Jenna Spinelle

Democracy Works host Chris Beem talks with University of Iowa political scientist Juliana Pacheco about how the politicization of health issues is impacting physicians across the country.

Danielle Allen returns to the show to discuss America's Semiquincentennial and what lessons the Declaration of Independence can offer to modern-day democracy advocates and reformers.

What is the role of higher education in a democracy? To what extent should American universities respond to the demands of those in power? Are we meeting this moment? Secretary Janet Napolitano addressed these and other questions in a conversation with Democracy Works host Michael Berkman, McCourtney Institute for Democracy director and professor of political science at Penn State.

Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and Weekend Up First, joins us to discuss what it's like being a political reporter in a polarized country and what the "public" in public media looks like amid the loss federal funding.

Penn State's Jeremy David Engels joins us to discuss his new book, "On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World."

AI is changing many aspects of our lives, so it's reasonable to expect that it will impact democracy, too. The question is how? Two experts in technology and politics join us to discuss how we can harness AI's power to strengthen democracy.

In the aftermath of the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, we explore how rising political divides are leading to bigger swings in America's foreign policy — and what that means for our future in the liberal international order.

We end this season where we started — a conversation about higher education and democracy.

It's easy to blame algorithms and AI for corroding our information ecosystem, but our guest this week argues that we have a just as much, if not more of a role to play in creating the environment we want to see.

Former NASA and USAID Inspector General Paul Martin joins us to recount the chaotic end to his decades-long career in public service and discuss the role that oversight plays in American democracy.