusetts.

We hear from The Reverend Anne Fowler, an Episcopal Priest who served on the board of directors for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, and lawyer Fran Hogan, who's been President of Women Affirming Life. They’re among the six women profiled in the 2023 documentary, "The Abortion Talks".

This interview was first published last year.

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Mayor Phillip Jones on the Year of the Youth | An Honorable Profession Jun 24, 2024

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In this week’s episode, NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan talks with Newport News, VA’s youngest elected mayor Philip Jones. They discuss his first State of the City Address, where he proclaimed 2024 as the Year of the Youth, thanks to his initiatives like Night Nets and the Summer Youth Employment Program, as well as investments in expanded childcare throughout his city. Debbie and Mayor Jones also talk about his journey to becoming an “Education Mayor,” his work on climate justice, and what has surprised him the most about the job of Mayor. Tune in to listen to Mayor Jones' tips on how to engage young people in government and his insights into what will motivate Virginia voters this November.

• [01:04] Welcome to Virginia Mayor Phillip Jones, the youngest person to be elected Mayor of his hometown.

• [02:36] His favorite thing about being Mayor so far and why his parents are his toughest constituents.

• [05:08] The two initiatives that funding allocated to the youth is going towards: Night Nets and Youth Career Program.

• [08:52] Why education is always top of mind for Mayor Phillip and the results he has seen.

• [11:55] His efforts to impact climate change.

• [13:06] What Mayor Phil loves most about his city.

• [15:05] How service became such a major theme in his life.

• [16:21] The journey to running for office.

• [20:29] How education became a priority prior to his appointment as mayor.

• [21:58] Which issues Mayor Phil hears about the most and how he is responding to them.

• [23:10] Advice for young people looking to get involved in politics.

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The State of Progressive Political Tech with Micah Sifry | The Great Battlefield Jun 19, 2024

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Michael Sifry returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to discuss an article he recently published called "Living with VANxiety: The Present and Future of Progressive Movement Tech".

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Take the Constitution Back from Originalism: Madiba Dennie | Future Hindsight Jun 17, 2024

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Madiba Dennie is Deputy Editor and Senior Contributor at the critical legal commentary outlet Balls and Strikes. Her debut book is The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We The People Can Take it Back. We discuss a fresh way to interpret the Constitution.

Inclusive Constitutionalism interprets the Constitution in a way that makes inclusive democracy real. By contrast, originalism interprets the meaning of the Constitution as fixed in time in the 1800s. However, the Reconstruction Amendments that were enacted in the wake of the Civil War tried to address the status of newly freed, formerly enslaved people. The Amendments were designed to foster a multiracial democracy for the first time. In addition, the public has a role in articulating what it believes the Constitution means.

Follow Madiba on X:

https://x.com/AudreLawdAMercy

Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

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What is the state of American Democracy? | Politics in Question Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Congressman John Sarbanes, D-Md., joins Lee to talk about the health of American democracy. Sarbanes has represented Maryland’s third congressional district in the House of Representatives since 2007. He serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and is chair of the Democracy Reform Task Force. Sarbanes was born and raised in Baltimore and has experience working in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

What does it mean to live in a democracy? What is the state of American democracy? Is it a flawed democracy? If so, what can be done to fix it? These are some of the questions Rep. Sarbanes and Lee ask in this week’s episode.

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Protests, debates, and the "meh" election | Democracy Works Jun 10, 2024

Show notes

We've reached the end of another school year and another season of Democracy Works. Before we go on summer break, Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, and Candis Watts Smith reflect on recent events and what's to come this summer. We do this by taking a look back at some of our previous episodes:

The real free speech problem on campus: Penn State's Brad Vivian on the problems with "campus free speech" discourse and media coverage. We discuss how this narrative has been applied to protests about the war in Gaza that happened on some campuses near the end of the spring semester. Follow Brad's Substack for his more recent work on the Gaza protests and more.

A different kind of political divide - Yanna Krupnikov from the University of Michigan on the divide between people who follow politics closely and those who don't. We're seeing this divide play out in recent polling that shows support for Donald Trump is higher among people who say they are not politically engaged, while support for Biden is higher among those who follow news and politics more closely.

Debating the future of debates: John Hudak from Brookings talks about the value of presidential debates to democracy. We recorded this episode in 2022 after the RNC announced it would not participate in events organized by the Commission for Presidential Debates. Now that two debates are scheduled for the next few months, we discuss whether they'll actually happen and how much they'll matter.

This is our last new episode until early September. We'll use the next few months to plan for our fall season. Please send us an email if you have ideas for topics we should tackle or guests we should interview. Have a great summer!

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Meet the Hosts at The Democracy Group Jun 07, 2024

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Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. She is the host of Democracy Decoded, a Campaign Legal Center podcast.

Liz Joyner is the executive director of the Village Square, a nonprofit dedicated to reviving civic connections across divisions inside American communities. She oversees the Village SquareCast, a Village Square podcast.

Corey Nathan started out as a stockbroker by day while studying at a theatre conservatory at night. Corey loves theology, politics and culture and enjoys invigorating conversations with renowned experts of these subjects on his podcast, Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other.

Mila Atmos, a global citizen based in New York City, is the producer and series host of Future Hindsight, a weekly podcast that aims to spark civic engagement through in-depth conversations with citizen changemakers.

Michael Baranowski is a political scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. His focus is American political institutions, public policy, and media. He spends most of his time indoctrinating students at Northern Kentucky University.

To learn more about each of the featured podcasts, visit the Shows page at democracygroup.org/shows.

To read the full Q&As with each of the featured podcasts, visit the Meet the Hosts section at democracygroup.org/blog.

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