DIY Democracy

A podcast to highlight civic engagement and to learn to be effective citizens.

Women are America’s Safety Net (No, that’s not a positive affirmation) 08/21/2025

Women are America’s Safety Net (No, that’s not a positive affirmation) 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. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/37903065

How Public Media Developed in America 07/18/2025

How Public Media Developed in America 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: /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/37452290

Corporations, Dark Money, and Democracy 07/02/2025

Corporations, Dark Money, and Democracy I spoke with Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy about her book, Corporatocracy, and about how money influences politics and what we can do about it. You can buy her book at Bookshop (). Also, check out her podcast, . Music by Evan Schaeffer /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/37249430

The Meaning We Give to Juneteenth 06/19/2025

The Meaning We Give to Juneteenth I revisit an interview with Annette Gordon-Reed () on her book, and consider how best to celebrate the history of the holiday and build on and defend its legacy. For more Juneteenth resources, see . Music by Evan Schaeffer /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/37079945

Politics is for Power 06/05/2025

Politics is for Power I revisited an interview with on his book . Music by Evan Schaeffer /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/36865380

Stripping Citizenship Rights 05/01/2025

Stripping Citizenship Rights In light of recent national news involving young citizens being sent out of the country, I revisited an interview from 2021 about historical efforts to strip citizenship rights, including the right to remain, from Americans. In the inverview, I spoke with Amanda Frost about her book on the topic. You can find her book here: /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/36383035

On the Case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia 04/24/2025

On the Case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia I interviewed Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer, to discuss his recent column about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the importance of that case to everyone in the United States. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/36301755

Gendered Citizenship 04/17/2022

Gendered Citizenship An interview with Rebecca DeWolf (), author of /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/22820261

How you can push back against big money in politics 01/19/2022

How you can push back against big money in politics An interview with Tom Moore of the Federal Election Commission about some creative solutions to reduce the influence of big money in politics. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/21818438

The Purpose of Politics 09/09/2021

The Purpose of Politics An interview with Eitan Hersh (@eitanhersh on Twitter), on his book Politics is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/20425943

Citizenship stripping and what that means 07/05/2021

Citizenship stripping and what that means An interview with Professor Amanda Frost (@amanda_frost1 on Twitter) on her new book, You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/19711172

Juneteenth's Role in the American Story 06/14/2021

Juneteenth's Role in the American Story An interview with Annette Gordon-Reed (twitter.com/agordonreed) on her new book, On Juneteenth. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/19459970

Threats to Democracy and the Groundwork for Insurrection 01/16/2021

Threats to Democracy and the Groundwork for Insurrection An interview with Professors Suzanne Mettler (@SuzanneMettler1) and Rob Lieberman (@r_lieberman) on their book, Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/17574266

Turning Attention to Georgia 11/23/2020

Turning Attention to Georgia An interview with Byron Stokes (@byst on Twitter), trying to figure out how best to support election efforts in the Georgia Senate election run-off. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/16912808

Episode 42: Choosing Rural Prosecutors 08/12/2020

Episode 42: Choosing Rural Prosecutors The final episode in a series on electing, or in this case choosing, prosecutors - an interview with Maybell Romero, on rural prosecutors. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15587807

Episode 41: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Candidate Eli Savit 07/25/2020

Episode 41: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Candidate Eli Savit An interview with Eli Savit, candidate for Washtenaw County (MI) prosecuting attorney. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15347267

Episode 40: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Candidate Arianne Slay 07/22/2020

Episode 40: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Candidate Arianne Slay An interview with Arianne Slay, candidate for Washtenaw County (MI) prosecuting attorney. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15307313

Episode 39: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Candidate Hugo Mack 07/19/2020

Episode 39: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Candidate Hugo Mack An interview with Hugo Mack, candidate for Washtenaw County (MI) prosecuting attorney. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15267455

Episode 38: Prosecutors & the "Assembly Line Justice" of Misdemeanors 07/18/2020

Episode 38: Prosecutors & the "Assembly Line Justice" of Misdemeanors The fifth in a series on electing prosecutors - an interview with Alexandra Natapoff on misdemeanors in the criminal justice system. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15258083

Episode 37: Prosecutors & Conviction Integrity Units 07/17/2020

Episode 37: Prosecutors & Conviction Integrity Units The fourth in a series on electing prosecutors - an interview with Valerie Newman of the Wayne County Prosecutor's office, on starting and running a Conviction Integrity Unit. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15242108

Episode 36: Prosecutors & Juvenile Incarceration 07/12/2020

Episode 36: Prosecutors & Juvenile Incarceration The third in a series on electing prosecutors - an interview with Nell Bernstein about juvenile incarceration and what to know and what to ask candidates for prosecutor on that topic. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15172133

Episode 35: Prosecutors & Elections 07/07/2020

Episode 35: Prosecutors & Elections The second in a series on electing prosecutors - an interview with Carissa Hessick about elections for prosecuting attorneys and what to know and what to ask candidates for that office. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15119459

Episode 34: Prosecutors & Politics 07/04/2020

Episode 34: Prosecutors & Politics The first in a series on electing prosecutors - an interview with Rachel Barkow about the role that politics plays in electing prosecutors, and what to know and what to ask candidates for that office. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15085253

Episode 33: A Citizen's Interview with Congressional Candidate Solomon Rajput (MI-12) 07/03/2020

Episode 33: A Citizen's Interview with Congressional Candidate Solomon Rajput (MI-12) An interview with Solomon Rajput about his campaign for the Democratic nomination in Michigan's 12th District. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/15077756

Episode 32: Anxiety & Politics 06/20/2020

Episode 32: Anxiety & Politics An interview with Shana Gadarian about the role of anxiety in democratic citizenship. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/14899361

Episode 31: Understanding the Rule of Law 04/11/2020

Episode 31: Understanding the Rule of Law An interview with Lawrence Lessig about what the rule of law is, in order to be a better defender of and advocate for it. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/13946297

Episode 30: Ida B. Wells & Michelle Duster 01/13/2020

Episode 30: Ida B. Wells & Michelle Duster An interview with Michelle Duster about her great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells and her work as an activist today. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/12711785

Episode 29: Long Term Fiscal Outlook, or How I learned to stop worrying and talk about the national debt 11/18/2019

Episode 29: Long Term Fiscal Outlook, or How I learned to stop worrying and talk about the national debt An interview with Hillary Allen and Joseph Paul Javier of It's Up to Us, discussing the national debt and what they're doing to improve the conversation surrounding it. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/12070430

Episode 28: Free Minds 10/13/2019

Episode 28: Free Minds An interview with Julia Mascioli of Free Minds. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/11626334

Episode 27: Tutoring in prisons 05/26/2019

Episode 27: Tutoring in prisons An interview with Samantha Thoma about tutoring incarcerated individuals in prison. /episode/index/show/diydemocracy/id/9929126

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