In this episode we talk with novelist and scholar David Treuer, author of "The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee," "Rez Life," and many other books, about land, possession, and his recent article in The Atlantic, "Return the National Parks to the Tribes." We’ll also hear from Christine Dupres, Portland author, therapist, and member of the Cowlitz tribe, reading from her 2016 essay "Between Ribbon and Root."

This episode explores democracy, especially how we can participate in governing ourselves as well as some of the challenges to doing so. We talk with people working on voting rights and democratic process about what democracy means to them: Desmond Meade, of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, who led the effort to end disenfranchisement of people with past felony convictions in Florida; Danielle Allen, a political ethicist and author of "Talking to Strangers," "Our Declaration," and "Cuz"; and Jesse Beason, president and CEO of the Northwest Health Foundation.