284 episodes

The Democracy Works podcast seeks to answer that question by examining a different aspect of democratic life each week — from voting to criminal justice to the free press and everything in between. We interview experts who study democracy, as well as people who are out there doing the hard work of democracy day in and day out.

The show’s name comes from Pennsylvania’s long tradition of iron and steel works — people coming together to build things greater than the sum of their parts. We believe that democracy is the same way. Each of us has a role to play in building and sustaining a healthy democracy and our show is all about helping people understand what that means.

Democracy Works is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Democracy Works Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy

    • Government
    • 4.6 • 73 Ratings

The Democracy Works podcast seeks to answer that question by examining a different aspect of democratic life each week — from voting to criminal justice to the free press and everything in between. We interview experts who study democracy, as well as people who are out there doing the hard work of democracy day in and day out.

The show’s name comes from Pennsylvania’s long tradition of iron and steel works — people coming together to build things greater than the sum of their parts. We believe that democracy is the same way. Each of us has a role to play in building and sustaining a healthy democracy and our show is all about helping people understand what that means.

Democracy Works is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    How discontent destabilizes demoracy

    How discontent destabilizes demoracy

    If there's one thing that people across the political spectrum can agree on, it's a sense of discontent with the current state of American politics. This week, we explore the origins of that discontent and why it's damaging to democracy.

    • 38 min
    A different take on social media and democracy

    A different take on social media and democracy

    V Spehar of TikTok's Under the Desk News joins us to discuss how social media can strengthen democracy by creating space for community and encouraging offline civic engagement.

    • 36 min
    How to combat political extremism

    How to combat political extremism

    Cynthia Miller-Idriss, one of America's leading experts on the far right, joins us this week to discuss what draws people to political extremism online and offline — and what we can do to combat it.

    • 37 min
    A different kind of political divide

    A different kind of political divide

    Scholars Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan argue that America might not be as polarized as we think because the media and political observers over-index on people who are deeply invested in politics at the expense of those who are not as engaged.

    • 39 min
    Tim Alberta on evangelicals and Republicans

    Tim Alberta on evangelicals and Republicans

    Chris Beem talks with journalist Tim Alberta about the role that Evangelical Christians play in the Republican Party — and what that means for the future of American democracy.

    • 33 min
    How election officials are preparing for the year ahead

    How election officials are preparing for the year ahead

    Tammy Patrick from the National Association of Election Officials joins us for our first full episode of 2024 to unpack the challenges facing the thousands of election officials across the U.S. in 2024 and beyond.

    • 37 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
73 Ratings

73 Ratings

IvyVirginia ,

Food for thought

This show approaches each topic from a thoughtful POV and offers up perspectives from people who have expert knowledge. They don’t hammer a point or yell and rant, but instead discuss and deliberate. A perfect example of how democracy works by Democracy Works!

justin kempf ,

Leader in Podcasts on Democracy

Jenna has been a large help for my own podcast, Democracy Paradox. Her leadership of the Democracy Group has influenced many democracy podcasts. Eternal thanks to her contours work!

MimiWuj ,

Deep Analysis; Better Than Anything on Mainstream

I appreciate this group’s analysis, as it seeks to understand our political culture dispassionately and not to fan the outrage we see in shoddy and “clickbait” journalism.

Top Podcasts In Government

Strict Scrutiny
Crooked Media
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
The Kevin Roberts Show
Heritage Podcast Network
Red Eye Radio
Cumulus Podcast Network
The Chris Plante Show
WMAL | Cumulus Podcast Network | Cumulus Media Washington
5-4
Prologue Projects

You Might Also Like

The Ezra Klein Show
New York Times Opinion
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
FiveThirtyEight Politics
ABC News, 538, FiveThirtyEight, Galen Druke
Beg to Differ with Mona Charen
Beg to Differ with Mona Charen
The Focus Group Podcast
The Focus Group Podcast
Matter of Opinion
New York Times Opinion