Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Heather Cox Richardson on 'Democracy Awakening'

Woman crosses arms next to separate photo of book cover
Historian Heather Cox Richardson's latest book, "Democracy Awakening," is an assessment of the current state of American democracy.
Courtesy Heather Cox Richardson and Penguin Random House

This week, Big Books and Bold Ideas is launching an election year series that asks: What is American democracy in 2024?

Americans come to that question with significantly different views. And what American democracy was when this country was founded isn’t necessarily what it is today or what it will be in the future. Democracy is dynamic.

Heather Cox Richardson spends a lot of time thinking about democracy. She’s a historian and the force behind the most popular newsletter on Substack, with more than 1.3 million subscribers. In 2023, she released her latest book, “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America,” which is a reflection on the the evolution of American democracy.

On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Richardson joined host Kerri Miller to parse the current condition of democracy in America and lay out how the system can be exploited by authoritarians or supported by the populace.

Guest:

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