Who Trolled Amber? - Introducing...What's Wrong With Democracy?

Episode Date: September 4, 2024

Introducing...What's Wrong With Democracy?By the end of this year, countries making up half the world’s population will have held elections. But not all of them will have been free and fair. In ‘What’s Wrong with Democracy?’ Professor Ben Ansell of Oxford University will, with the help of academics, journalists, activists and writers, figure out whether democracy is working and how best to preserve democratic freedoms, equality and rights. 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 journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf 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 [e-mail]: Professor Ben AnsellProducers: Katie Gunning and Ada BarumeEditor: Jasper CorbettOriginal artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, I'm Ben Ansell and I'm here to tell you about What's Wrong with Democracy, my new podcast series for Tortoise Media in partnership with the Open Society Foundations. Every week on What's Wrong with Democracy, I'm joined by insiders from the world of politics as we explore the issues affecting democracies, both near and far, and ask whether our fractured body politic can be put back together. So far in the series we've looked at disinformation, populism, apathy, authoritarianism and the role of institutions in democracies from Rwanda to Sweden. And in our upcoming episodes

we'll be taking a closer look at political corruption, how to future-proof our democracies from shocks and of course all things US election as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris prepare to battle it out at the ballot box. Here's a taster of me in conversation with author and academic Norina Hertz, who I spoke to about the rise of populism. I think the physical communal acts that populists are delivering are playing a part in their attraction. They are just delivering a better theatre of community.

It's also the rhetoric. I mean, if you start looking at thematic words and phrases, whether you're looking at Rassemblement National or Alternative for Deutschland, or Trump, what we're seeing in each case is actually a very similar language where they're reinforcing words, family, brothers. And also, of course, you'll hear them all use words like you, the forgotten people. I see you, I hear you.

Make America great again. It's a nostalgia that something has been lost. To listen, search for What's Wrong with Democracy wherever you get your podcasts and follow the feed to make sure you never miss an episode.