American Democracy in the Aftermath of World War I | Featuring Adam Hochschild
Release Date: 05/03/2023
Joan Williams | Outclassed: Rebuilding Trust Between Political Elites and the Working Class
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.
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Jonathan Rauch | High Tech and Low Trust - An American Quandary
How to Fix Democracy
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...
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Sally Lehrman & The Trust Project
How to Fix Democracy
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...
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Francis Fukuyama on How to Fix Trust
How to Fix Democracy
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...
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American Democracy|A conversation with Dr. Carol Anderson
How to Fix Democracy
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.
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Democracy as an Unfinished Project: A Conversation with Congressman Jamie Raskin
How to Fix Democracy
In conversation with Congressman Jamie Raskin, host Andrew Keen explores key elements of American democracy. Raskin highlights 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".
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From Stability to Upheaval: Yuval Levin on the 1950s Prelude to America's 1960s Revolution | Featuring Yuval Levin
How to Fix Democracy
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.
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The Turning Point in American Conservatism | Featuring Matthew Continetti
How to Fix Democracy
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.
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The Dualities of the American Immigrant Experience: A Reflection on Dreams, Acceptance, and Cultural Tensions from the 1950s to Today | Featuring Ray Suarez
How to Fix Democracy
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...
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Democracy and Foreign Policy: Elites, Power, and Accountability in the Cold War Era |Featuring Elizabeth Saunders
How to Fix Democracy
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.
info_outlineAmerican Democracy in the Aftermath of World War I | In the first episode of Season 5, How to Fix Democracy host Andrew Keen sits down with Adam Hochschild, historian, journalist, and award-winning author of “American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis." Hochschild takes us on a journey to America in the aftermath of World War I – a country divided by labor strife, xenophobic fear of immigrants, and massive violations of civil rights. Both provincially insular and dynamically modern, Hochschild introduces us to an America nostalgic for an idyllic pre-war normalcy that can never be recaptured.
How to Fix Democracy Season 5 covers 100 years of American democracy between 1924 and 2024. The season uncovers the complexities of U.S. history and asks our distinguished guests why it remains the most iconic and yet misunderstood democratic system in the world. This season is brought to you by the Bertelsmann Foundation and Humanity in Action. Watch the episode videos at howtofixdemocracy.org and listen wherever you get your podcasts.