Democrats in America Today

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines.

Part 1 (starts at 3:52): Headlines - We do a night-by-night review of the Democratic National Convention, discussing its major speeches and overall themes.      

Part 2 (29:17): Required Reading - Professor Corbin assigns William James’s Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, Herbert Croly’s The Promise of American Life, and the first chapter of Paul Johnson’s Modern Times. Link: Washington Examiner editorial on Joe Biden’s speech.

Part 3 (52:23): Open the Grade Book - We grade three convention innovations on display last week: applause from a virtual Zoom wall of supporters, nightly award show-style hosts, and unsubtle speech backdrop metaphors (we’re looking at you, John Kasich).  

Part 4 (59:58): Tocqueville's Crystal Ball - After Dave earned an acceptance speech bingo by hitting on all four of the words he predicted Joe Biden would use, we make our predictions for the upcoming Republican National Convention.  

Opening and closing music is from the beginning of "Happy Life" by Ryan Andersen from his 2018 album, Americana volume 1. Available here. Licensed by Creative Commons.

Matt Parks is an Associate Professor of Politics at The King’s College in New York City. David Corbin is a Professor of Politics and the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California. All views expressed in this podcast are their own.