The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an  episode from the How Do We Fix It? podcast, hosted by Richard Davies and Jim Meigs. What's the greatest crisis facing America today? — Racism and hate crimes, exploding government debt, climate change, or the mess at the border?It may be none of these. America and many other countries are trapped in high conflict. Both sides are paralyzed by fear and anger as they demonize the other. The national narrative of "us versus them" is a threat to democracy and stops us from working together to build a better world.Best-selling author and investigative journalist, Amanda Ripley, is our guest. She is well-known for her writing in The Atlantic, Time, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Her latest book is "High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out."Amanda argues that good conflict involves nuance and complexity. It can teach us to be better people, who are capable of solutions as they move past misunderstandings. Many are trapped in high conflict, which is threatening to tear us apart, creating an even deeper crisis than we have now.We discuss "conflict entrepreneurs"— cable TV personalities, talk radio hosts, and politicians from both left and right — who profit from making us angry and fearful."Most Americans want "out" of this high conflict," Amanda tells How Do We Fix It? "They very much want to see a different way of disagreeing among their politicians and the news media. They are frequently tuning out of politics and the news, which is a big problem, but totally understandable."Additional InformationHow Do We Fix It? PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an  episode from the Our Body Politic podcast, hosted by Farai Chideya.Farai Chideya and her guests dissect political news across the country, from the Senate races in Georgia to the violence in our nation’s capital. And we welcome new contributor and legal analyst Tiffany Jeffers. Impact investor Nathalie Molina Niño takes on the exclusion of women of color in finance. Business reporter Ruth Umoh takes stock of corporations’ promises to invest in racial equity. Former journalist Carla Murphy tells Farai about her mission to understand why other journalists of color leave newsrooms. Plus, the leaders of the Guild of Future Architects on what work will look like decades from now.Additional InformationOur Body Politic PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an  episode from the Democracy Paradox podcast, hosted by Justin Kempf.A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on Mexican politics here.Guillermo Trejo is an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. Sandra Ley is an Assistant Professor at CIDE’s Political Studies Division in Mexico City. They are the authors of Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico. Key Highlights IncludeA vivid description of the effects of the criminal wars in MexicoHow autocracy allows for the proliferation of organized crimeWhy Mexico remains an 'illiberal democracy'How polarization exacerbated criminal violence in MexicoThe importance of deeper degrees of democratizationAdditional InformationDemocracy Paradox PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an  episode from the 70 Million podcast, a documentary podcast about criminal justice reform from LWC Studios.This special roundtable of experts looks at how policing and incarceration practices are impacting COVID-19 rates in BIPOC communities around the country. Because being jailed means an increased risk of getting COVID-19, those released might unknowingly bring the virus home, putting their loved ones and communities at risk. Our editor, Jen Chien, moderates the conversation with Nicole Lewis, senior editor of the jurisprudence section at Slate Magazine, Eric Reinhart, medical anthropologist, psychoanalyst and resident physician at Northwestern University, and Alicia Virani, former public defender and current professor at UCLA School of Law. Produced by Lisa Bartfai.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.Additional Information70 Million PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an  episode from the The Bully Pulpit podcast, hosted by Bob Shrum and Mike MurphyCenter Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy are joined by Linda Chavez, Pete Peterson, Theodore Johnson, and Ralph Neas to dive into the pros and cons of voting processes nationwide and explore common sense solutions.Featuring:Robert Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC DornsifeMike Murphy - Co-Director, Center for the Political Future; NBC Political AnalystLinda Chavez - Conservative commentator; Chair, Center for Equal OpportunityTheodore Johnson - Fellows Program Director at Brennan Center for Justice, New York UniversityRalph Neas - Senior Counsel on Voting Rights, Century FoundationPete Peterson - Braun Family Dean's Chair, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy; Senior Fellow, Davenport InstituteAdditional InformationThe Bully Pulpit PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an episode from the Democracy in Danger podcast, with hosts Will Hitchcock and Siva Vaidhyanathan.Citizenship determines who is in and who is out, who has a voice in a democracy and who doesn’t. But for the one million young people who have grown up in the United States undocumented, feeling like they really belong here remains a dream deferred. This time, we hear from two of them living in limbo. Plus, legal scholar Amanda Frost unearths the unsettling stories of Americans who have had their citizenship taken away — because of their politics, their race, even because of whom they choose to marry.As Frost’s research shows, the United States has struggled to define citizenship ever since its founding. In the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which upheld and expanded slavery, the U.S. Supreme Court found that no African American could ever be a citizen, setting the stage for a bloody war of secession. Until the mid-20th century, Chinese immigrants — and even their children born in this country — were denied basic constitutional protections. And today, as we hear in the stories of two undocumented students interviewed for this week’s show, hundreds of thousands of undocumented young people face demoralizing roadblocks on their pathway to full belonging in the nation they call home.Additional InformationDemocracy in Danger PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We continue our Best of 2021 episodes with an  episode from the Let's Find Common Ground podcast, hosted by Richard Davies & Ashley Milne-Tyte.What steps are needed to cause people to leave white supremacist and other hate groups of their own volition? In this deeply personal podcast episode, we explore the tactics and commitment needed to be successful in this work.Daryl Davis, an award-winning Black musician, race reconciliator, and renowned lecturer, has used the power of human connection to convince hundreds of people to leave white supremacist groups. His fellow guest, Ryan Lo'Ree, a former white supremacist, is now an interventionist working to deradicalize people who have been lured into right and left-wing extremism.These two men, who came from very different backgrounds and belief systems, discuss their life experiences, lessons learned in their work, and what motivates them to convince people to change their convictions.Additional InformationLet's Find Common Ground PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Welcome to our Best of 2021 Episodes!

This week we bring you an episode from  the To Build a Bridge Podcast and our partners at the Bridge Alliance, an organization dedicated to providing resources to non profits involved in democracy reform.Being Right-of-Center in the era of social justice has become unpopular and suppressive. All too often, the right wing is labeled as prejudiced, hateful and uneducated conductors of national misinformation. This unfortunately discourages many from openly sharing their outlook which is a direct contradiction to this country’s constitution. Bridge Alliance Deputy Chief of Staff, Shakira Mills is sitting down with Shoshana Weissmann of RStreet Institute, Stephanie Slade of Reason Magazine, Jeremy Garson and Michelle Dickson of Bridge Alliance to discuss the modern American polarized experience and what the right wing is really trying to accomplish.

Host Farai Chideya talks with MacArthur Fellow, poet Reginald Dwayne Betts, about why we struggle to articulate exactly how we want to change the prison system in the U.S. OB-GYN Dr. Jamila Perritt explains why she dreams of exercising her medical practice without the interference of politics. Gwen Ifill Award winner Sisi Wei of OpenNews examines the transition from focusing on diversity in newsrooms, to doing impactful anti-racist work in the media industry. And on Sippin’ the Political Tea, Mutale Nkonde of AI for the People and Nicol Turner-Lee of the Brookings Institution help Farai examine the latest tech news..Additional InformationOur Body Politic PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group