The Democracy Group
The Democracy Group
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Top 10 The Democracy Group Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Democracy Group episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Democracy Group for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Democracy Group episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Is American democracy in crisis? | Politics in Question
The Democracy Group
07/17/24 • 66 min
In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Jake Grumbach joins Lee and James to consider whether American democracy is in crisis. Grumbach is an associate professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He studies the political economy of the United States, with interests in democratic institutions, labor, federalism, racial and economic inequality, and statistical methods. And he is the author of Laboratories Against Democracy: How National Parties Transformed State Politics (Princeton University Press, 2022).
What is the state of American democracy? Are concerns that it is failing overblown? Or are they justified? What is the best standard to evaluate the quality of representation in the United States? How does that standard change based on the different types of democracy? These are some of the questions Jake, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.
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Saving Democracy | Democracy Matters
The Democracy Group
01/19/22 • 36 min
In this episode, we talk with Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, JMU Health Sciences '05, about his experiences fighting for democracy on January 6, 2021. "These people were minutes, seconds, feet away from hanging the Vice President. Just sit with that," says Officer Dunn. He is speaking out for justice and accountability because, "People are trying to rewrite history right in front of us...Terrorism is what they did that day. In my mind, they're coming back. We have to hold them accountable."
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A love letter to democratic institutions | Democracy Works
The Democracy Group
10/04/21 • 42 min
The problems of disinformation, conspiracies, and cancel culture are probably familiar to many of our listeners. But they're usually talked about separately, including on this show. In his new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, Jonathan Rauch ties these threads together and shows how they contribute to a larger problem of a departure from facts and truth in favor of feelings and falsehoods.
The book reaches back to the parallel eighteenth-century developments of liberal democracy and science to explain what he calls the “Constitution of Knowledge”—our social system for turning disagreement into truth. The institutions that Rauch describes as "reality-based communities," universities, media, government organizations, and the courts, need our support now more than ever as they face attacks from illiberal forces across the political spectrum.
But are the problems on the left and the right really the same? Rauch argues they are. Michael Berkman and Chris Beem consider that equivalency after the interview.
Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer of The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more.
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The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth
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Political Tribalism: Hatreds We Love | The Politics Guys
The Democracy Group
11/06/24 • 63 min
Mike talks with Stephen J. Ducat, an author, political psychologist, psychoanalyst, and former psychology professor in the School of Humanities at New College of California. They discuss Professor Ducat’s most recent book, Hatreds We Love: The Psychology of Political Tribalism in Post-Truth America.
Topics Mike and Stephen discuss include:
why tribal loyalty often overrides material self-interest
demonizing outsiders to reinforce in-group virtue
conservative disgust vs liberal disdain
the ‘malignant, intuitive genius’ of Donald Trump
the dark side of political purity
the importance of being morally multi-lingual
The Politics Guys on Facebook | X
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Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Teens Hanging Out | 70 Million
The Democracy Group
09/20/21 • 29 min
There’s a place in rural St. Johns, Arizona, where teens who have encounters with officers of the law can play pool, make music, and get mentored instead of going to jail. It’s called The Loft, and it’s the brainchild of a judge who wanted to save the county hundreds of millions of dollars and divert young people towards the support many were not getting at home. Reported by Ruxandra Guidi.
Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.
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Hey, Journalists. Does the Public Trust You? Joy Mayer | How Do We Fix It?
The Democracy Group
09/15/21 • 26 min
Only four in 10 Americans say they have a lot of trust in the news media. That's a big problem for our democracy. While journalists are supposed to tell the truth and get the story right, just 35 percent of right-of-center voters have some trust in what they see in the news.
Democrats and independents are much more likely to trust journalists, but Americans of almost all shades of opinion are skeptical toward the news media, questioning not only the quality of journalists’ work but their intentions behind it.
Our guest is Joy Mayer, Director of the non-profit Trusting News, which is working with local newsrooms around the country to help journalists earn consumers' trust.
While many reporters, writers and editors are reluctant to discuss their political views, most journalists have liberal or progressive views. "I think it's something we need to talk about more openly," Joy tells us.
In this episode, we look at bias, transparency, and constructive steps that the news media can take to improve its reputation with a broad cross-section of Americans.
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Introducing Democracy Determined | TDG Fellowship
The Democracy Group
01/15/25 • 20 min
This week we bring you a special episode from Jenny Marquez, one of our 2024 Podcast Fellows.
In the season premiere of Democracy Determined, host Jenny Marquez delves into the crucial topic of youth involvement in democracy. Special guest Aliza Lifshitz, a coalition organizer and strategist for youth movements like Youth and Gov and Voters of Tomorrow, discusses her inspiring journey into political activism, her roles in youth-led organizations, and the unique challenges young leaders face. Aliza emphasizes the importance of resisting external narratives, the role of mentorship, and the need for coalition building. The episode concludes with reflections on the future of youth engagement and the legacy of current young activists.
00:00 Welcome to Democracy Determined
00:41 Meet Aliza Lifshitz: Youth Movement Leader
01:18 Aliza's Journey into Political Activism
02:37 Youth and Gov: A Coalition for Change
03:40 Voters of Tomorrow: Empowering Gen Z
04:26 The Unique Role of Young People in Politics
07:06 Challenges Faced by Young Leaders
08:47 The Importance of Mentorship
10:45 Ensuring Sustainability in Youth Movements
13:24 Equipping Young People for Success
16:10 Building a Legacy of Coalition and Unity
18:09 Final Thoughts and Reflections
Know a student interested in democracy and podcasts? Send them over to our fellowship to apply: https://www.democracygroup.org/fellowship
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The Red Herring | Bad Watchdog
The Democracy Group
07/01/24 • 40 min
Established in the wake of September 11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was entrusted with protecting the U.S. from national security threats. Since then, much of the agency’s focus has been on the southern border — with tens of thousands of people held in its detention centers on a daily basis. Host Maren Machles explores how this came to be and delves into what happens to people held in immigration detention centers with the presumption that they may be national security threats. And she asks the question: How does this relate to the way DHS addresses the most dangerous threat currently facing our nation — far-right violent extremism?
To find out, Maren talks with Daryl Johnson, who recounts his work as the former lead analyst for domestic terrorism at DHS. She also speaks with Alejandro Beutel, a criminologist who focuses on domestic terrorism, and Berto Hernandez, who shares their story of being brought into the U.S. as a child and held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement years later.
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Living Constitutionally: A.J. Jacobs | Future Hindsight
The Democracy Group
07/31/24 • 46 min
A.J. Jacobs is a journalist and author. His most recent book is The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning. We discuss how the Founding Fathers prized humility, experimentation, and a willingness to change their own minds.
The heart of our democracy is for the community to come together and cooperate. One example is to advocate for democratic reforms, which are nonpartisan. Being apathetic or cynical helps the slide into autocracy. Resisting the allure of quick, hot takes and practicing slower thinking are also crucial to democracy. The founding fathers were deeply invested in balance, especially when it comes to the power of a president being balanced by Congress. A.J. reminds us that everyday citizens can control whether the sun is rising or setting on democracy.
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Healthcare for All: Melanie D’Arrigo | Future Hindsight
The Democracy Group
07/15/24 • 50 min
Melanie D’Arrigo is the Executive Director of the Campaign for New York Health, which aims to win universal single-payer healthcare for all New Yorkers. We discuss the intersection of democracy and healthcare and what is necessary to create better health outcomes.
The New York Health Act is a current bill in the New York State Legislature that would implement a single payer healthcare system in New York, similar to Medicare for All. Instead of accessing health insurance, this bill would provide access to health care without the middleman, which is the insurance industry. The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not have universal health care. We spend the most amount of money with worse health outcomes. In addition, we allow millions of Americans to go into medical debt. More information on the Campaign for NY Health is here: https://www.nyhcampaign.org/
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https://twitter.com/DarrigoMelanie
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Democracy Group have?
The Democracy Group currently has 388 episodes available.
What topics does The Democracy Group cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Democracy, Civic Engagement, Podcasts, Politics and Government.
What is the most popular episode on The Democracy Group?
The episode title 'Is American democracy in crisis? | Politics in Question' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Democracy Group?
The average episode length on The Democracy Group is 44 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Democracy Group released?
Episodes of The Democracy Group are typically released every 2 days.
When was the first episode of The Democracy Group?
The first episode of The Democracy Group was released on Jul 27, 2020.
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