By Jenna Spinelle When the People Decide From my earliest days in journalism, I’ve always gravitated toward people who zig when everyone else zags, so to speak. The people who go against the grain and aren’t afraid to put forward a bold idea and bring people along for the ride. It’s difficult to find people... Continue Reading →
The Case for National Referendums Podcast #17
John Matsusaki joins the Democracy Paradox to make the case for National Referendums. He is the Charles F. Sexton Chair in American Enterprise at the University of Southern California and the author of Let the People Rule: How Direct Democracy Can Meet the Populist Challenge An Absence of National Referendums The United States has... Continue Reading →
Podcast Ep. 9 – John Gastil and Katherine Knobloch
John Gastil and Katherine Knobloch are the authors of Hope for Democracy: How Citizens Can Bring Reason Back into Politics. Their book explains an experiment in democracy called the Citizens' Initiative Review (CIR). It incorporated the idea of delegative democracy into the initiative referendum process in Oregon. Everyday citizens were brought together to discuss... Continue Reading →
Episode 7: Joshua J. Dyck and Edward L. Lascher, Jr
In the seventh episode Joshua (Josh) and Edward (Ted) Lascher join me for a conversation about what they describe as "Direct Democracy's Secondary Effects." Their recent book Initiatives without Engagement focus on the effects of popular initiatives. An initiative is a distinct form of referendum where citizens propose a law or policy change typically through... Continue Reading →