The Future of Our Former Democracy

Australia built its democracy on the American model, then kept revising it: the secret ballot, ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, and elections that Australians across the political spectrum actually trust. In our new season, we travel Down Under to explore how a country so similar to ours, including in its history of white supremacy and Indigenous genocide, ended up with a democracy that works so differently, and what the U.S. can learn from it.

Mila Atmos and Melissa Murray discuss the hidden power inside the U.S. Constitution, what it was designed to protect against, and how it can fortify American democracy today.

Melissa Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, and a legal analyst for MSNBC. Her new book is The US Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader.

Your civic action toolkit recommendations from Melissa are:

1) Commit to voting and follow through

2) Make your demands clear to your elected representatives

This bonus episode is a recording of a panel presentation from More Equitable Democracy's 2025 learning tour to Germany. The panel featured four international voices - immigrants, international students, and refugees - living in Germany today.

Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:  

- Hesham Moadamani, Office of Civic Engagement, Bard College Berlin

- Liza Nezhyva, Mriï Collective, Bard College Berlin

- Khalil Hammod, Alumni, Bard College Berlin

- Mariia Krychevska, Mriï Collective, Bard College Berlin

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  

For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠

In this bonus episode, Berit, born in East Germany, and Khuê, born in West Berlin, share their respective perspectives and stories of growing up during German reunification.

Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:  

- ⁠⁠⁠Dr. Berit Ebert⁠⁠⁠, Bard College Berlin

- ⁠Khuê Phạm⁠, Author and journalist

⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠  

For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠

Throughout this season, we've heard excerpts from interviews and presentations that were part of a February 2025 learning tour organized by More Equitable Democracy. This tour brought US academics, racial justice advocates, and political reformers to Germany to see proportional representation in action during their national elections.

In our season 2 finale, some of the learning tour's participants share their reflections—not just about what they learned in Germany, but about what they intend to bring back home to their work in the US. Then, we visit Portland, Oregon, which in 2024 became the first major US city since the 1950s to use a system of proportional representation. We'll hear from community organizers, elections administrators, journalists, and candidates (both successful and less so) who ran under Portland's new system. Does Portland represent the future of our former democracy?

Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:  

⁠⁠- Dr. Berit Ebert⁠⁠, Bard College Berlin

- Deb Otis, FairVote

- Professor Kevin Deegan-Krause, Voters Not Politicians

- LaShanda Jackson, Philanthropic Advisor

- Neal Ubriani, Institute for Responsive Government

- Professor Spencer Overton, Multiracial Democracy Project

- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh⁠, The Oregonian

- Leah Benson, Multnomah County Elections Division

- Andrés Oswill, Oregon Futures Lab

- Sameer Kanal, Portland City Councilmember

- Tiffany Koyama Lane, Portland City Councilmember

- Steph Routh, 2024 Candidate for Portland City Council

- Hermann "Bobby" Grampp, ⁠⁠Berlin-based historian and music critic⁠

- Nicola Hieke⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Landeskoordinierungstelle Bayern gegen Rechtsextremismus⁠⁠ (Bavaria State Coordination Office Against Right-Wing Extremism)

- Professor Doctor Magnus Brechtken⁠, ⁠⁠Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History⁠

Referenced works:

The Oregonian: "Portland’s ranked-choice debut sees voter engagement crater"

Portland Mercury: "Portland’s Ranked Choice Voting Was a Success (Despite What the Oregonian Claims)"

More Equitable Democracy: ⁠2025 Portland Learning Symposium ⁠⁠⁠"Lift Every Voice"

Data and Democracy Lab: Study of the 2024 STV City Council Election in Portland, Oregon

Salon: "⁠Sorry, haters: Ranked-choice voting produced the most diverse city council in NYC history⁠"

Additional links:

Oregon Public Broadcasting: "In East Portland, a light post offers hope for a change in City Hall representation"

Rose City Reform: "Diversity By Design - An analysis of Portland City Council’s 2025 voting record"

⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠  

For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠

For more information on Larj Media, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.larjmedia.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠