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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Journalist Jeff Sharlet joins us to discuss his trip through the heart of MAGA world while reporting his book "The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War." -
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg joins us to discuss how the pandemic increased polarization and distrust in institutions, and weakened social connection. -
Alex Burness, a reporter who covers state and local democracy issues for the news site Bolts, joins us to discuss how democracy is expanding and contracting at the state level. -
Author and blogger Cory Doctorow joins us to discuss how the enshittification of tech platforms impacts our democracy — and what we can do to change things for the better. -
Tim Heaphy, the lead investigator on the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and the January 6 insurrection, makes the case that a disengaged citizenry is the biggest threat to American democracy. -
Democracy Works host Chris Beem talks with author Jonathan Rauch about why the current crisis in American Christianity is also a crisis in American democracy. -
It's easy to feel defeated in the face of political challenges, but this episode shows that everyone has the capacity to create positive change and contribute to a culture of peace in their communities. -
Two leading experts on democracy join us to discuss how to prevent political violence in the United States and around the world. -
As we approach the end of another year, we reflect on the new political reality of a second Trump administration. -
Balazs Trencsenyi, co-director of Invisible University for Ukraine, joins us to discuss the university's work to uphold education and democracy in Ukraine amid the country's ongoing war with Russia.
