Adam Eichen is joined by Andrew Perez, a writer and researcher who spent five years as a money-in-politics investigative reporter. Andrew reveals how he uncovered his biggest stories, why money can be so hard to track, and why we need more journalists—now more than ever. Please note: This episode was recorded prior to the Iowa caucuses and does not include information from the most recent FEC filing. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens
Feb 14, 2020•54 min•Ep. 37
In this special episode, Larry Lessig speaks with Ezra Klein, the Vox media founder and host of the Ezra Klein Show, at a live event in Boston. They discuss Ezra's new book "Why We're Polarized" and discuss why it's really the system and the parties—and not the particular policy disagreements between politicians or the public—that have made our democracy so dysfunctional. The event was held in Back Bay in Boston and hosted by the Harvard bookstore. The audio is courtesy of the wonderful folks at...
Feb 06, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 36
In this episode, Adam Eichen is joined by Beth Huang, executive director of Massachusetts Voter Table. The two discuss how the decennial census works, why it is so important, the difficulties involved in enumeration, and what groups are doing to ensure an accurate count. Ultimately, they argue, the census is about power and which voices are heard in our democracy. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens.
Jan 30, 2020•58 min•Ep. 35
Equal Citizens founder Larry Lessig speaks with Tiffany Muller, the founder of End Citizens United. The unfortunate occasion is the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Tiffany explains not only the problems that big money has caused but also how we need a comprehensive solution that does more than just overturn Citizens United.
Jan 23, 2020•54 min•Ep. 34
Larry Lessig speaks with Issue One's Nick Penniman about why Nick left journalism to begin tackling the problem of fixing our democracy. Nick then discusses the difference between putting policies on websites and having politicians prioritize real reform that would de-rig the system and enable real change to happen. And they discuss how to build a coalition across the left, right, and center to at last get the change that 80-90% of the public wants to see happen.
Jan 16, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 33
As a bonus episode, we bring your our recent conversation with Senator Bernie Sanders on all things democracy reform. Bernie sat down with Equal Citizens' Larry Lessig and reform advocate Zephyr Teachout to discuss gerrymandering, how to fix our broken campaign finance system, how to end corruption, and much more. Note that this episode was released early to Patreon subscribers. To subscribe, check out Patreon.com/EqualCitizens.
Jan 14, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 32
On this episode of the podcast, Adam Eichen is joined by Nick Nyhart, a longtime advocate for public financing of elections. Nick recounts the largely forgotten period of time (1996-2005) when a handful of states adopted public financing measures and the possibilities for reform seemed truly auspicious. The two then deconstruct where things went wrong and why, despite the setbacks, there is reason to be hopeful.
Jan 08, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 31
In our last episode of 2019, Jason and Adam hold their "equality of citizenship" awards show to recap the good and bad of democracy reform in 2019. Who or what made things more equal this year? What made it less equal? What are we watching for in 2020? You'll have to listen to find out!
Dec 27, 2019•52 min•Ep. 30
On the first part of a two-part year-end extravaganza, Jason and Adam discuss democracy-related results from the November elections, Equal Citizens' participation in the MOFA awards, and they give a little bit of credit—just a little bit—to the debate moderators from November's debate.
Dec 20, 2019•43 min•Ep. 29
Comedian Paul Rodriguez and politician Rocky Chavez join Equal Citizens' Jason Harrow for a discussion about why they support a popular vote for President as California Republicans—and why they joined Equal Citizens' lawsuit trying to abolish winner-take-all for just that reason. They also discuss why they are in the minority as Latino Republicans, how the need to raise money makes it hard for politicians to respond to constituents' needs, and more.
Dec 12, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 28
This week, Diet for a Small Planet author Frances Moore Lappé joins Adam Eichen to discuss her reasons for joining the democracy reform movement, her theories on democracy, and why she feels hopeful in the current political moment. Lappé is the author or co-author of 19 books about world hunger, democracy, and the environment, and she is the principal of the Small Planet Institute.
Dec 05, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 27
This week, Adam Eichen talks with political strategist Kyle Bailey about the incredible fight to bring ranked-choice voting (RCV) to Maine. They discuss how to get voters to respond to the bipartisan message that we must improve our democracy, and how to win a fight that incumbent politicians of both parties are resistant to.
Nov 21, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 26
Larry Lessig speaks to John Pudner of Take Back Our Republic about the bipartisan need for democracy reform. Pudner is a Republican political strategist who talks about how democracy reform is consistent with conservative principles, the need to reduce politicians' reliance on lobbyists, the rise of "SCAMPacs," and more.
Nov 14, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 25
Larry Lessig talks with Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney about his nuanced view of why Congress is so broken and so badly polarized. They talk about money in politics, campaign finance reform, the need of Congresspeople to constantly be raising money, the impact of gerrymandering, and other innovative ideas to improve our democracy. They also discuss the issue of whether—and why—it's important to make fixing our democracy a high priority.
Nov 07, 2019•42 min•Ep. 24
On a bonus episode, Jason and Adam recap a recent Equal Citizens event where Republican Presidential candidate endorsed major ideas of democracy reform and even pledged to fix democracy first. Jason and Adam discuss what this means for the movement and the 2020 presidential race. You can livestream the whole Weld event on Facebook at Facebook.com/EqualCitizens or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2zIovQZ_Uw.
Nov 01, 2019•29 min•Ep. 23
This week, Joan Mandle, Executive Director of Democracy Matters, joins Adam Eichen to discuss the role that students play in the Democracy Movement and how to get more of them involved moving forward. If you know a student who would like to be trained as a democracy organizer, visit www.democracymatters.org.
Oct 31, 2019•54 min•Ep. 22
Jason Harrow is joined this week by Sam Berger to talk about key topics on the democracy reform agenda. Sam is the Vice President of Democracy and Government Reform at Center for American Progress, a leading left-leaning think tank. The two go deep into the weeks of public financing of campaigns, gerrymandering, and HR 1 2.0—that is, the next version of this critical bill. You can now be a Patron of the podcast! Go to patreon.com/EqualCitizens to find out more. We appreciate any support you can ...
Oct 24, 2019•39 min•Ep. 21
In a bonus episode, Jason and Adam of Equal Citizens discuss how democracy issues came up in the last Democratic debate, and then they deliver a knowledge drop about Ohio voter rolls. And they announce that you can now become a Patron of Another Way by going to Patreon.com/EqualCitizens. Join now!
Oct 23, 2019•30 min•Ep. 20
Larry Lessig talks with Montana Governor and presidential candidate Steve Bullock about fighting corruption as a red state governor, including Bullock's problems with Citizens United, his efforts to overturn it or get around it, and his plans to increase disclosure and transparency in political funding. They also discuss Bullock's novel plan to end constant campaigning and give politicians space to govern.
Oct 17, 2019•54 min•Ep. 19
Larry Lessig begins the episode with a plea to focus on campaign finance reform. Then, Larry talks to U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Michael Bennet on how to create enduring democracy reforms that can unclog what he calls a "paralyzed Congress."
Oct 10, 2019•56 min•Ep. 18
This week, Katie Fahey of The People, a Michigan-based advocacy group, talks with Larry Lessig about how she wrote a Facebook post asking if anyone else wanted to take on gerrymandering in Michigan…and then found herself leading a successful movement that passed a ballot measure to actually end gerrymandering in Michigan.
Oct 03, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 17
This week, Adam Eichen speaks with Rabbi Michael Pollack, co-founder of the Pennsylvania-based pro-democracy organization March on Harrisburg. The two discuss the role spiritual leaders can play in the fight for reform, March on Harrisburg's history and tactics, and how the group's work could be replicated across the nation.
Sep 26, 2019•58 min•Ep. 16
On this week's special episode, Larry Lessig talks with Representative John Sarbanes. Sarbanes is the lead author of HR 1, which passed the House in March and, if passed by the Senate and signed by the President, would fundamentally alter the way politicians raise money and would improve our democracy in ways big and small. Sarbanes discusses the origin of HR 1, why he thinks that the way most politicians raise money is so harmful, and why the bill is so urgently needed.
Sep 19, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 15
This week, we are proud to bring you a recording of a live conversation between Larry Lessig and Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard. The two sat down in front of a live audience in New Hampshire on September 6 and talked about the state of our democracy, ranked choice voting (RCV), the electoral college, money in politics, and much more. This event was part of Equal Citizens’ democracy town hall series, which is made possible with the support of The Leadership Now Project.
Sep 12, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 14
In this episode, Adam Eichen speaks with University of Kentucky Law Professor Joshua Douglas about the growing movement for democracy reform, the policies that are working in states and locales across the country, and his new book, Vote for US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting.
Sep 05, 2019•55 min•Ep. 13
Jason and Adam of Equal Citizens talk about last week's big decision in which a federal appellate court said that presidential electors are constitutionally free to vote for whatever they candidate they choose. They discuss the legal reasoning, the practical impact, what comes next, and how it might help the democracy reform movement. Note: Jason's audio isn't great for the first 10 minutes, but it greatly improves after that. Bear with us!
Aug 29, 2019•49 min•Ep. 12
Larry Lessig talks with political consultant and CNN contributor Paul Begala about why democracy reform is necessary to make progress on so many important issues, and how to make fundamental reform issues relevant to the real lives of everyday voters.
Aug 22, 2019•49 min•Ep. 11
Larry Lessig talks to South Dakota 2018 gubernatorial candidate Billie Sutton about his history in bronc riding and his political career fighting corruption and running a grassroots, small-dollar campaign in South Dakota. (Note: We apologize to listeners and to Billie about the poor quality audio on this call. We are working to improve audio quality for future episodes.)
Aug 15, 2019•54 min•Ep. 10
Equal Citizens’ director Jason Harrow and campaigns manager Adam Eichen are joined by with Salon founder Dave Daley to discuss why debate moderators continue to ignore questions about voting rights, gerrymandering, campaign finance, and other democracy reform topics. Then, Jason and Adam break down the candidates’ statements that nonetheless addressed these topics.
Aug 08, 2019•57 min•Ep. 9
With Larry Lessig on vacation, Adam Eichen, Naomi Truax, and Danny Holt, all of Equal Citizens, discuss the POTUS1 project. This project tracks presidential candidates’ views on democracy reform issues like gerrymandering, voter registration, the electoral college, and campaign finance reform. The trio take the candidates in order from candidates who are actively anti-democracy (President Trump) to the candidates who have the very best platforms on these issues. You can review all the candidates...
Aug 01, 2019•43 min•Ep. 8
