Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, and Candis Watts Smith reflect on recent events in democracy and what's to come this summer.

Democracy Works host Michael Berkman, director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy and professor of political science, talks with fellow Penn State political scientist Joe Wright about his new book, "The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within."

At the end of April, South Africa marked the 30th anniversary of its first post-Apartheid election — the first in the country where everyone could vote. South African writer and scholar Antjie Krog join us for a look at the state of South African democracy today and how South Africa has served as a model for other countries in democratic transition.

March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg joins us to discuss his work advocating for gun reform policy and his new project, which aims to help young people win elected office at the state and federal level.

Author and public policy expert Heather McGhee joins us this week to discuss her book "The Sum of Us" and how racism shapes public policy and weakens democratic institutions.

Cassidy Hutchinson, whose testimony captured the nation's attention in the Jan. 6 hearings, discusses her time in the Trump administration and her new role safeguarding American democracy.

If there's one thing that people across the political spectrum can agree on, it's a sense of discontent with the current state of American politics. This week, we explore the origins of that discontent and why it's damaging to democracy.

V Spehar of TikTok's Under the Desk News joins us to discuss how social media can strengthen democracy by creating space for community and encouraging offline civic engagement.

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, one of America's leading experts on the far right, joins us this week to discuss what draws people to political extremism online and offline — and what we can do to combat it.

Scholars Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan argue that America might not be as polarized as we think because the media and political observers over-index on people who are deeply invested in politics at the expense of those who are not as engaged.