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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We talk with technology expert Jennifer Pahlka about why government systems seem so bad — and how everyone can contribute to making them better. -
The Democracy Works team (Michael Berkman, Chris Beem, Candis Watts Smith and Jenna Spinelle) are back from summer break and diving into the 2024 election season, Donald Trump's indictments, the spread of election deniers and more. -
On our season finale, we break down some of the biggest stories in politics and democracy over the past few months, including legislative actions in North Carolina and beyond, cases the U.S. Supreme Court is considering, the debt ceiling and more. -
John Della Volpe, director of the Harvard Youth Poll and author of the book "Fight" about Gen Z politics, joins us this week to discuss the events that shaped the generation's political ideology and how they're pushing back against narratives established by previous generations. -
Peniel E. Joseph, author of "The Third Reconstruction," joins us this week to discuss how the era from Barack Obama's election to George Floyd's murder compare to the post-Civil War Reconstruction and the Civil Rights movement. -
Barbara F. Walter, author of the bestselling book "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them" joins us this week to discuss what makes a country vulnerable to civil war and what actions people can take to prevent democratic backsliding. -
Against the backdrop of changes in Medicaid policy, we discuss how receiving government benefits like Medicaid impacts political agency, whether it's possible to square federalism and equality and more. -
Our guest this week argues that jury service is an important civic duty that could be used to expand democratic action and strengthen civic engagement. -
In honor of Civic Learning Week, we explore the promise of civics education to help us move through disagreements about teaching race, gender and other hot-button issues. -
