The Context
Alex Lovit, Charles F. Kettering Foundation
"The Context" is a podcast about democracy—its past, present and future—brought to you by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.
History ripples and changes. From decisions at the dinner table to declarations from the Rose Garden; moments build upon one another informing our past, illuminating our present, inventing our future. History makes meaning, especially when it comes to the state of our democracy, and context is everything.
The Context is a new podcast about the history, trends, and ideas shaping democracy in the United States and around the world. In each episode, host Alex Lovit will interview someone who has seen it all—scholars, politicians, journalists and public servants—to get their take on how we got to where we are and what they’ve seen through their experience not only watching the news unfold but sometimes even being the news itself. Reckoning with racism, a crisis of democracy, the right role of government in our daily lives—every question has its reason; every answer has its context.
Tune in every other week wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to The Context to get the latest episodes.
The Charles F. Kettering Foundation works to inspire and connect individuals and organizations to advance thriving and inclusive democracies around the globe. We believe all people belong and have the right to engage in and shape a democracy that serves them.
History ripples and changes. From decisions at the dinner table to declarations from the Rose Garden; moments build upon one another informing our past, illuminating our present, inventing our future. History makes meaning, especially when it comes to the state of our democracy, and context is everything.
The Context is a new podcast about the history, trends, and ideas shaping democracy in the United States and around the world. In each episode, host Alex Lovit will interview someone who has seen it all—scholars, politicians, journalists and public servants—to get their take on how we got to where we are and what they’ve seen through their experience not only watching the news unfold but sometimes even being the news itself. Reckoning with racism, a crisis of democracy, the right role of government in our daily lives—every question has its reason; every answer has its context.
Tune in every other week wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to The Context to get the latest episodes.
The Charles F. Kettering Foundation works to inspire and connect individuals and organizations to advance thriving and inclusive democracies around the globe. We believe all people belong and have the right to engage in and shape a democracy that serves them.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 7, 2025 • 28min
Nonviolent Resistance Works. Here’s Why.
Nonviolent movements are more effective at combatting authoritarianism than violent resistance, according to research from today’s guest. Maria Stephan joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the implications of her research for the United States in this moment of political upheaval and growing authoritarianism.
Maria Stephan is the co-lead and chief organizer of the Horizons Project. She’s written several books, including co-authoring the award-winning Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict.
https://horizonsproject.us/
https://freedomtrainers.net/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Sep 30, 2025 • 43min
Bonus: Gen Z is Taking Their First Steps onto the Political Stage (from Disrupting Peace podcast)
This week, we bring you an episode of the Disrupting Peace podcast, from the World Peace Foundation. In this episode, host Bridget Conley talks with two guests about how Gen Z Americans are—and aren’t—engaging in democracy and what people of all ages can do to encourage the next generation of peaceful leaders.
Find more episodes and subscribe here: https://disrupting-peace.captivate.fm/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Sep 23, 2025 • 37min
What Makes Social Movements Win
Deva Woodly joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the importance of social movements for American democracy and the role they can play at this precarious moment in American political history. We need these networks of trust and coordinated action to push the country away from authoritarianism and toward a democracy that works for everyone.
Deva Woodly is a scholar of social movements. She is a professor of political science at Brown University and a research fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Sep 9, 2025 • 41min
Practical Advice for Reclaiming Democracy
Want to know what you can do to fight authoritarianism? Organizer Daniel Hunter joins host Alex Lovit to give practical advice for people seeking to reclaim democracy in the United States.
Daniel Hunter has studied authoritarianism and resistance around the world. He is an educator with Freedom Trainers and the director of Choose Democracy.
https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/
https://freedomtrainers.net/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Aug 26, 2025 • 40min
Why Democracies Unravel Under Leaders Like Trump
In the United States, today’s Republican Party is what political scientists call “personalist.” Power is concentrated with one individual, and other party elites don’t have much ability—or willingness—to oppose that leader. In other countries around the world, when personalist parties have won control of national government, the result has been democratic backsliding and growing authoritarianism. Understanding why this is a problem for the future of democracy can also help us understand what to do about it.
Erica Frantz studies authoritarian politics, with a focus on democratization, democratic backsliding, conflict, and development. She is an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University and a research fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Aug 12, 2025 • 37min
Authoritarianism Isn’t Coming. It’s Here.
Steven Levitsky, a leading expert on authoritarian regimes, joins host Alex Lovit to talk about the US’s current slide into authoritarianism and what we can do about it.
Democracies tolerate dissent. In a democracy, citizens and institutions can criticize, protest, or file legal claims against the government, without fear of reprisal. That is no longer true of the US today, which means that the US is no longer a full democracy.
Steven Levitsky is the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and professor of government and director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University. Along with many acclaimed academic works, he is the coauthor (with Daniel Ziblatt) of two bestselling books about threats to democracy: 2018’s How Democracies Die and 2023’s Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point. He is also a senior fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Jul 29, 2025 • 34min
From Barber to Banker: The Man Fighting for Financial Justice in Little Rock
We can’t have a full democracy without financial justice. Host Alex Lovit speaks with Arlo Washington, a banker creating access to loans, credit, and financial literacy training for his underbanked community in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Arlo Washington is a barber, entrepreneur, and the founder and president of People Trust Community Federal Credit Union, a Community Development Financial Institution in Little Rock, Arkansas. People Trust is the first Black-owned financial institution established in Arkansas.
Washington is also the subject of the 2024 Oscar-nominated short documentary, The Barber of Little Rock.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/barber-of-little-rock-arlo-washington-wealth-gap
https://www.peopletrustloans.org/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Jul 15, 2025 • 31min
Only Bad People Have Bad Politics. Right?
Americans are constantly arguing about politics—on the internet and at the family dinner table. But we rarely change one another’s minds, and we often emerge from those disagreements feeling frustrated and distrustful. Host Alex Lovit is joined by research psychologist Keith Payne to discuss the science behind the political divide and how the psychology of political disagreements can help us have more productive political conversations.
Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die and Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Jul 1, 2025 • 39min
The US Doesn’t Have Fair Elections. What Can We Do?
Voting rights are the foundation of democratic governance. But recent changes in elections policies have disenfranchised millions of Americans, and the voting gap between White and minority voters is continuing to expand.
Host Alex Lovit is joined by Sean Morales-Doyle. Morales-Doyle is the director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.
https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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Jun 17, 2025 • 31min
Learning US History Is about Hope, Not Shame
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed joins host Alex Lovit to discuss Juneteenth’s history and the transformative potential of reckoning with our country’s complex past.
Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard, where she teaches both history and law. She’s the author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family and On Juneteenth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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