In the first of our episode featuring authors from Pulaski's 50 Takes on Democracy series, Dr. Steven L. Taylor joins to discuss the state of things in Alabama. We talk about one-party dominance, gerrymandering, and the distortive effects of primaries on American politics. His 50 Takes essay can be found here: Alabama: Lack of Competition and Election Skepticism Down South — The Pulaski Institution 

Steven L. Taylor, Ph.D. is a Professor of Political Science and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Troy University in Alabama. His areas of research include comparative democratic institutions and elections. His most recent book (co-authored with Matthew S. Shugart, Arend Lijphart, and Bernard Grofman) was A Different Democracy: American Government in a Thirty-One Country Perspective from Yale University Press. Steven writes on politics on a regular basis at outsidethebeltway.com and can be followed on Twitter at @drsltaylor.