261 episodes
Democracy Works Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy
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- Government
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4.7 • 70 Ratings
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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.
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Democracy needs serious people
On our season finale, we break down some of the biggest stories in politics and democracy over the past few months, including legislative actions in North Carolina and beyond, cases the U.S. Supreme Court is considering, the debt ceiling, and more.
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Gen Z's fight for democracy
John Della Volpe, director of the Harvard Youth Poll and author of the book "Fight" about Gen Z politics, joins us this week to discuss the events that shaped the generation's political ideology and how they're pushing back against narratives established by previous generations.
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Think Inclusive: Facing the Anti-CRT Movement
This week, we bring you an episode from Think Inclusive, a podcast that builds bridges between families, educators, and disability rights advocates to create a shared understanding of inclusive education and what inclusion looks like in the real world.
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Is America in a third reconstruction?
Peniel E. Joseph, author of "The Third Reconstruction," joins us this week to discuss how the era from Barack Obama's election to George Floyd's murder compare to the post-Civil War Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement.
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Between democracy and autocracy
Barbara F. Walter, author of the bestselling book "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them" joins us this week to discuss what makes a country vulnerable to civil war and what actions people can take to prevent democratic backsliding.
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Living in a fragmented democracy
Against the backdrop of changes in Medicaid policy, we discuss how receiving government benefits like Medicaid impacts political agency, whether it's possible to square federalism and equality, and more.
Customer Reviews
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!
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!
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.
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