The Democracy Group

This week, Farai interviews Dr. Sayu Bhojwani, civic entrepreneur and founder of Women’s Democracy Lab, about what it takes to create a more inclusive democracy and what current intraparty tensions reveal about the election field ahead of the midterms. Then, we re-air a conversation from “One With Farai” featuring Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry and her 2011 book “Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America.” And in this week’s segment of ‘Sippin’ the Political Tea’, Farai interviews Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs and Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and host of “Oh My World!” on YouTube, about the death of Queen Elizabeth II amidst the United Kingdom’s energy crisis.Additional InformationOur Body Politic PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist and he’s the founder and president of the research and consulting firm Eurasia Group. We discuss his latest book, The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats -- and Our Response -- Will Change the World. He argues that the major challenges humanity is facing are spurring us to create a new world order that works against these common threats.The climate crisis, disruptive technologies, and pandemics are existential threats to humanity. These crises are truly global and provide an opportunity for real cooperation across the world. For example, everyone around the world now sees that the climate is only going to get worse. Even though the solutions are not optimally coordinated, and arguably not acting fast enough, everyone is now rowing in the same direction. Follow Ian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ianbremmerFollow Mila on Twitter:https://twitter.com/milaatmosAdditional InformationFuture Hindsight PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Kevin Munger joins Lee to discuss the generation gap in American politics. Munger is the Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor of Political Science and Assistant Professor of Political Science and Social Data Analytics at Penn State University. His research has appeared in leading journals like the American Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Political Communication, and Political Science Research & Methods. Munger is the author of Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture (Columbia University Press 2022).Is there a generational divide in American politics? What issues do young people care about most? How can they influence what’s happening in Washington, D.C.? And is it time for an older generation to pass the torch? These are some of the issues Kevin and Lee ask in this week’s episode.Additional InformationPolitics in Question PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

The primary election season in this midterm election year is now over in most states. Turnout was often very low— less than 20% of registered voters showed up in many places— while the partisan divide was as wide as ever. In this episode, we hear from leading political strategists, scholars, authors, and journalists about the American system for choosing candidates who will face each other in November's election. We hear criticisms of closed party primaries and look at other ways to pick candidates for public office.Proposals aimed at reducing polarization include the introduction of ranked-choice voting and open primaries, where independent voters, and those who are neither registered Republicans nor Democrats, can participate. Guests include Former Democratic Party Chair Donna Brazille, ex-Congressmen Will Hurd, David Jolly, and Barney Frank, Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, constitutional law scholar Rick Pildes, author Tony Woodlief, and journalists Salena Zito, Christa Case Bryant, and Story Hinckley.Additional InformationLet's Find Common Ground PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

“We have mental mechanisms that have been there since the Stone Age and no longer function in this environment”Short-term thinking, lazy reasoning and stereotyping, and too much focus on what’s bad (the ‘negativity bias’)… all are throw-backs to our last major evolutionary stage, when humans lived in a world of scarcity, danger and constant tribal fighting.In today’s more clement environment where resources are plentiful and the likelihood of being murdered minimal, those mental models no longer apply. In fact, over-reliance on those outmoded forms of thinking risk bringing us back to an age of conflict.“We can either change by design or change by disaster. I prefer the former.”Listen to Maren make the case for embodied thinking, and explain how a new approach to conversation can change the way we engage socially and politically:The 3 Principles of Dynamic ThinkingHow to redefine groupsSwitching our focus from the individual to the collectiveConstructive JournalismWhy thinking is embodiedWhy rational decision-making is always emotionalThe danger of habitsProf. Maren UrnerMaren Urner is a neuroscientist, professor of media psychology, and the best-selling author of Raus aus der Erwigen Dauerkrise. She is also the founder of Perspective Daily, a German-language online magazine for constructive journalism.Additional InformationOn Opinion PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We’re back! Legal scholar Jedediah Purdy joins Will and Siva to help launch a new season focused on democracy, law and the people. Can Americans transcend gross inequality, neoliberal ideology, and the “politics of nihilism” taking root among their leaders? Looking to Frederick Douglass for inspiration, Purdy thinks so. His new book urges readers to reimagine and rebuild their body politic — to rule themselves at last. It may be a crapshoot, but it’s one a free people can’t afford to pass up.Additional InformationDemocracy in Danger PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

There's always another set of elections. So, let's set up for elections. Let's figure out how to mobilize people. Let's figure out how to engage them and answer the question, ‘Why they elected this person? What did we miss? What do we need to build? Which kind of program.’ I think using the streets is great, but definitely you need training… A lot of training.This is a long-term effort. It's not about calling you on Facebook for a demonstration and that's it.Laura GamboaSupport Democracy Paradox on Patreon for bonus episodes, ad free episodes and exclusive updates and information. Preorder Laura Gamboa's new book Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy here. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Laura Gamboa is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah. She is the author of the forthcoming book Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy.Key HighlightsIntroduction - 0:47Uribe was a Threat to Democracy - 3:11Opposition Strategies in Colombia - 14:20Opposition Strategies in Venezuela - 17:53How Often do Aspiring Autocrats Get Elected - 27:03Final Advice for Democratic Oppositions - 34:02Key LinksLearn more about Laura Gamboa"The Peace Process and Colombia’s Elections" by Laura Gambia in the Journal of DemocracyResisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy by Laura GamboaAdditional InformationDemocracy Paradox PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Tim Miller is an MSNBC analyst, writer-at-large at The Bulwark, and the host of "Not My Party" on Snapchat. Tim was communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign and spokesman for the Republican National Committee during Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign. He has since left the GOP and become one of the leaders of the “Never Trump” movement. He is author of Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell that aims to explain why Washington DC politicos who knew better went along with Trump and he joins us on Politics is Everything to discuss his book and what we can do to fix the rage machine he helped to create.Additional InformationPolitics is Everything PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

In US politics bipartisanship is now the exception, not the rule. But the Millennial Action Project is pushing back: it trains young leaders to bridge the partisan divide and work together to solve America’s problems. In this episode, we meet two members of the Millennial Action Project from opposite sides of the aisle. They are state representatives from Connecticut, Republican Devin Carney and Democrat Jillian Gilchrest.They discuss the joys and challenges of being a local politician at a time when national politics is so divisive. ‘Get to know me’ is something they often say to constituents who judge them solely on the ‘R’ or ‘D’ after their name. Carney and Gilchrest talk about listening and responding to their constituents, having their own prejudices upended, and how they find ways to agree for the good of their state.Additional InformationLet's Find Common Ground PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

A recording from our Twitter Space Event with Renew Democracy InitiativeHostsJustin Kempf, Host of Democracy ParadoxGuestsEvan Mawarire, founder of #TheFlag movementIf 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.