Democracy is the proposition that the people should govern themselves. But who are the people, and how should they govern? Populist movements attempt to answer these questions. In response, establishment figures insist that it is the people and their populism that pose a dangerous threat to democracy. How should we appraise our current populist moment? And how can we distinguish between populism's left and right variants? Dan interviews two experts on populism, political scientists Laura Grattan and Thea Riofrancos.

Check out Thea's n+1 essays on populism here:

nplusonemag.com/issue-28/politics/democracy-without-the-people-2/

nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/zombie-liberalism/

nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/populism-without-the-people/

Thanks to Verso. Check out their huge collection of left-wing titles at www.versobooks.com

Please support this podcast with your money at Patreon.com/TheDig