39 episodes
Another Way, by Lawrence Lessig Lawrence Lessig
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Can we make 2020 something more than a civil war between Democrats and Republicans? That’s the challenge that has inspired this podcast by Lawrence Lessig. Without doubting the urgent need to defeat our current President, Lessig lays out a strategy that leverages the common ground that unites America, to the end of fixing our rigged and broken democracy. Drawing upon the history of other moments of fundamental change in America, Lessig maps a strategy that steps above our partisan divide. It is a moonshot, no doubt. But it is the one shot that could get us beyond the pathological division that destroys our government today. This is the conversation that the politicians won’t give us. And that’s precisely why we citizens must begin it now.
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State of the Race + Improving Democracy in 2024 [2-20-2020]
This week, Jason Harrow and Adam Eichen of Equal Citizens recap the Democratic presidential primary. How important has democracy reform for voters? For the media? Adam then tells stories from the ground in New Hampshire. They conclude by discussing ideas to make the 2024 primaries more small-d democratic. Feedback welcome to info@equalcitizens.us.
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens -
How Journalists Follow The Money [2-14-2020]
Adam Eichen is joined by Andrew Perez, a writer and researcher who spent five years as a money-in-politics investigative reporter. Andrew reveals how he uncovered his biggest stories, why money can be so hard to track, and why we need more journalists—now more than ever.
Please note: This episode was recorded prior to the Iowa caucuses and does not include information from the most recent FEC filing.
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens -
Ezra Klein on Why We're Polarized [2-6-2020]
In this special episode, Larry Lessig speaks with Ezra Klein, the Vox media founder and host of the Ezra Klein Show, at a live event in Boston. They discuss Ezra's new book "Why We're Polarized" and discuss why it's really the system and the parties—and not the particular policy disagreements between politicians or the public—that have made our democracy so dysfunctional.
The event was held in Back Bay in Boston and hosted by the Harvard bookstore. The audio is courtesy of the wonderful folks at the Forum Network at WGBH Boston. They are in the process of posting video from the event to https://forum-network.org/lectures/why-were-polarized-book-discussion-ezra-klein/.
You can support this podcast on Patreon at patreon.com/EqualCitizens, and you can find our whole archive online at equalcitizens.us/anotherway. -
Why The Census Matters [1-30-2020]
In this episode, Adam Eichen is joined by Beth Huang, executive director of Massachusetts Voter Table. The two discuss how the decennial census works, why it is so important, the difficulties involved in enumeration, and what groups are doing to ensure an accurate count. Ultimately, they argue, the census is about power and which voices are heard in our democracy. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens.
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End Citizens United's Tiffany Muller on Ten Years of Citizens United [1-23-2020]
Equal Citizens founder Larry Lessig speaks with Tiffany Muller, the founder of End Citizens United. The unfortunate occasion is the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Tiffany explains not only the problems that big money has caused but also how we need a comprehensive solution that does more than just overturn Citizens United.
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Nick Penniman On Why Democracy Reform Is Issue One [1-16-20]
Larry Lessig speaks with Issue One's Nick Penniman about why Nick left journalism to begin tackling the problem of fixing our democracy. Nick then discusses the difference between putting policies on websites and having politicians prioritize real reform that would de-rig the system and enable real change to happen. And they discuss how to build a coalition across the left, right, and center to at last get the change that 80-90% of the public wants to see happen.
Customer Reviews
A gem
Republican? Democrat? Unaffiliated? Doesn’t matter. What changes do you want to see in America? Free university? End welfare? Doesn’t matter. Nothing matters unless you have the ear of Congress and none of us do. Congress spends all their time sucking up to billionaire campaign funders who, in the end, get whatever they want. Changing this inherently corrupted system is Lessig’s focus. He speaks clearly and elegantly and his message deserves to be heard by all.
Need to take more control of interviews
I was a supporter of professor Lessig during his campaign in 2016 and am a support of the his efforts. Ninety percent of the time, or more, I think they do an amazing job. If I were to offer one criticism is that when they have more partisan or politically active guests (people running, have run, or are currently in office) they can loose control of the interview and their guest will continually criticize them heir political opponents, individuals or parties, and go completely off topic from democracy reform. If they took more control in those instances, it would be a that much greater if podcast. But I still listen to it every week and support the cause!
Unparalleled clarity
I found this podcast through an interview on Joe Rogan. Lawrence details the systemic governmental impediments to representation of the majority of Americans, and the historical basis for the changes needed.
Highly recommend.
