The Future of Our Former Democracy

Afleveringen

1. The Australian Lab Experiment

   3 november 2026 · 53 min

   Afspelen
   It’s the moment Colin has been waiting for all season: the lab experiment. In Australia, the same voters use the same ranked ballot on the same day to elect two chambers, but the winner-take-all House produces a two-party landslide while the proportional Senate produces a crossbench that the government can’t pass laws without. Lees meer

   Ruth and Colin dig into what that difference means for accountability, extremism, and representation, including how First Nations Senators kept Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation on the national agenda after the 2023 Voice referendum failed, and what it would take to bring these lessons home to the United States.

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:Professor David Smith, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

   Dr. Marija Taflaga, Centre for the Study of Australian Politics, Australian National University and co-host of Democracy Sausage podcast about Australian Politics

   Dr. Jill Sheppard, Australian National University

   Dominic Knight, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

   Mentioned Resources:

   2025 Australian Senate Election Results Map

   The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies.

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

2. Battle Lines and Ballot Lines

   26 oktober 2026 · 42 min

   Afspelen
   After the slaughter at Gallipoli, Australia began to see itself as more than an outpost of the British Empire, and it kicked off its greatest era of democratic experimentation. Lees meer

   Ruth and Colin walk through the questions Australians asked and answered along the way, exploring reforms ranging from preferential voting and compulsory voting to proportional representation in the Senate. Then they get into the weeds of the Australian ballot itself, from the “tablecloth” ballots of 250 candidates to the 2016 reforms sparked by the surprise election of a Motoring Enthusiast Party senator, showing how even ballot design can reshape a democracy.

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   Paul Daffy, Melbourne Tour Guide

   Professor David Smith, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

   Dr. Jill Sheppard, Australian National University

   Mentioned Resources:

   Australian Ballot Image

   The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies.

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

3. The Fair Go's Fine Print

   19 oktober 2026 · 46 min

   Afspelen
   Australia built its democracy on the idea of a "fair go," but who was it actually for? Lees meer

   Ruth and Colin examine the White Australia policy, the Stolen Generations, and the dictation tests designed to keep non-white immigrants out, drawing stark parallels to Jim Crow literacy tests and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Ruth reckons with her own family's role in a massacre of Wiradjuri people, MED’s George Cheung walks through Melbourne's Chinatown, and the hosts explore the failed Voice referendum and how states like South Australia and Victoria are stepping in where the nation fell short.

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   Professor Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney

   Professor Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University

   Mark Wong, CEO, Museum of Chinese Australian History

   Simon Chen, Founder and Director, Art Atrium Gallery, and President, Chinese Australian Forum

   The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies.

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

4. From Penal Colony to Democracy Lab

   12 oktober 2026 · 42 min

   Afspelen
   How does a British penal colony become one of the world's most trusted democracies? Lees meer

   Ruth and Colin head back to 1788 to trace how a society of convicts and guards pioneered the secret ballot, the living wage, and the eight-hour workday, blending Washington and Westminster into a democracy all its own, built on the ethos of the "fair go." But that story is inseparable from the dispossession and genocide of First Nations people, raising the question of who Australian democracy was actually built for.

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   Dr. Mark Dunn, Historian and Author of The Convict Valley

   Professor Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney

   Professor Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University

   Dr. Marija Taflaga, Centre for the Study of Australian Politics, Australian National University and co-host of Democracy Sausage podcast about Australian Politics

   Paul Daffy, Journalist and Tour Guide

   Mentioned Resources Link

   The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies.

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

5. Vote, Surf, Sausage: A Recipe for Trust Down Under

   5 oktober 2026 · 34 min

   Afspelen
   Welcome to Season 3 of The Future of Our Former Democracy! Lees meer

   Colin is joined by new co-host Ruth Greenwood, director of Harvard Law School's Election Law Clinic and proud Australian expat, as the show heads Down Under. In Australia, elections are "boring, boring, boring," and voters across the political spectrum trust the results in a way Americans rarely do.

   Colin and Ruth explore why.

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   Dr. Marija Taflaga, Centre for the Study of Australian Politics, Australian National University and co-host of Democracy Sausage podcast about Australian Politics

   Professor David Smith, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

   Professor Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney

   For more information on our electoral systems work, visit democracynow.org.

   The Future of Our Former Democracy is a production of More Equitable Democracy and Mori Strategies.

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy's work, please visit: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/

6. Season 3 Trailer: The Commonwealth of Australia

   21 september 2026 · 4 min

   Afspelen
   Australia built its democracy on the American model, then kept revising it: the secret ballot, ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, and elections that Australians across the political spectrum actually trust. In our new season, we travel Down Under to explore how a country so similar to ours, including in its history of white supremacy and Indigenous genocide, ended up with a democracy that works so differently, and what the U.S. can learn from it. Lees meer

7. Bonus: Who Gets To Belong? Voices from Ukraine and Syria

   20 mei 2026 · 49 min

   Afspelen
   This bonus episode is a recording of a panel presentation from More Equitable Democracy's 2025 learning tour to Germany. The panel featured four international voices - immigrants, international students, and refugees - living in Germany today. Lees meer

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   - Hesham Moadamani, Office of Civic Engagement, Bard College Berlin

   - Liza Nezhyva, Mriï Collective, Bard College Berlin

   - Khalil Hammod, Alumni, Bard College Berlin

   - Mariia Krychevska, Mriï Collective, Bard College Berlin

   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠

8. Bonus: Berit and Khuê: Growing Up During German Reunification

   14 april 2026 · 26 min

   Afspelen
   In this bonus episode, Berit, born in East Germany, and Khuê, born in West Berlin, share their respective perspectives and stories of growing up during German reunification. Lees meer

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   - ⁠⁠⁠Dr. Berit Ebert⁠⁠⁠, Bard College Berlin

   - ⁠Khuê Phạm⁠, Author and journalist

   ⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠

   For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠

9. From the Black Forest to the Rose City: Seeding PR at Home

   7 april 2026 · 49 min

   Afspelen
   Throughout this season, we've heard excerpts from interviews and presentations that were part of a February 2025 learning tour organized by More Equitable Democracy. This tour brought US academics, racial justice advocates, and political reformers to Germany to see proportional representation in action during their national elections. Lees meer

   In our season 2 finale, some of the learning tour's participants share their reflections—not just about what they learned in Germany, but about what they intend to bring back home to their work in the US. Then, we visit Portland, Oregon, which in 2024 became the first major US city since the 1950s to use a system of proportional representation. We'll hear from community organizers, elections administrators, journalists, and candidates (both successful and less so) who ran under Portland's new system. Does Portland represent the future of our former democracy?

   Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

   ⁠⁠- Dr. Berit Ebert⁠⁠, Bard College Berlin

   - Deb Otis, FairVote

   - Professor Kevin Deegan-Krause, Voters Not Politicians

   - LaShanda Jackson, Philanthropic Advisor

   - Neal Ubriani, Institute for Responsive Government

   - Professor Spencer Overton, Multiracial Democracy Project

   - Shane Dixon Kavanaugh⁠, The Oregonian

   - Leah Benson, Multnomah County Elections Division

   - Andrés Oswill, Oregon Futures Lab

   - Sameer Kanal, Portland City Councilmember

   - Tiffany Koyama Lane, Portland City Councilmember

   - Steph Routh, 2024 Candidate for Portland City Council

   - Hermann "Bobby" Grampp, ⁠⁠Berlin-based historian and music critic⁠

   - Nicola Hieke⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Landeskoordinierungstelle Bayern gegen Rechtsextremismus⁠⁠ (Bavaria State Coordination Office Against Right-Wing Extremism)

   - Professor Doctor Magnus Brechtken⁠, ⁠⁠Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History⁠

   Referenced works:

   The Oregonian: "Portland’s ranked-choice debut sees voter engagement crater"

   Portland Mercury: "Portland’s Ranked Choice Voting Was a Success (Despite Wha…

10. The "New Germans": Identity and Belonging in Modern Germany

    31 maart 2026 · 59 min

    Afspelen
    While Germany makes a continuous effort to grapple with their past and practice remembrance of historic atrocities, there are still significant tensions today about German identity: what a German sounds like, what a German looks like, and what it means to be German. Lees meer

    Heather and Colin take a focused look at how identity shows up in the context of modern Germany's government. For immigrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities, how does the German system fare when it comes to a sense of belonging in society and representation in government? Is the grass any greener than in the US?

    Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:

    - Khuê Phạm, Author and Journalist

    - Hesham Moadamani, Bard College Berlin

    - Haşim Anık, Tour Guide

    - Dr. Yaşar Aydın, German Institute for International and Security Affairs and Center for Applied Turkey Studies

    USA Today: Does my country want me? Germany's historic far-right election gain worries me by Khuê Phạm

    Study on "Heritage Cultural Identity" in Germany: Understanding Ethnic-Racial Identity in a Context Where “Race” Is Taboo

    ⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠

    For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠

    For more information on Larj Media, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.larjmedia.com/⁠⁠⁠

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