Interviewed by Kellogg Doctoral Student Affiliate Patrick McQuestion, political scientists Michael Coppedge (University of Notre Dame) and Brigitte Seim discuss measuring democracy through the Varieties of Democracy, or V-Dem, Project. V-Dem aims to conceptualize and measure different forms of democracy, emphasizing the importance of disaggregating data to gain a nuanced understanding of democratic trends. Our guests discuss the project's approach to conceptualization, the role of practitioner-academic partnerships, and the importance of measuring and mitigating anti-democratic phenomena online. They also explore various strategies for promoting democracy and addressing polarization, with a focus on understanding patterns of behavior in settings with malicious governments.