229. Skye Perryman on the Generational Setback to Voting Rights and What We Must Do to Protect Democracy

Angela Reddock-Wright sits down with Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and one of Time Magazine's 2025 100 Most Influential People in the World, for a sweeping conversation on the state of American democracy at a critical inflection point. Perryman explains what democracy actually means at its foundation, how anti-democratic actors deliberately stoke polarization as a power strategy, and how Democracy Forward has filed hundreds of cases against the current presidential administration — from blocking a $1.776 billion presidential slush fund to challenging the use of a DHS database to purge eligible voters. She also previews her new book "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: How to Reclaim Your Power, Fight For Freedom, and Reimagine Democracy" and the organization's 100 Days of Action campaign leading to the November 2027 primary elections in the U.S., closing with a call to reimagine, not just restore, American democracy. Key Topics Covered:  Perryman and what drives her passion and work today How Democracy Forward was founded in 2017 as an emergency legal project responding to unprecedented threats to democratic norms, and how it has since scaled to over 200 full-time staff filing hundreds of cases at federal, state, and local levels How Perryman defines democracy as "people power" and explains the consent of the governed, inherent individual dignity, and the constitutional limits on majority rule that make the U.S. a democratic republic — and why all of it is a kitchen table issue, not a conceptual one How anti-democratic actors deliberately engineer political polarization as a divide-and-conquer strategy — and why polling shows the vast majority of Americans are actually aligned on the vast majority of issues How Democracy Forward's litigation docket includes blocking the president's $1.776 billion slush fund, halting the use of a modified DHS database to remove eligible voters from the rolls, challenging book bans, exposing DOGE data collection, and defending Head Start, Meals on Wheels, and small business credits How Perryman's upcoming book "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: How to Reclaim Your Power, Fight for Freedom, and Reimagine Democracy" and Democracy Forward's 100 Days of Action campaign leading to the November 2027 primary elections, provide practical, daily tools for everyone — from doom-scrolling to achieving information sobriety to making a plan to vote 🔗 Connect with Angela:  InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website