Bill Weir is CNN’s Chief Climate Correspondent and the author of Life As We Know It (Can Be). We discuss Carbon Godzilla, decarbonization, and the many existing and accessible technologies to mitigate climate change. Decarbonization must start with big industry, but there are many ways for individuals to make a difference, too. Clean energy can be had with tax incentives, reducing costs for consumers. Energy efficient homes – passive houses and innovations in heating and cooling – reduce or even...
May 22, 2024•45 min•Ep. 317
Unlike the vast majority of journalists who cover American politics, Salena Zito lives far away from the centers of power and wealth. She writes about small-town America and the parts of the country that much of the media doesn’t cover. Zito's commitment to understanding the heartland of America is evident in her frequent trips along the nation’s back roads. She drives thousands of miles, avoiding interstates and major cities, to grasp the pulse of rural and small-town America Her insights about...
May 20, 2024•27 min•Ep. 316
Please join us in welcoming a special guest host for this episode! Cyanne Loyale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Penn State and a Global Fellow at the Pease Research Institute Oslo. Her research focuses on transitional justice and democratic rebuilding after conflict, which makes her the perfect person to reflect on South Africa's democratic transition. One additional programming note — Chris Beem lost power during this recording so the closing segment is...
May 15, 2024•45 min•Ep. 315
We all have opinions. And there are more ways than ever to voice those opinions. But before expressing those opinions, have we really taken the time to understand the complexity of any given issue? More specifically, have we taken the time to speak with and consider the views of folks who are on the “other side” of that issue? In this edition, we’ll be looking at the widespread phenomenon of campus protests across the country and the world. The initial plan was to compare campus protesters to Ja...
May 13, 2024•39 min•Ep. 314
Host Jenna Spinelle explores the intersection between business and democracy, highlighting the crucial role of business in supporting democracy through consumer trust and solving problems. It features insights from Patrick McGinnis, who advocates for businesses to stand up for the defense of democracy. The episode also delves into Patrick's efforts with organizations like Leadership Now and BridgeUSA to drive democracy reforms and fight political division. Patrick emphasizes the importance of di...
May 10, 2024•11 min•Ep. 313
As a cross-interview with Sustainable Planet , Kimberly Weir, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Kentucky University and co-host of Sustainable Planet talks with Akshat Rathi, award-winning senior reporter for Bloomberg News and the host of Zero , a climate-solutions podcast for Bloomberg Green and author of Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age . Topics Kimberly & Akshat discuss include: How a misinformed campaign marketing...
May 08, 2024•31 min•Ep. 312
In this week’s episode of Politics In Question , Thomas Schaller and Paul Waldman join Lee and James to discuss the urban-rural divide in American politics. Schaller is a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Waldman is a journalist and author whose writing has appeared in numerous publications, including MSNBC. Their new book is White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy (Random House, 2024). Why is Mingo County, West Virginia important? How has...
May 06, 2024•53 min•Ep. 311
CPF Co-Director Mike Murphy joins Albert Gore, Zero Emissions Transportation Association Executive Director, and David Schwietert, Alliance for Automotive Innovation Chief Policy Officer, for a conversation on the polarized politics of electric-powered vehicles and what polling around this big divide reveals about the future of transportation. Featuring: Albert Gore: Executive Director, Zero Emissions Transportation Association David Schwietert: Chief Policy Officer, Alliance for Automotive Inno...
May 01, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 310
We were honored to hang out with our intellectural hero, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, a few weeks before the release of his recent book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Unsurprisingly, since its release, it became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. If you have kids, if you know kids — heck, if you've ever seen a kid — you're just going to have to read this book. It gives us no less than a chance to rescue the coming generations fr...
Apr 29, 2024•53 min•Ep. 309
Diversity equity and inclusion: Sounds like a good thing in an incredibly diverse country such as ours, especially when teaching young people at American colleges and universities. But the DEI industry - or DEI Inc. — has arguably gone off the rails. There’s a big difference between the intentions behind a lot of diversity training and the results. We learn about the crucial difference between training and education, and hear the case against the Stop WOKE Act in Florida. History professors Amna...
Apr 24, 2024•37 min•Ep. 308
Tom Lopach joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics and his role as CEO at the Voter Participation Center, where they're dedicated to large scale voter registration work. Additional Information The Democracy Group listener survey The Great Battlefield Podcast More shows from The Democracy Group
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 307
Mike talks with historical anthropologist Nicholas Dirks, Chancellor of UC Berkeley from 2013-2017, about his book City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University . Topics Include: - the public’s decline of faith in higher education - if higher ed is focused on the right kind of diversity - free speech as privileging dominant views - what elite institutions are doing with their massive endowments - rising education costs and administrative bloat at universities - if public universities ...
Apr 17, 2024•58 min•Ep. 306
Argentina’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 madness...
Apr 15, 2024•39 min•Ep. 305
Today we feature interviews with three religious organizations. These organizations share their current programs that promote civic duties and community engagement across the country. Harbonim Dror Camp Galil is a summer camp in Ottsville, Pennsylvania. Executive Director David Weiss joins us to discuss their daily programs for campers aged 7-17. These programs include staging protests and holding forums to discussing any topics of their choice, which can range from a later bedtime and more muff...
Apr 12, 2024•12 min•Ep. 304
Braxton Brewington is the Press Secretary of the Debt Collective. We discuss the origins of the Debt Collective in the Rolling Jubilee and its history in canceling student debt. Their example is a powerful model for canceling student debt, which continues to be important for all Americans in this election cycle and beyond. Education is a public good, yet the cost of college over the past couple of decades has risen eight times faster than the average wages. The average student debt is $30,000-$3...
Apr 10, 2024•47 min•Ep. 303
CPF Director Bob Shrum joins education experts, Pedro Noguera, Macke Raymond, and Dr. Darline Robles, for a conversation on education reform and policy. They discuss the politics of public education, the role of parental rights, why some public schools are failing, what makes some charter schools successful when others struggle, whether or not taxpayer funds should be used to provide vouchers to parents who send students to private schools or home school, and which educational reforms should be ...
Apr 08, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 302
Trey talks with constitutional law professor Maxwell Stearns about his new book Parliamentary America which argues the U.S. needs to adapt the U.S. House to include proportional representation. Topics Trey and Max Cover Include - how the median voter theory is inaccurate - why American parties are tending in extreme directions - proposals to double the size of the House of Representatives - proposals to transform the selection of president and vice president - proposals to change how to remove a...
Apr 03, 2024•57 min•Ep. 301
This month, we're joined by Stephanie Gnoza, Boulder County's Elections Director, to discuss the first ever risk-limiting audit of a ranked choice voting election! Stephanie breaks down what a risk-limiting audit is, and the steps that Boulder took to pull off this landmark achievement in election security. Resources mentioned in this episode: - 2023 Election Results Page: https://bouldercounty.gov/elections/results/ - RCV RLA Tool Github Repository: https://github.com/BoulderCounty/rcv-rla/ - P...
Apr 01, 2024•41 min•Ep. 300
How do we harness the power of communication in bridging societal divides? We spoke with Elliot Kirschner, an Emmy award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker, to help us “Through the Fog…” Elliot shares his journey from CBS to his Substack “ Through the Fog ,” his dedication to science communication , and reflections on the role of journalism and science in democracy. We delve into his collaboration with Dan Rather, his academic pursuits in history and literature, and his current endeavo...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 299
Last 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 deadly ...
Mar 25, 2024•29 min•Ep. 298
Sasha Issenberg returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his new book "The Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook for Winning Elections in the Disinformation Age". Additional Information The Democracy Group listener survey The Great Battlefield Podcast More shows from The Democracy Group
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 297
News coverage of Super Tuesday and other party primaries focused mainly on base voters— Democrats and Republicans. But most Americans are actually on the political sidelines or somewhere in the middle. Many have a mix of conservative and liberal views. This episode is about them. Our guest is Shannon Watson , the Founder and Executive Director of Majority in the Middle . Her Minnesota-based non-profit group works to give voters and elected officials a place to gather outside the extremes. "We tr...
Mar 18, 2024•30 min•Ep. 296
Acclaimed musician and recording artist Daryl Davis has interviewed hundreds of KKK members and other White supremacists and influenced many of them to renounce their racist ideology. We hear his brave and remarkable story. Daryl's personal quest began many years ago, after a concert when he was in a country music band. A card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan praised his piano playing. Daryl recognized that he had an opportunity to ask an important question about racism: “How can you hate me ...
Mar 13, 2024•29 min•Ep. 295
What if, at a pinnacle of our civilization’s technological achievement, everything just broke — the institutions we’ve come to rely upon in navigating a modern complex world, the shared stories that hold a large and diverse democratic republic together, and even a common language through which to navigate the rising tide of crisis. According to renowned social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt, this describes our current reality, one that he calls “After Babel.” In this new normal, we are s...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 294
We've talked about social media a lot on this show over the years — usually focusing on algorithms, echo chambers, polarization, and the other ways it's damaging to democracy. This week, however, we hear a different take from V Spehar , who has more than 3 million followers on the TikTok account Under the Desk News . V built a reputation providing recaps of the daily news for an audience who might not consume news anywhere else. The Under the Desk News audience is politically diverse and V talks...
Mar 06, 2024•37 min•Ep. 293
In this week's episode of Politics In Question, Lee and James ask Representative Chip Roy, R-Texas, if the House of Representatives is broken. Roy is a devoted husband and father of two, serving his third term in Congress representing Texas's 21st Congressional District. He serves on the House Judiciary, Rules, and Budget Committees and is the House Freedom Caucus Policy Chair. Roy previously served as First Assistant Attorney General of Texas under Ken Paxton, Chief of Staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, s...
Mar 04, 2024•37 min•Ep. 292
Host Jenna Spinelle highlights the positive efforts of individuals and organizations working to build a healthier democracy in our short series, Democracy's Good News. Today we feature interviews with two civics teachers, Kimberly Huffman and Allison Sheridan, recipients of the 2023 American Civic Education Teacher Award. The teachers share their experiences and perspectives on teaching civics, civil discourse, and civic engagement. Kimberly Huffman, teaching in Ohio, discusses her personal conn...
Mar 01, 2024•8 min•Ep. 291
Ken Harbaugh is the host of the Burn the Boats podcast, a former United States Navy pilot, and executive producer of Against All Enemies, a documentary film that explores the critical role of military veterans in domestic violent extremist groups. We discuss why veterans are equally sought out to work in Fortune 500 companies and to be in leadership positions of extremist groups. Most veterans make a successful transition to civilian life, but a small minority become radicalized. Anger and resen...
Feb 28, 2024•37 min•Ep. 290
Before 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 pres...
Feb 26, 2024•36 min•Ep. 289
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, one of America's leading experts on the far right, joins us this week to discuss what draws people to political extremism online and offline — and what we can do to combat it. Miller-Idriss is the director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University and author of the book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right . As you'll hear, PERIL takes a public health approach to preventing violent extremism and provides tools an...
Feb 21, 2024•38 min•Ep. 288
