Daniel Carpenter joins the podcast to describe how the petition contributed to democratization in America in the 19th Century. We discuss his new book Democracy by Petition: Popular Politics in Transformation, 1790-1870. This is the 51st episode of the podcast. The idea of a political system is not simply to be efficient. It's to have... Continue Reading →
Robert C. Lieberman joins the podcast to discuss a book he coauthored with Suzanne Mettler, Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy. Rob is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University. This is the 48th episode of the Democracy Paradox podcast. Racism and racial conflict are always there, always a powerful and... Continue Reading →
Derek W. Black explains how the expansion of public education has developed alongside democracy in America. His recent book Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy links the current threat to public education to attacks on democracy. This is the 46th episode of the Democracy Paradox podcast. I find it hard to believe,... Continue Reading →
Sheryl WuDunn describes intimate stories of inequality and poverty in her recent book Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope (coauthored with Nicholas Kristof). She is a pulitzer prize winning reporter and business executive. This is the 45th episode of the Democracy Paradox podcast. That's why all Americans should care. Because the cost of poverty is not just... Continue Reading →
Shari Davis explains the efforts of the Participatory Budgeting Project. Shari is the Executive Director of PBP and an Obama Fellow. Participatory budgeting is actually about connecting folks with the skills and resources to navigate and shape government. And so, for me, that is the most optimistic and the most important outcome of any... Continue Reading →
Ross Benes explains politics in rural Nebraska from his research and personal experience. His new book is Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold. The legislature is one of several examples of our history of being independent which is why I think it was such an important story to tell of Nebraska becoming like... Continue Reading →
Rural consciousness has redefined the nature of identity politics as it shifts the dominant political conflicts from class to place. This is the second part of a series on political identity and its place within democratic theory. Rural Communities in Political Conflicts The divide between those dependent on an agricultural economy and an industrial economy... Continue Reading →
Ryan Salzman joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss how placemaking shapes communities. His recent book Pop-Up Civics in 21st Century America explains how associational relationships have changed over the last twenty years through the creation of temporary institutions and activities. Ryan follows in the footsteps of Robert Putnam and Alexis de Tocqueville to explain how informal associations... Continue Reading →
The trajectory of each political party in the United States depends on a variety of factors. Some involve factors outside their control, but others involve decisions and strategies made over long periods of time. E.E. Schattschneider offered an important analysis of American politics in 1960 in his classic work The Semi-Sovereign People. Justin Kempf reflects on... Continue Reading →
Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson have explored the evolution of the Republican Party in American politics for two decades. Their new book Let them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality explains the strange alliance between the affluent and working class white Americans into an ideology they describe as plutocratic populism.... Continue Reading →
