Imagine going out to dinner but there are only two restaurant options from which to choose. The customer service may be sloppy in both, and no matter how much a customer raises grievances with the limited options on the menu, nothing changes. Instead of adapting their business practices to an evolving consumer base, they increasingly distance themselves from the interests of consumers.

What’s worse, employees of these two restaurants also write the rules and regulations that govern the service industry and other employees enforce the rules. Sounds crazy, right? Why would we ever allow this to happen? Well, this is essentially the situation of the US political system.

On this episode of Toppling the Duopoly, election reform expert Shawn Griffiths features a segment from a recent conversation he had with author and podcaster Jim Duncan on his show, Independent Riot, which is also a part of the IVN Network. Shawn and Jim give a basic breakdown of what the duopoly is and some misconceptions about what people mean when they refer to the "duopoly."

If you are interested in the full interview between Shawn and Jim, check out Independent Riot on IVN.us as well as the other podcasts featured on the IVN Network.