Building and sustaining a democracy is hard work. It’s not glamorous and often goes unnoticed in the daily news cycle. On the Democracy Works podcast, we talk to people who are out there making it happen and discuss why that work is so important. We aim to rise above partisan bickering and hot takes on the news to have informed, intelligent, and thought-provoking discussions about issues related to democracy.
The show features interviews with leading experts by Jenna Spinelle and commentary and opinion from hosts Michael Berkman and Christopher Beem from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State and Candis Watts Smith of Duke University. It's a collaborative project between The McCourtney Institute and WPSU.
Democracy Works won the Circle of Excellence Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in 2020 and the People's Choice Podcast Award in the Government and Organizations category in 2018.
For more information and additional episodes, visit democracyworkspodcast.com or subscribe to Democracy Works wherever you listen to podcasts.
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As politicians begin to announce their candidacy for the 2024 elections, we examine the barriers that exist for women of color when it comes to running for and winning elections. -
News Over Noise podcast co-hosts Matt Jordan and Leah Dajches join us this week to discuss how the news impacts our mental health, the future of media literacy education, and more. -
We've had some incredible guests on the show in 2022. For our final episode of the year, we're taking a look back at what we've learned from them. -
Dave Karpf of George Washington University joins us this week to discuss party networks, the future of social media, and more. -
Our guest this week argues that the "free speech problem" on college campuses is manufactured by a small group of media and political figures with powerful platforms. -
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie joins us this week to discuss his recent work on how the Constitution and other counter-majoritarian institutions are getting in the way of democratic progress. -
Amid election deniers and political polarization, it's easy to overlook the times when democracy is actually working. We do that this week in a hopeful conversation about resident-centered government. -
The cofounders of the States United Democracy Center join us this week to discuss the work they're doing to ensure safe, secure and fair elections in the 2022 midterms and beyond. -
This week, we discuss how the Green New Deal push the boundaries of what's possible in environmental and economic policy, the lasting impacts of environmental racism, and how climate reform is connected to democracy reform. -
Can liberal democracy withstand the challenges its currently facing? Francis Fukuyama is one of America's leading scholars on liberalism and joins us this week for a discussion about the threats its faces and how we might overcome them.
