Democracy is very much a group activity. Inside, we come together to debate, discuss, do the work of government, and make laws. Outside, we protest and hold rallies. But much of this is not possible. Social distancing presents a tremendous challenge. In this episode from The Democracy Group podcast network, we look at the barriers and the opportunities as we all deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID, the pandemic … has really brought to bear not just the inequities and the inequalities, but also the necessity to have a much more active sense of democracy as a verb — democracy as an action that we can all be part of.”
-Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, 70 Million
Richard Davies
Co-host, How Do We Fix It?
@DaviesNow
Mila Atmos
Host, Future Hindsight
@milaatmos
Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, Founder and CEO of Lantigua-Williams and Co.
Creator and Executive Producer, 70 Million
@JuleykaLantigua
Carah Ong-Whaley, Associate Director at James Madison Center for Civic Engagement at James Madison University
Co-host, Democracy Matters
@CarahOng
Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow at New America
Co-host, Politics in Question
@leedrutman
From Maine to California, people across the country have gathered at their state capitols over the past few weeks to protest stay at home orders issued by their governors in response to COVID-19. Protest is a hallmark of any democracy, but what happens when doing so comes with health risks? What is motivating people to take to the streets? How should media organizations cover the protests, and how do the people protesting feel about the media?
Joining us this week to explore some of those questions is Chris Fitzsimon, director and publisher of States Newsroom, a collective of nonprofit news sites that cover state politics in many of the places where the "reopen" protests have occurred. Fitzsimon talks about what his organization's reporters have observed on the ground and the challenges that states face in deciding when to lift stay at home orders and restart economic activity.
We also discuss how this movement came together and whether it might have staying power beyond the immediate concerns related to COVID-19.
Visit ratethispodcast.com/democracy to leave a rating or review for Democracy Works.
The McCourtney Institute for Democracy is starting a virtual book club! Our first selection will be How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. Join us for online meetings May 20 and 21. Visit democracy.psu.edu/book to learn more and RSVP.
COVID-19 exposes democracy's tensions
Tracing the past, present, and future of protests
How the Tea Party and the Resistance are upending American politics
This episode was recorded on April 22, 2020. It was engineered by Jenna Spinelle, edited by Chris Kugler, and reviewed by Emily Reddy.
We are excited to collaborate with our partners in The Democracy Group podcast network to bring you a bonus episode on how COVID-19 is impacting democracy in the United States and around the world.
COVID-19 brings together several issues that have long been talked about separately — political polarization, misinformation, international cooperation, democratic norms and institutions, and many others. We dive into some of those issues in this episode and discuss how we can all work together to protect, and even strengthen, democracy as we emerge from the first wave of the pandemic.
For more information about The Democracy Group podcast network, visit democracygroup.org. Thank you to Democracy Group Network Manager Katie DeFiore for producing this episode!
Jenna Spinelle, Communications Specialist at the McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Host, Democracy Works
@JennaSpinelle
Luke Knittig, Senior Director of Communications at the McCain Institute
Host, In The Arena
@LukeKnittig
Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown Distinguished Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas Austin
Host, This is Democracy
@JeremiSuri
Rachel Tausenfreund, Editorial Director at the German Marshall Fund of the United States
Host, Out of Order
@thousandfriend
Weston Wamp, Senior Political Strategist and Consultant at Issue One
Host, Swamp Stories
@westonwamp
With each passing day, the relationship between states and the federal government seems to grow more complicated. States are forming coalitions and working together to chart a path out of COVID-19, while sometimes competing with one another for resources. A lack of clear guidance from the federal government will likely lead to a fragmented return to business and social life state by state in the coming weeks and months.
This situation is unique in many ways, but brings to light the complexities of American federalism — our topic of discussion this week. Charles Barrilleaux, Leroy Collins Professor and Political Science Department Chair at Florida State University, is an expert on American federalism and joins us to discuss the relationship between states and the federal government, and how that manifests itself during the response to COVID-19.
The episode begins with Michael and Chris explaining the history of federalism and what powers the Constitution gives states and the federal government.
COVID-19 exposes democracy's tensions
When states sue the federal government
This episode was recorded on April 13, 2020. It was engineered by Jenna Spinelle, edited by Chris Kugler, and reviewed by Emily Reddy.
The general election is going to happen in November, and candidates still need to figure out ways to get their messages out to voters. COVID-19 has changed everything about the way candidates communicate with potential voters and how they position themselves in relationship to the virus.
This episode addresses the nuts and bolts of campaigning during a pandemic, but we also discuss a broader question — should we even be talking about politics at a time like this? Our guest this week makes an interesting case about why the answer is always "yes." John Sides is a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University and publisher of the Monkey Cage, a political science blog published by the Washington Post.
Sides talks about the novel coronavirus has impacted campaigns up and down the ballot, and why it's valuable to consider it as a political problem apart from a public health issue.
Note: You'll hear a reference to Bernie Sanders during the interview. We recorded on April 6, before Sanders announced he was dropping out of the race.
A look at ethics of campaigning during COVID-19
Free and fair elections during a pandemic
COVID-19 exposes democracy's tensions
Primaries, parties, and the public
This episode was recorded on April 6 and 7, 2020. It was engineered by Jenna Spinelle, edited by Mark Stitzer, and reviewed by Emily Reddy.
The COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. intensified just as the 2020 Census was getting underway in earnest. As Americans fill their days with news about the new coronavirus, the Census Bureau is doing everything it can to spread the word about completing the Census online while grappling with how to do critical in-person follow up during a time of social distancing. As our guest this week explains, the consequences of an undercount directly impact public health in significant ways.
Jenny Van Hook is the Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography at Penn State and a former member of the Census Advisory Board. She was an expert witness in the legal fight over the efforts to add a citizenship question to this year's Census and has written about the Census in The Conversation and other outlets.
Census Day was April 1, but there's still time to complete your Census online at 2020census.gov.
This episode begins with an ad for Lyceum, a new app that's specifically for educational podcasts. Learn more and join the conversation with other listeners at lyceum.fm.
It's good to be counted - our interview with Jenny from May 2018
This episode was recorded on March 31, 2020. It was engineered by Jenna Spinelle, edited by Chris Kugler, and reviewed by Emily Reddy.
As COVID-19 intensifies throughout the U.S., questions about the future of the remaining primary elections and the general election in November are beginning to surface. The last thing you want are large groups of people standing in line near each other for long periods of time. At a time when seemingly everything in life has gone remote, states are starting to think about what a remote election would look like, too.Our guest this week is one of the people helping them figure it all out.
Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science at MIT and a contributor to the Election Updates blog, a partnership between MIT and the California University of Technology. He's spoken with election officials across the country and about how to implement voting by mail and change processes to make in-person voting safe.
Voting by mail does not come without its problems in terms of election security and electoral integrity. We explore those with Charles and discuss how planning now can help mitigate those risks in the fall.
Democracy Works is proud to be part of Lyceum, a new platform dedicated to educational audio. The app includes curated lists of shows around topics like climate change, linguistics, and ancient history, as well as opportunities for listeners to connect with podcast creators and with each other. Visit lyceum.fm to learn more.
Ted Recommendations to Ensure a Healthy and Trustworthy 2020 Election - a piece Charles c0-wrote for Lawfare
The promise and peril of early voting
How states are working to keep you vote safe
This episode was recorded on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. It was engineered by Jenna Spinelle and edited by WPSU's Chris Kugler, and reviewed by Emily Reddy.
As we've seen over the past weeks and months, democracies and authoritarian countries respond to pandemics very differently. There are balances to be struck — liberty and community, human rights and disease mitigation — that every country's government and culture handle a little differently. We dive into that this week with our first ever all-remote episode as we adjust to the new normal of life during COVID-19.
Our guest is Nita Bharti, assistant professor of biology at Penn State and faculty member in the university's Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. Nita's research focuses on the interactions between social and biological processes as underlying determinants of human health — making her the perfect person for us to talk to about the response to COVID-19.
There are no silver bullets when it comes to outbreak mitigation, but there are lessons we can take from other outbreaks about how information affects behavior and how the government can help or hinder that process. As Nita says, we're likely only beginning to see what the new normal looks like in the U.S.
Nita's article on COVID-19 in The Conversation
The Bharti Lab of Human Infectious Diseases
The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State is taking questions about the Coronavirus pandemic at askciddpsu@psu.edu. Each week, experts will answer your most commonly asked questions, anonymously. They will attempt to provide the most current accurate information, informed by scientific evidence.
This episode was recorded on Thursday, March 19, 2020. It was engineered by Jenna Spinelle and edited by WPSU's Jen Bortz, and reviewed by Emily Reddy.
We know that there are a lot of episodes about COVID-19 out there right now. We're working on one of our own that we hope to bring to you soon, but in the meantime, consider something different to focus on while you practice social distancing this week.
We've talked a lot on this show about the rise of authoritarian leaders around the world — from Viktor Orban in Hungary to Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. We sometimes tend to paint these countries with same brush, often referring to the book How Democracies Die. While the book remains of our favorites, this week's episode is a reminder that populism does not look the same everywhere.
We welcome back Penn State's Vineeta Yadav to look at some of the forces that are pushing back against populism around the world, and how those efforts look different in each place. She joined us last fall to discuss the rise of Narendra Modi in India. We reusume that conversation in this episode, but also touch on what's happening in Turkey and Brazil.
Michael and Chris also give an important overview of the difference between liberalism and democracy — and how the two work together to form the system of government practiced in many countries around the world today.
Stay tuned to the end of the episode for more information about Ways&Means, a podcast produced by the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. The show's current season is taking a deep dive into the relationship between politics and policy, covering topics like reparations and the decline of local news.
Inside the world's largest democracy - Vineeta Yadav's first appearance on Democracy Works
Brazil's tenuous relationship with democracy
How Democracies Die author Daniel Ziblatt on the "grinding work" of democracy
This episode was recorded at WPSU's studios and engineered by Cole Cullen. It was edited by Chris Kubler and reviewed by Emily Reddy. Additional support from Democracy Works interns Nicole Gresen and Stephanie Krane.
It's spring break at Penn State this week and we're going to take a brief hiatus to bring you an episode from a new podcast that's part of The Democracy Group, our new podcast network.
Swamp Stories is produced by Issue One, a group that takes a cross partisan approach to democracy reform. The podcast follows the host — millennial Republican and former candidate for office, Weston Wamp — as he shines a light on the swampiest practices in Washington that repulse Republicans and Democrats alike: Slush funds in Congress, dark money in elections, gerrymandered districts, foreign interference in our elections, dialing for dollars on Capitol Hill, and more.
The show debuted at the end of January and we are sharing its first episode with you. There are five others available if you want to binge them while we're away. We'll be back with a new episode of Democracy Works next week.
You can find Swamp Stories and all of our other network shows at democracygroup.org
We are part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.