In this episode, we sit down with Meredith Sumpter, CEO of FairVote, and Rob Richie, who led the organization for more than three decades, for a wide-ranging conversation on the democracy reform movement. Together, they reflect on how the movement has evolved over time, from strategy and language to public awareness, as well as what core principles have remained constant. Meredith and Rob also discuss the current inflection point for reforms like ranked choice voting and proportional representation, and what recent wins and setbacks reveal about the road ahead. Finally, they share their perspectives on where the movement is headed next, and what it will take to build a more representative, resilient democracy in the years to come.

Learn more about the issues we cover at expanddemocracy.org and find our analyses on the state of our democracy on Substack.

In this episode, Rob sits down with Tom Moore from the Center for American Progress to unpack how dark money shapes our political system and what the Transparent Election Initiative is doing in Montana to get rid of it. We also explore the promise and pitfalls of AI election assistants and what they could mean for voters navigating civic information. Plus, we dig into the ongoing push for DC statehood and why representation remains a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.

Learn more about the issues we cover and find additional resources at expanddemocracy.org.

In this episode, Senior Fellow Eveline Dowling sits down with political strategist and CEO of Grow Democracy DC Lisa Rice to break down the herculean grassroots effort to bring ranked choice voting to DC and discuss Rice's broader hopes for the democracy reform movement going forward.

And, Rob, Eveline, and Nivea spotlight some exciting developments in the democracy space, from research into best practices for election governance to NFL teams' surprising yet welcome leadership in civic engagement.

Check out our work and Substack at expanddemocracy.org.

Every democracy is an experiment—and so is this podcast. In our first episode, we unpack ideas like fusion voting and the role of protests in a healthy democracy,, and sit down for an open, cross-generational conversation about how every generation contributes to the movement for a stronger, fairer democracy.

Check out our website for more information on our work at expanddemocracy.org, and subscribe to our Substack for deeper dives into the ideas we discuss here!

If you have thoughts on future guests and/or topics for us, we want to hear them! Email us at [email protected].