PODCAST · news
How to Fix Democracy
by Bertelsmann Foundation
Since its origins, democracy has been a work in progress. Today, many question its resilience. How to Fix Democracy, a collaboration of the Bertelsmann Foundation and Humanity in Action, explores practical solutions for how to address the increasing threats democracy faces. Host Andrew Keen interviews prominent international thinkers and practitioners of democracy.
Episodes
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Eric Liu | How to Live Like a Citizen: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up
What does it mean to be a citizen, not simply in a legal sense, but as an active member of the community? Andrew Keen speaks with Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University and author of Live Like a Citizen, about what citizenship requires in an era of polarization and declining trust in democratic...
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John Ralston Saul | Can "Boring" Save Democracy? Lessons from Canada
What can Canada teach us about building resilient democracies? In this episode of How to Fix Democracy , Andrew Keen speaks with Canadian award-winning essayist and novelist John Ralston Saul about the country's long democratic tradition, the role of dialogue and negotiation in managing...
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R.T. Rybak | Standing Up for Democracy
What makes democracy resilient? Former Minneapolis mayor and current Minneapolis Foundation CEO R.T. Rybak argues that the answer starts at the local level. Drawing on decades of experience in public services, journalism and philantrophy, he explores how civic participation, local leadership, and...
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Marc Loustau | What Hungary Can Teach Us About Democracy's Resilience
After more than a decade of Viktor Orban's rule, Hungary has entered a new political chapter. In this episode, Andrew Keen speaks with cultural anthropologist Marc Loustau about how Orban built an illiberal state, why his political project ultimately faltered, and what Hungary's experience can...
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John Kampfner | Democracy Needs Courage: Lessons from the World's Boldest Reformers
Can democracies become more resilient by being bolder? In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, Andrew Keen speaks with journalist, author and foreign affairs commentator John Kampfner about his new book Brave New World. Drawing on research from countries as diverse as Finland, Estonia, Taiwan,...
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James Traub | Democratic Resilience Starts in the Classroom
What role do schools play in strengthening democracy? In this episode, award-winning author James Traub argues that civic education remains one of the most important tools for building democratic resilience. From declining attention spans and digital distractions to respectful disagreement and...
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Jeffrey Rosen | Hamilton, Jefferson, and the Future of American Democracy
What would the Founding Fathers make of America today? In this episode host Andrew Keen talks with constitutional historian Jeffrey Rosen about the centuries-old struggle between liberty and executive power. From Hamilton and Jefferson to Donald Trump and AI, Rosen traces how America's...
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Soli Özel | Democratic Resilience or Illusion? Lessons from Turkey
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, we turn to Turkey to explore what democratic resilience like over the long arc of history. Joined by the political scientist Soli Oezel, the conversation traces more than a century of "bouts of freedom" punctuated by military interventions, constitutional...
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Konstanty Gebert | From Solidarity to Uncertainty: Poland's Ongoing Fight for Democracy
Poland's story is often told as a triumph of democracy, but it's far from over. In this episode, author, activist and journalist, Konstanty Gebert reflects on a lifetime spent confronting authoritarianism, from underground activism in the 1970s to the rise of Solidarity and the fall of communism....
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Hélène Landemore | Who Owns Democracy? Citizens vs. Elites
As trust in political institutions fades, who really holds power in democracy? Helene Landemore argues that elite decision-making has left democracies less responsive and less resilient. In this episode she joins Andrew Keen to explore how citizen assemblies, broader participation, and new...
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Maury Giles: Courageous Citizenship — Practicing Resilience in an Age of Outrage
As How to Fix Democracy opens its seventh season on democratic resilience, host Andrew Keen welcomes Maury Giles, the new CEO of Braver Angels, for a candid conversation about whether American democracy can withstand what Giles calls the "industrial outrage complex." In a year marking the…
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Richard Edelman | From Polarization to Insularity: Can Trust be Rebuild
For 26 years, Richard Edelman has measured the world's trust levels through the Edelman Trust Barometer. In this final episode of our trust series, he joins Andrew Keen to diagnose a new and troubling phase: insularity. After years of polarization, grievance, and activism, societies are hardening...
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Rebuilding Trust: Can We Fix America's Social and Political Fractures? | Featuring Dr. Michael Neblo and Frederick J. Riley
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen explores America's deepening crisis of trust, both social and political. Joined by Frederick Riley of Weave at the Aspen Institute and Dr, Michael Neblo of the Ohio State University, the conversation examines rising isolation, collapsing...
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Cynthia Miller - Idriss | How Distrust Fuels Extremism
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen sits down with Cynthia Miller-Idriss - scholar of extremism, founder of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), and author of Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. Together they explore one...
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From FDR to AI: Derek Leebaert on Trust and Democracy
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen speaks with Derek Leebaert - historian, technologist and author of Unlikely Heroes - about the shifting foundations of trust in democracy. From Franklin D. Roosevelt's efforts to rebuild confidence in government during the New Deal era to...
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Burt Neuborne | Law, Trust, and the American Constitution
Can democracy survive without trust in the law? In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen speaks with Burt Neuborne, founding legal director of the Brennan Center for Justice and professor of law at NYU, about the complex relationship between law and trust in America. From Hobbes...
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Richard Kreitner | Trust, Mistrust, and the Myth of American Unity
Is mistrust a defining feature and flaw in American democracy? Or is it a manifestation of basic opposition against long-term democratic and aspirational concepts such as "all men are created equally"? In this thought provoking conversation author and historian Richard Kreitner joins Andrew Keen…
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Joan Williams | Outclassed: Rebuilding Trust Between Political Elites and the Working Class
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 signaling, and economic inequality have shaped…
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Jonathan Rauch | High Tech and Low Trust - An American Quandary
In this episode Brookings's scholar Jonathan Rauch explores America's historically unprecedented 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,...
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Sally Lehrman & The Trust Project
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...
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Francis Fukuyama on How to Fix Trust
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…
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American Democracy|A conversation with Dr. Carol Anderson
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...
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Democracy as an Unfinished Project: A Conversation with Congressman Jamie Raskin
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...
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From Stability to Upheaval: Yuval Levin on the 1950s Prelude to America's 1960s Revolution | Featuring Yuval Levin
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...
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The Turning Point in American Conservatism | Featuring Matthew Continetti
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...
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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
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...
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Democracy and Foreign Policy: Elites, Power, and Accountability in the Cold War Era |Featuring Elizabeth Saunders
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...
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Faith, Politics, and the Rise of Authoritarianism: A Journey Through American Conservatism | Featuring Peter Wehner
In this episode host Andrew Keen sits down with Peter Wehner to discuss the intersection of faith and politics and the rise of the Evangelical movement in the Republican Party. Pete reflects on his early caution of the dangerous intertwining on faith and politics, his concerns about the religious...
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The Republican Thread: Conservatism in the Twentieth Century | Featuring Jacob Heilbrunn
In conversation with Andrew Keen, the American historian Jacob Heilbrunn, outlines the continuous history of the close association of conservative views and the Republican Party in the early to Mid-Twentieth Century. He describes the party's support of strong anti-immigrant racial differences in...
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Pursuing Gay Rights in America's Democracy | Featuring James Kirchick
For this episode, host Andrew Keen sits down with James Kirchick, journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller Secret City: the Hidden History of Gay Washington. They discuss the historical exclusion of gay individuals within American democracy, with a particular emphasis on the...
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How the Constitution and the Law Can Save American Democracy | Featuring Jeffrey Rosen
In this episode we delve into Jeffrey Rosen's latest work The Pursuit of Happiness. As the President of the National Constitution Center and a Professor of Law at George Washington University, Rosen brings a unique perspective on America's democratic foundations. Through an exploration of…
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Testing American Liberalism in the Cold War Years | Featuring James Traub
Testing American Liberalism in the Cold War Years In this episode journalist and historian James Traub delves into the paradoxical nature of liberalism in the post war years. The continuation of New Deal social and economic reforms charactarized a society of consensus in fulfillment of democratic...
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Challenges to Democracy in the Cold War | Featuring Sarah Snyder
In conversation with Prof. Sarah Snyder, an historian of Cold War international relations, Andrew Keen examines the relationship of democratic goals with the realities of American foreign policy. As the world's great post-war democratic and capitalistic power, the U.S. opposed Russia and China...
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The Democratic Divide in a Post World War II America | Featuring Dr. Carol Anderson
The democratic divide in post WWII: advance abroad, retreat at home. In this episode, Andrew Keen speaks with Dr. Carol Anderson, professor of African American Studies at Emory University. They discuss America in the post World War II years when America emerged as the world's leading democratic...
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American Democracy Transformed | Featuring Kevin Baker
American Democracy Transformed: A Conversation with Kevin Baker on the Interwar Era's Cultural and Political Evolution In this episode, host Andrew Keen discusses with writer and editor, Kevin Baker, the multifaceted changes and growth of American democracy. Significant cultural innovations,...
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Fighting for Equity: African-American struggles in the '20s and '30s | Featuring Jill Watts
Fighting for Equity: African-American struggles in the '20s and '30s. In this episode, host Andrew Keen talks to Jill Watts author of The Black Cabinet, about the untold story of African Americans and politics during the age of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Jill Watts is an author and a Professor...
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Women's Political Rights | Featuring Dr. Allida Black
Women's Political Rights | Dr. Allida Black Allida Black speaks with host Andrew Keen about the history of women in politics and the impact of their noteworthy political and social activism, which dates back a time well before the Women's Right to Vote. Dr. Allida Black is a historian, author…
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The Hoover Presidency | Featuring Richard Norton Smith
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen engages in a conversation with the author and historian Richard Norton Smith, delving into a discussion about the Hoover presidency and its profound relevance for the United States during a time of upheaval and economic depression. Author...
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The Legacy of FDR | Featuring Paul Sparrow
The Legacy of FDR | Paul Sparrow, former Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, speaks with Andrew Keen about the immense challenges and legacies of FDR and his administration. Sparrow maintains that Roosevelt saved American democracy from an existential crisis...
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FDR and the Great Depression | Featuring Derek Leebaert
FDR and the Great Depression | In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, author and historian Derek Leebaert provides a revisionist account of President Franklin Roosevelt and four members of his Cabinet. According to Leebaert, the 1920s were beset by economic distress and labor unrest that...
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American Isolationism and the Shifting World Order | Featuring Robert Kagan
American Isolationism and the Shifting World Order in the 1920s and 30s | In this 3rd episode of the season, host Andrew Keen talks to Robert Kagan, the distinguished Brookings Institute scholar of foreign policy, about America's dramatically changing place in the world during the Twenties and...
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The Scopes Trial and the Fight for the Freedom to Teach | Featuring Edward Larson
The Scopes Trial and the Fight for the Freedom to Teach | In 1924, John Scopes, an instructor in a public school in Dayton, Tennessee, was indicted for violating the Tennessee Butler Act for teaching evolution in a publicly funded school. Strong personalities and strong beliefs clashed in the...
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American Democracy in the Aftermath of World War I | Featuring Adam Hochschild
American 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."...
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How Authoritarian Leaders Wield & Maintain Power | Featuring Moisés Naím
How Authoritarian Leaders Wield & Maintain Power | On October 20, 2022, Moisés Naím joined host Andrew Keen for a live episode of How to Fix Democracy in the Bertelsmann Foundation office in Washington, DC to discuss how authoritarian leaders wield and maintain power in contemporary politics....
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The State of American Democracy in the Shadow of January 6th | Featuring Larry Diamond
The State of American Democracy in the Shadow of January 6th Nearly two years on, the January 6th insurrection is still lingering over Washington, DC like a dark cloud. The events leading up to the Capitol insurrection, as well as the attack itself, have signaled a major threat to American...
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Is Bipartisanship Possible in the United States | Featuring Michael Thorning
Is Bipartisanship Possible in the United States? | The 2020 Presidential Election clarified the need for a unified, authoritative understanding of elections and election systems in the United States. In recent weeks, Democratic legislators have been working to pass the Electoral Count Reform Act…
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The Transformation of the Republican Party | Featuring Dana Milbank
The Transformation of the Republican Party Throughout the last thirty years, the Republican Party in the United States has undergone a great change. How did the party come to adopt such a polarized platform in which white supremacy, conspiracy theories, and authoritarianism are no longer off...
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Midterm Elections Special | Featuring Rebekah Caruthers
Midterm Elections Special Many Americans are preparing to head to the polls on November 8, 2022 for the US Midterm Elections. Following the elections of 2020, many are worried about the rise of election denial and the growing distrust of electoral systems. Rebekah Caruthers, the Vice President of...
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American Ideologies and Trumpism | Featuring Darrell M. West
American Ideologies and Trumpism "Trumpism'' has emerged as a powerful force in American political ideology since the 2016 election. It is characterized by a philosophy that leans heavily on populism, ultra-nationalism, and religious fundamentalism – all part of the platform that bolstered Former...
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The Legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court | Featuring Dahlia Lithwick
The legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court The popularity of the U.S. Supreme Court has been in sharp decline throughout the last two years. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, many Americans, feeling unheard and unseen by the court's decision, have been asking the question, "Why...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Since its origins, democracy has been a work in progress. Today, many question its resilience. How to Fix Democracy, a collaboration of the Bertelsmann Foundation and Humanity in Action, explores practical solutions for how to address the increasing threats democracy faces. Host Andrew Keen interviews prominent international thinkers and practitioners of democracy.
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Bertelsmann Foundation
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does How to Fix Democracy have?
How to Fix Democracy currently has 132 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is How to Fix Democracy about?
Since its origins, democracy has been a work in progress. Today, many question its resilience. How to Fix Democracy, a collaboration of the Bertelsmann Foundation and Humanity in Action, explores practical solutions for how to address the increasing threats democracy faces. Host Andrew Keen...
How often does How to Fix Democracy release new episodes?
How to Fix Democracy publishes regularly with 132 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to How to Fix Democracy on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts How to Fix Democracy?
How to Fix Democracy is created and hosted by Bertelsmann Foundation.
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