The Democracy Group

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States united for democracy | Democracy Works Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

With hundreds of elections deniers running in the midterms, democracy is on the ballot this fall. The team at the States United Democracy Center is at the forefront of efforts to ensure free, fair, and secure elections in 2022, 2024, and beyond. Cofounders Norman Eisen, Joanna Lydgate, and Christine Todd Whitman join us this week to talk about how they're doing it in states across the country and how everyone can support their efforts.

Through legal, policy, and communications work, States United is fighting back empowering state leaders as they defend elections. These officials are the frontline champions in the battle for our democracy. Governors help enshrine voter protection into law, and attorneys general defend those laws—along with election results. Secretaries of state oversee elections, and law enforcement leaders make sure they are safe and free from violence. States United’s mission is to bring these leaders together to protect elections, prevent political violence, fight disinformation, and pursue accountability for those who step outside the bounds of our democracy.

Eisen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, former Ambassador to the Czech Republic, and special counsel to the White House for ethics and government reform. Lydgate is the former chief deputy attorney general of Massachusetts. Whitman is the former governor of New Jersey and Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the George W. Bush administration. They are the recipients of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy's 2022 Brown Democracy Medal.

States United Democracy Center

States United: A Survival Guide for Our Democracy - Eisen, Lydgate, and Whitman's book written as part of receiving the Brown Democracy Medal

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Abortion and the Supreme Court: Politics Over Law? Or Law Over Politics? | The Bully Pulpit Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

CPF Director Bob Shrum joins an all-star panel discussion on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the politics of Supreme Court decisions. They discuss the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, the impact of Roe v. Wade on voters and the midterm election, the upcoming Supreme Court cases, and if Roe can be restored. Featuring:

Lee Epstein: Hilliard Distinguished Professor of Law, USC Gould School of Law
Jessica Lall: President and CEO, Central City Association of Los Angeles; Fall 2022 Barbara Boxer Fellow, USC Center for the Political Future
Mark Schoofs: Pulitzer prize-winning Professor of Journalism, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Bob Shrum: Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife

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How Guilty Pleas Fastrack and Derail Justice | 70 Million Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

The US Constitution guarantees a right to trial to anyone accused of a crime, but less than 3 percent of criminal defendants get a trial. Instead, they’re regularly cornered into pleading guilty, sometimes admitting to a crime they didn’t commit. Reporter Mark Betancourt retraces one innocent man’s legal ordeal to explain why this happens.

Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

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Homecoming: The Case for a Post-Global World with Rana Foroohar | How Do We Fix It? Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

For much of the past fifty years, American political leaders of both parties have assumed that globalization and free trade would lead to more opportunity, higher living standards and increased business efficiency.

But our guest, author and Financial Times columnist, Rana Foroohar, argues that with supply chain disruptions and growing economic insecurity in much of the world, the long reign of globalization is coming to end. A shift to more resilient and local businesses is now at hand. We discuss the reporting and findings in the brand new book, "Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World."

"I think the pendulum of the old way is tapped out," Rana tells us. "Cheap money is over. Cheap labor from China is largely over. Cheap energy from Russia is definitely over."

The war in Ukraine and the political and economic chaos that followed have brought the fragility of the global economic and political system into sharp relief. We discuss the argument that our economy is far too financialized and that this is leading to greater mistrust, vast inequality and more populist autocrats. As we do in all of our shows, we hear potential solutions. Rana argues that place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep investment and wealth closer to home. She makes the case that our economic system needs to be transformed

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Brazilian Nail-Biter | Democracy in Danger Oct 31, 2022

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Pollsters in Brazil had Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the comeback candidate, leading by as many as 14 percentage points in the presidential election. But neither top nominee won a majority this month, sending citizens back to the polls for a historic runoff. And democracy itself is on the line. Incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro has waged war on reality, sowed division on social media and attacked the press. We check in with one of his targets, journalist Patrícia Campos Mello, ahead of the Oct. 30 rematch.

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What can we learn from political polls? | Politics in Question Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Elliott Morris joins Julia and Lee to discuss political polling. Morris is a data journalist and US correspondent at The Economist, where he writes on American politics, elections, and public opinion. Morris previously worked for an elections returns start-up and the Pew Research Center and has contributed articles to the New York Times. He is the author of Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them.

How does polling work? Can polls tell us something that we don’t already know? Are polls misleading? Is the practice good or bad for democracy? These are some of the questions that Elliott, Julia, and Lee ask on this week’s episode.

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Combating Disinformation with Tara McGowan of Courier Newsroom | The Great Battlefield Oct 24, 2022

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Tara McGowan returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about founding Courier Newsroom, where they're working in 8 battleground states to fight back against disinformation by publishing good information.

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What Should Centers for Civic Engagement Do For Higher Education? An Interview with David Kirkpatrick and Kara Dillard | Democracy Matters Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Madison Center for Civic Engagement Democracy Fellow Leia Surovell interviews the new interim Executive Director, Dr. David Kirkpatrick and the new interim Associate Director Dr. Kara Dillard about their vision for the Madison Center and their views for what campus Centers for Civic Engagement should do for higher education.

See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://www.jmu.edu/civic/podcast/index.shtml

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Bridging Divides on College Campuses: Clare Ashcraft and Jackson Richter | Let's Find Common Ground Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

Rigid polarization and political division are among the biggest challenges facing our country. Young people often feel that tribalism is better than unity and that conversations across political and cultural divides are impossible.

College students Clare Ashcraft, who comes from a conservative background, and Jackson Spencer Richter, who calls himself a committed liberal, are active members of BridgeUSA, a national movement of students working to emphasize the importance of empathy, understanding, and ideological diversity.

In this episode we hear about students' personal experience of cancel culture, the impact of social media on Generation Z, and why many young people actually feel that free speech can harm or threaten their safety. We also learn about efforts to find common ground, equip students with skills to find solutions across divides, and build bridges with others of different backgrounds and points of view.

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Stop Banning Books: Jonathan Friedman | Future Hindsight Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Jonathan Friedman is the director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. He oversees research, advocacy, and education related to academic freedom, educational gag orders, book bans, and general free expression in schools, colleges, and universities. We discuss the driving forces behind campaigns to ban books and silence teachers.

Education has always been political and a part of the culture war. We’re currently experiencing an eruption of citizen anger against schools, books, school librarians, and teachers for allegedly engaging in something dangerous. For example, anything about diversity and inclusion is labeled as critical race theory. Libraries were actually put inside schools to encourage literacy and development, civic engagement, and exploration that is very healthy for a society. Politicians are increasingly trying to label whatever they don't like in schools as something that should be censored, and there are efforts to defund or close public libraries.

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