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What’s Wrong with Democracy? — Government
What’s Wrong with Democracy?

By the end of this year, countries making up half the world’s population will have held elections. But not all of them will have been free and fair. In ‘What’s Wrong with Democracy?’ Professor Ben Ansell of Oxford University will, with the help of academics, journalists, activists and writers, figure out whether democracy is working and how best to preserve democratic freedoms, equality and rights.

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by The Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise’s premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Katie Gunning and Ada Barume

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Tortoise Media

Latest Episodes:

Episode 20: How to hold an election Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

For the final episode of the series, Ben goes back to basics and asks: how can democracies hold free and fair elections? It’s not as simple as setting up polling stations and handing out ballot boxes, so what does it take to create a truly even electoral playing field?

Guests:

Robin Forestier-Walker, Freelance journalist, based in Georgia
Tanja Hollstein, Head of Practice (Elections) at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Pippa Norris, McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 19: AI and democracy Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

This week, we’re looking at another big potential challenge facing democracy: AI, or artificial intelligence. Ben wants to know how worried we should be when it comes to the rise of these new technologies. Might they spell the death knell for trust in our institutions? Or can technology play a helpful role in boosting modern democracies?

Guests:

Sarah Kreps, Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University
Alex Krasodomski, Programme Director of the Digital Society Initiative at Chatham House
Kerry McInerney, Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 18: Facing the climate crisis Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

One of the biggest challenges of our time is climate change. This week, Ben wants to know how effective democracies are when it comes to fighting the climate crisis. How can we settle on solutions when there’s so many different interests at play?

Guests:

Keith Smith, Senior Researcher in the International Political Economy/International Environmental Politics group at the Center for Comparative and International Studies
Louis Wilson, Head of Fossil Fuel Investigations at Global Witness
Rafaela Santos Martins Da Rosa, Coordinator of the Sustainability Commission of the Federal Court of Rio Grande do Sul

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 17: When politics turns nasty Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Democracy can often be knocked off course by political violence, but in some places it’s become an ingrained part of how politics is done. This week Ben wants to find out why violence and democracy can be so hard to separate, and how to stop violence taking hold of our politics in the first place.

Guests:

Arunima Kar, Freelance journalist based in Kolkata
Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University, and author of ‘Towards a Philosophy of Narco Violence in Mexico’
Hannah Philips, policy researcher at the University of Oxford and Civility Commission Manager at the Jo Cox Foundation

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 16: How corruption corrodes Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

Where does the boundary lie between bad behaviour and outright corruption? This week Ben wants to understand how corruption and the fight against it are destructive forces in a democracy.

Guests:

Simon Kuper, journalist and author of ‘Good Chaps’ and ‘Chums’
Ezequiel González Ocantos, Professor of Comparative & Judicial Politics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 15: On the campaign trail Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

It often feels like America is stuck in a perpetual election campaign cycle. How much do campaigns matter? Ben speaks to three guests who have followed several US presidential campaigns from the outside, and the inside. How different does this year’s look?

What’s Wrong with Democracy? US election miniseries - part three of three.

Guests:

John Sides, Professor at the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee
Lauren Gambiano, political correspondent for Guardian US
Jim Messina, former campaign manager and former White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Barack Obama

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 14: What makes a good US president? Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

American voters have chosen the two candidates who will vie to become the next US president. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump couldn’t be more different. This week, Ben wants to know what kind of leaders American voters are drawn to. What makes a good president? And is the US primary system of choosing candidates a good way of selecting a leader?

What’s Wrong with Democracy? US election miniseries - part two of three.

Guests:

Lee Drutman, senior fellow in the Political Reform program at the think tank New America
Darrell West, professor of Political Science and Director of the John Hazen White, Sr., Public Opinion Laboratory at Brown University
Lindiwe Mazubuko, CEO of Futurelect and former Leader of the Official Opposition, Parliament of South Africa

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 13: The devil's in the demographic Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Polling organisations often define Americans by their ethnic and racial identity. Ben wants to know if these voter “blocks” remain intact at the ballot box. Is it possible to predict how people will vote based on their identity? Or is demographic polling pointless?

What’s Wrong with Democracy? US election miniseries - part one of three.

Guests:

Christopher Towler, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University, Sacramento
Kira Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics
Mark Hugo-Lopez, Director of Race and Ethnicity Research at the Pew Research Center

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Lewis Vickers

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 12: The dangers of identity politics Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Democratic societies are a melting pot of people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, but when political alliances are formed around a particular identity it can lead to division and sometimes violence. In this episode Ben explores one of the most extreme examples of ethnic conflict - the Rwandan genocide - and asks whether it’s possible to have a peaceful democracy after so much bloodshed.

Guests:

Sharun Mukand, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick
James Chin, Professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Lewis Vickers

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 11: When to take to the streets Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

The history of protest and democracy is long and complex, but taking to the streets has resulted in major democratic changes in the past. This week, Ben wants to know if protest still has a role to play in today’s politics. What are the barriers to protesting effectively? Is the time for peaceful protest over? And with autocracies on the rise, do citizens need a new tool to express their discontent?

Guests:

Ilya Marritz, journalist at the Boston Globe and co-host of ‘Will Be Wild’
Dawn Brancati, senior lecturer in international and public affairs at Brown University
Madzoo, Senegalese graffiti artist and activist

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Professor Ben Ansell

Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs

Editor: Lewis Vickers

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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