The Democracy Group

For much of the past fifty years, American political leaders of both parties have assumed that globalization and free trade would lead to more opportunity, higher living standards and increased business efficiency.But our guest, author and Financial Times columnist, Rana Foroohar, argues that with supply chain disruptions and growing economic insecurity in much of the world, the long reign of globalization is coming to end. A shift to more resilient and local businesses is now at hand. We discuss the reporting and findings in the brand new book, "Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World.""I think the pendulum of the old way is tapped out," Rana tells us. "Cheap money is over. Cheap labor from China is largely over. Cheap energy from Russia is definitely over."The war in Ukraine and the political and economic chaos that followed have brought the fragility of the global economic and political system into sharp relief. We discuss the argument that our economy is far too financialized and that this is leading to greater mistrust, vast inequality and more populist autocrats. As we do in all of our shows, we hear potential solutions. Rana argues that place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep investment and wealth closer to home. She makes the case that our economic system needs to be transformedAdditional InformationHow Do We Fix It? PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pollsters in Brazil had Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the comeback candidate, leading by as many as 14 percentage points in the presidential election. But neither top nominee won a majority this month, sending citizens back to the polls for a historic runoff. And democracy itself is on the line. Incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro has waged war on reality, sowed division on social media and attacked the press. We check in with one of his targets, journalist Patrícia Campos Mello, ahead of the Oct. 30 rematch.Additional InformationDemocracy in Danger PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.