How did campaigning and false information in campaigns change in the 2024 elections?What role did platform content moderation play in 2024?Is generative AI going to change campaigns in 2028 and beyond?On Season 6, Episode 7 of the ELB podcast, a roundtable with Alice Marwick, Kate Starbird, and Joshua Tucker.…

Do documentary proof of citizenship laws stop a lot of illegal voting or suppress the votes of eligible voters?How have such laws been implemented in the state of Arizona and elsewhere?What are the prospects for passage of the SAVE Act, which would bring such laws to the nation as a whole?On season 6, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Ari…

What would it take for humanity to truly live and thrive in space? Not just surviving, but creating a life worth living—complete with culture, comfort, and connection. And how might those innovations in space transform life here on Earth? To answer these questions, few people are better to ask than Dr. Ariel Ekblaw. I am confident you’ve never met …

What will the new Trump Administration and the new Congress do when it comes to voting rights and fair elections?What challenges face state and local election officials going forward?Will the courts stand up for voting rights and fair elections in the years to come?On Season 6, Episode 5 of the ELB podcast, we feature a discussion with Amy Gardner,…

How did social media’s treatment of election content change in the 2024 elections?What do Meta’s new announcements mean for politics and society going forward?How might AI change everything?On Season 6, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with social media and politics expert Katie Harbath.By Rick Hasen

Here is a recording from my live video with Dan Perry of “Ask Questions Later”. About Dan Perry: As regular CRN readers and listeners know, among other roles, Dan led the Associated Press coverage of Israel and the Middle East — from Pakistan through north Africa — for much of the 2010s, and before that he led AP in Europe and Africa. Today Dan liv…

What are the risks to a peaceful transition of power once all the votes have been cast?What can we learn from history and from other democracies about our moment of democratic peril?How worried should we be about the risks of political violence?On Season 6, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast we speak with Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg, the Hoov…

Why do we have the Electoral College and is its use justified today?Why do Democrats and Republicans think differently about the Electoral College?Does the Electoral College make it harder or easier to subvert American elections?On Season 6, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast we speak with Joey Fishkin of UCLA Law, Amanda Hollis-Brusky of Pomona College,…

How prepared are we for a peaceful transition of power in 2024 in light of what we witnessed in the 2020 elections?What hurdles stand before minority voters in the upcoming elections?How has the social media and information environment affecting elections shifted since 2020?On today’s episode of the ELB Podcast we speak with Leah Aden, of the NAACP…

What’s the difference between how Americans communicated about politics and policies 20 or 30 years ago and how we do it today?What are the most effective ways to combat disinformation in elections and otherwise?Are the platforms and the rest of us ready for election-related threats in 2024?On the season finale of Season 5 of the ELB Podcast, we sp…

How should we understand the Supreme Court’s questions in the Trump immunity case?Will the Court let Donald Trump go to trial for 2020 election interference based just on his acts as a candidate and not as President?Are the legal theories advanced in Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York legally sound?On Season 5, Episode 7 of the ELB Podcast,…

Why doesn’t the U.S. Constitution contain an affirmative right to vote?Can constitutional reform promote political equality, defuse the voting wars, and thwart election subversion?How can we get a constitutional right to vote, if we can’t even get normal voting rights legislation passed in Congress?On Season 5, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast, I am in…

What are the costs for democracy when the Supreme Court decides cases on the “shadow docket?”Is the Purcell Principle a license for states to act illegally in running elections?What is going to happen with the Trump disqualification case at the Supreme Court?On Season 5, Episode 5 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Steve Vladeck, author of the book,…

Has the United States done enough to minimize the risk of election subversion in 2024?How might problems in Congress affect a fair tallying of electoral college votes on January 6, 2025?How much danger of authoritarian rule does the U.S. face going forward?On Season 5, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Ian Bassin and Jess Marsden of Prote…

Do gag orders against presidential candidate Donald Trump in his civil or criminal trials violate the First Amendment?What should we make of Trump’s claims that his actions to overturn the results of the 2020 elections are protected free speech?How should we assess the dangers of government “jawboning” of social media platforms to remove objectiona…

Is the Roberts Court shifting on its protection of voting rights?How has the addition of three Trump-appointed Justices changed the nature of the Supreme Court?Should we expect a new ethics code for Supreme Court Justices?On Season 5, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Joan Biskupic, CNN’s senior supreme court analyst and author of the new…

I first met Dan Perry in Romania 1990. He was the AP Bureau Chief, and I was freelancing for the summer. There’s no one I’ve met who better understands collectively Israel, the Middle East, and the U.S. So after the Hamas attack and Israel’s declaration of war, I knew whom to call. Dan was awoken on Oct. 7 “by rocket fire over central Tel Aviv, wit…

Will the multiple indictments and expected trials of former President Donald Trump lead to violence or unrest?Are the risks of political violence in the U.S. increasing or decreasing?What can the United States learn from other countries that reversed democratic backsliding?On Season 5, Episode 1 of the ELB podcast, we have a roundtable with Ben Gin…

What are the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Harper for American democracy?What will the case mean for 2024 election challenges?Does the decision shut down attempts to submit slates of fake electors and subvert presidential elections?On the Season 4 finale of the ELB podcast, a voting rights roundtable with Derek Muller, Ca…

Why did two conservative justices on the Supreme Court join the Court’s liberals to save section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Allen v. Milligan?Will voting rights plaintiffs see more success in Section 2 cases in other states including Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas?What are the political implications of the Court siding with minority plaintiffs in…

To what extent have abortion politics been the driver of campaign finance fights in the courts?How much of a force has anti-abortion lawyer Jim Bopp been in the campaign finance cases?Are new efforts to make it harder to pass abortion initiatives going to change voters’ access to direct democracy?On Season 4, Episode 8 of the ELB Podcast, we speak …

How do Republican voters think about Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election?What are voters’ attitudes towards authoritarianism and the rule of law?How will election denialism play out in the 2024 Republican presidential primary?On Season 4, Episode 7 of the ELB podcast, we speak with GOP pollster and publisher of The Bulwark, Sarah …

Does our decentralized system of government create conditions to strengthen or weaken democratic institutions?Why have red and blue states adopted different sets of election rules, with some Republican states adopting restrictive registration and voting laws?Would more a more national election process in the United States protect against the risk o…

Can an attempt an election subversion in the 1940s teach us how to handle current threats to American democracy?Do failed attempts to hold Nazi sympathizers in the American government accountable through criminal litigation show the limits of the law in protecting democracy?What role can and should journalists play in safeguarding free and fair ele…

Did the 2022 U.S. midterm elections demonstrate that we have moved beyond risks to American democracy?What explains continued, persistent divisions across the American public along party lines?Does there remain a potential for violence associated with future U.S. elections?On Season 4, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Lynn Vavreck and Ch…

Does former president Donald Trump know—and does he care—that the statements he has made undermining the integrity of the 2020 electionrun the risk of undermining the core of American democracy?Is election denialism bigger than Trump’s hold over the GOP?What should the Republicans, Democrats, the Press, and others do to counter concerns about threa…

What is the “independent state legislature theory,” and does a potential Supreme Court embrace threaten American democracy?Will use of the doctrine raise the risk of election subversion or stolen elections?How far could the theory go in insulating legislative voting rules from state constitutional review?On Season 4, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, w…

Will Congress pass bipartisan legislation to fix the Electoral Count Act, that Donald Trump tried to exploit in 2020? Is the new Electoral Count Reform Act the right way to go to stop election subversion?Are there ways of improving the act before Congress may pass it as soon as this fall?On Season 4, Episode 1 of the ELB Podcast, we hear a recent c…

Why has it gotten harder rather than easier to vote in the United States over the past decade?What can be done about the risk of stolen elections in the United States?How have the Supreme Court’s decisions on redistricting, voting rights, and gerrymandering affected the quality of American democracy?On season 3, Episode 8 of the ELB podcast, we spe…

How did Wisconsin go from the gold standard for election administration in the United States to its laughing stock?What does the partisan investigation into the 2020 election say about how to once again achieve bipartisan cooperation in running elections?What is the future of free and fair elections in Wisconsin and beyond?On season 3, Episode 7 of…

ELB Podcast Episode 3:6: Deuel Ross: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Alabama Voting Rights Redistricting Case But Were Too Confused to AskWhy did the Supreme Court put on hold a federal district court order requiring the state of Alabama to draw another Black majority congressional district? What does the stay order in Merrill v. Milligan m…

ELB Podcast Episode 3:5: Bart Gellman, Jessica Huseman, and Margaret Sullivan: What Can (and Should) Journalists Do to Prevent Election Subversion and Another January 6?How can journalists best report on stories about the risks to election integrity in the United States?Should journalists be taking sides between the forces of those supporting and o…

Can the United States continue to run free and fair elections amidst a sea of election disinformation? What has the path of the voting wars looked like since the disputed 2000 election? How should journalists cover stories like election subversion, and deal with those who make claims about elections being stolen or rigged?On Season 3 Episode 4 of t…

Is the Voting Rights Act effectively dead as a superstatute? Is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act the best way to protect minority voters in the United States? Are the dangers of election subversion and voter suppression more closely linked than some have said?On Season 3, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Guy Charles, the Charles…

Is the United States at risk of election subversion and stolen elections?Is the key to secure American elections having people of integrity running them?What role can law play in protecting the rule of law and elections?On Season 3, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Harris County, Texas El…

How will the new round of redistricting go, with late census numbers, courts refusing to police partisan gerrymanders, and a weakened Voting Rights Act? Will redistricting cost Democrats control of the U.S. House? How will redistricting commissions fit into the rushed process?On Season 3 Episode 1 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Stanford law and …

For eight years, Ben Rhodes served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama. Now Rhodes has written a book — After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made — about his personal post-Obama journey that sought to answer a simple question: What happened to the world, America, and himself as the undertow of history pulled us into …

This is a special live Zoom edition of Chris Riback’s Conversations, the first in our new series of political book conversations sponsored by Cornell’s Institute of Politics & Global Affairs. What does it mean for democracy when the President attacks the free press as fake news? How should journalists balance the need to avoid becoming the “opposit…

Chances are, you may not have heard of New Rochelle, NY before about a month ago. It’s New York’s 7th largest city, located just 30 minutes north of Manhattan. It was founded by refugee Huguenots – French Protestants – who were fleeing religious persecution in France in 1688. During the 1930s, New Rochelle was the wealthiest city per capita in New …

When I first scheduled an election analysis discussion with former U.S. Representative Steve Israel, it’s fair to say that my initial set of questions had nothing to do with how to run for President in a time of Coronavirus. That’s where this conversation begins, but not where it ends. Because while we all navigate this new reality, we’re also stil…

Today we continue with our check on the state of American democracy. We began with Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt to get an update on “How Democracies Die” and the question: How much more can our institutions take? Today we’ll look at the cornerstone of our democracy and a question that’s as shocking to ask as it sounds: Can …

It’s time for a democracy check. With the Trump Impeachment Trial over and the 2020 presidential primaries in full bloom, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I imagine many other people are wondering, too: How’s our democracy doing? Are America’s democratic norms still valid? How much more can our institutions take? And this was even before the Rog…

The first time he said it – or rather tweeted it – was in January 2018. In describing his business, television, and political accomplishments, President Trump typed: “I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius… and a very stable genius at that!” He said it again at a NATO meeting that July. Again the following July 2019. And again in Septe…

Rick Wilson – the sharp-witted, wise-cracking Republican political strategist, ad-maker, analyst, columnist, and crazy-good tweeter – joined me in Westchester County, NY for a live conversation about the 2020 election, impeachment, and his new book, “Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America from Trump – and Democrats from Themselves.” It w…

As our 2020 Presidential campaign becomes more intense and pointed, it’s clear there is a battle going on for, among other things, America’s economic soul. Politically, the debate has exploded a revival of -isms… Populism, authoritarianism, socialism. But through the issues – from Trump’s tax cuts to Elizabeth Warren’s Health Care Plan – the compli…

It started with the generals. Mattis. Kelley. McMaster. Along with Rex Tillerson, they were part of the “Axis of Adults,” the ones, as the story of this presidency has been told, who stood between President Trump and chaos – between President Trump and his own, unchecked impulses, particularly in foreign affairs. As we know now, only Trump is left …

If you’re feeling lousy about the state of politics in America, now might be the time to surround yourself with some Brits. As they surely must ask about us: What in the world is going on over there? The UK is now more than three years into Brexit, the unexpected, unplanned and so far unfinished move to pull out of the European Union. The latest de…

Between the alligator moat revelation and horrendous, inhumane taking of children from their parents, when considering Donald Trump’s immigration policy, it can be hard to get past the headlines. But it turns out, the immigration story serves as an incredibly useful way to consider the entire Trump presidency: Obsession, chaos, fear, depravity, and…

If one question has driven mankind’s quest for innovation, it very well might be this: How can we get more from less? For most of our time on this planet, the answer was simple: We couldn’t. As my guest Andrew McAfee points out, for just about all of human history – particularly the Industrial Era – our prosperity has been tightly coupled to our ab…

October 1st marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China – the name given by Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in 1949. To understate the reality, a lot has happened in China over the last 70 years. The fact is, a lot has happened in China over the last 70 days – much of it unexpected, confusing, and on-go…