Democracy and Its Discontents

U.S. democracy is facing unprecedented challenges. Political polarization is at its highest level in decades. An uncharted new media environment is spreading questionable information and undermining public trust. And profound economic and societal changes are prompting deep dissatisfaction with democratic institutions and procedures.

What’s going on with democracy—and how can we save it?

Democracy and Its Discontents, a new five-episode podcast miniseries from IGCC’s Talking Policy, will explore the spread of misinformation in political discourse, the influence of money on the U.S. electoral system, how political actors promote division and enmity, and how the rise of populist demagogues is testing democracies across the world. The series places these challenges in historic context to ask if the risks to U.S. democracy are really unprecedented and how we can reinvigorate the democratic ideals that the nation was founded upon.