Featured
We discuss how the struggle for transparency is really a struggle for the soul of American democracy with Miranda Spivack, author of Backroom Deals in Our Backyard: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back.
We discuss the basics of organizing and the fruits of that work. Michael reminds us that “organizers organize organizations.”
We discuss the enduring power of protesting and the significance of the Ferguson uprising in the long arc of the Black liberation movement.
We discuss the importance of shifting our mindset to one that is infused with hope. Positive change comes when we choose hope. Though nobody can fix it all, we can all do something and make an impact. Sharon reminds us that if something is worth doing for everyone, it’s worth doing for one person.
We discuss how ungoverning is the equivalent of a bull in a china shop. We have already seen the destruction of many institutions and many functions of the administrative state, but we don't yet know how much there is still to come.
We discuss the long history of vigilante democracy in the US and its return in our current politics. The playing field is currently tilted in favor of these vigilante policies, but blue states can level the playing field by playing constitutional hardball. David reminds us that the American people have beat back movements to use vigilante power to enforce a reactionary agenda time and again.
We discuss how out of date immigration laws are and why the only cure is comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. In the face of rising arrests and deportations by ICE, this is the perfect episode to remind us that we still need immigration reform.
We discuss how certain radical acts of justice by everyday people challenge the legitimacy of the criminal system and form the underpinning of a new collective legal thought, demosprudence. Collective understanding of justice and safety is changing away from the concept that justice equals cages.
We discuss deliberative polling as a way to assess the will of the people and then to make it consequential. This is what democracy is all about.
We discuss the main goals of copaganda: narrowing our conception of safety and threat, constantly warning us that those harms are increasing, and telling us that the solution to our fears is more investment in the punishment bureaucracy.
We discuss how multisolving is a way to address the multiple issues that are currently facing our democracy at the same time, ranging from pollution and sustainable energy to civil rights and collective governance.
We discuss Inclusive Constitutionalism, a fresh way to interpret the Constitution that makes inclusive democracy real. By contrast, originalism interprets the meaning of the Constitution as fixed in time in the 1800s and ignores the constitutional amendments during reconstruction that were designed to foster a multiracial democracy.
We discuss why the Constitution—the document we've been taught to revere as the very foundation of American democracy—might actually be responsible for the current crisis in government. It might be leading us away from a more perfect union and toward destruction or even secession.
We discuss how the Supreme Court’s lawlessness is fueled by the conservative grievance mindset where Republicans believe they are victims of laws they don’t agree with. The Supreme Court has played an important role in enabling the current administration’s actions.
We discuss why housing insecurity undermines our democracy with Maria Foscarinis, founder of the National Homelessness Law Center. We cover the evolution from Reagan, when homelessness was blamed on the individual, to the increasing recognition that housing is a human right.
We discuss "calling in" as a practice rooted in a human rights framework that can transform how we engage across our divide and potentially be the bridge that helps our democracy survive with Loretta Ross.
We discuss what it takes to build worker power from scratch and how these efforts can reshape not only our workplaces, but democracy itself with Jaz Brisack.
We discuss reclaiming the narrative of democracy with Stacey Abrams. Democracy is a tool to deliver on our values in the realm of justice, dignity, fairness, and freedom.
We discuss the growing phenomenon of pregnancy criminalization, examine the path forward in a post-Dobbs world, and consider what a just jurisprudence of pregnancy might look like.
We discuss the history of citizenship schools, their profound importance in the Civil Rights Movement, and the critical lessons they offer for our present moment with Elaine Weiss.
We assess the first 100 days of the Trump administration and what we can expect going forward with Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward.
We discuss what’s happening in the AI space to augment human life in this moment, and what the potential intersections are with democracy.
We discuss rethinking the Constitution as a way to reimagine democracy. In addition, we examine the role of constitutionalism in exporting the principles of democracy as the underpinning of American imperialism.
We discuss the Green New Deal and how youth movements like the Sunrise Movement are the secret sauce in getting the federal government to drive the effort to stop the climate crisis.
We discuss the great reshuffle of land in the last few centuries and the intersection of land, power, and democracy with Michael Albertus.
We discuss mobile voting as the definitive way to make elections more accessible for everyone — especially for Americans with disabilities and overseas citizens — and therefore finally increase turnout in significant numbers.
We discuss mobile voting as the definitive way to make elections more accessible for everyone — especially for Americans with disabilities and overseas citizens — and therefore finally increase turnout in significant numbers.
We discuss whether executive orders can change the Constitution, the ongoing transformation of executive power, and the true intersection of the Constitution and democracy.
We discuss why joining a club or an association is the glue that binds civic society to democracy. They are the classrooms for our citizenship!