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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 10: Why the kids don’t care Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

In many democracies voter turnout is lower than it’s ever been, especially among young people. Ben wants to know what we can do to get millennials and Gen Z to the polls. Do we need to rethink how we cast a vote? Why aren’t politicians more focused on winning over the next generation of voters? And how can we stop this trend so that political apathy doesn’t become political alienation?

Guests:

Viktor Valgardsson, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at Southampton University

John Burn-Murdoch, chief data reporter at the Financial Times

Jake Grumbach, associate professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley

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, Eleanor Biggs and Katie Gunning

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

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

Episode 9: The polarisation problem Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Democracies are made up of people with different views. But when we don’t feel connected, we become polarised. Ben speaks to Noreena Hertz about how loneliness leads to polarisation and then to Wendy Via to find out if opposing worldviews can ever be reconciled.

Guests:

Noreena Hertz, economist and author of ‘The Lonely Century’

Wendy Via, Co-founder and president of the Global Project against Hate and Extremism

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, Eleanor Biggs and Katie Gunning

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

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

Episode 8: The case for an independent judiciary Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

This week, as more of our political institutions are rocked by corruption from partisan forces, Ben wants to know how we can protect the independence of our judiciaries, and what happens when they go wrong. When democratic institutions fail, what does this do to our faith in democracy? And can a compromised judiciary ever be restored?

Guests:

Fida Hammami, Amnesty International's Tunisia Research and Advocacy Advisor

Ben Stanley, Associate Professor at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw and Visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex

Kathryn Sikkink, Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School

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 7: Truth matters Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

The freedom to speak truth to power is under threat. Not just in authoritarian states, but increasingly within democracies too. This week Ben asks why access to reliable information is so important for democracy. And how important is the emergence of open source investigation in getting to the truth.

Guests:

Alia Ibrahim, co-founder and CEO of Daraj.com, an independent digital media platform launched in November 2017

Rebecca Vincent, Director of campaigns at Reporters sans frontières - Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Eliot Higgins, Founder of Bellingcat

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, Eleanor Biggs and Katie Gunning

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

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

Episode 6: Big money, big problems? Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

This week, Ben’s asking what happens when money meets democracy. As lobbying scandals continue to rock our institutions, Ben wants to know how we can protect our democracies from corruption. Also what role should or could the wealthy, and super-wealthy play in keeping our democracies financially healthy? Does philanthropy have a place in modern functioning democracies?

Guests:

Valentina Pop, Europe news editor, the Financial Times

Mark Malloch-Brown, former President of the Open Society Foundations

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 5: The rise of populism Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

With populists rising to power around the world, Ben wants to know why, and how they flourish. Could establishment politicians learn a thing or two from populists about how to communicate? Do populists offer real solutions to voters’ problems do they ever actually deliver on their promises?

Guests:

Lone Sorensen, Associate Professor of Political Communication at the University of Leeds

Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-general of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

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.

Episode 4: The trust deficit Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

Over the past 20 years the British public’s trust in politicians has been tested. Ben Ansell explores how trust is playing out in the UK’s upcoming general election. How can you restore trust in democracy? And is the UK an outlier or part of a wider global movement?

Guests:

Sacha Hilhorst, Senior Research Fellow with Commonwealth

Polly Curtis, Chief Executive of Demos

Richard Wike, Director of Global Attitudes Research at the Pew Research Centre

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.

Episode 3: The autocrat behind the keyboard Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Another front on the war against democracy is information warfare. Ben Ansell digs into how modern day autocrats are using this. For almost a decade China has been running a media influencing campaign in Africa. Now Russia has taken it mainstream, and digital. But how effective are these disinformation campaigns? What’s the endgame? And how can we build up our defence arsenal?

Guests:

James Ball, journalist and author of Post Truth and The Other Pandemic

Emeka Umejei, research associate in the department of media studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa

Ben Scott, CEO of Reset Tech

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.

Episode 2: The autocrat next door May 29, 2024

Show notes

In Ukraine, democracy is under attack. Ben Ansell investigates what that means for the country’s future. Is the war a death knell or a rallying cry for democracy? What is at stake and how worried should we be about the rise of autocrats?

Guests:

Olya Onuch, Professor of comparative and Ukrainian politics at the University of Manchester

Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, interim President of Freedom House

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.

Episode 1: The world’s biggest democracy goes to the polls May 22, 2024

Show notes

The world’s biggest democracy is currently in the middle of an election that will take six weeks to play out and involve over a billion people. Ben Ansell takes a closer look at the state of democracy in India, to try to understand what’s happening elsewhere.

Guests:

Dr Pavi Suryanarayan, Assistant professor at the LSE

Daniel Ziblatt, author of How Democracies Die

Mitali Mukherjee, Director of the Reuters institute’s Journalism programme

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.

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