All over the world, democracy is under threat. Autocrats are taking hold. They’re crushing dissent. Controlling the media. Trampling voting rights. Don’t let them.
We put the illiberal turn in context. Hear leading thinkers discuss serious threats to government by the people: from the dark web and media disinformation, to climate change, economic inequality and violent extremism.
Help save the rule of the people — one episode at a time. And make democracy work better.
Our hosts
Will Hitchcock
Will Hitchcock is the James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His work focuses on global history during the era of the two world wars and Cold War. Will has authored four books, including a New York Times bestseller — The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s — and The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe. He is now writing about President Franklin Roosevelt and the struggle against European fascism. Will directs the research program Governing America in a Global Era, in partnership with the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. He’s on leave during Season Seven, but he’ll be back in spring 2024. Follow him on Twitter @WillHitchUVA.
Siva Vaidhyanathan
Siva Vaidhyanathan is the Robertson Professor of Modern Media Studies and the director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia. He writes frequently for the Guardian and Wired, and is the author, most recently, of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Siva has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and in several documentaries, including Terms and Conditions May Apply, a 2013 film about corporate and government surveillance of private data. Follow him on Twitter @sivavaid.
Emily Burrill
Emily Burrill is an associate professor in the University of Virginia’s Corcoran Department of History, and an affiliate of the Karsh Institute. She studies the intersections among colonialism, law, gender and sexuality in West Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Burrill previously taught at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where she directed the African Studies Center. Her book States of Marriage: Gender, Justice, and Rights in Colonial Mali (2015, Ohio University Press) won the Alf Andrew Heggoy Book Prize for French colonial history. Follow Burrill on Twitter @EmilySBurrill.
Senior staff
Robert Armengol is our producer. Robert (a.k.a. Roberto) is a cultural anthropologist and journalist with two decades of fieldwork, documentary media and teaching in higher education. Previously, he held a postdoc at the University of Virginia; served as a coordinating producer for the public radio show BackStory; and wrote for daily newspapers in the Delaware Valley. Follow Robert @robertoarmengol.
Nicholas C. Scott is our assistant producer. He’s a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Virginia. Broadly trained as historian of modern Latin America, Nicholas’s dissertation traces the history of popular struggles for dignity led by working classes of Santiago, Chile between 1957 and 2010. When he’s not on grounds, Nicholas enjoys visiting art galleries, discovering new music and digging through back issues at a local comic shop.
Stephen Betts is our assistant producer for special projects. He’s a doctoral candidate in religious studies with a love for public scholarship and podcasting. In past lives, Stephen studied ancient Greek, tried his hand in computational linguistics and interned at one of the world’s largest sci-fi libraries. Currently, Stephen is writing about slavery and scripture in antebellum America.
Ariana Arenson coordinates our promotions. With roots in Colorado, she decided to stay in Charlottesville a bit longer after graduating from UVa. As content and media producer for the Karsh Institute of Democracy, Ariana’s work on D in D is just one piece of her portfolio. She also dabbles in podcasting of her own, photography and videography. Fun fact: Ariana co-edited The Cavalier Daily podcast What’s the 434? before passing the baton to Katie.
Student Interns
Adin Yager engineers the show. He’s a professional music producer, audio engineer, DJ and musician from Northern Virginia. A fourth-year student at UVa, he is double-majoring in music and economics. Adin is an Echols Scholar and Miller Arts Scholar. Adin’s music can be found on all music streaming services under the handle skyswimming.
Charlie Burns is our senior production intern, helping draft our web and interview content. He’s a fourth-year government major with a passion for both global politics and modern media. An avid listener of podcasts, Charlie loves how audio brings the news to life, and especially digs The Daily from The New York Times.
Leena Fraihat is a production intern. She’s a third-year majoring in media studies and minoring public writing and rhetoric. Leena also contributes to Humans of UVA and The Cavalier Daily, where she chairs the paper’s of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Makhdum Mourad Shah is a production intern. He’s a second-year intending to double-major — in commerce and foreign affairs. Mak is from Lahore, Pakistan, where he has seen what it truly means for democracy to be in danger. He is also a member of the varsity polo team.
Katie Pile is our social media intern. She hails from the San Francisco Bay Area. A fourth-year media studies major, Katie interned previously with Real Chemistry and co-edits What’s the 434? — a student-produced podcast from The Cavalier Daily. Before transferring to UVa, she led marketing for the American Marketing Association case competition team at the University of Washington.
Caroline Yu is our special projects intern. She’s a second-year planning on majoring in political philosophy, policy and law, and minoring in public policy and leadership. Originally from Connecticut, Caroline is an Echols Scholar. She is also involved in student council and an academic research program for undergrads.
Ellie Salvatierra is our engineering understudy. She helps Adin mix the show, joining us through an internship at the Music Resource Center of Charlottesville, Va. Ellie is a senior at Tandem Friends School and super-involved in its music program. She’s interested in a future career in audio engineering and live production.