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Podcast playlist: Votes, votes, votes

Podcast playlist from The Democracy Group, focused on mechanics of voting, voting rights
Stefan Ilic/Gettty Images
Voting by mail, voting from jail, voting as a young person, voting as a woman. The intersection of identity, personal circumstances and voting is a crucial point of discussion in this tumultuous election year. This podcast playlist features episodes that dive into the mechanics of voting, voting rights and ways to make voting more fair and inclusive.

This playlist is part of The Fulcrum's partnership with The Democracy Group, a podcast network at Penn State University. All of its shows are committed to engaging in civil discourse, inspiring civic engagement and exploring the future of our democracy. This list features episodes from 70 Million, Politics in Question, The Science of Politics, Democracy Matters, Democracy Works, Another Way and How Do We Fix It.


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How New Jersey’s Ballot Slogans Could Put Power Back in Voters Hands

New Jersey, USA flag, person voting

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How New Jersey’s Ballot Slogans Could Put Power Back in Voters Hands

With American democracy in crisis amid national turmoil, neither political party is prepared to lead us out of the wilderness. However, here in New Jersey, voters can bring in outsiders through one legal strategy to overcome barriers: the ballot slogan system.

This year, New Jersey's primary elections are unusually open. Until recently, party organizations could manipulate voters' choices by the deceptive arrangement of candidate names, a system called the county line. This guaranteed that nominees would be the parties' handpicked choices.

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The Fahey Q&A with Margaret Kobos, CEO and founder of Oklahoma United

Margaret Kobos is CEO and founder of Oklahoma United

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The Fahey Q&A with Margaret Kobos, CEO and founder of Oklahoma United

Since organizing the Voters Not Politicians 2018 ballot initiative that put citizens in charge of drawing Michigan's legislative maps, Katie Fahey has been the founding executive director of The People, which is forming statewide networks to promote government accountability. She regularly interviews colleagues in the democracy reform world for our Opinion section.

Margaret Kobos is CEO and founder of Oklahoma United, a grassroots political nonprofit with the mission to empower moderate and centrist voters in Oklahoma. OKUnited seeks to enact balance, common-sense solutions, and full representation of all voters through advocacy and systemic improvements. Currently, Margaret leads the Vote Yes 836 campaign to open the state’s closed primary system.

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Trump’s globalist era is going to make everyone poorer

US President Donald Trump delivers a special address during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 21, 2026.

(Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Trump’s globalist era is going to make everyone poorer

I’m not sure what to call the new era we seem to be entering. But I am sure it will make people poorer.

Let’s start with some basics. Imagine you inherit a thriving department store chain. Rather than listen to experts on consumer trends, supply-chain logistics, human resources, etc., you instead opt to go with your gut. Rather than follow market research or anything like that, you prefer to just hire your friends and do business with vendors who flatter you or sell stuff you think is cool. Under such a “system,” you might make some good business decisions, but odds are very strong that you’ll more often make bad ones. The rep from the Pet Rock supplier who gives you a “World’s Greatest Businessman” award gets his products in the store window.

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