A real democracy finds bureaucrats and grassroots activists working together to advocate for impacted communities and make sure legislative priorities match the needs of everyday Americans. According to our guest this week, K. Sabeel Rahman, the intersection of bureaucratic federal agencies and constituencies is one of the pillars of a functioning democracy. This symbiotic relationship…
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K. Sabeel Rahman is an Associate Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, and co-author of Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis. We discuss the concept of civic power, putting policy-making decisions in the hands of affected communities, and building an equitable economy for all Americans.
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This week, Mila recorded a stellar interview with Columbia associate professor and author Alexander Hertel-Fernandez. Alex recently wrote an illuminating book called State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation. In it, he describes the troika of conservative organizations working to forward pro-business goals, and…
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Alex Hertel-Fernandez is Associate Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and the author of State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States – and the Nation. We discuss the efficacy of controlling state legislatures and implementing public policies to reshape the political terrain.
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Jon Z. Greenberg is a Senior Correspondent at PolitiFact, a not-for-profit news organization that seeks to present the true facts, unaffected by agenda or biases. We discuss who gets fact-checked, how it works, and why speaking truth to power is one of the most important things we can do.
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This week we’re taking a break from our climate change content in our blogs—but we still have an excellent episode for you to listen to! You can check out our interview with nuclear power advocate and Professor Joshua Goldstein right here: This week, we’re talking about one of the critical parts of our democracy: the…
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Leah Stokes is a professor at UCSB and the author of Short Circuiting Policy. She works on energy, climate and environmental politics. We talk about the successes and failures of clean energy policy in the US, and how energy companies are fighting back against decarbonizing the energy system.
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Jerry Taylor is the President and co-founder of the Niskanen Center, a non-partisan think tank that works to promote an open society. We talk about his conversion from climate denier to climate advocate, working behind the scenes to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on climate change, and why a carbon tax is the most effective public policy to do so.
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Katherine Richardson is the Leader of the Sustainability Science Centre at the University of Copenhagen and a Professor of Biological Oceanography. We discuss the needs of billions of people for food and energy, finding solutions within our finite resources, and tipping points in climate and in societal behavior.
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Daniel Markovits is the author of The Meritocracy Trap as well as Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His book places meritocracy at the center of rising economic inequality and social political dysfunction. We talk about how the myth of meritocracy feeds inequality and erodes democracy.
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