Summary
This document provides selected resources and news stories about the state of Democracy in the United States. More information will be added during the year. Some older content is provided for context. For more, read Democracy Report 2023.
News
Below are videos and news stories that offer insights.
CNN (30 Jun 2024)
“Fareed’s take: Global tides are turning against autocracy” — CNN’s Fareed Zakaria explains why Americans should have more confidence in their country, despite all the current dangers to the Western-led world order. [Source]
MSNBC (28 May 2024)
“‘There is no real choice this November’: Ken Burns gives powerful defense of democracy” — Filmmaker Ken Burns delivered a powerful defense of democracy while delivering the commencement address for Brandeis University. The Morning Joe panel discusses. [Source]
Andrew Yang (7 May 2024)
“Why US Politics Is Broken — and How To Fix It” — The electoral system in the United States needs a redesign, says political reformer Andrew Yang. Exposing the flaws of a system built on poor incentives, he proposes a cost-effective overhaul inspired by primary elections already working in places like Alaska and advocates for ranked-choice voting, where voters can choose candidates in order of preference regardless of party, stemming the influence of extreme ideologies. [Source]
Jordan Klepper (2 Apr 2024)
“A Comedian’s Take on How to Save Democracy” — Conversation is a battlefield with only one winner. Or is it? Comedian and author Jordan Klepper believes we can get better at talking to each other (and perhaps save democracy) by learning how to lose. [Source]
PBS (2 May 2024)
“Biden delivers remarks on pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled college campuses” — [View]
New York Times (30 Apr 2024)
“These 12 Lawmakers Agree: It’s Time to Leave Congress” — Even the insiders are fed up with Washington. To understand why, we put the same eight questions to House and Senate members in both parties who are on the way out, looking for patterns and prescriptions to get a handle on the place. Corruption, money, perks, frustrations, solutions — hear what they said about it all. [View]
Vox (6 Mar 2024)
“Why US elections only give you two choices” — America’s two-party system is widely hated. Very few Americans think the two major parties do an adequate job representing us, and most say more parties are needed. But when it comes time to vote, very few of us actually vote for third-party candidates. [Source]
Divya Siddarth (5 Mar 2024)
“How AI and Democracy Can Fix Each Other” — We don’t have to sacrifice our freedom for the sake of technological progress, says social technologist Divya Siddarth. She shares how a group of people helped retrain one of the world’s most powerful AI models on a constitution they wrote — and offers a vision of technology that aligns with the principles of democracy, rather than conflicting with them. Recorded in November 2023 and posted to YouTube on 5 Mar 2024. [Source]
Deutsche Welle (3 Feb 2024)
“The biggest electoral year in history: Will democracy survive 2024?” — 2024 is the biggest electoral year in history, with people heading to the polls in dozens of countries. This is DW’s preview to the most consequential elections of 2024 across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas – and what they mean for the health and future of democracy. Correspondent Rosie Birchard speaks to DW experts on Taiwan, India, South Africa, Mexico, the EU and the US. [Source]
Context
Below is older content for additional context.
Vox (20 Nov 2018)
“The roots of America’s democracy problem” — Minority rule is a majority problem. [View]