Lessons from American Reconstruction for a New Founding, Pt. 1
Release Date: 01/01/2026
Lessons from American Reconstruction for a New Founding, Pt. 2
DIY Democracy
For this episode, I spoke with Prof. Manisha Sinha of the University of Connecticut, historian and author of the recent book . We spoke about what a "new founding" of American democracy has looked like in the past, and what we might learn from that. Because we spoke for a good long while, I split it into two parts. Today is part 2. In the coming weeks, I will share two interviews with author Osita Nwanevu, in which we separately discuss the two halves of the argument of his new book, "The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding." Before we discuss his...
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Lessons from American Reconstruction for a New Founding, Pt. 1
DIY Democracy
For this episode, I spoke with Prof. Manisha Sinha of the University of Connecticut, historian and author of the recent book . We spoke about what a "new founding" of American democracy has looked like in the past, and what we might learn from that. Because we spoke for a good long while, I'm splitting it into two parts. Today is part 1. In the coming weeks, I will share two interviews with author Osita Nwanevu, in which we separately discuss the two halves of the argument of his new book, "The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding." Before we...
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A Cautionary Christmas Tale (for Democracy)
DIY Democracy
I spoke with Dr. Vaughn Joy, author of a recent book on Christmas movies and politics. We spoke about Frank Capra, his celebration of America through film, and his ostracization as an alleged Communist, despite that. Music is by Evan Schaeffer.
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People need to be able to give themselves permission to fight sometimes
DIY Democracy
I spoke with Kim Kelly, labor journalist and author of the recent American labor history: about the book and about what we can learn from labor history to help us today. Music is by Evan Schaeffer.
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Zoning: Key to the City and to Our Communities
DIY Democracy
I spoke with Professor Sara Bronin to learn about zoning: what is it, what is its purpose, and how does it work. Link to her book on bookshop: Link to her website tool to learn about zoning generally and in your area: Music is by Evan Shaeffer.
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The Rule of Law Revisited
DIY Democracy
In advance of an upcoming interview about democracy with Osita Nwanevu, I revisited a 2020 interview with Lawrence Lessig about what the rule of law is, in order to be a better defender of and advocate for it. It's aged perfectly well for the general ideas. Some statements aged, not exactly poorly, but not well. I'd say they were maybe better described as "prophetic" in discussing the path not taken. Music by Evan Schaeffer
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Mutual aid is, well, mutual
DIY Democracy
I spoke with Nicole Williams, a Philadelphia activist and organizer with about the work that the community fridge does as mutual aid and about mutual aid more broadly. Music is by Evan Schaeffer.
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A Union of Care: Moving Toward a Better Safety Net
DIY Democracy
I spoke with Dr. Jess Calarco about her recent book, . In the first half, which posted in the previous episode, Dr. Calarco shared how there are many labor-intensive tasks that are required for society to run in its current form and structure. But rather than ensure that those necessary tasks are done and paid for by the society that demands them, we dump them onto women, in the process limiting their ability to fully participate in society. In this episode, we continued to speak about why that is a problem, the ways that it manifests as such, and how we might build something better for...
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Women are America’s Safety Net (No, that’s not a positive affirmation)
DIY Democracy
I spoke with Dr. Jess Calarco about her recent book, . Dr. Calarco shared how there are many labor-intensive tasks that are required for society to run in its current form and structure. But rather than ensure that those necessary tasks are done and paid for by the society that demands them, we dump them onto women, in the process limiting their ability to fully participate in society. Because the conversation ran over an hour, I broke it up into two parts. The second half will post in the next episode. Music is by Evan Schaeffer.
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How Public Media Developed in America
DIY Democracy
I spoke to Josh Shepperd about his book, Shadow of the New Deal. In his book, Shepperd analyzed the history of how public media developed in the United States. You can find his book at bookshop here:
info_outlineFor this episode, I spoke with Prof. Manisha Sinha of the University of Connecticut, historian and author of the recent book The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920. We spoke about what a "new founding" of American democracy has looked like in the past, and what we might learn from that. Because we spoke for a good long while, I'm splitting it into two parts. Today is part 1.
In the coming weeks, I will share two interviews with author Osita Nwanevu, in which we separately discuss the two halves of the argument of his new book, "The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding." Before we discuss his argument that we need a new American founding, I prepared for that by speaking about the first time we had a "new founding," during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
Music is by Evan Schaeffer.