The Art of Association

The intermingling of Christianity and democracy in America has long been a source of controversy. Many see the blending of faith and politics as harmful to one or the other – or both. What, if anything, does Christianity have to offer democracy, and vice versa?On this episode of The Art of Association, host Daniel Stid takes up these questions with Michael Wear, founder and executive director of the Center for Christianity and Public Life. They trace Michael’s leadership journey at the intersection of faith and politics, explore why he founded the Center and how it pursues its mission, and consider the relationship between the health of Christianity and the health of democracy in America. They also discuss the central theme of Michael’s book, The Spirit of Our Politics, namely the need for Christians to focus much more on how they show up in public life. Related ResourcesMichael’s book: The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Our Public Life.CCPL’s Annual Summit, October 5-7, 2026: Civic Renewal for America’s Next 250.The application page for CCPL’s 2027 Public Life Fellowship cohort (applications close on October 18, 2026).

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Art of Association, I talk with Professor Dana Brakman Reiser of Brooklyn Law School about the recent history of charitable sector reform, the developments giving rise to calls for a new regulatory framework for philanthropy, and the prospects for establishing one.Drawing on For-Profit Philanthropy: Elite Power and the Threat of Limited Liability Companies, Donor-Advised Funds, and Strategic Corporate Giving, which Reiser co-authored with Steve A. Dean, we begin by tracing the decades of debate over the role of foundations that culminated in the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Next, we discuss how the “Grand Bargain” embodied in this landmark legislation established the policy settlement that has governed the charitable sector and private foundations over the ensuing decades. We then explore the rise of alternative modes of what Reiser and Dean term “for-profit philanthropy,” which have enabled wealthy donors and institutions to circumvent the constraints the 1969 Act placed on private foundations. They have enjoyed greater privacy, flexibility, and financial benefits as a result, but these developments have increasingly put the broader legitimacy of large-scale philanthropy at risk. We conclude by considering potential pathways to reforms that could restore public trust in philanthropy — and the steps that policymakers, philanthropic funders, their advisors, and sector advocates could take to bring them about.Chapter Titles[1:25]: How Dana came to focus her legal scholarship on the intersection of law, business, and the charitable sector[5:24]: The rise of big foundations and the push to rein them in, culminating in the Tax Reform Act of 1969[12:28]: How the 1969 Act regulated private-foundation grantmaking via “timing, targeting, and transparency”[20:26]: The give and take between philanthropy and the public reflected in the Act’s “Grand Bargain” [24:43]: How the rise of “for-profit philanthropy” has undermined this regulatory framework[31:21]: Potential pathways to reforms that could restore trust in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector[42:04]: The costs and benefits of requiring greater transparency from philanthropy – and how to strike a new balance[46:32]: Dana’s forthcoming book on the tensions that can arise between commitments to perpetuity and charitable purpose. Related ResourcesDana’s book (coauthored with Steven A. Dean): For-Profit Philanthropy: Elite Power and the Threat of Limited Liability Companies, Donor-Advised Funds, and Strategic Corporate Giving (Oxford University Press, 2023)Tax Reform Act of 1969

Yordanos Eyoel is the Founder and CEO of Keseb, a nonprofit helping to build a transnational civil society ecosystem that advances inclusive and resilient democracies. She joins host Daniel Stid on The Art of Association podcast to talk about democracy entrepreneurship, the power of taking a transnational approach to democracy field-building, and the need to defend civil society while also reimagining it. Their conversation begins with Yordanos sharing how her experience growing up in Ethiopia amid civil war and ethnic strife, and then finding refuge with her family in the United States, shaped her commitment to renewing democracy in this country and around the world. Yordanos and Daniel also explore her experience as a venture philanthropist supporting democracy entrepreneurs at New Profit, what led her to become one herself and launch Keseb, the strategy and theory of change guiding the organization’s work, and what she and her colleagues have learned along the way about what it takes to strengthen democracy and civil society across borders.Chapters(1:17): Yordanos’s early life and how her migration story shaped her commitment to democracy(4:17): New Profit’s venture philanthropy approach and support for democracy entrepreneurship(9:58): What led Yordanos to launch Keseb and its global network of democracy entrepreneurs(15:54): Keseb’s transnational strategy and theory of change(23:30): Does scarce funding spur more creativity among democracy entrepreneurs?(27:32): Why do illiberal populists and nationalists seem better able to learn from and reinforce one another's efforts than democracy advocates advancing universal values?(32:24): What Keseb has been learning from its work to date(40:23): How Keseb navigates the tension of defending civil society while also seeking to reimagine itResourcesYordanos’s first TED Talk, “Why Voting isn't Enough” and her other TED TalksNew Profit and New Profit’s Civic LabKeseb: Democracy Innovation Lab, Democracy Fellowship, and research and field intelligenceSam Alemayehu, “The Seven-Year Century,” Medium (2025)Yordanos’s writings“Public Trust Reboot: Unleashing the Millennial Civic Spirit,” Stanford Social Innovation Review (2018)“Weaving Democracy Entrepreneurship Across Borders,” Stanford Social Innovation Review (2024)“Civil Society’s Dual Mission: Surviving and Architecting,” Keseb: The Outlook (2025)

Hahrie Han is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, where she served as the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute and is the Faculty Director of the P3 Research Lab. She joins The Art of Association podcast to talk with host Daniel Stid about her research on belonging, civic action, and transformational community organizing. Hahrie shares how she became interested in understanding why people engage in civic life and what she has learned in her research. She also reflects on the story behind her latest book, Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church. Through years of embedded research among participants in an evangelical megachurch’s racial justice initiative, Hahrie gained deeper insight into the principles of transformational civic life — both for communities and for the individuals invested in the work. Hahrie and Daniel also consider how artificial intelligence might advance research on civic initiatives. They conclude by discussing some interlocutors upon whom Hahrie draws to challenge her assumptions.Chapters(1:48): Hahrie’s experience receiving the MacArthur Fellowship(4:37): What first drew Hahrie to study why and how people engage in civic life(10:32): Key takeaways from Hahrie’s early research, including “belonging comes before belief” and its relationship to transactional and transformational organizing(16:16): The Agora Institute’s Mapping the Modern Agora project and what it has found(20:46): The story of Crossroads Church and its Undivided racial justice initiative(25:25): Three core ideas supporting Crossroads Church’s Undivided initiative — and effective civic engagement more broadly(33:07): Hahrie’s mixed methods research and what she learned through being embedded in the lives of Crossroads Church members(36:45): The effect of artificial intelligence on civic life, and how AI could help researchers improve civil society initiatives(41:12): Some of Hahrie’s favorite thinkers with whom she disagrees but reads to sharpen her thinkingAdditional ResourcesHahrie Han’s MacArthur Fellowship biographyMapping the Modern Agora projectUndivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American ChurchHahrie’s other books, articles, and talks, including her 2025 Tanner Lectures at Harvard University.Crossroads Church“AI and Democratic Publics: Bringing Politics Back into Debates about AI and Democracy,” Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University (with Henry Farrell)Larry M. Bartels (Vanderbilt University)Hélène Landemore (Yale University)

Episode SummaryLiz Joyner is the Founder and President of The Village Square and Ash Hanson is the Creative Executive Officer for the Department of Public Transformation. They join Daniel Stid to talk about “An Invitation to a New Civic Future,” a public letter that the three of them co-signed with nine other colleagues earlier this year. The invitation focuses on shifting from top-down, technocratic interventions to bottom-up civic renewal that is more participatory, proximate, relational, generational and alive. Liz and Ash describe their work and the importance of irresistible, creative, place-based activities to connect with neighbors and cultivate a more enduring sense of membership and engagement in one’s community. Liz and Ash also explain the need for and promise of practicing the letter’s principles and give examples of how they have applied them in their own organizations’ work.Chapters(01:45): Background on The Village Square and Department of Public Transformation.(06:27): The uniqueness of communities across the country–including rural America.(11:45): The process that led to “An Invitation to a New Civic Future”(22:25): A diagnosis of our current problems(31:01): Five design principles for a new civic future:(31:47): Participatory(34:30): Proximate(38:26): Relational(42:56): Generational(45:44): Alive(52:22): Why artists and creatives have an essential role to play in civic engagement(58:32): How curating organic communities is key for sustaining long-term changeAdditional ResourcesAn Invitation to a New Civic Future letterThe Village Square (Liz Joyner)The Department of Public Transformation (Ash Hanson)Warm Cookies of the RevolutionWarm Cookies’ Tax Day CarnivalThe Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again (Robert D. Putnam with Shaylyn Romney Garrett)