Just two weeks before the people of the United States take to the polling stations to vote for their new President, Aspen UK convened an event at the United States Embassy in London to discuss the future of trust in democracy. 

The expert panel reflects on the recent elections in the UK and globally and look ahead to the critical United States Presidential election. They discuss the role of democracy in today’s society, the nature of the threats it faces and what it will take to increase trust in the democratic values shared by the United Kingdom and United States.

In this extraordinary year of more than 60 elections around the world the event assessed the extent that disinformation, misinformation and societal polarisation are affecting trust in democracy.  Our discussion highlights where democracies have proved resilient against a backdrop of economic hardship and global uncertainty and the areas where there is work to be done. The discussion is be moderated by Gordon Corera, the BBC’s Security Correspondent. The  expert panellists are Polly Curtis (Chief Executive, Demos), Sunder Katwala (Director, British Future), Vivian Schiller (Executive Director, Aspen Digital) and Tim Squirrell (Director of Communications, Institute of Strategic Dialogue). 

The podcast begins with introductory remarks from the US Embassy and Aspen UK (00.00 - 08.27). The panel discussion takes place from 08.28 - 59.01 and the audience Q&As are available to listen from from 59.01. 

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