Democracy in Danger
215 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago -All over the world, liberal democracy is under threat. Autocrats are taking hold. They’re crushing dissent. Controlling the media. Trampling voting rights. Don’t let them.
Join hosts Will Hitchcock and Siva Vaidhyanathan as they put the illiberal turn in context. Hear leading thinkers discuss serious threats to government by the people: from the dark web and media disinformation, to climate change, economic inequality and violent extremism. Help save the rule of the people — one episode at a time. And make democracy work better.
Listen, subscribe to the show, leave us some stars and tweet us your thoughts @DinDpodcast. New episodes drop every other Wednesday.
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Episodes
S8 E5. El Loco
April 10, 2024 12:00 - 38 minutes - 52.7 MBArgentina’s new president is a libertarian populist and, by his own account, an anarcho-capitalist. To tackle his county’s deep economic troubles, Javier Milei wants to dismantle state institutions, implement severe austerity measures and strip protections for workers. He also wants to outlaw abortion. But in a country with a strong tradition of organized labor and women’s movements, so far he has sown mainly chaos. We speak with a journalist and a sociologist who say Milei’s methods are madn...
Swift Country [Rebroadcast]
April 03, 2024 12:00 - 51 minutes - 70.9 MBLast September, Vote.org and other advocacy groups saw a massive spike in new voter registrations on a one-day nationwide drive. The main reason: Taylor Swift, who has been urging fans to get political. But can she — and other celebrities — move the needle on core matters of social justice, and maybe even save democracy? As usual, we turn to the experts. By which we mean three teenage girls. Plus phenom sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom keeps it real on this play-it-again-worthy episode fro...
S8 E4. The Plight of Pakistan
March 27, 2024 12:00 - 27 minutes - 37.3 MBLast May, protestors took to the streets in Pakistan to support Imran Khan, the populist prime minister tossed from office and into the slammer. Now, in a rebuke to the military and political establishment, voters put more candidates from Khan’s circle in parliament than from any other party. But they fell short of a majority last month in an election marred by vote-rigging. Siva speaks with an anthropologist in Karachi who parses the state of Pakistan’s politics and its prospects for real de...
S8 E3. Lethal Weapons
March 13, 2024 12:00 - 28 minutes - 39.3 MBLast year, there were 645 mass shootings in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In the latest major tragedy, at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade, one person was killed and 22 others — half of them children — suffered gunshot wounds. But here’s something you may not know: since then, there have been another 26 mass shootings. Historian Andrew McKevitt and sociologist Jennifer Carlson join Will for a conversation about the history, politics and economics of America’s dead...
S8 E2. Against the Wall
February 28, 2024 13:00 - 27 minutes - 37.7 MBThis season we’ve adopted walls as our loose theme, and architectural historian Louis Nelson joins Will and Siva to help frame the idea. At the University of Virginia, wavy brick walls enclose beautiful gardens. But as Nelson explains those walls once served a more sinister purpose. Drawing on this lesson from the past, our guest and hosts grapple with the meaning and function of walls in a democracy — along borders, in cities and in people’s hearts and minds.
S8 E1. Living Memory
February 14, 2024 13:00 - 34 minutes - 48 MBBefore the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists played a key role in fighting the Japanese during World War II. In the decades after, China’s role as an ally to the West was largely erased from its domestic politics — and all but forgotten everywhere else. Lately, Chinese leaders are revisiting “the Good War” and reframing that past to serve new interests. On this Season 8 debut, Harvard scholar Rana Mitter reminds us that history is always about the p...
S7 E7. Keeping the Faith
December 13, 2023 13:00 - 33 minutes - 45.9 MBIn 1829, the abolitionist David Walker published a stunning, poignant appeal to “to the colored citizens of the world.” He urged them to fight against a system of racial slavery and oppression, and to expose that system’s moral bankruptcy. The essence of Walker’s plea has since taken shape in the work of some of America’s greatest thinkers, like W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin and Billie Holiday. Political philosopher Melvin Rogers reflects on their ideas, their art and their struggles against ...
S7 E6. Swift Country
November 29, 2023 13:00 - 50 minutes - 69.7 MBAhead of some key state elections this year, Vote.org and other advocacy groups saw a massive spike in new voter registrations on a one-day nationwide drive. The main reason: Taylor Swift. The pop star has been urging fans to get political. But can she — and other celebrities — move the needle on core matters of social justice, and maybe even save democracy? As usual, we turn to the experts. By which we mean, of course, three teenage girls. Plus, phenom sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom kee...
S7 E5. Power Plays
November 15, 2023 13:00 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MBAfter a fraudulent election in August 2020, Belarusian riot police cracked down on massive protests. Then demonstrators started vanishing. Many of them would be tortured in custody. But a determined group of activists struck back, outing the names and faces of bad cops. We speak with one of those activists for a new segment called “The Power of Many.” Plus, Emily explains how Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, alive and well with Belarusian support, continues to destabilize democracies in far-f...
S7 E4. Wonder Women
November 01, 2023 12:00 - 41 minutes - 56.9 MBComing at you live from Light House Studio’s Vinegar Hill Theatre in Charlottesville, our fair city: Emily and Siva welcome Jennifer Weiss-Wolf and Samhita Sunya to the stage, as part of the Karsh Institute’s Democracy360 forum. Sunya, a cinema expert, and Weiss-Wolf, a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, discuss the power of film and print media to shape global feminism. From Bollywood to Ms. magazine, we look at why the women’s movement and its representation matter for the health of a ...
S7 E3. The Poles Have Spoken
October 18, 2023 12:00 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MBFor eight years, the nationalist Law and Justice Party has ruled Poland. It set about taking over public media, the courts and cultural institutions, while tightening restrictions on abortion and immigration. But this month Poles said, “Stop.” Voters turned out in record numbers and delivered a rebuke to extremism, electing a centrist coalition to run the government. We welcome feminist scholar and activist Agnieszka Graff to discuss this remarkable turn of events and what lies ahead for her ...
S7 E2. A Dream in Distress
October 04, 2023 12:00 - 39 minutes - 55 MBIn the 1930s, truckers in Minneapolis went on strike to protest their precarious working conditions. When things got violent, FDR stepped in — and the truckers won. New York Times writer David Leonhardt says this story demonstrates the importance of organized labor to the vitality of the American dream. Today, that dream of a “better, richer, happier life” is in doubt, as inequality grows and progress wanes. Live from the Texas Tribune Festival, Leonhardt makes a case for how to turn the tide.
S7 E1. We Contain Multitudes
September 20, 2023 12:00 - 27 minutes - 37.3 MBPoets, painters, novelists, musicians — it turns out they are as crucial to sustaining self-government as politicians and pundits. In a wide-ranging conversation, our hosts speak with English professor Steve Parks about the likes of Walt Whitman, Woody Guthrie, Sinéad O’Connor and the Malian singer Fatoumata Kouyaté. What does their art have in common? Spoiler: an affective sense of democracy. Plus, Parks shares our plans for a new segment on international activists. We’re calling it “The Pow...
Introducing Season Seven
September 06, 2023 12:00 - 8 minutes - 12.4 MBNew season, new questions, new people! This fall, UVa historian Emily Burrill joins our team to fill in for Will while he’s away. Emily chats with Siva and Will about what’s coming up in Season Seven. We’ll be delving into the relationship between expressive culture and democratic practice, putting on a couple of live shows and — of course — serving up our bread and butter: the knowledge you need to help save the rule of the people.
Changing Minds [Rebroadcast]
August 23, 2023 12:00 - 30 minutes - 42 MBLet’s face it. Sometimes you can’t stand your neighbor’s guts. Problem is, contempt for people who think differently from you is the death knell of democracy, says writer Anand Giridharadas. He set out in search of the lost art of persuasion, and found it: among activists, cult-deprogrammers, political organizers and deep canvassers. Giridharadas shares what he found and offers some advice on how to talk to your friends — and enemies. Catch up and gear up for a new season of the show, beginni...
Unholy Land [Rebroadcast]
August 09, 2023 12:00 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBThe 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding was met in May with another round of bloodshed. As the Islamic Jihad fired rockets from Gaza, the Israeli military responded with brutal airstrikes, killing civilians. Meanwhile, thousands have taken to the streets in Israel — to little avail — protesting the authoritarian moves of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We revisit our conversation with one Palestinian and one Israeli analyst for some context on these events in a land of much promise and m...
Fighting with Song [Rebroadcast]
July 26, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 44 MBManasseh Mathiang was twice exiled from his homeland. Once: as a child fleeing a bloody civil war. A second time: as an activist helping to build a new country before running afoul of the authorities. His crime? Singing for freedom and justice in South Sudan, where the government promised democratic reforms and delivered oppression instead. Still, Mathiang and fellow creators continue their struggle for peace — through art, comedy and, when need be, protest. Give this music-filled episode a s...
Ballot Blues [Rebroadcast]
July 12, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 53.2 MBThe civil rights movement was a huge leap forward for voting rights, yet one big part of the electorate remains largely on the sidelines: the poor. Legal scholar Bertrall Ross points to low turnout among the bottom 20 percent of American earners as an insidious form of voter suppression, all but guaranteeing their interests won’t be served. And he offers some ideas on how to get political campaigns to bring in new voters. We also check in with Nevada’s secretary of state on this encore episode.
Closet Civics [Rebroadcast]
June 28, 2023 12:00 - 24 minutes - 34.3 MBEarly in 2017, millions of women marched in solidarity to oppose Donald Trump’s inauguration. In a small Texas county, meantime, a growing network of like-minded ladies found each other — and began meeting in secret. One scholar followed these women as they became improbable, undercover champions of civic engagement while keeping their activism hidden, from their husbands, families and neighbors. We revisit their story and ask what it says about the politics of silence as well as the silencin...
The Good Gamble [Rebroadcast]
June 14, 2023 12:00 - 44.1 MBCatch up this summer on what you’ve missed. Today, legal scholar Jedediah Purdy joins Will and Siva to talk about the people and the law. Can Americans transcend gross inequality, neoliberal ideology, and the “politics of nihilism” taking root among their leaders? Looking to Frederick Douglass for inspiration, Purdy thinks so. His says citizens need to reimagine and rebuild the body politic — to rule themselves at last. It may be a crapshoot, but it’s one a free people can’t afford to let pass.
S6 E9. Unholy Land
May 31, 2023 12:00 - 49 minutes - 68.3 MBThis May, the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding was met with another round of fighting. As the Islamic Jihad fired rockets from Gaza, the Israeli military responded with brutal airstrikes. Meanwhile, thousands have been taking to the streets in Israel to oppose the authoritarian moves of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two analysts — one Palestinian, one Israeli — offer some context on these events. And they try to imagine the shape of real democracy in a land of much promise and meage...
S6 E8. Black and Blue
May 17, 2023 12:00 - 27 minutes - 62.9 MBLaw enforcement is among the most undemocratic institutions in America, says New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie. And the effect this has on communities of color is especially stark. Bouie visits Will and Siva’s class for another live recording with their students, to discuss police brutality, the country’s culture of violence, and the shifting ground of racial oppression in U.S. history. How citizens experience government, he says, depends a lot on what they look like and what levers of p...
S6 E7. Twitter Pill
May 03, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 74.9 MBAfter Elon Musk bought Twitter and fired most of its staff, the platform seems to be floundering, if not imploding. Traffic is flagging, major news outlets have abandoned their handles, hate speech is on the rise. And yet, Twitter remains one of the easiest ways to speak out in public. Media scholar Meredith Clark doesn’t know if Twitter will survive, but she does know it’s a repository for a remarkable history of antiracist activism. Hear how she is working to preserve that archive, and why.
S6 E6. Fighting with Song
April 19, 2023 12:00 - 31 minutes - 72.9 MBManasseh Mathiang was twice exiled from his homeland. Once: as a child fleeing a bloody civil war. A second time: as an activist who returned to help build a new country but ran afoul of the authorities. His crime? Singing for freedom and justice in South Sudan, where the government promised democratic reforms and delivered oppression instead. Still, Mathiang and fellow artists of the Anataban movement continue their struggle for peace — through music, murals, comedy and, when need be, protest.
S6 E5. Ballot Blues
April 05, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 87.1 MBThe civil rights movement was a huge leap forward for voting rights, yet one group of the electorate remains largely on the sidelines: the poor. Legal scholar Bertrall Ross calls low turnout among the bottom 20 percent of American earners an insidious form of voter suppression, all but guaranteeing their interests won’t be served. And he offers some ideas on how to get political campaigns to court new voters. We also speak to Nevada’s new secretary of state, who defeated an election denier.
S6 E4. Resisting Russia’s War
March 22, 2023 12:00 - 37 minutes - 86.6 MBThis time on the show, we bring you a tale of two struggles. In Ukraine, a 16-year-old living just miles from the Russian border does what she can in the face of missile strikes, power outages and daily trauma. And in Estonia, an exiled Russian activist works to oppose Putin’s war and help refugees escape the conflict. Where democracy is most in danger, they teach us, joy comes from standing up for yourself — and for others.
S6 E3. The Road Past Roe
March 08, 2023 13:00 - 32 minutes - 74.7 MBThe end of federal protection for abortion rights has led to a patchwork of state and local laws banning and even criminalizing healthcare choices that women continue to make every day. Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, visits Will and Siva’s class to discuss the implications of these developments for her work, as she combats a culture of shame and stigma around abortion. She says it’s time to look for change beyond the judiciary — and to get men caring about repro...
S6 E2. Rights of Passage
February 22, 2023 13:00 - 30 minutes - 70.3 MBAs many as a quarter of U.S. residents are foreign-born or the children of immigrants. Since the country’s founding, newcomers have made and remade the United States every generation. And yet debates about immigration policy are deeply fraught, highly cyclical and often coded in racial animus, says legal scholar Amanda Frost. America’s pathways to citizenship have gotten narrower in recent years, even as they face constant fire. It’s a problem, she argues, that political leaders shouldn’t ign...
S6 E1. Disunion Runs Deep
February 08, 2023 13:00 - 30 minutes - 69.4 MBAmerica’s Constitution was meant to unify the new nation and help avert a civil war over the thorniest of divisions: slavery. Oops! In retrospect, that charter proved much too ambiguous, lending itself to both proslavery and abolitionist causes. In this season’s premiere, historian Liz Varon discusses the deep roots of polarization in the United States — with Will, Siva and an auditorium full of their students. The Union may have survived, Varon tells us, but its bloodiest war still echoes.
The Justices Have No Robes [Rebroadcast]
January 25, 2023 13:00 - 31 minutes - 71.9 MBThe high court’s conservatives insist that strict readings of the U.S. Constitution have compelled them to strike down popular policies like abortion rights and campaign finance limits. Well, legal expert Christopher Sprigman has some news for these robed rogues. Buried in the law of the land is the key to reining in the federal judiciary. All Congress has to do is act, he says. And all the people have to do is demystify the courts. Join us for our last rebroadcast of the 2023 winter break.
WTF, GOP [Rebroadcast, Again!]
January 11, 2023 13:00 - 31 minutes - 71.7 MBWe’ve never been a podcast about “Democrats” in danger. But in the United States, one political party epitomizes the antidemocratic moment. Donald Trump’s influence may be waning, but many Republicans remain devoted to his style, intent on suppressing the vote and hostile to racial justice. After last week’s debacle in the House, we bring you an episode (one more time!) that takes a hard look at the GOP — with help from a former Republican congresswoman who has dared to call out the former pr...
Hoover’s Ghost [Rebroadcast]
December 28, 2022 13:00 - 35 minutes - 81.6 MBA consummate G-man, J. Edgar Hoover led the FBI for four decades, becoming one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Demanding rigor, loyalty and stealth from his subordinates, he worked closely with presidents of both parties, but his own views were steeped in conservative ideas on religion, race and anticommunism. As new details emerge about the present-day investigation of Donald Trump, we revisit a conversation with historian Beverly Gage — about Hoover’s imprint on the age...
S5 E9. Changing Minds
December 14, 2022 13:00 - 31 minutes - 72 MBLet’s face it. There are times you can’t stand your neighbor’s guts. The problem is, contempt and disgust for people who think differently from you is the death knell of democracy, says writer Anand Giridharadas. Over the last few years, he set out in search of the lost art of persuasion, and found it: among activists, cult-deprogrammers, political organizers and deep canvassers. Giridharadas shares what he learned and offers some advice on how to talk to your friends — and enemies — this hol...
S5 E8. Missed Opportunity
November 30, 2022 13:00 - 32 minutes - 74.2 MBTwo years ago, on the heels of mass protests, Chileans overwhelmingly agreed: they needed to draft a new constitution. This September, faced with an up-or-down referendum on one of the most progressive governing charters in world history, they balked. What went wrong? Political theorist Camila Vergara breaks down the breakdown in her country’s efforts to scrap a political framework dating back to the ruthless dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who took power in 1973 in a U.S.-backed coup.
UVA, Wounded and Strong [Special Episode]
November 23, 2022 13:00 - 30 minutes - 70.9 MBDevin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were returning from a field trip with their classmates when their lives were cut short. The gunman who killed them has been identified as another student on the trip. Our hosts and producers sit down together to mourn and make sense of yet another tragedy too close to home. And they ask: Where do we go from here — as a school, as a town, as a society?
S5 E7. Unsafe Harbor
November 16, 2022 13:00 - 31 minutes - 71.4 MBThe United States hasn’t overhauled immigration policy since the 1990s, even though most Americans agree the system is failing. And for thousands fleeing violence in Latin America, the consequences of inaction in Washington are treacherous. Will and our colleague Debbie Kang speak this time with a scholar fighting for asylum cases to get a fair shake, especially for women and LGBTQ applicants facing gender violence. With a backlog of nearly 2 million petitions, it’s a mammoth task.
S5 E6. Hoover’s Ghost
November 02, 2022 12:00 - 34 minutes - 78.6 MBA consummate G-man, J. Edgar Hoover led the FBI for close to 40 years, becoming one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Demanding rigor, loyalty and stealth from his subordinates, he worked closely with presidents of both parties, but his own views were steeped in conservative ideas on religion, race and anticommunism. Historian Beverly Gage considers Hoover’s legacy and helps us ask: Can the bureau he built effectively investigate a former president — and protect the republic?
S5 E5. Brazilian Nail-Biter
October 19, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutes - 76.1 MBPollsters in Brazil had Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the comeback candidate, leading by as many as 14 percentage points in the presidential election. But neither top nominee won a majority this month, sending citizens back to the polls for a historic runoff. And democracy itself is on the line. Incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro has waged war on reality, sowed division on social media and attacked the press. We check in with one of his targets, journalist Patrícia Campos Mello, ahead of the Oct...
S5 E4. We the Entrenched
October 05, 2022 12:00 - 34 minutes - 79.7 MBThe U.S. Constitution is an 18th-century straitjacket. It’s almost impossible to amend, it gives outsize power to small states, and its meaning is subject to the whims of unelected and increasingly intransigent judges. So what’s new? Well, you might be intrigued to learn on this episode just how America might wrench itself out of that morass, short of trashing the Constitution altogether. With the 2022 midterms on the horizon, our two guests offer up a few ideas — some new, some as old as Ath...
S5 E3. The Justices Have No Robes
September 21, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 70.1 MBThe high court’s conservatives insist that strict readings of the U.S. Constitution have compelled them to strike down popular policies like abortion rights and campaign finance limits. Well, legal expert Christopher Sprigman has some news for these robed rogues. Buried in the law of the land is the key to reining in the federal judiciary. All Congress has to do is act, he says. And all the people have to do is demystify the courts — stripping them of an imperious aura they’ve too long enjoyed.
S5 E2. Closet Civics
September 07, 2022 12:00 - 25 minutes - 58.1 MBIn January 2017, millions of women marched in solidarity to oppose Donald Trump’s inauguration. But in a small Texas county, a growing network of like-minded ladies found each other — and began meeting in secret. Communications scholar Emily Van Duyn followed these women as they became improbable, undercover champions of civic engagement while keeping their activism hidden, from their husbands, families and neighbors. We ask what their story says about the politics of silence and the silencin...
S5 E1. The Good Gamble
August 24, 2022 12:00 - 76 MBWe’re back! Legal scholar Jedediah Purdy joins Will and Siva to help launch a new season focused on democracy, law and the people. Can Americans transcend gross inequality, neoliberal ideology, and the “politics of nihilism” taking root among their leaders? Looking to Frederick Douglass for inspiration, Purdy thinks so. His new book urges readers to reimagine and rebuild their body politic — to rule themselves at last. It may be a crapshoot, but it’s one a free people can’t afford to pass up.
Learning Curbed [Rebroadcast]
August 10, 2022 12:00 - 27 minutes - 62.4 MBPublic schools are ground zero in the battle over American civic life. Teaching history is under attack, book banning is on the rise, and leaders in red states are legislating homophobia in the guise of protecting children. Historian Natalia Petrzela locates the roots of such political backlash in cultural upheavals of the 1960s that continue to play out today, amid a climate of discontent mixed up with pandemic anxieties. With kids heading back to school this month, we revisit our recent edu...
Disconnected [Rebroadcast]
July 27, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 70.4 MBPresident Biden’s recent covid diagnosis is a reminder that the country is not out of the pandemic woods yet. As new variants crop up and infection numbers spike, the demand for remote working and learning will remain. But as many as 120 million Americans lack consistent, high-speed internet. This time we revisit our show with media scholar Christopher Ali. He says the broadband divide isn’t just an economic problem but a threat to democracy itself. Hear why he thinks internet access is a vit...
Telltale Coup [Rebroadcast]
July 13, 2022 12:00 - 23 minutes - 53.7 MBJust as FDR and his allies were crafting the New Deal, a retired Marine named Smedley Butler came forward with a shocking revelation. Powerful business interests, Butler alleged, were plotting to overthrow the U.S. government. Inspired by the rise of fascism in Europe, the conspirators had sought Butler’s aid. Little did they know, decades of fighting for American imperialism had left him disillusioned, so he blew the top on “the Business Plot.” As the Jan. 6 hearings heat up, we revisit this...
Locked and Loaded [Rebroadcast]
June 29, 2022 12:00 - 43 minutes - 99.1 MBThere are more firearms — nearly 400 million — in the United States than people. Hundreds of them were on full display at a pro-gun rally in Virginia, in 2020, where a group of strange bedfellows met in praise of the Second Amendment. On this replay, we revisit that story, and our interview with historian Carol Anderson. If you thought the right to “bear arms” was about individuals carrying weapons, or even about letting militias defend a free state against foreign invasion, think again.
S4 E16. Past, Present, Future
June 15, 2022 12:00 - 42 minutes - 96.4 MBComing to you live this week from the American Political History conference at Purdue University, it’s our season finale. Will and Siva speak with three historians — Liette Gidlow, Derek Musgrove and Thomas Zimmer — about the past, present and future of government by the people. Our guests ponder the Jan. 6 hearings, D.C. statehood, social mobilization and the structural problems of the Constitution itself. Did America’s founders sign democracy’s death warrant at its birth?
S4 E15. Saving Social Media
June 08, 2022 12:00 - 36 minutes - 83.1 MBIn recent years, American politicians seem to be getting tougher about internet oversight. But it remains unclear whether Washington has the will to regulate big tech companies and the platforms they control. This week we hear from Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, and former Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Republican, live from the University of Virginia’s celebrated dome room. They see hope for bipartisan action on Capitol Hill — to protect users and free speech alike. Siva reflects with guest-host Da...
S4 E14. In Ukraine, Hell — and Hope
June 01, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 70.1 MBRussian forces have pulled back from around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. They’ve left the country’s second largest city, Kharkiv. But farther east and south, the fighting has intensified, and the civilian death toll is mounting. How will this war end? What will remain of Ukraine? And are European powers doing enough to punish Russia for its devastating invasion? Journalist Peter Pomerantsev — recently back from covering the conflict for the Atlantic — helps Will and Siva parse a complex picture.
S4 E13. Broken News
May 25, 2022 12:00 - 77.9 MBNewsrooms are shrinking, hedge funds are buying up local papers and clickbait is shaping more and more what you know about the world. What the heck is happening to the news business — and what does this spell for the future of democracy? Journalism professors Jay Rosen and Nikki Usher say the internet isn’t all to blame: Journalists, they argue, need to get more creative about who they reach, what they cover and how they fund their work.