The Democracy Group

This week we bring you an episode from  Democracy Paradox's Patreon. You can subscribe for more content like this at https://www.patreon.com/demparadoxFeatured guest: Liz Joyner, CEO of the Village Square

As the political landscape has devolved into a Mad Max hellscape of blame and retribution (and sometimes even worse), can we find a way to wrestle up a little empathy for our fellow human, even the ones who we don’t agree with — liberal or conservative; Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist; black, white or brown and everyone in between? Is it possible to find humanity amidst the age of political ruin? We’ll find out.We’ll be joined by God Squad originals Pastor Betsy Ouellette Zierden of St. George Island United Methodist Church, Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, and Rabbi Jack Romberg, author of "A doorway to Heroism: A decorated German-Jewish Soldier who became an American Hero."Additional InformationThe Village SquareCast PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Freedom in the World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule  here.Sarah Repucci is the Vice President of Research and Analysis at Freedom House. She coauthored (along with Amy Slipowitz) Freedom in the World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule.Key HighlightsGlobal freedom has declined for 16 consecutive yearsHow Russia's invasion of Ukraine is part of a broader expansion of authoritarianismMyanmar and other countries with major declines in freedomBright spots like Ecuador and PeruHow we can support democracy in the worldAdditional InformationDemocracy Paradox PodcastMore shows from The Democracy GroupFreedom in the World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule by Sarah Repucci and Amy SlipowitzLearn more about Freedom HouseFollow Freedom House on Twitter @freedomhouse

This week we bring you an episode from  The Purple Principle podcast.The Purple Principle kicks off its extended Season Three series on state level polarization with a mini-series on the great state of Texas. And who better to discuss Texas politics than the co-hosts of the artfully named podcast, Y’all-itics: Jason Wheeler (Senior News Reporter) and Jason Whitely (News Anchor) of the ABC Dallas affiliate, WFAA. Both Jasons concur that polarization has been eating away at that powerful Texas identity in recent times. “People do like to maintain that they have that independent streak,” says Wheeler, pointing to both Texas Republicans and Democrats. “And I think that one of the things you have in common is that you like to think that you're perhaps more of an independent thinker than you are.” What factors are contributing to erosion of that common Texas identity? One party rule, without real need for bipartisanship, certainly plays a role. And gerrymandering has helped maintain Republican domination of Texas politics over the past two decades. Therefore, Republican office holders often look over their right shoulders at primary battles rather than ahead to general elections and swing voters.The most recent Texas legislative session put forth a number of bills catering to that small subset of Republican primary loyalists, including restricted abortion and voting access, yet unrestricted open carry of firearms. Will this “red meat” legislation invoke electoral backlash? That’s a point of discussion in this episode, along with last year’s major power failure and the continuing movement of California companies and workers into Texas. Tune in for a “Y’all-itical Science” mini-course with the equally articulate, almost equally named hosts of Y’all-itics, Jason Wheeler and Jason Whitely, as The Purple Principle kicks off our extended state polarization series in the vast, varied, and vocal Lone Star State.Original Texas–themed music this episode by Ryan Adair Rooney.   SHOW NOTESOur GuestsJason Whitely: co-host of the podcast Y’all-itics, Senior News Reporter at WFAA in Dallas, Texas. Host of WFAA’s Inside Texas Politics. Jason Whitely’s TwitterJason Wheeler: co-host of the podcast Y’all-itics, News Anchor at WFAA, and Editor of WFAA’s Right on the Money. Jason Wheeler’s TwitterFind the Y’all-itics podcast on WFAA.com, Apple PodcastsAdditional ResourcesWhy “heartbeat bill” is a misleading name for Texas’ near-total abortion ban (Texas Tribune)Gov. Greg Abbott signs Texas voting bill into law, overcoming Democratic quorum breaks (Texas Tribune)Permitless Carry Becomes Legal In Texas Next Week. Here’s What You Need To Know (Houston Public Media)Texas Partisan Index: Rating New Senate Seats From Most Republican to Most Democratic (The Texan)Ken Paxton - About the Attorney GeneralTexas attorney general refuses to hand over Jan. 6 records (AP)With primaries under way in Texas, Ken Paxton’s bid for a 3rd term is marked by legal troubles (Houston Public Media)Why Texas Democrats lost the 2020 voter turnout battle, even among Latinos (NBC News)Texas President Results, 2020 (CNN)Triumph The Insult Comic Dog Meets Beto And CruzPandemic politics fuel long-shot Republican challenges to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (NBC News)Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order Prohibiting Government Entities From Mandating MasksSurreal photos and videos capture dangers of severe winter storm across the South (Today.com)Colin Allred - U.S. House of RepresentativesVan Taylor - U.S. House of Representatives Follow the Purple Principle online!Twitter: @purpleprinciplFacebook: @thepurpleprinciplepodcastInstagram: @thepurpleprinciplepodcastOur website: https://bit.ly/2ZCpFaQSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2UfFSja

Robert Kagan is a foreign policy expert who turned his focus to the United States last fall in a Washington Post column titled "Our Constitutional Crisis Is Already Here" that became one of the Post's most-read pieces of 2021. We're lucky to have Kagan with us this week to discuss the ongoing crises of democracy at home and abroad as Russia's war on Ukraine continues to unfold.Kagan has argued that there was nothing inevitable about the relatively peaceful liberal democratic order that followed World War II, and that there is nothing inevitable about the perseverance of American democracy. In fact, he says that because so many reject the 2020 presidential election, we are already in a constitutional crisis, and it will take deliberate actions by the public and members of both political parties to get us out. For too many politicians, a recognition of our condition, let alone a commitment to those actions, appears to be a long way off.Kagan is the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute and a member of the Foreign Affairs Policy Board in the U.S. State Department. He is the author of The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World and The New York Times bestseller, The World America Made.Additional InformationDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy GroupKagan's piece on constitutional crisisKagan's piece on UkraineKagan's lecture at Penn State

The war in Ukraine and the global response to Russia's invasion are dominating the news. But missing in much of the coverage is a sense of the country and its people. In this historic moment, we hear a riveting account of the country's recent political awakening and why Ukrainians are prepared to resist and fight.In the past century, Ukraine suffered massively during two world wars, Nazi occupation, famine, and the Chernobyl disaster. Eight years ago, during the "Revolution of Dignity", Ukranians stood up against corruption, brutality, and Russian dominance. A new democracy and civic bond were formed. The country profoundly changed."Ukranians are fighting for all of us," says our guest, Yale University historian Marci Shore, the author of “The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution.” She is a scholar of Eastern Europe in the post-Soviet era. "I'm terrified for my friends," Marci tells us. "The Ukrainians will not give up... I'm desperately hopeful that as difficult as the odds are, they are going to prevail."Recommendations for further reading about the war and today's Ukraine: Yarolav Trofimo, the Wall Street Journal’s Chief foreign correspondent, now in Kiev. Phil Stewart of Reuters and his newsfeed on Twitter, coverage from CNN's Clarissa Ward, Anderson Cooper, and Alex Marquardt in Ukraine. Background and perspective in The Economist.Additional InformationHow Do We Fix It? PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Jane Lytvynenko hasn’t slept much in two weeks. From her home in Toronto, she is watching Russian troops invade and bombard her native Ukraine, threatening loved ones and friends. And it’s rattling her nerves. But through all that, Lytvynenko, a freelance journalist, remains hopeful. Siva speaks with her about the failures of world leaders to stand up to Vladimir Putin. Plus, we revisit a couple of interviews from last year that help add context to the conflict.Additional InformationDemocracy in Danger PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

This week on Our Body Politic, Farai talks with the parent of one of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. It’s been ten years since the tragedy, and the healing continues for families of the victims. Then, lighter wallets. Everyone's wallets are a little less full these days as inflation hits record highs - so what do we do? Farai talks about money strategies with personal finance guru Michelle Singletary. And finally, in our weekly segment ‘Sippin’ the Political Tea’, Farai talks with two experts on the conflict in Ukraine. Russia has invaded Ukraine, tensions in Europe are at their highest levels in decades, and there’s no endgame in sight.Additional InformationOur Body Politic PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Neil Roberts is Professor of Africana Studies and Faculty Affiliate in Political Science and Religion at Williams College. He’s working on a new book titled How To Live Free in an Age of Pessimism. We discuss the legacy of Charles Mills’ scholarship on the racial contract, freedom, and transforming society from the bottom up. Racial Contract White supremacy has shaped modern society in ways that may not be immediately obvious. Charles Mills proposes in the Racial Contract that we’ve operated under the assumption that rights belong to whites and are theirs to give away. By changing our conceptions about the racial contract and, in turn, racism, we can work towards constructing a new approach towards living free in our democracy. Living Free Living free isn’t simply the lack of enslavement. In our world, social and political orders are constantly changing, creating new dynamics of subjugation. If we choose to think of freedom outside of the context of enslavement, then living free requires the individual to grow a sense of awareness of their surroundings and the political system they exist in. For example, suffrage is a hallmark of a democratic and free society. Positive and Negative FreedomsPositive notions of freedom are about the visions of freedom that are desired in a body politic, such as autonomy or plurality. They also include public policy, legislation, and constitutions. Negative notions of freedom are about non-interference and non-domination. One example is mask mandates, which is considered by some to be an interference of freedom. FIND OUT MORE:Neil Roberts is Professor of Africana Studies and Faculty Affiliate in Political Science and Religion at Williams College. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago with a specialization in political theory. Roberts is the recipient of fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation as well as a member of the Caribbean Philosophical Association Board of Directors. His present writings deal with the intersections of Caribbean, Continental, and North American political theory with respect to theorizing the concept of freedom. His most recent book is A Political Companion to Frederick Douglass (The University Press of Kentucky, 2018). Roberts was President of the Caribbean Philosophical Association from 2016-19 and, since July 2018, he has served as the W. Ford Schumann Faculty Fellow in Democratic Studies. His next book is How to Live Free in an Age of Pessimism.You can follow Neil on Twitter @neildsroberts.Additional InformationFuture Hindsight PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

"If we start creating compassionate ways of understanding and connecting with one another, then we will have the permanent motivation to live up to our espoused and aspirational ideals as a democracy," says Dr. Gail Christopher, author of the new book RX Racial Healing. Dr. Christopher joins us to discuss how we can approach addressing the effects of racism and reimagine more just and equitable economies, societies and democracies.See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2022/02-01-democracy-matters-episode-97.shtmlAdditional InformationDemocracy Matters PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group