Best Democracy In Denmark Podcasts (2025)

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Crafting Political Storytelling with Qualitative Methods and AI, with Frank A. Spring 49:53

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2d ago49:53

49:53

Frank A. Spring, founding partner at Altum Insight and managing partner of Undaunted Ventures, shares how qualitative methods can understand the stories voters tell themselves about politics. Frank discusses his work using AI-moderated interviews (AIMI) and digital ethnography to analyze citizens' understanding of democracy, and how these insights …

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Derek Thompson on why everything is becoming television, and whether democracy can survive it 51:01

4d ago51:01

51:01

Is television the final form of all media? Derek Thompson, the co-author of Abundance, podcaster, and Atlantic writer joins Mixed Signals to explain what he sees as the forces behind what Ben and Max keep observing: The way in which podcasts and other forms of journalism appear to be getting their largest audience in an endless, passive feed of vid…

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GQ Editor Will Welch on masculinity, celebrities, and staying cool as he ages 44:26

11d ago44:26

44:26

Will Welch is the global editorial director of GQ, and has been the editor-in-chief of its US operation since 2019. On this week’s Mixed Signals, Welch talks to Ben and Max about how the magazine plans to address men amid the prominence of the manosphere, the value in covering niche subcultures, and how the parties thrown by the magazine operate as…

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The real ‘Yellowstone’: a battle for the cowboy way of life 26:36

3d ago26:36

26:36

Ranches, rodeos…and public land. This is the story of a surprising battle raging in the American West, and the unlikely coalition it’s forged. Nearly half of all land in the West of the United States is owned by the federal government. Some people are trying to change that; they argue that part of it should be used for housing, amid a nationwide sh…

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Teaching Political Communication: A Database, Game, and Assignment 42:26

4d ago42:26

42:26

In this episode, I share some initiatives to help in improving the teaching and learning of political communication. Political Communication Teaching Database and the upload page. Meta Oversight Board Game Counterfactual Case StudyBy Michael Bossetta

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Ken Burns on the future of PBS, the new age of media, and why documentaries will outlast TikTok 44:03

18d ago44:03

44:03

Ken Burns has been telling the story of America through his entire career with genre-defining documentaries on the Civil War, the Vietnam War, and now the American Revolution. This week, Ben and Max bring on the renowned documentarian to talk about his latest series, the parallels he sees between America’s founding moment and today’s media environm…

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Why Your Vote Matters 46:56

14d ago46:56

46:56

This motivational, heart-centered episode brings together three international candidates in Denmark who open up about their personal journeys and messages to eligible voters. In a reflective and inspiring 30-minute group conversation, the guests join the two co-hosts to explore what it truly means to participate in democracy as an international res…

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The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms 42:26

25d ago42:26

42:26

American Eagle’s summer campaign with Sydney Sweeney blew up in ways no one could’ve imagined – but chief marketing officer, Craig Brommers, knew they were going to hit a cultural nerve. This week, Ben and Max bring on the AE CMO to give us an inside look into the “Great Jeans” campaign, what he made of the controversy that surrounded it, and how D…

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The Role of Regional Councils in Denmark 31:48

17d ago31:48

31:48

In this episode, we explore the Regional Council’s role and responsibilities — and why it plays such an essential part in your daily life. From managing healthcare, mental health services, and emergency response, to shaping regional development and policy, we break down what the Regional Council actually does and how it affects you. Join us for a 3…

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How to Become a Candidate in Denmark 38:01

17d ago38:01

38:01

In this episode, we dive into a practical, real-world conversation about becoming a political candidate in Denmark — whether for local or regional elections. From eligibility requirements and party involvement to official registration and campaign steps, this 30-minute discussion offers clear insights for anyone curious about entering Danish politi…

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Election Forecasting, Prediction Markets, and Gamification, with Prof. Matthew Wall and Dr. Louis Bromfield 1:06:58

30d ago1:06:58

1:06:58

Professor Matthew Wall and Dr. Louis Bromfield, both at the Department of Politics, Philosophy, and International Relations at Swansea University, discuss election forecasting. We cover different types of political forecasting, such as polls and prediction models, and dive into prediction markets like Polymarket. We then discuss the concept of the …

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Governor JB Pritzker on Chicago, ICE, and the information war with Trump’s White House 49:03

1M ago49:03

49:03

Chicago is either a war zone quickly spiraling out of control, or a peaceful city under siege by an overreaching federal government. It all depends on who you ask — and which channel they watch. This week, Ben and Max bring on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to talk about how he’s navigating a communications crisis and a messaging battle against the …

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October, democracy in denmark, and competitive poster hanging 9:17

29d ago9:17

9:17

Election posters are a colorful part of democracy in Denmark. In October, the campaigns swing into gear, and when the whistle blows on a set date at precisely noon, teams of poster-hangers cover the country with the faces of their candidates. It's highly competitive; It's against the law to take down posters once they're hung, so there's a big rush…

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Alison Roman on cookbooks, food influencers, and the surprising way AI is changing her recipes 49:28

1M ago49:28

49:28

Alison Roman was one of digital media’s first food stars – she’s had recipes go viral since 2018 and an infamous ‘cancellation’ in 2020. Now, with her latest cookbook, Something From Nothing, she’s trying to move away from life on the Internet. This week, Ben and Max bring on the chef and author to talk about food media, the value of a physical coo…

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Content Moderation with Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement Bodies, with Thomas Hughes 43:19

1M ago43:19

43:19

Thomas Hughes, CEO of Appeals Centre Europe, explains out-of-court dispute settlement bodies (ODS bodies) and the role they play in the Digital Services Act. We discuss Appeals Centre Europe's first Transparency Report*, which provides an initial glimpse into how Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are handling requests from ODS bodies. We cov…

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Blackbird Spyplane’s Jonah Weiner on Substack, resisting selling out, and Obama’s pants legacy 49:05

2M ago49:05

49:05

Blackbird Spyplane, a style and culture newsletter, launched in 2020 as one of the early adopters and success stories on Substack. This week, Ben and Max bring on co-author and longtime magazine journalist, Jonah Weiner, to talk about how the newsletter has evolved, how it changed his marriage, and why he’s ‘grossed out’ by affiliate links. They al…

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Haitians Living in Fear in the Dominican Republic 29:05

1M ago29:05

29:05

How Haitians in the Dominican Republic are being targeted for expulsion. The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean’s number one tourist destination. Last year 11 million visitors came here, many enjoying the five star resorts that skirt the island’s coast. Much of the construction work building those tourist facilities is in fact done by Haitians, an…

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Can MS survive without NBC? Inside CEO Mark Lazarus’ efforts to save cable’s great brands 54:55

2M ago54:55

54:55

MSNBC and 10 other television channels, from CNBC to Golf Channel, are splitting from NBC over the next several weeks to form a new digital-focused, publicly traded company called Versant. In his first interview about the new “SpinCo,” Ben and Max talk to CEO Mark Lazarus about how he envisions the company will operate, how he wants to grow each of…

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‘A new foe’: Conscripting women in Denmark 28:25

1M ago28:25

28:25

Denmark is eyeing up the military threat from Russia – and dramatically increasing the numbers in its national service. Now, 18-year-old girls are facing a call up. The BBC has been granted rare access to a military base on the outskirts of Copenhagen to see the newest recruits learn how to operate on the battlefield. Anna Holligan attends a “Defen…

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Malcolm Gladwell’s theories on podcasting, America, and Joe Rogan 54:02

2M ago54:02

54:02

Malcolm Gladwell is a man of many theories – he’s made a career of it through his books and podcasts through Pushkin Industries. This week, Ben and Max bring on the author and Revisionist History host to get his current theories about the state of podcasting, how that industry can extend your career, and why he’s betting on narrative shows when eve…

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Who Actually Runs This City? 27:28

2M ago27:28

27:28

Listen to our co-hosts and the Mayor of Aalborg, Lasse Frimand Jensen. Focus of this conversation is: Understanding the role of the local council and the mayor in Danish municipalities, and how residents, including internationals, can engage with and influence their local democracy. The podcast is made by AMIS (an NGO that has over 30 years of hist…

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Bonus: Meet a 1st time voter 13:44

2M ago13:44

13:44

Listen to one of the first voters from 2021. The podcast is made by AMIS (an NGO that has over 30 years of history of making projects aimed at developing better opportunities and inclusion in Denmark and Europe), Nyt Europa (an NGO that works for a sustainable and democratic EU) and Last Week in Denmark (a weekly newsletter about Danish latest news…

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Can I Really Vote in Denmark? 35:14

2M ago35:14

35:14

In this episode, we explain how to vote in Denmark, who is eligible to vote, and why every vote matters. Whether you’re an international resident or a first-time voter, you’ll learn how local and regional elections work, what you need to bring on election day, and how your participation helps shape Denmark’s future. The podcast is made by AMIS (an …

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September, elite sport, and the not-quite death of Jante Law: The Danish Year Part 9 9:16

2M ago9:16

9:16

Denmark may be a small country, but it produces world-class athletes in cycling, tennis, handball, badminton, and golf. How do they do it? And how does the tax-financed effort to create athletic champions fit with the culture code of "Jante Law", the idea is that no one should think themselves better than anyone else? September is when fall sports …

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Kenya: A Battle for Gen Z 30:27

2M ago30:27

30:27

Over the past year, Kenya has been rocked by anti-government protests. What started as a demonstration over proposed tax increases soon turned into a nationwide, youth-led protest over the state of the economy, alleged political corruption and police brutality. But it's come at a cost. Dozens of protestors have been killed in clashes with the polic…

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How AI is reshaping media, with Google’s VP of marketing, Josh Spanier 37:43

2M ago37:43

37:43

This week, a special episode featuring Josh Spanier, VP of marketing at Google, who you might recognize from our branded segments. In this sponsored episode, Ben asks Josh about how Google thinks about advertising, how he’s navigated the technological changes in that space, and if AI is going to homogenize all of the ads we see. Josh also answers s…

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Saving Gaza's Past 32:52

2M ago32:52

32:52

The history of Gaza dates back more than 5000 years. In antiquity, it was a key port on the Mediterranean coast. Assyrians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and the Ottomans have all left their mark on this small territory. This rich history is seen by Palestinians as central to their identity. Amid the death and destruction of the war, the BBC’s…

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How to be elite in the age of populism, with the FT’s Roula Khalaf 43:35

2M ago43:35

43:35

The Financial Times is the paper for business and world leaders, and comes with a hefty subscription price of $45/month. But what does it mean to serve the elite in a growing age of populism, and what are the consequences of high quality journalism only being available to the 1%? This week, Ben and Max bring on the editor of the FT, Roula Khalaf, t…

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Galicia’s wild horses in peril 30:20

2M ago30:20

30:20

Europe’s largest herd of wild horses, in north-west Spain, is under threat. Numbers have halved in the last fifty years. Now around ten thousand wild horses roam freely in the hills and mountains of Galicia. But they are facing a number of challenges, not least the loss of their habitat and the threat from their main predator, wolves. There are als…

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How media drove America crazy, with Thomas Chatterton Williams 46:10

3M ago46:10

46:10

Five years since the start of the pandemic and the racial reckoning post-George Floyd, we’re still seeing the effects that 2020 had on culture and politics. This week, Ben and Max bring on The Atlantic staff writer, Thomas Chatterton Williams, to talk about how we can trace Donald Trump’s re-election to that summer, the role that media played in fu…

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Suing 'Alligator Alcatraz': Immigration in the US 28:59

2M ago28:59

28:59

President Trump has called illegal immigration an “invasion” and what's followed is a huge rise in the arrest and detention of migrants. Some have ended up in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ - an immigration detention centre that was speedily constructed in June, deep in the Florida swampland. It has become a focal point for debates around immigration. Outsid…

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Don Lemon on Elon Musk, Chris Cuomo, and why YouTube is better than CNN 39:54

3M ago39:54

39:54

After his dramatic breakup with CNN and failed partnership with Elon Musk’s X, Don Lemon now has almost 800,000 subscribers on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max bring on the broadcaster-turned-streamer to discuss what he’s learned in the transition to new media, the latest on his legal battle with Musk, and if there’s a place for centrists on YouTube…

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Europe’s migrant crisis: the truck that shocked the world 28:13

3M ago28:13

28:13

In the summer of 2015, tens of thousands of people left their homes in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq in the hope of finding a safe haven in Europe. The journeys they took were often hazardous and not everyone reached their destination. In one of the most notorious cases, 71 migrants were found dead in the back of a refrigerated truck on a motorway in…

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Mark Cuban on AI in politics, running for president (or not), and why he hates the media business 46:50

3M ago46:50

46:50

Mark Cuban is everywhere – and famously accessible. But what might be called overexposure in a previous era is now a strength in a fragmented media world, to the point that many people want him to run for president in 2028. This week, Ben and Max bring on the former Shark Tank “shark” and former majority-owner of the Dallas Mavericks to talk about …

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Tajikistan’s Last, Lonely Hyenas 29:10

3M ago29:10

29:10

For decades, conservationists in Tajikistan assumed that the striped hyena – a shy, less vocal cousin of the spotted hyena – was extinct there. But in 2017 a motion-sensitive camera trap in the country’s south-western corner, near the borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, detected the presence of a female with cubs. The discovery stunned local o…

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August, The first day of school, and how children learn to be Danish: The Danish Year Part 8 8:20

3M ago8:20

8:20

Denmark is a very good place to be a child, and to have children, yet the birthrate is dropping as it is in so many other countries. Some preschools have shut down due to lack of kids. Just this year Denmark reached a population of 6 million – a big landmark - but that's mostly due to immigration, not more children being born. All the initiatives t…

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Pablo Torre on ESPN, investigating LeBron, and becoming the New York Times' first 'creator' 1:03:36

3M ago1:03:36

1:03:36

Pablo Torre was one of ESPN’s rising stars — a fixture on shows like PTI and Around the Horn. But now he’s building something outside the machine. This week, Ben and Max bring on the host of Pablo Torre Finds Out to talk about leaving ESPN, launching his own show with Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media, and how it recently became part of The Athletic…

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Waiting for my Dad - Ukraine's children of the missing 30:37

3M ago30:37

30:37

A pioneering summer camp for Ukrainian children with missing parents. According to the Ukrainian government, more than 70 thousand people are missing in the war, leaving families, including thousands of children, anxious for news of their loved ones and unable to move on. Psychologists say these children are some of the most traumatised they have w…

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Emily Maitlis on Epstein, Prince Andrew, and why American journalists can’t do interviews 52:25

4M ago52:25

52:25

Emily Maitlis got one of the biggest scoops in the Epstein story when she interviewed Prince Andrew about his involvement in 2019. She was then a longtime presenter for the BBC, but has since moved onto hosting one of the UK’s top podcasts, The News Agents. This week, Ben and Max bring on the British broadcaster turned podcaster about how she think…

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Scott Galloway on money, marketing, and masculinity 44:01

4M ago44:01

44:01

Scott Galloway has become ubiquitous in the new media world – he hosts 6 podcasts and counting – and he’s emerged as a voice for an underserved audience of young men on the left. This week, Ben and Max talk to the Pivot co-host about how he turned a career in marketing into a new kind of media stardom, how much money his podcasts make him, and why …

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Director Ari Aster on ‘the movie that Twitter wrote’ 45:43

4M ago45:43

45:43

Ari Aster, the filmmaker behind Hereditary and Midsommar, is out with a new movie today called Eddington. The new film is a modern Western placed in the height of lockdown during the 2020 pandemic, where the real villain is digital media. This week, Ben and Max bring on the writer and director to talk about why he decided to make a film set during …

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Why YouTube’s favorite doctor won’t stop talking about politics 44:55

4M ago44:55

44:55

Doctor Mike is a leading medical voice in digital media, with over 14 million subscribers on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max talk to YouTube’s favorite doctor about the role of medical experts online, why he thinks legacy media has failed to communicate medical information, and why he’s not afraid to be overtly political by calling out RFK Jr. and …

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The secret to Zohran Mamdani’s winning media strategy is simpler than you think 47:17

5M ago47:17

47:17

Zohran Mamdani, until recently a little-known lawmaker, surprised New Yorkers by winning the Democratic primary for mayor last week. He broke out through vertical video on social media in ways that few political candidates have been able to pull off. This week, Ben and Max talk to the candidate’s media team, Rebecca Katz, founder of the political a…

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July, Nature in Denmark, and following The Daisy Route: The Danish Year Part 7 7:59

5M ago7:59

7:59

July is vacation month in Denmark, and it's ironic that many Danes go elsewhere on vacation at just this time of year, when you have the best chance of good weather in Denmark. And I do mean chance – there is never any guarantee. Some Danes go abroad, driving vacations to Southern Europe are popular. There's a well-known cycle in which the summer w…

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Steve Inskeep on NPR cuts, Iran, and radio’s place in the podcast era 43:22

5M ago43:22

43:22

Steve Inskeep has one of the most recognizable names and voices in the country, greeting millions of Americans every morning since the 2000s. This week, Ben and Max bring on the Morning Edition host to talk about NPR’s battle with the Trump administration, the role of public radio in an overcrowded media landscape, and why local journalism matters …

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How the EU is Shielding Elections from Disinformation, Manipulation, and AI, with Jakub Szymik 36:46

5M ago36:46

36:46

Jakub Szymik, Founder of CEE Digital Democracy Watch, discusses the EU's ongoing initiatives to fight disinformation, regulate political advertising, and protect election integrity on social media. Jakub shares his insights on the Digital Services Act, the European Democracy Shield, and how these initiatives relate to digital political advertising …

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Is journalism bad for The New York Times’ business? with CEO Meredith Kopit Levien 43:53

5M ago43:53

43:53

The New York Times has weathered incredible changes in the media industry throughout its 174 years – and it’s managed to stay on top through the recent shift to digital, topping podcast charts and becoming a daily app for games and cooking. This week, live from the Cannes Lions festival, Ben and Max are joined by CEO Meredith Kopit Levien to talk a…

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Professional optimist Cleo Abram on tech’s bright future 45:24

5M ago45:24

45:24

Cleo Abram left Vox and started her YouTube show, Huge If True, 3 years ago. Since then, the channel has grown to nearly 6 million subscribers and she’s become one of the most important tech journalists in the world. This week, Ben and Max talk to Cleo about why she started an optimistic show in an age of pessimism, the time she got space-sick in z…

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The Great Rebundling — With Peter Kafka and Brian Morrissey 27:51

5M ago27:51

27:51

The media industry has spent the last decade talking about its own decline — but where is it actually headed? This week on Mixed Signals, Ben kicks off a special three-part crossover with Peter Kafka of Channels and Brian Morrissey of The Rebooting. In part one of the conversation, the three discuss the future of media bundles, why everyone seems t…

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Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons on how food ate media 38:18

5M ago38:18

38:18

Top Chef, which is airing its 22nd season finale next week, has been shaping how we think and talk about food for the past 2 decades. This week, Ben and Max talk to Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, longtime judges since the first season, about how the show influenced the restaurant industry, how food media has changed, and why the show has gotten ni…