The Iowa caucuses and forthcoming Presidential primary season are another reminder that the two big parties have a stranglehold on American politics.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. More voters identify as independents than as Republicans or Democrats. Our guest, Lee Drutman, senior fellow at New America and author of “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop”, makes the case for a multiparty system, which, he says, would boost compromise, problem-solving, voter turnout and confidence in the political process.

“To try to shoehorn a country this diverse and sprawling into just two parties to me is insanity,” Lee tells us. “It creates an us-against-them zero-sum mentality every political election."

We discuss solutions, including ranked choice voting, multi-seat congressional districts, and expanding representation in the House of Representatives.

This episode is part of our renewing democracy series, covering constructive proposals for improving our politics and civic infrastructure. We received a grant from Solutions Journalism Network.

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