Democracy Optimist

Few voting rights advocacy groups in the United States have a heritage as rich and proud as the League of Women Voters. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, the League of Women Voters has been at the forefront of nearly every voting rights issue in the last 100 years of American history, fighting for fair voting rights for all. Whether litigating in court against efforts to restrict voter access or rallying grassroots support for pro-voter legislation, the League is an important advocate both nationally and at the state and local level in the movement to make elections more accessible for all Americans. Joining host Josh Douglas to talk about the League of Women Voters’ mission to create a more perfect democracy, as well as their plans for 2026 and beyond, is its CEO, Celina Stewart. 

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The very future of American democracy is at stake in the coming midterm election. Is this an exaggeration? Or are we in a period of democratic backsliding? Helping us decide is Professor Steven Levitsky, who has studied democracy and authoritarianism around the world. Steve is the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and a Professor of Government at Harvard University. He’s also co-author of several successful books, including two New York Times bestsellers: How Democracies Die and, most recently, Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point.

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Literacy and democracy go hand in hand. Literacy affects almost every aspect of a person’s life. After all, civic participation depends on voters being literate enough to understand the law, their rights, and the news that shapes public debate.

But literacy development is dependent on many factors, including where you live, your household circumstances, and, perhaps most importantly, whether you have access to books. Many Americans are fortunate enough to own a personal collection or have a local library within traveling distance. Still, this is a luxury some don’t have in certain regions of the United States—and especially in developing areas of the world.

Joining us to discuss the value of civic literacy is International Book Project Executive Director, Rachel Ray.

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Politics can play a major role in climate change. President Trump, for example, issued an Executive Order withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, a major international treaty designed to coordinate global climate mitigation, arguing that it hurt the U.S. economy. Will that action motivate voters to show up in November? More broadly, how well does democracy work if people who care deeply about an existential issue don’t turn out to vote?

Our guest has spent the past decade working on this issue.

Nathaniel Stinnett is the founder and CEO of the Environmental Voter Project, which uses sophisticated data analytics and behavioral science to identify environmentalists who are registered to vote but do not regularly cast ballots—and then works to turn them into consistent voters.

** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, fact-based journalism. Monthly sustaining donors are the top source of funding for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.

No wonder we have such a hard time talking about the biggest issues of the day without it devolving into partisan bickering. Many Americans feel more isolated in their political views than ever before. We assume the worst about “the other side.” We unfriend people we disagree with. We curate our media diets. And too often, when political conversations do happen, they quickly devolve into defensiveness, caricature, and partisan bickering. But democracy depends on citizens talking to one another—listening, questioning, and ultimately persuading. Democracy requires productive political conversations.

Here to teach us how to have better conversations across the political divide is Monica Guzman. She’s a self-described bridge builder, a journalist, and the author of the best-selling book, “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.”

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Our democratic institutions face intense strain. Structural features of the Constitution—such as the Electoral College, the Senate’s equal representation of the states, and the powers of the Supreme Court—have produced a system that can feel distant from majority rule.

At the same time, the country confronts extreme political polarization, persistent racial inequality, and declining civic engagement. Free speech, both on campus and in public discourse, is also under pressure, shaping the debates we have about politics and society.

All of this raises a fundamental question: Is the Constitution equipped to sustain American democracy in the twenty-first century?

Our guest has thought deeply about these questions. Erwin Chemerinsky, cited by National Jurist magazine as the most influential person in legal education in the United States, is the Dean of Berkeley Law School in California. He’s also the author of No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States and Campus Speech and Academic Freedom: A Guide for Difficult Times.

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The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, effectively lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Young people were asked to fight in the Vietnam War, which many of them opposed. They organized anti-war protests on school campuses all across the country. “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” became a common rallying cry. But these days, young people have not embraced their voting power in significant numbers. The youngest age group turns out to vote at the lowest rate among all age groups, often by a significant margin. 

Our guest wants to help, and she’s built an organization to do just that. Laura Brill is the CEO & Founder of The Civics Center, an organization focused on promoting voter registration for young people. 

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On this episode, Joshua Douglas speaks to Joyce Vance, author of Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping Our Democracy. In the book, Vance says democracy is the collective responsibility of all concerned Americans and that each of us has a role in preserving that democracy. 

Joyce Vance is a New York Times bestselling author, former United States Attorney, and current professor at the University of Alabama School of Law. She’s also a legal analyst for MS Now—formerly known as MSNBC—writes the Civil Discourse newsletter on Substack, and co-hosts two podcasts, SistersInLaw and The Insider.

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Surveys show that there’s a real lack of trust in the news media. Why is that? And how do we rebuild that trust? And how can people know that they are consuming news from a trustworthy source? Among the many questions for Jamie Lucke, founding editor of the online news source, Kentucky Lantern.

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Many people can name the Kentucky Governor, but what about Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor? Do you know what she does and how her work impacts your daily life? Do you know her main priorities? We are about to find out. Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman is our first guest in this episode of our series, “Democracy Optimist,” hosted by University of Kentucky election law and voting rights research professor Joshua Douglas. Coleman is the 58th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. She has served as a high school teacher, school administrator, and basketball coach. and was recently chosen to chair the National Lieutenant Governors Association for 2026-27. 

**The 1850 campaign is replacing lost federal funds one supporter at a time. Thanks to our listeners and supporters, we are very close to reaching our goal of 1850 new supporters donating at least $10 a month. Click here to join the campaign!