Bedeviled: A Podcast about American Democracy from Duke University

Before Donald Trump became president the first time, Daniel Ziblatt warned about the possibility that he might pull the United States toward an authoritarian-style government. Ziblatt, a Harvard professor, described the dangers in his book, "How Democracies Die", co-authored with Steven Levitsky. Three months into Trump's second administration, their warnings appear prescient.

During the first Trump presidency, Marty Baron and the newspaper he ran, the Washington Post, was a journalistic model for holding the administration to account.They enjoyed the backing of the Post's billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. They embraced their role with the slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness".Things are different now. I spoke with Baron about Trump 2.o, the media's coverage of it, and America's path ahead.

Maria Ressa is one of the handful of journalists that have won the illustrious Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the prize for her work safeguarding freedom of expression by holding an authoritarian government of the Phillipines for its brutality and attacks on the independent press. Born in Manila and educated in Princeton, she straddles the two countries with her work as the co-founder and CEO of online Filipino news site Rappler and as a Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Her memoir, "How to Stand Up to a Dictator", warns that the United States stands just a hop, skip and a jump from the sort of oppression that has beset her native country.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries wrote a new illustrated book, "The ABCs of Democracy," simply framing for young audiences his preferred choices for our country. American values over autocracy, benevolence over victory. In the new episode of Bedeviled, I talk to Jeffries about why American voters did not embrace his party's message in 2024, including warnings that Trump poses a danger to democracy itself. He discussed his worries about the incoming Trump administration, where Democrats can work with Republicans, and how Democrats can win back power in 2026 and beyond.

In this episode, something different: the views of Duke students on next week's presidential election. Young voters represent a key target for both Vice President Kalama Harris and former President Donald Trump. Those under 30 lean Democrat, so Harris is working to maximize her advantage on college campuses and elsewhere. Trump seeks to narrow his deficit among young voters, especially young men, as part of his broader strategy for a winning coalition.Meet Sherman Criner, Evan Brown, and Annika Aristimuno. On this episode of Bedeviled, they give us a window into how young voters see America's choice.

An unbroken record for transferring power peacefully after free and fair elections has made America a model for the world. The violent Jan 6 insurrection on behalf of Donald Trump broke it. Our guest, Ian Bassin, is a former lawyer in Barack Obama's White House and heads the watchdog group Protect Democracy. The non-profit and non-partisan organization seeks to check what it believes are authoritarian attacks on the United States, and to preserve democracy with a unified and cross-ideological strategy.

Few Americans know more about the nuts and bolts of American elections than Nate Persily. A professor at Stanford Law School, he was named research director of President Obama's special commission to explore improvements in the American voting experience in 2013. That makes him ideally suited to analyze the storms swirling around a 2024 campaign that poses an existential threat to the American experiment.

Liz Cheney is not merely a conservative. She was born and raised in the GOP. But when President Trump tried to overturn his 2020 reelection defeat to Joe Biden, Cheney found the line she wouldn't cross for her party. It cost Cheney her House seat. Now, she's written a new bestselling book, Oath and Honor, which warns American voters that preserving our democracy requires preventing Trump from ever returning to the Oval Office.

Cassidy Hutchinson is the former White House aide who testified at the public hearings of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 attack. She is the author of Enough, a riveting account f her White House experience and her warnings and concerns about threats to democracy posed by Donald Trump.

In a rare interview, President Biden talks about battling Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy.