The State of American Democracy with Professor Morgan Marietta

Morgan Marietta is Dean of the Center for Economics, Politics & History at UATX. Formerly, he taught at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and served as Chair of Political Science at UT Arlington. With a focus on political psychology and constitutional politics, he is the author of four books:

*A Citizen’s Guide to American Ideology

*A Citizen’s Guide to the Constitution and the Supreme Court

*The Politics of Sacred Rhetoric: Absolutist Appeals and Political Persuasion

*One Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts in American Democracy

We sat down on a stormy Thursday evening to chat about his writing and research, UATX, the Austin Union, and the marketing of bourbon and cigarettes—among many other things. This interview is a bit longer than usual, but is definitely worth the listen. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I hope you do too.

Happy listening

* 0:00 - Intro

* 00:50 - What is America?

* 04:13 - The Unique Nature of the American Constitution

* 09:01 - Personal Experiences and the Role of Universities

* 13:42 - Constitutions in Other Countries

* 25:11 - The Power of Misrepresentation and Bullsh*t

* 31:02 - The Current State of Misrepresentation in America

* 35:35 - Evolutionary Psychology and the Role of Lying

* 36:56 - The Evolutionary Drive and Misrepresentation

* 37:56 - Hypergamy and Misrepresentation

* 39:13 - Bullsh*t and Truth Telling

* 40:27 - The Importance of Saying 'I Don't Know'

* 42:02 - Weaponizing Fact Perceptions

* 43:23 - Marketing and Fact Perceptions

* 44:41 - Misrepresentation in Marketing

* 46:07 - Trust and Perception of Facts

* 50:28 - Perceptions of Reality and Trust

* 52:01 - Polarization and Perceptions of Reality

* 54:57 - Manufacturing Consent and Misrepresentation

* 56:23 - The Influence of Social Media and Twitter

* 58:07 - The Role of Trust in Perception of Facts

* 01:00:02 - The Influence of Media and Marketing

* 01:03:38 - The Manufactured Nature of Political Issues

* 01:05:06 - John Adams and the Perception of Facts

* 01:06:28 - The Lack of Consensus Authority on Facts

* 01:07:05 - The Marketplace of Realities

* 01:07:55 - The Loss of Authority

* 01:10:27 - The University of Austin

* 01:12:39 - Founding New Institutions

* 01:14:26 - The Austin Union

* 01:16:37 - The Importance of Debate

* 01:18:58 - The Lack of Intellectual Discussion on Campuses

* 01:21:20 - The Need for Honest Discourse

* 01:23:11 - The Chatham House Rule

* 01:25:28 - The Problem with Confirmation Hearings

* 01:31:02 - Constitutional Amendments

* 01:37:09 - The Dishonesty of Confirmation Hearings