Episodes

In this bonus episode, Jason speaks with National Popular Vote founder Dr. John Koza. They discuss the problems with the electoral college, how it can be reformed with the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, and the importance of Tuesday's referendum on the issue in Colorado.

In this episode, we speak with Professor Stephen Siegel, a Professor of Law at DePaul University, about the Electoral Count Act, which sets the rules for Congress when it counts electoral votes. We explain what happens if there is just one slate and how Congress might resolve a controversy if there are competing slates of electors from one state.

In this episode in our presidential election miniseries, we talk about the vote of the electoral college. Who are the electors, how do they cast their votes, and what could possibly go wrong?

In this episode in our presidential election mini-series, we take a deep dive into 3 USC 2, a federal law that some way permits state legislatures to declare an election null and void and appoint presidential electors directly. We explain the true purpose of this law—spoiler alert: it wasn't to let states nullify elections—and discuss what arguments there might be if things go haywire next week. Matthew Seligman wrote about this recently at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-good-but-also-ominous-news-from-the-supreme-court-about-voting-in-pennsylvania.

In this episode of our mini-series on presidential elections, we take a look at three examples of how states handled recounts in close elections. Are we in for a redo of Florida in 2000—or does Hawaii in 1960 provide a better example? A companion series of blog posts related to this episode can be found at http://takecareblog.com

In the next episode in our presidential election miniseries, we discuss election night itself. Will there be some states where early returns favor Trump even if Biden might win when all the votes are counted? If so, what can we do to mitigate any misunderstanding or misinformation from the media or the candidates?

In this episode, Larry Lessig introduces a mini-series that will appear in this feed between now and election day: Another Way To Elect The President. This intro provides some historical and legal background for what could be a presidential election unlike any other. Stay tuned for additional episodes.

This week, Larry speaks with Jake Auchincloss—candidate for Massachusetts’ 4th congressional district—about his victory in a heated primary, the need to reform how we elect candidates, and an in-depth discussion of some of the more obscure, but innovative proposals for campaign finance reform.

In this episode, Larry Lessig speaks with US Senate candidate Jon Ossoff about his campaign to represent Georgia, how his career as a journalist investigating corruption led him to run for office, his commitment to small-dollar public financing, and proposals to fix our broken democracy.

Equal Citizens' Jason Harrow and Adam Eichen discuss a case Jason's working on about age description in voting. They also talk about legal challenges to voting in general, with only about six weeks to go before the general election.

In this episode, Adam Eichen speaks with MapLight president Daniel Newman, who just authored a new graphic novel about democracy reform, Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy. The two discuss the book, accessibility in storytelling, and the movement for reform.

Today, we bring you a recast of a recent of episode of Yang Speaks, in which Equal Citizens founder Larry Lessig spoke with Andrew Yang about how we can reform our democracy. They discuss dialing for dollars, the theory that "slow democracy" can improve our political discourse, the media's impact on our democracy, and more.

In this special episode, we bring you a recast of an episode of the Democracy Works podcast featuring Equal Citizens founder Larry Lessig. He appeared with Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, and Michael Baranowski, associate professor of political science at Northern Kentucky University and host of The Politics Guys. They discussed the recent Supreme Court decisions about presidential electors, along with the future of reforming the Electoral College. It was hosted by Jenna Spinelle.

Larry Lessig talks to Alan Khazei, who is running for Congress in the Massachusetts' Fourth District, about "democracy entrepreneurs," ending corruption, and how to build a broad coalition to fight for reform.

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna speaks with Larry Lessig about his effort to reform our democracy, end corruption, and reduce the impact of money in politics. They talk about working with both Bernie, why Biden will sign reform, finding a way to a real "grand bargain" that can end corruption, and why it's important for activists to keep the pressure on Congress to pass reform. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.co...

On this episode, Jason Harrow and Adam Eichen discuss a new report released by Equal Citizens and a coalition of scholars and organizations. It argues that eight states are unconstitutionally skewing voting rights in favor of older Americans. The two discuss the details of the report, its ramifications, and next steps. You can read the report at voteathome26.us. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

This week, Larry Lessig talks with John Gastil, a Professor at the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, about how we can make better political decisions. They discuss the polarized media landscape and specific steps we can take to improve deliberation, understanding, and the use of reason. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, journalist David Daley joins Adam Eichen to discuss his new book, Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy. To write the book, Daley embedded with democracy reform campaigns throughout the 2018 election cycle. Adam and Dave discuss their favorite success stories from the book and end with some thoughts about Daley's recent New York Times op-ed about the next frontier of gerrymandering. Purchase Unrigged: https://www.amazon.com/Unrigged-Americans-Battling-Bac...

Larry Lessig talks to Congressional candidate Adem Bunkeddeko, who is a candidate for the Democratic nomination in New York's 9th District. They discuss his remarkable personal story and his support for vouchers that would revolutionize how politicians raise money. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Equal Citizens founder Larry Lessig talks with Alex Morse, a candidate for Congress in the First District of Massachusetts, about how Congress really works. They talk about how fundraising permits Congresspeople to live above their means, and why it makes it hard for them to provide real solutions that would improve people's lives. He also explains why, without first reforming our democracy, we're not going to be able to make substantive progress on key policy priorities. Please consider suppor...

In today's episode, Larry Lessig launches a new "season" of Another Way and explains why we want to talk about reforming our democracy and ending corruption by speaking with folks in or running for Congress and in the media. Our first guest in the series is Mondaire Jones, who is a Democratic candidate for New York's 17th District. They discuss Jones's background, voting in a pandemic, how to take on big money in politics, and more. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. https://w...

In the second part of a two-part series, we bring you the audio of the Supreme Court's hearing of Colorado Department of State v. Baca, the second of the "presidential elector" cases. The episode is introduced by Jason Harrow, who argued the case on behalf of the electors. The argument occurred on May 13. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

In the first part of a two-part series, we bring you commentary as well as the audio of the Supreme Court's hearing of Chiafalo v. Washington, one of the "presidential elector" cases. Professor Larry Lessig, who argued the case on behalf of the electors, begins the episode with an important preface, explanation of the case, and commentary on the argument. We then replay the audio of the Supreme Court hearing, which occurred on May 13. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. https:/...

On today's episode, we follow-up our conversation with electors from Washington by talking with three electors from Colorado. Mike Baca, Polly Baca, and Bob Nemanich are the three plaintiffs in the case of Colorado Department of State v. Baca, which will be argued in the U.S. Supreme Court by telephone on Wednesday, May 13. They describe how they came to be electors, what they were trying to do in 2016 when they contemplated voting for a candidate other than Hillary Clinton, and what it means to...