Democracy Works

Latest Episodes
The problem(s) with platforms
Author and blogger Cory Doctorow joins us to discuss how the enshittification of tech platforms impacts our democracy and what we can do to change things for the better.
Lessons from Charlottesville and January 6
Tim Heaphy, the lead investigator on the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and the January 6 insurrection, makes the case that a disengaged citizenry is the biggest threat to American demo
Christianity as a democratic institution
Chris Beem talks with author Jonathan Rauch about why the current crisis in American Christianity is also a crisis in American democracy.
The power of practicing peace
It's easy to feel defeated in the face of political challenges, but this episode shows that everyone has the capacity to create positive change and contribute to a culture of peace in their communitie
Pushing back against political violence
Two leading experts on democracy join us to discuss how to prevent political violence in the United States and around the world.
Democracy reform in 2025 and beyond
We kick off 2025 with a discussion about how the democracy reform movement should position itself given the results of the 2024 election.
Season finale: Reflecting on a new political era
As we approach the end of another year, we reflect on the new political reality of a second Trump administration.
Sustaining democracy during wartime
Balazs Trencsenyi, co-director of Invisible University for Ukraine, joins us to discuss the university's work to uphold education and democracy in Ukraine amid the country's ongoing war with Russia.
Telling America's story at the National Archives
Colleen, Shogan, archivist of the United States, joins us for a conversation about democratizing access to national records and running a non-partisan organization in an increasingly polarized country
Bad Watchdog: The Red Herring
We're excited to bring you an episode from Bad Watchdog, the podcast from the Project on Government Oversight and one of our colleagues in The Democracy Group podcast network.