James Madison Center for Civic Engagement: Democracy Matters

In this episode, we talk with Steven R. Shapiro, the former Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, the nation's oldest and largest civil liberties organization, founded over a century ago in response to the massive suppression of freedom of speech and the press by the government during World War I. Mr. Shapiro shares his legal experiences and expertise regarding the consequences for civil liberties of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the government's response. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/9-11-at-20.shtml#shapiro

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and explore the consequences of the U.S. response, the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement and JMU X-Labs have partnered to share and highlight the contributions of James Madison University alumni who commissioned through the ROTC and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode, Dr. Mark Ehlers, shares his experiences and observations from his service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/9-11-at-20.shtml

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and explore the consequences of the U.S. response, the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement and JMU X-Labs have partnered to share and highlight the contributions of James Madison University alumni who commissioned through the ROTC and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode, we talk with Samantha Huie. Samantha was a helicopter pilot and served as Brigade Aviation Officer, Company Commander and most recently as an Aviation team Lead. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/9-11-at-20.shtml

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and explore the consequences of the U.S. response, the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement and JMU X-Labs have partnered to share and highlight the contributions of James Madison University alumni who commissioned through the ROTC and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode, Gregory Sullivan shares his experiences, which included two combat deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and two years as a diplomat in Bogota, Colombia during the historic war-to-peace time transition. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/9-11-at-20.shtml

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and explore the consequences of the U.S. response, the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement and JMU X-Labs have partnered to share and highlight the contributions of James Madison University alumni who commissioned through the ROTC and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode, Major Michael Benner, shares his experiences and observations from five deployments. He concludes by encouraging everyone to 'be part of something bigger than yourself.' See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/9-11-at-20.shtml

In the wake of the Supreme Court's Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee ruling, we are left asking what is a usual or unusual burden to voting and which voting restrictions might be more or less vulnerable to legal challenge. We talk with Michael Burns, the National Director for Fair Elections Center's Campus Vote Project, about the history of voting rights and the implications of the Supreme Court's decision on voting access and rights. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/07-08-democracy-matters-episode-64.shtml

In this episode, Diego F. Salinas, a JMU alum and our 20-21 Woodson Martin Democracy Fellow, reads his essay on E-Carceration and the Price of the American Dream.

Julio Rank Wright, Deputy Regional Director for Latin America at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), joins us to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in northern Central America (El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala) that continues to force thousands of people to flee for safety in neighboring countries and the United States, and durable policy solutions to address the crisis. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/06-22-democracy-matters-episode-63.shtml

For World Refugee Day, we talk with Jana Mason, Senior External Relations Advisor at the Washington, D.C. office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR-the UN Refugee Agency) about the root causes of forced migration and the global refugee crisis, and what we can do to take action on important issues facing refugees. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/06-18-democracy-matters-episode-62.shtml

Why do we have to run an obstacle course when we go to vote every two years in federal elections? How can Congress strengthen American democratic institutions and the right to vote by implementing new policies and procedures that will protect voting rights, limit corruption, expose "Dark Money" in politics, and make the political process more transparent? What can be done to address systemic disenfranchisement and voter suppression of historically minoritized and marginalized groups in the United States? In this episode, we talk with Congressman John Sarbanes about what it will take to secure voting rights for every American and restore confidence in elections and government. Congressman Sarbanes chairs the Democracy Reform Task Force, which has assembled HR1, the For The People Act, to reform and strengthen our democracy. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/05-28-democracy-matters-episode-61.shtml

In this episode, we talk with Jim Acosta, CNN anchor for weekend programming and the network's chief domestic correspondent, about the critical role of a free press as necessary noise in a functioning democracy. Acosta weighs in on the implications of the January 6, 2021 violent attacks and the ongoing insurrection for democracy in America and why we need a bipartisan commission to investigate. "If we don't, we will have one political party deny what happened on January 6," says Acosta, and we're likely to see future protests or attempts to overturn results in future elections if one party doesn't like the outcome. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/05-21-democracy-matters-episode-60.shtml

In this episode we talk with Walter Shaub, who leads the Ethics and Accountability Initiative at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), about what elected and other government officials, and the public can do to create and implement long-lasting reforms to shore up the barricades against authoritarianism. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/05-19-democracy-matters-episode-59.shtml

"America is on the move again," declared President Joe Biden in a joint session of Congress on April 28, 2021 and on the eve of the 100th day of his administration. In this episode, Caitlin Tully, a first-year Finance major in JMU's College of Business, moderates a discussion with economic policy experts Flint Engelman, Americans for Prosperity, and Ben Ritz, Director of Progressive Policy Institute's Center for Funding America's Future about the presidential administration's economic policy priorities and impacts on Americans. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/04-29-democracy-matters-episode-58.shtml

The theme of Earth Day 2021 is action on Climate Change. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tobias Gerken, assistant professor in the School of Integrated Sciences and Technology at JMU whose research focuses on environmental and atmospheric science. He explains some of his novel research on land–atmosphere coupling and feedback and with NASA's project on Atmospheric Carbon and Transport and the Department of Energy's GreenOcean Amazon project. Dr. Gerken shares how this research impacts our understanding of climate modeling, the extent of environmental destruction from climate change, and advice for policymakers for making informed decisions about climate policy. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/04-21-democracy-matters-episode-57.shtml

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, there is a record number of women serving in the 117th Congress. We talk with Dr. Kira Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, about breaking barriers to women's representation in policy and decisionmaking processes, and the impact of women realizing their full political potential. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/04-15-democracy-matters-episode-56.shtml

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Charley Willison, a National Institutes of Mental Health Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard University Department of Health Care Policy, about the politics and governance of homelessness in the United States and what can be done to address the national homelessness crisis. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/04-07-democracy-matters-episode-55.shtml

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kristin Wylie, associate professor of political science at James Madison University, about political violence against women, the state of women's political representation and participation, and reforms to address structural barriers that prevent women from running and serving in office. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/03-10-democracy-matters-episode-54.shtml

Does President Joe Biden have a mandate to enact his policies and agenda? Why are presidents drawn to mandate rhetoric? What can we learn from presidential communications about the logic of presidential mandates? How do popular and media conceptions of mandates differ from those of presidents and their teams? Although political scientists have been pretty adamant that mandates aren't real, the idea of an electoral mandate remains powerful. Dr. Julia Azari, associate professor of political science at Marquette University, joins us to discuss the logic of presidential mandates, achieving policy and legislative agendas, government responsiveness and collective representation. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/02-28-democracy-matters-episode-53.shtml

In this episode, we talk with Ethan Zuckerman, associate professor of public policy, communication and information at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who argues that rather than rebuilding trust in institutions, we should question whether institutions are worthy of our trust. We can either work to make our existing institutions better, or we can recognize that they're no longer fit for purpose and build new ones in their stead. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/02-15-democracy-matters-episode-52.shtml

In this episode of Democracy Matters, James Madison University History and Political Science faculty experts explain the ongoing insurrection, and help us understand the events of January 6, 2021, the complicity of the president of the United States, and efforts to undermine American elections, and democratic norms and institutions. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/01-13-democracy-matters-episode-51.shtml