The McCourtney Institute for Democracy

It's Election Day! Head to the polls or return your mail ballot by 8:00 p.m. The PA Department of State has all the information you need about polling places and ballot drop box locations.

Chris Beem takes a turn in the interviewers chair on Democracy Works this week. He talks with political theorist Laura K. Field about her recent Niskanen Center article "The Highbrow Conspiracism of the Intellectual Right" and what this development means for American democracy. Listen: https://democracyworks.simplecast.com/episodes/laura-field

Congratulations to all the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts students graduating today! #PSUgradCongratulations to all the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts students graduating today! #PSUgrad

Congratulations to Nevins Fellow alumna Mikayla Townsend on accepting a position as a public engagement associate at Public Agenda! She interned at Public Agenda in 2019 as part of the Nevins Fellows program and developed a passion for civic engagement that she now puts into practice every day. Read more about Mikayla's story on Penn State News: https://news.psu.edu//nevins-fellows-program-plants-seeds-

The Federalist Society started as a way for conservative and libertarian law and policy scholars to share ideas. Some 40 years later, it's responsible for six of the nine justices on the Supreme Court. Amanda Hollis-Brusky of Pomona College join us this week on Democracy Works to explain how the Federalist Society's ability to capture lightning in a bottle has impacted democracy. Listen: https://democracyworks.simplecast.com/ep/federalist-society

Congratulations to Eliana Hadjiandreou and Rosemary Pang, our Eleanor Roosevelt scholars for this summer! They will work with our Mood of the Nation Poll team and use the poll's data to advance their own research projects. The Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Graduate Scholarship was created in 2018 with a gift from Susan Welch, professor of political science and a member of our Board of Visitors. Read more: https://news.psu.edu//roosevelt-scholars-examine-public-op

Candis Watts Smith talks with NBC News about how some Republicans have worked to change the meaning of the word "woke" in recent years and how the latest effort fits into a larger pattern of language weaponization.

Our own Jenna Spinelle visited the WPSU studios this morning to volunteer for the final day of the spring radio pledge drive. There’s still time to support Democracy Works and the rest of the station’s great programming; visit http://wpsu.org/donate by 8:00 p.m. ET.

Join us on Feb. 17 at 3:00 p.m. for a lecture from Anne Applebaum about her book "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism," which examines democratic erosion around the world. Applebaum is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Register: http://democracy.psu.edu/virtual-events

Ballot initiatives have been used to curb partisan gerrymandering, extend voting rights, and advance other democracy reforms. However, they've also been used to curb minority rights and might increase political polarization in some contexts. Ted Lascher and Joshua Dyck, authors of "Initiatives Without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy's Secondary Effects," join us this week on Democracy Works to discuss the other side of the initiative process. https://democracyworks.simplecast.com/episodes/initiatives

Join us today at 4:00 p.m. ET for a wide-ranging conversation with Donna Shalala about the Democratic Party, calls for unity, higher education's role in democracy, and more. RSVP: https://democracy.psu.edu/virtual-events/

Penn State President Eric Barron's statement on yesterday's events in Washington. https://news.psu.edu//message-president-barron-violence-na

"The scenes we see now should not be seen as sudden or unpredictable. They are rather the inevitable outcome of a sustained and reckless assault on the propositions that make democracy possible." - McCourtney Institute Director Michael Berkman and Managing Director Chris Beem on today's events in Washington. Read the full statement: https://democracy.psu.edu/statement-january-6-2021/

Founding Director John Gastil's research on digital public spaces is cited in this article by Danielle Allen and Eli Parsier on the future of civic technology and public infrastructure. https://www.politico.com//to-thrive-our-democracy-needs-di

A huge thank you to the team at Mucktracker for including Democracy Works in your curricula! Mucktracker is a new platform that's reimagining media literacy education and helping students step outside their filter bubbles.