This is Democracy

Latest Episodes:

This is Democracy – Episode 330: Jewish Politics Since the 19th Century Oct 05, 2026

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This week, Zachary and Jeremi meet with Yale historian David Sorkin discussing his book, The Emancipationists: 19th Century Jews’ Campaign for Citizenship.

David Sorkin is the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University. He is the author of numerous books, including The Transformation of German Jewry, 1780-1840, Jewish Emancipation: A History Across Five Centuries, and, most recently, The Emancipationists: Nineteenth-Century Jews’ Campaign for Citizenship.

This is Democracy – Episode 329: Intelligence: Past and Present Sep 21, 2026

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This is Democracy – Episode 328: Imperialist Realism Sep 09, 2026

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Zachary and Jeremi are back this week to speak with University of Washington professor Daniel Bessner about his essay collection Imperialist Realism. They discuss shifting public attitudes across age cohorts, limits of U.S. power in East Asia and changing warfare, and connect these themes to the approaching 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the dashed hopes of the Global War on Terror.

This is Democracy – Episode 327: Local Journalism Aug 18, 2026

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Jeremi and Zachary return from summer break to discuss local journalism. Zachary draws from his experience working as a local reporter in Milwaukee over the summer to highlight the challenges that small, local stations and publications face in reaching wide audiences today, and what opportunities history may teach us to find a path forward.

This is Democracy – Episode 326: Ukraine Update Jun 24, 2026

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Jeremi and Zachary sit down with historian and former U.S. State Department official Michael Kimmage to take stock of where things stand in the fourth year of the war in Ukraine.

Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America, and the director of the Kennan Institute. From 2014 to 2017, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. His latest book is Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability.

Edited by Uriel Murillo.

This is Democracy – Episode 325: Monuments and History Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

Jeremi and Zachary speak with historian Vaneesa Cook about her book “Empire and Liberty,” using the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building to examine how monuments have reflected debates over U.S. liberty, empire, immigration, protest, and public memory from the late 19th century through the Cold War. They discuss how each landmark’s meaning has shifted over time through politics, popular culture, and commemoration as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

This is Democracy – Episode 324: Universities Today May 29, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, Jeremi and Zachary discuss how U.S. universities are changing, delving into shifts in campus political culture, administrative growth around DEI, viewpoint diversity and ideological siloing. They also discuss the financial and policy pressures such as federal research funding cuts, visa changes for international students, and endowment taxes, and what exactly these changes mean for teaching, civics education, and the role of universities in public life.

This is Democracy – Episode 323: “Christian Nation”? May 20, 2026

Show notes

This week, Jeremi and Zachary speak with Dr. Daniel Hummel to address the claim of the US as a "Christian Nation" by many of its citizens, and how this notion relates to our democracy.

Dr. Daniel Hummel is the director of the Lumen Center in Madison, WI, and a research fellow in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research and writing are on American evangelicals, theology, politics, and culture. His most recent book is: The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped a Nation. He has also written about similar topics for Christianity Today, New Lines Magazine, and the Washington Post.

This is Democracy – Episode 322 – Israel: Past and Present May 11, 2026

Show notes

This week, Jeremi and Zachary interview Brown University historian Dr. Omer Bartov about his book, Israel: What Went Wrong?, written after October 7 amid his efforts to understand Israeli society, media narratives, and the war in Gaza informed by his visits to Israel in 2024.

Dr. Omer Bartov is the Dean’s Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University. He is the author of many important books, including: Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz; Tales from the Borderlands: Making and Unmaking the Galician Past; and most recently, Israel: What Went Wrong?.

This is Democracy – Episode 321: Hungarian Elections Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

This week, Zachary and Jeremi speak with UT Austin professor Lorinc Redei about Hungary’s recent election, in which longtime prime minister Viktor Orbán was defeated by opposition leader Péter Magyar, and what may come next.

Lorinc Redei is the assistant dean for undergraduate education and an associate professor of instruction at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is from Hungary and an expert on the politics of that country, policy-making in Europe, democratic backsliding, and international relations.

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