

The Democracy Group
The Democracy Group
Welcome to The Democracy Group - a network of podcasts about democracy, civic engagement, and civil discourse. In this feed you will find a sampling of episodes from our podcasts in the Democracy Group as well recordings from our events. If you enjoy this podcast, please visit democracygroup.org to find all of our podcast shows, events, topic guides, and newsletter.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 13, 2021 • 54min
Best of 2021: Guillermo Trejo and Sandra Ley on the Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico | Democracy Paradox
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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dec 8, 2021 • 37min
Best of 2021: Why COVID-19 Goes from Jails to Communities | 70 Million
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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dec 6, 2021 • 59min
Best of 2021: Voting Rights and Voting Wrongs | The Bully Pulpit
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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dec 1, 2021 • 50min
Best of 2021: Bittersweet Dreams | Democracy in Danger
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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 29, 2021 • 30min
Best of 2021: How To Take Direct Action Against Hate | Let's Find Common Ground
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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 29, 2021 • 32sec
Introducing our Best of 2021!
Welcome to our Best of 2021 Episodes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 24, 2021 • 36min
Featuring: To Build A Bridge
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 22, 2021 • 51min
The Challenge to Define Accountability in the Criminal Justice System, Anti-racism in Media, and What’s Really Going On with Facebook | Our Body Politic
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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 17, 2021 • 40min
Contract for the Climate: Keya Chatterjee | Future Hindsight
Racial Injustice in the Climate CrisisEconomic and racial injustices are at the center of the climate crisis. White communities have largely avoided things like polluting power plants and detrimental pipelines in their neighborhoods. Instead, communities of color have faced that burden. The willingness to sacrifice communities of color has made it easier for governments to tolerate climate chaos.Aiding Youth ActivismSuccessful social movements often start with activism by young people, and in fact cannot be successful without them. However, it’s up to the adults in our democracy to make sure their voices are heard since they are the ones who can vote and have the financial resources. It’s been proven that just 3.5% of a population can topple a dictatorship. What can it do for climate justice?Disruptive HumanitarianismDisruptive humanitarianism challenges the status quo and forces the system to change immediately for the better. It counters the idea that it’s everyone for themselves. It can be as simple as planting a garden where a pipeline is being placed. Taking action together in a democracy is imperative because it’s hard to create change as an individual.FIND OUT MORE:Keya Chatterjee is Executive Director of US Climate Action Network and author of The Zero Footprint Baby: How to Save the Planet While Raising a Healthy Baby. Her work focuses on building an inclusive movement in support of climate action. Prior to joining USCAN, Keya served as Senior Director for Renewable Energy and Footprint Outreach at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where she worked for eight years. Before that, she was a Climate Change Specialist at USAID.Keya also worked at NASA headquarters for four years, communicating research results on climate change. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 1998 to 2000. She served on the board of the Washington Area Bicycling Association from 2013 to 2021. Keya received her Master's degree in Environmental Science, and her Bachelor's in Environmental Science and Spanish from the University of Virginia.You can follow Keya on Twitter @keya_chatterjee.Additional 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.

Nov 15, 2021 • 30min
Climate: Changing the Conversation. Katharine Hayhoe | How Do We Fix It?
As world leaders discuss the planet's future at COP26 in Glasgow, climate change remains a massive challenge and a source of fierce debate. While two-thirds of Americans think that the government should be doing more, it's tempting to throw our hands up in despair and think: "There's nothing I can do."Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe begs to differ. She says the most important thing is to talk about it—and she wants to teach us how. In this episode, we discuss her hopeful, passionate case for enacting positive change from the ground up, and the finding of her new book, "Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World."Katharine shares the science of climate change, how to talk about it across the political divide, and personal stories about engaging highly skeptical audiences, such as when she spoke to a crowd of conservative business leaders in West Texas at a meeting of Rotarians. The outcome was remarkable! "If we want to change the system, the most important thing any of us can do is to use our voice to influence others to talk about why it matters, and what we can do together to fix it," Katharine tells us. "Wherever we are, we have a shadow not just a footprint, and our shadow can influence people to do things themselves too."Katharine Hayhoe is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a professor of political science and public law at Texas Tech University. She is also a well-known science communicator, principal investigator for the Department of Interior’s South-Central Climate Adaptation Science Center and the National Science Foundation’s Global Infrastructure Climate Network. Her research currently focuses on establishing a scientific basis for assessing the regional to local-scale impacts of climate change on human systems and the natural environment.Additional 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.


