How to Fix Democracy

What role do schools play in strengthening democracy? In this episode, award-winning author James Traub argues that civic education remains one of the most important tools for building democratic resilience. From declining attention spans and digital distractions to respectful disagreement and civic engagement, Traub reflects on what he learned from classrooms across America and what it takes to prepare the next generation of citizens.

What would the Founding Fathers make of America today? In this episode host Andrew Keen talks with constitutional historian Jeffrey Rosen about the centuries-old struggle between liberty and executive power. From Hamilton and Jefferson to Donald Trump and AI, Rosen traces how America's constitutional system has drifted from the Founders' orginal vision, and why restoring democratic resilience may require rethinking the balance between Congress, the presidency, the courts, and the public itself.

In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, we turn to Turkey to explore what democratic resilience like over the long arc of history. Joined by the political scientist Soli Oezel, the conversation traces more than a century of "bouts of freedom" punctuated by military interventions, constitutional resets, and shifting balances between state authority and popular will.
From the late Ottoman period to the present, Oezel examines how Turkey's political system has repeated oscillated between openness and control, highlighting the military's historical role as both guardian and disruptor of democracy, and the more recent shift toward a fully civilian, yet increasingly liberal, political order. Despite these tensions, one constant remains: the enduring importance of elections and the deep-rooted expectation among citizens that their voices should count.
The episode also probes deeper structural questions. Why have liberal democratic norms struggled to take hold? How do state-centric traditions, nationalism, and unresolved identity questions, particularly around the Kurdish issue, shape political life? And what explains the persistence of democratic aspirations even under pressure?
At its core, this conversation challenges a common assumption: that democracy's resilience is primarly institutional or cultural. Instead, Oezel argues that it hinges on something more tangible, whether democratic systems deliver economic security, opportunity, and a sense of fairness. When they do, they build legitimacy; when they don't, they risk erosion from within.

Poland's story is often told as a triumph of democracy, but it's far from over. In this episode, author, activist and journalist, Konstanty Gebert reflects on a lifetime spent confronting authoritarianism, from underground activism in the 1970s to the rise of Solidarity and the fall of communism.
But victory brought new challenges: how do you transition from unity against oppression to the compromises democracy requires?
This episode examines the paradox at the heart of democratic resilience: the same forces that unite people in resistance can later divide them in freedom. As new threats emerge, from populism at home to Russia abroad, Poland's experience offers urgent lessons for democracies everywhere.

As trust in political institutions fades, who really holds power in democracy? Helene Landemore argues that elite decision-making has left democracies less responsive and less resilient. In this episode she joins Andrew Keen to explore how citizen assemblies, broader participation, and new approaches to governance could reshape the future of democratic life.