What's Wrong with Democracy?

For the final episode of the series, Ben goes back to basics and asks: how can democracies hold free and fair elections? It’s not as simple as setting up polling stations and handing out ballot boxes, so what does it take to create a truly even electoral playing field?

Guests:
Robin Forestier-Walker, Freelance journalist, based in Georgia
Tanja Hollstein, Head of Practice (Elections) at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Pippa Norris, McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

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If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [email protected]

Host: Professor Ben Ansell
Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re looking at another big potential challenge facing democracy: AI, or artificial intelligence. Ben wants to know how worried we should be when it comes to the rise of these new technologies. Might they spell the death knell for trust in our institutions? Or can technology play a helpful role in boosting modern democracies?

Guests:
Sarah Kreps, Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University
Alex Krasodomski, Programme Director of the Digital Society Initiative at Chatham House
Kerry McInerney, Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [email protected]

Host: Professor Ben Ansell
Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the biggest challenges of our time is climate change. This week, Ben wants to know how effective democracies are when it comes to fighting the climate crisis. How can we settle on solutions when there’s so many different interests at play?

Guests:
Keith Smith, Senior Researcher in the International Political Economy/International Environmental Politics group at the Center for Comparative and International Studies
Louis Wilson, Head of Fossil Fuel Investigations at Global Witness
Rafaela Santos Martins Da Rosa, Coordinator of the Sustainability Commission of the Federal Court of Rio Grande do Sul

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [email protected]

Host: Professor Ben Ansell
Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democracy can often be knocked off course by political violence, but in some places it’s become an ingrained part of how politics is done. This week Ben wants to find out why violence and democracy can be so hard to separate, and how to stop violence taking hold of our politics in the first place.

Guests:
Arunima Kar, Freelance journalist based in Kolkata
Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University, and author of ‘Towards a Philosophy of Narco Violence in Mexico’
Hannah Philips, policy researcher at the University of Oxford and Civility Commission Manager at the Jo Cox Foundation

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [email protected]

Host: Professor Ben Ansell
Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where does the boundary lie between bad behaviour and outright corruption? This week Ben wants to understand how corruption and the fight against it are destructive forces in a democracy.

Guests:
Simon Kuper, journalist and author of ‘Good Chaps’ and ‘Chums’
Ezequiel González Ocantos, Professor of Comparative & Judicial Politics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists.

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content.

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more.

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [email protected]

Host: Professor Ben Ansell
Producers: Ada Barume and Eleanor Biggs
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.