A panel of experts from across the ideological spectrum joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen on November 11 to consider what the 2020 election and its aftermath demonstrates about the political parties, polarization, and the state of American democracy today. They also explored how debates over what “truth” means have grown over the last four years, how that manifested in the election and its results, and where we’re headed next, including the future of American values like free speech. The panel features Anne Applebaum and Yascha Mounk of the SNF Agora Institute and The Atlantic, David French of The Dispatch, and Charles Kesler of Claremont McKenna College.
This program was presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
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PARTICIPANTS
Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. She is also an SNF Agora senior fellow and associate professor of the practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. A Washington Post columnist for 15 years and a former member of the editorial board, she has also worked at Spectator magazine, Evening Standard, Slate, and others. She is the author of several books, including Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism.
David French is a senior editor for The Dispatch, where he also co-hosts the weekly podcast Advisory Opinions. He is a columnist for Time and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. French is the author or co-author of several books, including his most recent book Divided We Fall. He has also served as a senior writer for the National Review, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a lecturer at Cornell Law School.
Charles Kesler is the Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute. He is also editor of the Claremont Review of Books, host of Claremont’s “The American Mind” video series, and teaches in the Claremont Institute’s Publius Fellows Program and Lincoln Fellows Program. Kesler is the editor of several volumes and the author of the forthcoming book Crisis of the Two Constitutions.
Yascha Mounk is associate professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, where he holds appointments in the School of Advanced International Studies and Agora Institute. He also serves as a senior advisor at Protect Democracy and holds senior fellowship positions at the German Marshall Fund, Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance, and New York University's Reiss Center on Law and Security. His most recent book is The People vs. Democracy.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
This episode was engineered by Greg Scheckler and produced by Jackie McDermott, Tanaya Tauber, and Lana Ulrich.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Anne Applebaum, "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism"
- David French, "Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation"
- Charles Kesler, "Crisis of the Two Constitutions: The Rise, Decline, and Recovery of American Greatness"
- Yascha Mounk, "The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It"
- Yascha Mounk, "Don't Panic!"
- Anne Applebaum, "History Will Judge the Complicit"
- Yascha Mounk, “Republicans Don’t Understand Democrats—And Democrats Don’t Understand Republicans“
- Charles Kesler, "Breaking Norms Will Renew Democracy, Not Ruin It"
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TRANSCRIPT: Download the transcript here.
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
