Aiming to "fix the bugs in our democracy," a people-powered activism movement has taken hold since the 2016 election. Those who are part of this wave are tackling difficult issues like gerrymandering, voting rights, and fairness in democracy through grassroots efforts.

Today's guest is an experienced leader in this area. Katie Fahey is the executive director of The People, which empowers individuals to get involved in the political process.

Previously, Fahey was the executive director of Voters Not Politicians (VNP), where she led more than 14,000 volunteers across Michigan to pass a ballot proposal with 61% of the vote that made political gerrymandering illegal. Prior to VNP, she worked in the garbage and recycling industry. She received her BA in Sustainable Business from Aquinas College in 2012.

This episode is part of a series produced by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project and Princeton's Pace Center for Civil Engagement.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court forcing Wisconsin residents to the polls during a global pandemic, many are wondering how 2020’s remaining elections may unfold. Congress is debating a massive expansion of absentee voting, and questions around microtargeting and dark money have resurfaced. Amid public health concerns and an increase in online campaigning, how do we protect the integrity of our elections?

Ellen Weintraub joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang to talk about how to make voting available to every citizen. Weintraub discusses the importance of an informed electorate and the regulatory jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC), where she has served as a commissioner since 2002.

Weintraub most recently served as chair of the Commission in 2019 — her third time in this role. She has called for meaningful campaign-finance law enforcement and robust disclosure. Prior to her appointment to the FEC, Weintraub served as counsel to the House Ethics Committee.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on American life. As people prepare for extended stay-at-home orders, policymakers are looking for ways to mitigate the economic and financial ramifications of the crisis. Congress already passed a $2 trillion stimulus package, and talks are underway for additional relief. But is this enough? In this episode, Torsten Sløk, Julian Zelizer, and Sam Wang discuss the impact the first stimulus bill will have on consumers and businesses, as well as what the economy could look like in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Sløk is the Chief International Economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and at the International Monetary Fund. He has published numerous journal articles and reviews on economics and policy analysis in publications including the Journal of International Economics, the Journal of International Money and Finance, and The Econometric Journal.

As the number of COVID-19 cases around the nation continues to climb, Americans are racing to respond. Entire cities have ground to a halt. Doctors have appealed for more masks, gowns, and eye gear. And many states have closed nonessential businesses and issued shelter-in-place orders. The pandemic is undoubtedly one of the biggest crises the nation has faced in recent decades. What will the next few months look like? And are our state and national governments doing enough?

Juliette Kayyem joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang in this week’s episode to discuss these questions, drawing on her experience as the assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security under the Obama administration. Kayyem explains how past governments have responded to crises and proposes two critical elements of good leadership: numbers and hope.

Kayyem has spent more than 15 years managing complex policy initiatives and organizing government responses to major crises in both state and federal government. She is the Senior Belfer Lecturer in International Security at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she is faculty chair of the Homeland Security and Security and Global Health Projects.

Kayyem is the author of “Security Mom: An Unclassified Guide to Protecting Our Homeland and Your Home,” in which she weaves her memoirs of living through these moments with the kind of work she has done. She is also the founder of Kayyem Solutions, LLC, a group that provides strategic advice in resiliency planning, risk management, event security, and more. She appears frequently on CNN as their on-air national security analyst.

World leaders continue to grapple with the appropriate crisis response for COVID-19, showcasing the need for stable leadership and a continuity of government officials.

Christopher Lu '88, former deputy secretary of labor, joins Sam Wang in this episode to discuss how U.S. presidents respond to crises and what a future administration would look like. Lu was present at the Obama administration's tabletop exercise of coordinated response to a hurricane, pandemic, and cyber intrusion — attended by the incoming Trump administration. He also makes the observation that if Biden was elected, his administration would bring in its own continuity, essentially from the Obama administration. 

Lu served as assistant to the president and White House cabinet secretary for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as well as the co-chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Lu graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School and from Harvard Law School, where he was a classmate of Obama's.

Read the Politico story Wang and Lu discuss. 

It's been a tumultuous week in American society as many are adjusting to life with the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Democratic primaries have also taken quite a turn, with Joe Biden solidifying his position as the Democratic front-runner. In this episode, Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang sort out all that's transpired over these past few (and wild) weeks.

Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer’s self-funded presidential campaigns have revived questions about campaign finance reform. Before dropping out of the race, Bloomberg spent more than $500 million and Steyer more than $250 million dollars on their respective campaigns. Under current regulations, there is no limit on how much of their personal funds candidates can use for campaign purposes. Should there be? And how much does money actually influence an election?

With the 2020 campaign season underway, some are growing concerned about the fairness and accuracy of elections. The news is dominated with stories of Russian-based Internet hackers, voter suppression, and flaws in the campaign finance system. Given all this talk of “stolen” or “rigged” elections, can we be confident in the integrity of the results?

Rick Hasen joins Julian Zelizer in this week’s episode to discuss the state of our election system. Hasen’s latest book, “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy,” examines the country’s decline in trust in our elections and proposes possible fixes.

Hasen is the Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on election law and campaign finance regulation. Hasen previously served as a founding co-editor of Election Law Journal and has authored more than 100 articles on election law issues, which have been published in numerous journals including the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and Supreme Court Review. He is also the founder of Election Law Blog and the author of “The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption.”

Presidential biographies are some of the more popular forms of historical literature. They provide valuable insight into our founders, giving us some sense of who our leaders were and giving historical context to understand the presidency today. But there are some limits to these works. One author is reexamining how we talk and write about presidential history in our modern time.

Alexis Coe joins Julian Zelizer in this week’s episode to discuss her new book, “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington.” Coe reimagines how we think about the first president, taking another look at the precedents he set and their implications on leadership today.

Coe is a writer, historian, and the award-winning author of “Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis.” She is also a consulting producer on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s three-part series on George Washington and the host of “No Man’s Land.” She appears frequently on CNN and the History Channel and has contributed to a number of publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Paris Review.