Peaceful Political Revolution in America

S2 E10 Russia Against Modernity with Alexander Etkind

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast The Anthropocene will be a doozy from what I'm hearing. Even if new technologies and new systems replace the ones currently falling apart, it will be a bumpy ride. It looks as if severe climate-related events will be occurring much more frequently. Monthly events could turn into weekly events, until eventually, those might even become daily events somewhere in the world. Megatrends appear to be rather obvious at first glance....

S2 E9 System Change and the Future of Democracy with Peter Leyden

S2 E9 System Change and the Future of Democracy

S2 E8 The Constitution Should not be Reclaimed with Samuel Moyn

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast. In America, "We The People" are the constituent power, "the actor which always remains outside the government" as Seyes defined it. Or, as James Wilson put it, the people are simply "above" their Constitutions of government. The framers were well aware the people were watching. They were very clear the legitimacy of the government came from the consent of the governed. That is what made our framers revolutionaries, and wh...

S2 E7 Constituent Power and the Future of Constitutional Democracy with Sergio Verdugo

In season one, I spoke with Arend Lijphart about democratic political systems. He had a number of recommendations on how Americans could improve our democracy if they really wanted to do. The question as always remains, how would Americans do that?  I also spoke with George Van Cleve on his book, Making a New American Constitution. He had a pretty simple idea. Americans would form a national convention coordinating committee, for the purpose of raising funds for the endeavor, establishing t...

S2 E6 Equality with Frances Chiu

In the last episode, I talked with Juliano Benvindo about the similarities between the January 6th Capitol Insurrection and the more recent attack on all three branches of government in Brasilia. It turns out that Brazil has the greatest level of inequality in Latin America. Inequality in North America has also reached historic highs. It was bad enough that America had imported over 300,000 slaves from Africa. Brazil imported over 5 million. Inequality remains a serious problem for the 2 mos...

S2 E5 Brazil’s Frenetic Pace of Constitutional Change with Juliano Benvindo

Events in America like the 2021 United States Capitol Insurrection are not unique to America. Brazil also suffered from a similar crisis on Jan 8, 2023.  The attack there, on all three branches of government in Brasilia, was largely the result of the former president's insistence the election had been rigged. His supporters believed him, and although he lost by almost 2 million votes, the crowds turned out to overturn the election, in much the same way Trump supporters did on Jan 6, 2021. ...

Season 2. Episode 4. FDR and A New Economic Bill of Rights with Harvey J. Kaye and Alan Minsky

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in American Podcast. In Season 1 Episode 2  last year, I spoke with Professor Emeritus of Democracy & Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Harvey J. Kaye. He is an award-winning author and editor of 18 books on history and politics -including Take Hold of Our History: Make America Radical Again and FDR on Democracy.  In S1 E2, we talked about his book Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. He's a really gifted speaker and a...

Season 2. Episode 3. Thomas Paine's Rights of Man with Gary Berton

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast.  I couldn't go any further without a discussion about Thomas Paine's Rights of Man. Not because it was historically significant, although it certainly was. But, because it lays the foundation for our nation and our identity as Americans, it is perhaps more relevant today than it was in 1792. I began this season with a discussion about American Sovereigns for a purpose. We need to begin to think of ourselves as the rightf...

Season 2. Episode 2. We The Elites with Robert Ovetz

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast. Bernie loves to point his finger at the elites, but who are they and where do they come from? It seems as if Bernie believes they possess a lot more influence than the rest of us.  But, what does our preamble mean if not that we the ordinary people in America are the ultimate source of power and law in America? So then, who were the elites? How did they differ from the mass of Americans in 1776 and later in 1787, even today? W...

Season 2, Episode 1. American Sovereigns with Christian Fritz

Welcome back to the second season of the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast, a series of conversations with America's top scholars, writers, journalists, and activists, on the topic of our Constitution. Thank you for tuning in to this podcast, and for your time, support, and continued interest in a subject that I personally find to be the most crucial topic of our time. Season one was an amazing journey for me, and I would sum it up like this: Americans, for the first time in h...

Season 2. Episode 1. American Sovereigns with Christian Fritz

Welcome back to the second season of the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast, a series of conversations with America's top scholars, writers, journalists, and activists, on the topic of our Constitution. Thank you for tuning in to this podcast, and for your time, support, and continued interest in a subject that I personally find to be the most crucial topic of our time. Season one was an amazing journey for me, and I would sum it up like this: Americans, for the first time in h...

Episode 14. Making a new American Constitution with George William Van Cleve

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in American Podcast. So, how do Americans "shore up" their institutions of government? How do we strengthen our democracy and protect it from the anti-democratic forces that are currently on the rise? The recent book by George Van Cleve, "Making a New American Constitution" argues that today the 1787 Constitution is protecting America’s increasingly wealthy oligarchy. The eighteenth-century government structure it created no longer serves mo...

Episode 13. Presidents, Populism and the Crisis of Democracy with William Howell

William Howell is the Sydney Stein Professor in American Politics at the University of Chicago, where he holds appointments in the Harris School, Department of Political Science, and College. Currently, he is the chair of the Department of Political Science, director of the Center for Effective Government, and co-host of Not Another Politics Podcast.  William has written widely on separation-of-powers issues and American political institutions, especially the presidency. He currently is work...

Episode 12. Our Undemocratic Constitution with Sanford Levinson

Any serious discussion about a peaceful political revolution in America would be incomplete if it did not include a conversation with today's guest. Sandford Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law.   Previously a member of the Department of Politics at Princeton University, he is currently Professor of Government at the University of Texas in Austin. Levinson is the author of over 400 articles and book reviews as well as six books, includ...

Episode 11. The Icelandic Constitutional Assembly with Tom Ginsburg

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast. When you look around the world at different constitutions, and how political systems are formed, you quickly realize that they are all quite different, even amongst the democratic nations. Every democratic country does democracy a little differently, and the results vary just as much.  The conditions which lead to a new constitution can be as unpredictable as the events that follow. Constitution building is risky and com...

Episode 10. The Icelandic Constitutional Council of 2014 with Jon Olafsson and Eirikur Bergman

(See transcript for the entire introduction) Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in American Podcast. Iceland has a really interesting history. You may know a bit about its scenic wonders if you ever watched Game of Thrones, but its political history is no less amazing. Iceland used to be part of Denmark, but in 1849, things began to change. In the 19th century, the Icelandic independence movement from Denmark was gaining momentum, while nationalism and demands for increased...

Episode 9. Death by a Thousand Cuts with Matt Qvortrup

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast. Democracy is under attack. The rise of Trumpism has created a lot of anxiety amongst those who believe in democracy, and for good reason. We have all witnessed the recent attack on our capital, on our electoral system, on our right to vote, on vaccine mandates, and on immigration.  There has been a sharp rise in white nationalist sentiment in America, and it's not only in the South. It has been fueled in part by the exponentia...

Trailer: Episode 9. Death by a Thousand Cuts with Matt Qvortrup

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast. Democracy is under attack. The rise of Trumpism has created a lot of anxiety amongst those who believe in democracy, and for good reason. We have all witnessed the recent attack on our capitol, on our electoral system, on our right to vote, on vaccine mandates, and on immigration.  There has been a sharp rise in white nationalist sentiment in America, and it's not only in the South. It has been fueled in part by the exponentia...

Episode 8. The Sickness is the System with Richard Wolff

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast. It has been pointed out on this podcast by more than a few people, that our Constitution is as much an economic or class document, as it was a political one. For starters, our colonial era Constitution was designed to protect the interests of the slavocracy, to favor the individual accumulation of wealth and property over the collective well-being of society. In short, the framers created a political system to protect the...

Episode 7. This Happened Here and They Rule with Paul Street

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. It looks like we could make some very real improvements to our political system. It is becoming more and more obvious that after 233 years, our Constitution could be significantly upgraded.  If we want to have an effective and democratic form of government we should probably be thinking about how to democratize our Constitution.  Confronting this reality will not be easy for many.   But perhaps we should begin by asking o...

Trailer: Episode 7. This Happened Here, Amerikaners, Neoliberalism and the Trumping of America and They Rule with Paul Street

01/03/22 Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. It looks like we could make some very real improvements to our political system. It is becoming more and more obvious that after 233 years, our Constitution could be significantly upgraded.  If we want to have an effective and democratic form of government, we should probably be thinking about how to democratize our Constitution. Confronting this reality will not be easy for many. But perhaps we should begin by ...

Episode 6. A Different Democracy with Dean Steven Taylor

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. In the last episode, we talked about our frozen republuc, and how to our detriment, it has not been improved upon in over 230 years. It was designed to be an unbreakable contract between Americans, protecting sectoral rights and the individual accumulation of wealth and property. The slavocracy wanted protection from the intrusion of the north. They did not want their lavish and profitable lifestyles interrupted. Their constit...

Trailer: Episode 6. A Different Democracy with Steven Taylor

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. In the last episode, we talked about our frozen Republic, and how to our detriment, it has not been improved upon in over 230 years. It was designed to be an unbreakable contract between Americans, protecting sectoral rights and the individual accumulation of wealth and property. The slavocracy wanted protection from the intrusion of the north. They did not want their lavish and profitable lifestyles interrupted. Their constit...

Preview. Episode 5. The Frozen Republic with Daniel Lazare

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. Thomas Paine believed that Americans must control their constitutions of government, that they should revise and update it every generation. But the Framers, subverting Paine's vision of a democratically controlled government, intentionally left out of their Constitution any process through which the people could do just that. As Jerry Fresia points out in episode 3, that was because their Constitution was designed to pri...

Episode 5. The Frozen Republic with Daniel Lazare

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. Thomas Paine believed that Americans must control their constitutions of government, that they should revise and update it every generation. But the Framers, subverting Paine's vision of a democratically controlled government, intentionally left out of their Constitution any process through which the people could do just that. As Jerry Fresia points out in episode 3, that was because their Constitution was designed to pri...

Episode 4. Patterns of Democracy

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast I thought I'd jump ahead a little and discuss some of the basic changes we could make to our constitution which would actually make it a more democratic system of government.  In this episode, I have the genuine pleasure to interview one of the leading experts on democratic forms of government. His seminal book, Patterns of Democracy is probably the best analysis in comparative democracies available today. We all need to k...

Episode 4. Patterns of Democracy with Arend Lijphart

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast I thought I'd jump ahead a little and discuss some of the basic changes we could make to our constitution which would actually make it a more democratic system of government.  In this episode, I have the genuine pleasure to interview one of the leading experts on democratic forms of government. His seminal book, Patterns of Democracy is probably the best analysis in comparative democracies available today. We all need to k...

Episode 3. Toward an American Revolution with Jerry Fresia

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast  If Bernie's regular castigation of the elites felt justified to you, you'll find this episode especially interesting. Today, I'm going to be talking about the people who gave us our constitution, the Framers. Who were they? What were their intentions? What kind of political system did they create?  Does it explain the vast influence of the elites in our society today?  In his book, The Hidden History of American Oligarchy, Th...

Episode 2. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America

Thanks to Bernie Sanders, "political revolution" has become part of today's vernacular. It's been used widely to describe the need for change on the system level and on the policy level. It's a powerful slogan and a very loaded term. Revolutions tend to be messy. Glorious one day, bloody the next. Political revolutions often end with someone's head on a pike or a neck under a guillotine.  Fortunately, that was not the case in 1787. Although our War of Independence in 1776 was a bloody battl...

Episode 2. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America with Harvey J Kaye

Thanks to Bernie Sanders, "political revolution" has become part of today's vernacular. It's been used widely to describe the need for change on the system level and on the policy level. It's a powerful slogan and a very loaded term. Revolutions tend to be messy. Glorious one day, bloody the next. Political revolutions often end with someone's head on a pike or a neck under a guillotine.  Fortunately, that was not the case in 1787. Although our War of Independence in 1776 was a bloody battl...

Episode 1. Thomas Paine and Political Revolution in America with Gary Berton.

I want to begin the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast with a discussion about Thomas Paine. His ideas, more than any other American, shaped the destiny of not only 1 revolution, but 3. You might say Thomas Paine is the father of peaceful political revolution. It's difficult to overstate how important Paine's message was to our nation, and to Americans, today. His legacy may be a bit obscure to most Americans, but my guest Gary Berton will bring you all up to date on the essent...

Trailer, Peaceful Political Revolution in America

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast.  In this podcast, I will explore the origins of peaceful political revolution and connect the dots between the Age of Enlightenment and the American political system. I will explore what political revolution means and decipher why the convention of 1787 was so unique. Our founding as a nation was remarkable, yet we often forget or take for granted just why it is so remarkable and why it is so important to understand our politi...

Trailer. The Peaceful Political Revolution in America

Welcome to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast.  In this podcast, I will explore the origins of peaceful political revolution and connect the dots between the Age of Enlightenment and the American political system. I will explore what political revolution means and decipher why the convention of 1787 was so unique. Our founding as a nation was remarkable, yet we often forget or take for granted just why it is so remarkable and why it is so important to understand our politi...