The Context

The decisions judges make during the coming months in various active legal cases will affect who can vote, which districts they vote in, and what political advertising they see—among many other factors. What’s at stake is not just the outcomes of this year’s elections but also the future integrity of democracy in the US. Voting rights attorney Marc Elias joins host Alex Lovit to discuss threats to ballot access in the United States, how lawyers are fighting back, and what the rest of us can do to help. Marc Elias is one of the most experienced and prominent voting rights lawyers in the country. He is the founder of the Elias Law Group and the voting rights media platform, Democracy Docket. https://www.democracydocket.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the United States continues to experience democratic backsliding, people are looking for ways to rise to the moment. But what does it take for someone to stay true to their values and say, “no, I refuse to participate in this?” Organizational psychologist Sunita Sah joins host Alex Lovit to discuss why people have more trouble standing up to injustice than they think they will and how we can prepare ourselves to make difficult choices. Sunita Sah is professor of management and organizations at Cornell University's SC Johnson Graduate School of Management and the author of Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes. https://www.sunitasah.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Christian nationalists view other religious, cultural, and racial identities as less than fully American. Andrew Whitehead joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the threat that this poses to democracy. Andrew Whitehead is a professor of sociology and executive director of the Association of Religion Data Archives at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University Indianapolis. He is also a research fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. https://andrewwhitehead.substack.com/ https://www.axismundi.us/podcasts/american-idols https://kettering.org/author/alwhitehead/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States, which means they have growing political influence. In recent elections, Latino voters have been split between the two major parties, with Republicans gaining significant vote share (though not quite a majority) in 2024. Sergio Garcia-Rios joins host Alex Lovit to discuss what Latino Americans want from their government and what to expect in upcoming elections.  Sergio Garcia-Rios is an assistant professor and the associate director for research at the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. He is also the director for polling and data at Univision News.  https://sergiogarciarios.com/   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Free and fair elections are an essential component of democracy. But fair elections face a number of threats in the United States right now. Onerous ID and proof of citizenship requirements exclude millions of legal voters. And lack of legal clarity about the process to certify results creates the risks of post-election chaos. Samantha Tarazi joins host Alex Lovit to discuss these and other threats to American elections. Samantha Tarazi is the cofounder and chief executive officer of Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization securing and expanding the freedom to vote in all 50 states since 2017. Her voting and elections policy expertise has been featured in major national and in-state publications. Previously, as the inaugural chief engagement officer at Everytown for Gun Safety, Sam helped grow Moms Demand Action from a Facebook group into a national network of over 55,000 volunteer leaders working to advance gun safety education and policy. https://votingrightslab.org/ https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transparency is essential to hold democratic governments accountable. That requires preserving documents and making them accessible to the public. Colleen Shogan joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the important role that the National Archives and Records Administration plays in our democracy—and how history shapes national identity. Colleen Shogan served as the 11th Archivist of the United States from 2023 until 2025. She currently serves as the CEO of In Pursuit, a history and civics education initiative from the pro-democracy organization More Perfect. https://www.inpursuit.org/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’ve gotten a ton of excellent advice from our guests this year about how everyday people can get involved in fighting authoritarianism and encouraging citizen engagement. So, in this year-end lookback episode, we decided to put the top seven suggestions together in one place. Featuring clips from Ece Temelkuran, Jeffrey Winters, Deva Woodly, Maria Stephan, Sharon Davies, Steven Levitsky, and John C. Yang. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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The Trump administration is trying to restrict who gets to be an American: who can be in the country, who has citizenship, who has the right to vote, and who can access government services. American identity has always been complicated and contested, but this administration is narrowing the scope in dangerous new ways. John C. Yang joins host Alex Lovit to describe how these policies harm all Americans, and especially the Asian American community, which has been uniquely targeted historically and today. And he outlines what his organization is doing to fight back against this administration’s exclusionary policies. John C. Yang is the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which advocates for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and has filed a number of lawsuits against the Trump administration. https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have drawn a lot of media attention. But little of this has focused on how this new technology may affect democracy. Spencer Overton joins host Alex Lovit to discuss how AI may push the United States away from becoming an inclusive, multiracial democracy—or toward it. Spencer Overton is the Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor of Law and the director of the Multiracial Democracy Project at George Washington University Law School. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4754903 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5196382 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How did right wing voices take over podcasting? Media analyst Angelo Carusone joins host Alex Lovit to discuss how the online media ecosystem came to be dominated by anti-inclusive and authoritarian narratives and what that means for democracy. Angelo Carusone is the president of Media Matters, a nonprofit media watchdog organization. https://www.mediamatters.org/ https://www.mediamatters.org/google/right-dominates-online-media-ecosystem-seeping-sports-comedy-and-other-supposedly https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/study-interacting-these-popular-right-leaning-comedy-podcasters-can-turn-your-tiktok-feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nonviolent movements are more effective at combatting authoritarianism than violent resistance, according to research from today’s guest. Maria Stephan joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the implications of her research for the United States in this moment of political upheaval and growing authoritarianism. Maria Stephan is the co-lead and chief organizer of the Horizons Project. She’s written several books, including co-authoring the award-winning Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. https://horizonsproject.us/ https://freedomtrainers.net/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we bring you an episode of the Disrupting Peace podcast, from the World Peace Foundation. In this episode, host Bridget Conley talks with two guests about how Gen Z Americans are—and aren’t—engaging in democracy and what people of all ages can do to encourage the next generation of peaceful leaders. Find more episodes and subscribe here: https://disrupting-peace.captivate.fm/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Deva Woodly joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the importance of social movements for American democracy and the role they can play at this precarious moment in American political history. We need these networks of trust and coordinated action to push the country away from authoritarianism and toward a democracy that works for everyone. Deva Woodly is a scholar of social movements. She is a professor of political science at Brown University and a research fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Want to know what you can do to fight authoritarianism? Organizer Daniel Hunter joins host Alex Lovit to give practical advice for people seeking to reclaim democracy in the United States. Daniel Hunter has studied authoritarianism and resistance around the world. He is an educator with Freedom Trainers and the director of Choose Democracy. https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/ https://freedomtrainers.net/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the United States, today’s Republican Party is what political scientists call “personalist.” Power is concentrated with one individual, and other party elites don’t have much ability—or willingness—to oppose that leader. In other countries around the world, when personalist parties have won control of national government, the result has been democratic backsliding and growing authoritarianism. Understanding why this is a problem for the future of democracy can also help us understand what to do about it. Erica Frantz studies authoritarian politics, with a focus on democratization, democratic backsliding, conflict, and development. She is an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University and a research fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Levitsky, a leading expert on authoritarian regimes, joins host Alex Lovit to talk about the US’s current slide into authoritarianism and what we can do about it. Democracies tolerate dissent. In a democracy, citizens and institutions can criticize, protest, or file legal claims against the government, without fear of reprisal. That is no longer true of the US today, which means that the US is no longer a full democracy. Steven Levitsky is the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and professor of government and director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University. Along with many acclaimed academic works, he is the coauthor (with Daniel Ziblatt) of two bestselling books about threats to democracy: 2018’s How Democracies Die and 2023’s Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point. He is also a senior fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We can’t have a full democracy without financial justice. Host Alex Lovit speaks with Arlo Washington, a banker creating access to loans, credit, and financial literacy training for his underbanked community in Little Rock, Arkansas. Arlo Washington is a barber, entrepreneur, and the founder and president of People Trust Community Federal Credit Union, a Community Development Financial Institution in Little Rock, Arkansas. People Trust is the first Black-owned financial institution established in Arkansas. Washington is also the subject of the 2024 Oscar-nominated short documentary, The Barber of Little Rock. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/barber-of-little-rock-arlo-washington-wealth-gap https://www.peopletrustloans.org/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Americans are constantly arguing about politics—on the internet and at the family dinner table. But we rarely change one another’s minds, and we often emerge from those disagreements feeling frustrated and distrustful. Host Alex Lovit is joined by research psychologist Keith Payne to discuss the science behind the political divide and how the psychology of political disagreements can help us have more productive political conversations. Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die and Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Voting rights are the foundation of democratic governance. But recent changes in elections policies have disenfranchised millions of Americans, and the voting gap between White and minority voters is continuing to expand. Host Alex Lovit is joined by Sean Morales-Doyle. Morales-Doyle is the director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.