Brian Highsmith delivers on the company town from Pullman to Disney!

Melissa Schwartzberg gives us the lowdown on democratic dealmaking!

Daniel Ziblatt talks about his latest book on American democracy!

Samuel Issacharoff discusses populism and democracy around the world!

Jake Mazeitis and Andrew Porwancher give us the scoop on the “prophet of Harvard Law:” James Bradley Thayer!

Tim Shenk talks about coalition building, majority-making, and realignment in American history!

Greg Sargent of The Washington Post joins us to break down the midterm election!

On this week’s pod, Dave welcomes one of his former professors – Rick Pildes! He’s a leading scholar on the legal issues concerning democracy, and in this episode, we focus on his recent article “Political Fragmentation in Democracies of the West.”

Our final guest for Season 3 is Nikolas Bowie, assistant professor of law at Harvard Law School. In this episode, we dive into two of his recent articles -- “Antidemocracy” and “The Constitutional Right of Self-Government.” We begin by discussing the Court’s recent ruling in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021) and how it ties to Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964). Next, we discuss the Assembly Clause of the First Amendment and how early in the country’s founding, activists used their right to assemble to defend their right of self-governance.

Join us on this episode as we unpack the election with legal scholars Michael Klarman, Professor at Harvard Law School, and Amna Akbar, Professor at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Michael’s forthcoming Harvard Law Review foreword outlines the threat President Donald Trump and the Republicans pose to democracy and how the Supreme Court has enabled them. Amna’s response article outlines what she views as the key movements of our time, including defund the police, cancel rent, and others, that seek to deepen democratic participation.