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I’ve had a hard time characterizing this past year – has it been uniformly dire? No – there have been some promising signs. The midterms were a disaster for Republicans. They took the House, but by a vanishingly small margin and they were unable to flip the Senate. Election deniers up and down the ticket lost their elections (although some did win), and abortion-rights movements had a strong showing across the country after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Additionally, the Respect for Marriage Act, enshrining the right to marriage for same-sex and bi-racial couples, was recently signed into law by President Biden. There are increasing signs that ex-President Trump might actually be held to account for his numerous misdeeds and crimes. And, it appears as if Congress is set to clarify and protect the electoral count process – perhaps, hopefully, shielding it from any future mischief on the part of Trump or his political offspring. 

So, was it a bad year? Kinda. Was it a good year? Kinda. I need some clarity, so for this episode I’m relying on some Deep Dive alum to weigh in. I’ve invited back some previous guests to give me their thoughts about the past year, their feelings going into the new year, and also if they celebrate any seasonal holidays and, if so, what some of their traditions are. 

I’ll be talking to Dr. James Hawdon of Virginia Tech about far-right extremism and political violence and Dr. Sara Benesh of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee about the Supreme Court and what the past year suggests for its legitimacy. I’m also talking to some friends of mine about travel in the new year and some other friends about being queer in this increasingly confrontational anti-LGBTQ+ environment in the United States.

But, first, I’m talking to Dr. David Faris, Associate Professor of Political Science at Roosevelt University. If you’ll remember from the episode we did together in July – we discussed some tools, legislation, and actions that Democrats can employ to ensure that our elections fairly represent the popular will and popular vote for Democrats, but also defangs the Republican Party from continuing to twist norms and procedures to anti-democratic, authoritarian ends. A lot of Dr. Faris’ suggestions hinge on a Democratic majority in Congress and holding the presidency – which we have had for the past two years, but it’s set to expire in January. Following the midterm elections, while Democrats did better than expected, they did lose the House.

Recommended:
It's Time to Fight Dirty - David Faris
The US Court of Appeals and the Law of Confessions - Sara Benesh
Dovi Design
Soda Canter - Instagram

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