How To Fix Democracy

Legal scholar and author Joan Williams joins How to Fix Democracy to unpack the breakdown of trust between political elites and the American working class. Drawing from her new book Outclassed, Williams explores how class-blindness, cultural signalling, and economic inequality have shapred political divides - and what the left must do to win back working class voters. From language to long-term coalition-building, this episode offers a sobering but essential roadmap for restoring trust. 

In this episode Brookings's scholar Jonathan Rauch explores America's historically unprecendented position as a "high-tech, low trust society" - a dangerous combination where technological advancement coexists with collapsing social trust. Trust levels have plummeted since the 1970s warns Rauch, with America now ranking 52nd globally in believing strangers would return a lost wallet. He traces this decline to systematic attacks on institutions from both left and right, formented by libertarian populists. He warns that without rebuilding trust - which is seven times more important in determining life satisfaction- democracy itself will remain at existential risk.

In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen, speaks with journalist Sally Lehrman, founder of the Trust Project - a global initiative aimed at restoring trust in journalism. They discuss the origins of the project, inspired in part by the 1947 Hutchins Commission report on media responsibility, and how today's digital landscape has blurred the lines between news and content. Lehrman outlines the Trust Project's "Eight Trust Indicators" which help news outlets demonstrate transparency, ethical standards, and commitment to diverse voices. She also addresses the challenges posed by ideological biais, opinion vs news,  and journalism on platforms such as Substack. The conversation explores how media organizations can rebuild credibility, empower the public, and support a healthy democracy through responsible, clearly-labeled reporting.

In this episode, host Andrew Keen sits down with Francis Fukuyama to explore the concept of trust. Fukuyama defines it as a byproduct of virtuous behaviors like reliability, truthfulness, transparency, and keeping commitments. He describes trust as a crucial "lubricant" for social interactions and distinguishes between interpersonal and institutional trust, both of which are built through experiences of reliability and can be eroded by betrayal and disappointment. Fukuyama discusses how trust originates within families and extends to broader social circles. He also examines the global decline in trust over the past 30 years, attributing it to several key factors: the rise of technology and anonymous online interactions, higher education fostering more critical thinking, increased transparency exposing institutional failures, and growing political polarization reinforcing tribal identitities. Connecting trust to his earlier work on "the struggle for recognition, " he argues that as liberal democracies secure e

Days before the U.S. election, Professor Carol Anderson of Emory University spoke with the three producers of the How to Fix Series about the current state of American democracy. With references to previous interviews, the discussion focuses on the urgency of the times, the criticical issues at stake, the forces of deep conflict and expectations for the future of America's democracy.

In conversation with Congressman Jamie Raskin, host Andrew Keen explores key elements of American democracy. Raskin higlights his deep commitment to public service, grounded in his believe that the rule of law is fundamental to America's greatness. He reflects on the influence of Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump on their political journeys and how their legacies relate to his vision of democracy as an "unfinished project'.

In a conversation with Andrew Keen, Yuval Levin, Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, explores the critical transition from the 1950s- a decade often seen as a conservative period of economic prosperity- into the 1960s, a turbulant era marked by confrontations over race, gender, and shifts in the politcal landscape of the Republican and Democratic Parties.

In this episode, host Andrew Keen and historian Matthew Continetti explore the pivotal moments in the history of American conservatism, starting in 1964. Continetti elaborates on the ideological foundations of American conservatism, emphasizing its roots in the political traditions of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The conversation delves into the marginalization of conservative thought during the New Deal era and the eventual resurgence of conservatism in the mid 20th century.

Author and broadcast journalist, Ray Suarez, born into a Puerto Rican family newly settled in New York City in the 1950s, speaks with Andrew Keen about American immigrant experiences in the late 20th and 21st centuries. Extolled as a welcoming democracy built by immigrants, they were both hailed and despaired over - needed for labor and growth but feared for the different cultures they brought to the country. Invoking both personal and broad societal reflections, Suarez describes the historic tension in the powerful American immigrant dream between reality and mythology: aspirations and acceptance sort after by unwanted outsiders.

Elizabeth Saunders, Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and author of The Insiders' Game: How Elites Make War and Peace, speaks with Andrew Keen about democracy and foreign policy. The conversation focuses on the tension between elites and democracy, power and accountability and domestic priorities and global responsibilities between the 1950s and 1970s. In the era between the Korean War and Vietnam domestic tensions reverberated through foreign policy decisions made to promote democracy in the cold war era.

In this episode host Andrew Keen sits down with Peter Wehner to discuss the intersection of faith and politics and the rise of the Evangelical movement in the Republican Party. Pete reflects on his early caution of the dangerous intertwining on faith and politics, his concerns about the religious impact on the Republican Party, and the shift towards more authoritarian tendencies within the party. He explores the connections among figures such as Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich, and Donald Trump, tracing the evolution of the Republican Party's conservative ideologies and its current state.

In conversation with Andrew Keen, the American historian Jacob Heilbrunn, outlines the continuous history of the close association of conservative views and the Republican Party in the early to Mid-Twentieth Century. He describes the party's support of strong anti-immigrant racial differences in the 1920s, hostility to the New Deal, support of the anti-Communist campaign of Senator McCarthy in the 1950s, and support of Donald Trump and his isolationist perspectives, now and in the recent past.

For this episode, host Andrew Keen sits down with James Kirchick, journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller Secret City: the Hidden History of Gay Washington. They discuss the historical exclusion of gay individuals within American democracy, with a particular emphasis on the challenges - from legal persecution to professional exclusion, and social stigmatization, Kirchick and Keen explore how political attitudes towards gay rights have evolved, intertwining with broader cultural and political shifts. Kirchick describes the gradual inclusion of homosexuals in the democratic process, highlighting key moments of setbacks and progress over the past century. The conversation explores significant events such as the Kinsey report in 1948, the Alger Hiss case, McCarthyism, and the political landscape during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The emergence of homosexuality as a national political issue, alongside movements like gay liberation and the AIDS crisis, had a profound impact on American politics and s

In this episode we delve into Jeffrey Rosen's latest work The Pursuit of Happiness. As the President of the National Constitution Center and a Professor of Law at George Washington University, Rosen brings a unique perspective on America's democratic foundations. Through an exploration of classical writers and America's own philosophers and political founders, Rosen and Keen engage in a discussion on the challenges facing American democracy and law today. We ask crucial questions: How closely do America's democratic institutions align with the ideals of the founding fathers? What insights can we glean from the evolution of American law and government practices over centuries? And, perhaps most importantly, what elements from our past are essential for sustaining and enriching American democracy? 

Testing American Liberalism in the Cold War Years In this episode journalist and historian James Traub delves into the paradoxical nature of liberalism in the post war years. The continuation of New Deal social and economic reforms charactarized a society of consensus in fulfillment of democratic ideals in the Cold War years. However, the illusory impression was built on the continuiation of Jim Crow systems in the South deepening racial inequity in the rest of the country. Resistance stirred underneath consensus and the illusion of an expanding liberalism and democratic enhancement. James Traub is an American journalist and scholar specializing in international affairs. 

In conversation with Prof. Sarah Snyder, an historian of Cold War international relations, Andrew Keen examines the relationship of democratic goals with the realities of American foreign policy. As the world's great post-war democratic and capitalistic power, the U.S. opposed Russia and China through strategic foreign aid and international interventions - often with non-democratic regimes. Internal divisions and controversies about the role of the United Nations, international human rights initiatives and racial divisions in the U.S. however challenged that post-war consensus.

The democratic divide in post WWII: advance abroad, retreat at home.  In this episode, Andrew Keen speaks with Dr. Carol Anderson, professor of African American Studies at Emory University. They discuss America in the post World War II years when America emerged as the world's leading democratic country. That claim was belied by the reality of a flawed and unfulfilled democracy at home. Black Americans, who joined the military in great numbers and fought with great distinction, returned to Jim Crow America and discrimination in many parts of the country. It continued practices of oppression and blocked the expansion of global post-war Human Rights doctrines from applying to the United States.

American Democracy Transformed: A Conversation with Kevin Baker on the Interwar Era's Cultural and Political Evolution In this episode, host Andrew Keen discusses with writer and editor, Kevin Baker, the multifaceted changes and growth of American democracy. Significant cultural innovations, technological advancements, and societal shifts occurred between the two World Wars. Baker emphasizes America's transformation into a cultural and political powerhouse during this period, where its arts and politics gained global recognition and when American culture including literature, music, and cinema, played a pivotal role in shaping societal views and politics. Kevin Baker graduated from Columbia University in 1980 and has since pursued a career as a writer and editor. His writings include novels like "Sometimes You See It Coming" and "Dreamland" forming part of his New York City of Fire trilogy.

Fighting for Equity: African-American struggles in the '20s and '30s. In this episode, host Andrew Keen talks to Jill Watts author of The Black Cabinet, about the untold story of African Americans and politics during the age of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Jill Watts is an author and a Professor Emeritus of History at California State University San Marcos where she teaches United States social and cultural history, African American history, film history, and digital history.

Women's Political Rights | Dr. Allida Black Allida Black speaks with host Andrew Keen about the history of women in politics and the impact of their noteworthy political and social activism, which dates back a time well before the Women's Right to Vote. Dr. Allida Black is a historian, author, and editor of the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers.