How the U.S. has arrived at its most blatant era of oligarchy episode artwork

EPISODE · May 20, 2026 · 48 MIN

How the U.S. has arrived at its most blatant era of oligarchy

from River to River · host Ben Kieffer

After two centuries of expanding democracy, why has America become more unequal — not less? On this episode we listen to highlights from a recent conversation with political scientist Jeffrey Winters of Northwestern University. His new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracy, examines the failure of democracy to address wealth inequality and why this issue is by design. This conversation was recorded on May 7 at the Englert Theatre, presented by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 20, 2026

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How the U.S. has arrived at its most blatant era of oligarchy

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