The Democracy Group

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Elliott Morris joins Julia and Lee to discuss political polling. Morris is a data journalist and US correspondent at The Economist, where he writes on American politics, elections, and public opinion. Morris previously worked for an elections returns start-up and the Pew Research Center and has contributed articles to the New York Times. He is the author of Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them.How does polling work? Can polls tell us something that we don’t already know? Are polls misleading? Is the practice good or bad for democracy? These are some of the questions that Elliott, Julia, and Lee ask on this week’s episode.Additional InformationPolitics in Question PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Tara McGowan returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about founding Courier Newsroom, where they're working in 8 battleground states to fight back against disinformation by publishing good information.Additional InformationThe Great Battlefield PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

In this episode, Madison Center for Civic Engagement Democracy Fellow Leia Surovell interviews the new interim Executive Director, Dr. David Kirkpatrick and the new interim Associate Director Dr. Kara Dillard about their vision for the Madison Center and their views for what campus Centers for Civic Engagement should do for higher education.See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://www.jmu.edu/civic/podcast/index.shtmlAdditional InformationDemocracy Matters PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Rigid polarization and political division are among the biggest challenges facing our country. Young people often feel that tribalism is better than unity and that conversations across political and cultural divides are impossible.College students Clare Ashcraft, who comes from a conservative background, and Jackson Spencer Richter, who calls himself a committed liberal, are active members of BridgeUSA, a national movement of students working to emphasize the importance of empathy, understanding, and ideological diversity.In this episode we hear about students' personal experience of cancel culture, the impact of social media on Generation Z, and why many young people actually feel that free speech can harm or threaten their safety. We also learn about efforts to find common ground, equip students with skills to find solutions across divides, and build bridges with others of different backgrounds and points of view. Additional InformationLet's Find Common Ground PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Jonathan Friedman is the director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. He oversees research, advocacy, and education related to academic freedom, educational gag orders, book bans, and general free expression in schools, colleges, and universities. We discuss the driving forces behind campaigns to ban books and silence teachers.Education has always been political and a part of the culture war. We’re currently experiencing an eruption of citizen anger against schools, books, school librarians, and teachers for allegedly engaging in something dangerous. For example, anything about diversity and inclusion is labeled as critical race theory. Libraries were actually put inside schools to encourage literacy and development, civic engagement, and exploration that is very healthy for a society. Politicians are increasingly trying to label whatever they don't like in schools as something that should be censored, and there are efforts to defund or close public libraries. Follow Jonathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonfreadomFollow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmosAdditional InformationFuture Hindsight PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

CPF Director Bob Shrum joins Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) to discuss his new book “Dignity in the Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us,” which is a roadmap to facing America’s digital divide and offering greater economic prosperity to all. They also discuss the digital economy, technological innovation, progressive capitalism, and the future of American democracy. Featuring:Ro Khanna - U.S. Representative (D-CA) for California’s 17th Congressional DistrictBob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC DornsifeAdditional InformationThe Bully Pulpit PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

A recording from our Twitter Space Event with Public CitizenHostsJustin Kempf, Host of Democracy ParadoxGuestsCraig Holman, Public Citizen’s Capitol Hill lobbyistIf you would like to listen and ask questions live, follow us @GroupDemocracy or subscribe to our newsletter are democracygroup.org/newsletter to be the first to know about upcoming events.

In country after country - we've counted over 130 news outlets of 30 countries that were republishing content that was produced by Chinese state media outlets or the Chinese embassy. So, these state media outlets are actually formally under the control of the Communist Party's propaganda department.A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Sarah Cook is the Research Director for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House. She also directs their China Media Bulletin and authored the executive summary of this latest report, "Beijing's Global Media Influence 2022: Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience."Key HighlightsIntroduction - 0:38China and its Media Influence - 2:58Chinese Influence Tactics - 12:48The Effectiveness of Chinese Influence - 18:30Resiliency of Democracies - 27:47Key LinksRead the report "Beijing's Global Media Influence 2022: Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience"Follow Sarah Cook on Twitter @Sarah_G_CookFollow Freedom House on Twitter @freedomhouseAdditional InformationDemocracy Paradox PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Following the Dobbs  v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision, reproductive rights are heading to ballots in states across the country this fall. Are states the right venue for this and other issues? Our guest this week says yes and makes the case that state courts and constitutions are more democratic than their counterparts at the federal level.In Who Decides? State as Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation, U.S. Appellate Court Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton focuses on the constitutional structure of the American states to answer the question of who should decide the key questions of public policy today. We also discuss work by Jake Grumbach in his book Laboratories Against Democracy and the forthcoming Moore v. Harper case in the U.S. Supreme Court, which grapples with what's come to be known as the Independent State Legislature Theory.Sutton is the  Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was previously a partner with the law firm of Jones Day and served as State Solicitor of the State of Ohio. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (Ret.), the Honorable Antonin Scalia, and the Honorable Thomas J. Meskill. His previous book is 51 Imperfect Solutions, published in 2018.Who Decides: States as Laboratories of Constitutional ExperimentationAdditional InformationDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Robert Costa, chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News and a scholar at the Center for Politics this academic year, shares his approach to covering campaigns, elections and politics to help the public make sense of the complex issues facing the nation. “It can become a blizzard that's hard to follow," says Costa, "You have to report deeply and you want to break news...Unless it's breaking ground on the biggest players, it's important, but not THE story."Links in this episode: PerilWatergate at 50: The political scandal that changed WashingtonRep. Liz Cheney Speaks joins Robert Costa, CBS Sunday Morning, June 5, 2022Additional InformationPolitics is Everything PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group