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The Gerrymandering Deadline with Michael Li | Another Way Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

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 Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/02/voting-fix-that-cannot-wait-stopping-partisan-gerrymandering

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Education Reimagined with Becky Pringle and Gisele Huff | Let's Find Common Ground Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

Everyone wants the best education for their children. But parents and teachers don't always agree on how to get there.

In this episode, we hear from two education leaders whose views clashed when they first met. Gisele Huff is a philanthropist and longtime proponent of school choice, including charter schools. Becky Pringle spent her career in public education. A science teacher for three decades, she is now President of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest labor union.

After some deep initial skepticism, these women and other leaders came together and developed a transformational vision for US education. Along the way, they developed a deep respect for one another, and a friendship that has helped each of them through personal tragedies.

This episode is co-produced in partnership with Convergence Center for Policy Resolution— one of a series of podcasts that Common Ground Committee and Convergence are producing together.

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Making the Most of College, Books that Educate and Empower, and Two New Models of Community-based Journalism | Our Body Politic Aug 16, 2021

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Farai Chideya talks with Dr. Angel Pérez of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling about how students can access the resources they need for a successful college experience. Luvvie Ajayi Jones shares lessons from her book on facing your fears. Latinx author Carmen Maria Machado addresses criticism of her memoir from a school district in Texas, and why it matters to share her story. Social media maven Omehabiba Khan tells the origin story of her successful Instagram dating site for Muslims, Rishta Live. And on the weekly roundtable Sippin’ the Political Tea, Farai Chideya talks about what accountable, community-based journalism can look like with two founders of local news organizations based in New York: Mazin Sidahmed of Documented, and S. Mitra Kalita of Epicenter-NYC.

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Swindled and Scammed | Swamp Stories Aug 11, 2021

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There is an emerging trend in the world of political fundraising — grifters preying on the elderly and others with fake campaigns.

The worst part? There are barely any laws on the books to stop them.

In this episode, Weston chats with Daily Beast reporter Roger Sollenberger about “scam PACs” and how they have been used to con unsuspecting Americans into contributing to fake causes and campaigns.

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Diverse Women in Politics: Kelly Dittmar | Future Hindsight Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Kelly Dittmar is the Director of Research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. She explains why diversity among women serving in public office enhances our democracy, and how we can support more women to run and win elections.

Motivations and Perspectives

The goal of promoting women to run for office is not simply to achieve parity in Congress or in State legislatures. Rather, it should be to recognize that women offer a variety of perspectives and lived experiences that men lack. In addition, women have faced more barriers than men to be elected and are generally more motivated to get things done.

Confronting Our Biases

Toughness, experience in national security, and negotiating tactics are often thought of as ideal leadership qualities, which are viewed as inherently male characteristics. Although female leaders do often possess these skills, championing women also means that we need to confront such biases and value traits like compassion, cooperation, and consensus building skills.

Women’s Interests

All women, like all men, are motivated by a large number of factors in forming political opinions. Our senses of identity are not solely based on gender, which is why there is no such thing as the “women’s agenda.” Women see the world through racial, social, and class identities, which often conflict with and supersede gender identity. However, these factors do intertwine with gender in public policy decisions.

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Mallory SoRelle on the Politics of Consumer Credit | Democracy Paradox Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

Mallory SoRelle joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss the politics of consumer credit. She is an assistant professor of public policy at Duke University. She is the author of Democracy Declined: The Failed Politics of Consumer Financial Protection.

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Key Highlights Include

How the American economy depends on credit
A brief history of consumer credit in America
Details why consumer debt is a systemic problem
Why financial consumers do not politically mobilize
Explains how public policy shapes political behavior

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Democracy Declined: The Failed Politics of Consumer Financial Protection by Mallory SoRelle

Learn more about Mallory SoRelle

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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The Role of Political Science in American Public Life | Science of Politics Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

For a special edition celebrating the 100th episode of the Science of Politics, Matt talks with Ezra Klein about how well political science informs American politics and public policy. They discuss how political science has changed in the age of Twitter and the era of Trump and the roles of scholars and journalists using research in debates on climate, COVID, and race.

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A different take on local news and democracy | Democracy Works Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

Local news and democracy have been intertwined since the days of Alexis de Tocqueville. As we've discussed on this show before, news outlets are one way that people who live in a city or town keep up on what's happening in their local government. However, our guest this week argues the "watchdog" effect of local journalism might be overstated, along with the correlation between local news consumption and political participation.

Nikki Usher is an associate professor in the College of Media at the University of Illinois and author of News for the Rich, White, and Blue: How Place and Power Distort American Journalism. In the book and in this conversation, Usher recasts the challenges facing journalism in terms of place, power, and inequality. She questions longstanding beliefs about the relationship between local news and civic engagement and separates observed behavior from myths about American democracy and the media's role within it.

This conversation originally appeared on New Books in Journalism, part of the New Books Network.

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News for the Rich, White, and Blue: How Place and Power Distort American Journalism

New Books Network

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Defending The Constitution of Knowledge: Jonathan Rauch | How Do We Fix It? Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

Democracies around the world are under threat from populist movements, demagogues and dogmatic extremists who use disinformation, conspiracy theories, shaming, cancel culture and other tactics to weaponize social media and challenge our ability to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from falsehood.

In his new book, our guest, best-selling author, journalist, scholar, and public intellectual, Jonathan Rauch, offers a stirring defense of the constitution of knowledge— our social system of checks and balances that is crucial for turning disagreement into truth.

"This global network of people hunting for each others' errors is far and away the greatest human technology ever invented," Jonathan tells us in this episode of "How Do We Fix It?" The constitution of knowledge, he says, "is a global conversation of people looking for truth, and more especially, looking for error."

With a deep knowledge of history and politics, Jonathan arms listeners and readers with a better understanding of what they can do to protect truth and free inquiry from threats as far away from Russia and as close as your laptop and smartphone.

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Democracy's Crises and Failure of Imagination | TDG Event Series Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

A recording and transcripts of this event are available at democracygroup.org.

Host

Jenna Spinelle
Founder, The Democracy Group

Guests

Lee Drutman
Co-Host, Politics in Question

Turi Munthe
Host, On Opinion

Carah Ong Whaley
Co-Host, Democracy Matters

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