This is a crossover episode with WPSU, the NPR station in central Pennsylvania and our partner on Democracy Works. WPSU's Anne Danahy interviews Michael Berkman and Candis Watts Smith about several factors impacting the 2020 election — including polls, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and even the prevalence of yard signs this fall.
We really enjoy collaborating with the team at WPSU on Democracy Works and were happy to give the interviewer's chair to WPSU News reporter Anne Danahy for an episode that also aired on the station's interview show Take Note.
This interview was recorded on Tuesday, September 30, 2020, before the first presidential debate and President Trump's diagnosis with COVID-19.
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Jenna Spinelle is a writer and podcaster who tells stories that inspire hope and change in trying times. She hosts the podcasts Democracy Works When the People Decide, both productions of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. She is currently writing a book about the democracy reform movement and how more people can get involved in the work to strengthen American democracy. Spinelle teaches courses on news writing, podcasting, and content creators at Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Her writing has appeared in outlets including Time magazine, Inside Higher Ed and Current, a trade publication covering public media.