Americans today are more politically polarized than in the past. We are more likely to align our political identities with specific ideological stances, and we are more likely to view the opposition with hostility (according to data from, among other sources, Pew Research Center and Rice and Stanford Universities). Can this political polarization be overcome?

This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Emancipation in America is often presented as a single and singular undertaking. But Professor Kris Manjapra's new book, Black Ghost of Empire, complicates that story by situating America's national emancipation in a long line of global emancipations--including the first emancipations, which occurred in America's North in the late 18th century--that were in many ways structured to benefit former enslavers and ensure that the formerly enslaved remained repressed.

Were these compromised emancipations necessary concessions to the powers that existed at the time? Or did they suffer from an impoverished conception of "the possible"? Professor Manjapra joined Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, to discuss these and other questions; to examine the words and deeds of great Americans like Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass; to consider the unique beauty of facts; and to ask what it would mean to live in a truly reciprocal society.

This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Civics for Life and the O'Connor Institute welcome Professor Cristina Rodríguez and Mr. Adam White as they join host Liam Julian, director of Public Policy, for an online conversation and share diverse perspectives on the Future of the Court. Rodríguez and White both served as members of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, formed by President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14023 in April 2021.

The Commission’s purpose was to provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals. The topics examined by the Commission included the genesis of the reform debate; the Court’s role in the constitutional system; the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court; the membership and size of the Court; and the Court’s case selection, rules, and practices. At its public meeting on December 7, 2021, the 34-member Commission voted unanimously to approve the submission of the final report, concluding that it had met its charge to provide an account of the current debate over the “role and operation of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system."

This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

On Thursday, Oct. 17, we welcomed participants from 36 states to our Public Square online discussion on the decline of civics education being taught today. The research is clear: study after study shows that we Americans don't know civics.

This is especially the case for younger Americans, who data reveal to be less informed about civics than their older counterparts. Obviously there is a need for more and better civic education in schools, a proposition that consistently receives strong bipartisan support. Yet American public schools are not as a rule prioritizing civic education. Why is this so?

Read our latest research at OConnorInstitute/research.

This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

The story often told is that rural America is in decline, and that rural Americans are resentful of their suburban and urban counterparts. But Elizabeth Currid-Halkett argues in her new book The Overlooked Americans: The Resilience of Our Rural Towns and What It Means For Our Country that rural Americans and rural America are in many ways actually thriving. Currid-Halkett joins Institute director of public policy Liam Julian for an enlightening discussion.

This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

What is the museum’s role in society? How does – and can – the museum function as a civic space? Dr. Anthea Hartig, the first woman director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, sat down with Civics for Life to briefly discuss these and other questions.

The following podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Economist Dr. Art Laffer—creator of the famous Laffer Curve and advisor to U.S. presidents including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton—joins the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy for a wide-ranging conversation about the American economy.

From inflation and government spending to monetary policy and long-term growth, Dr. Laffer shares his unique perspective, blending economic analysis with historical insight. Drawing from his time in the Reagan administration, he reflects on the enduring impact of tax cuts and their role in shaping economic growth and national prosperity—lessons that remain relevant today.

Explore more at OConnorInstitute.org

This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Gerrymandering, according to Webster, is "to divide or arrange (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group when voting districts are designed to achieve specific political outcomes."

Nick Seabrook, an authority on gerrymandering and constitutional law, discusses his book, One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America and, just weeks before our nation heads to the polls, breaks down how new voting districts following the 2020 U.S. Census could affect election results for years to come.

The following podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. We offer a platform of civil discourse to allow for disparate views to be discussed and explored.

You can find us at: https://oconnorinstitute.org/

Follow us on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube