The Future of Our Former Democracy 

Throughout this season, we've heard excerpts from interviews and presentations that were part of a February 2025 learning tour organized by More Equitable Democracy. This tour brought US academics, racial justice advocates, and political reformers to Germany to see proportional representation in action during their national elections. In our season 2 finale, some of the learning tour's participants share their reflections—not just about what they learned in Germany, but about what they intend to bring back home to their work in the US. Then, we visit Portland, Oregon, which in 2024 became the first major US city since the 1950s to use a system of proportional representation. We'll hear from community organizers, elections administrators, journalists, and candidates (both successful and less so) who ran under Portland's new system. Does Portland represent the future of our former democracy? Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:   ⁠⁠Dr. Berit Ebert⁠⁠, Bard College Berlin Deb Otis, FairVote Professor Kevin Deegan-Krause, Voters Not Politicians LaShanda Jackson, Philanthropic Advisor Neal Ubriani, Institute for Responsive Government Professor Spencer Overton, Multiracial Democracy Project Shane Dixon Kavanaugh⁠, The Oregonian Leah Benson, Multnomah County Elections Division Andrés Oswill, Oregon Futures Lab Sameer Kanal, Portland City Councilmember Tiffany Koyama Lane, Portland City Councilmember Steph Routh, 2024 Candidate for Portland City Council Hermann "Bobby" Grampp, ⁠⁠Berlin-based historian and music critic⁠ Nicola Hieke⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Landeskoordinierungstelle Bayern gegen Rechtsextremismus⁠⁠ (Bavaria State Coordination Office Against Right-Wing Extremism) Professor Doctor Magnus Brechtken⁠, ⁠⁠Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History⁠ Referenced works: The Oregonian: "Portland’s ranked-choice debut sees voter engagement crater" Portland Mercury: "Portland’s Ranked Choice Voting Was a Success (Despite What the Oregonian Claims)" More Equitable Democracy: ⁠2025 Portland Learning Symposium ⁠⁠⁠"Lift Every Voice" Data and Democracy Lab: Study of the 2024 STV City Council Election in Portland, Oregon Salon: "⁠Sorry, haters: Ranked-choice voting produced the most diverse city council in NYC history⁠" Additional links: Oregon Public Broadcasting: "In East Portland, a light post offers hope for a change in City Hall representation" Rose City Reform: "Diversity By Design - An analysis of Portland City Council’s 2025 voting record" ⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠   For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠ For more information on Larj Media, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.larjmedia.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

From the Arab Spring to German Winter

In Germany, as in the United States and much of Europe, there has been a rising surge of support for far-right populism and anti-democratic forces. This is exemplified in the growth of the far-right political party "Alternative for Germany" (AFD). In this episode, Heather and Colin compare still-simmering political tensions between former East and West Germany with those between red and blue states in the US — and examine why German democracy has, so far, proven more resilient to authoritarianism than US democracy. Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:   Martin Lange, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tour with a Berliner⁠⁠ ⁠Dr. Berit Ebert⁠, Bard College Berlin Alec MacGillis, ProPublica Nicola Hieke⁠, ⁠Landeskoordinierungstelle Bayern gegen Rechtsextremismus⁠ (Bavaria State Coordination Office Against Right-Wing Extremism) ⁠Professor Thomas Gschwend⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠University of Mannheim⁠ German Democratic Republic borders, 1949-1990 Map of German federal election results, 2025 The New Yorker: The Complicated Rise of the Right in Germany’s Left-Behind Places by Alec MacGillis ⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠   For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠ For more information on Larj Media, please visit: ⁠⁠https://www.larjmedia.com/⁠⁠ 

In this episode, Heather and Colin walk through how Hitler and the Nazi Party executed their plan to dismantle Germany democracy and, often under-examined, how German democracy was rebuilt after World War II. Most importantly, they explore electoral system design decisions made to prevent a party like the Nazis from ever coming to power again, including the 5% threshold and the so-called "firewall against the far-right" — in German, "die Brandmauer." Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:   Timothy Ryback, The Atlantic ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Martin Lange, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tour with a Berliner⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Jonny Pechstein⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Geschichte für Alle⁠ Dr. Berit Ebert, Bard College Berlin ⁠⁠Professor Thomas Gschwend⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠University of Mannheim⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Nicola Hieke⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Landeskoordinierungstelle Bayern gegen Rechtsextremismus⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Bavaria State Coordination Office Against Right-Wing Extremism) Brendan MacGurk, Tour Guide (to arrange a private tour, email inquiries to bmacgurk(at)web(dot)de) Professor Doctor Magnus Brechtken, ⁠Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History⁠ By Timothy Ryback: The Atlantic: ⁠How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days⁠ The Atlantic: ⁠The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler⁠ Timothy's forthcoming book: 53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy, The Atlantic Monthly Press, publishing September 2026. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠⁠⁠   For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠⁠⁠ For more information on Larj Media, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.larjmedia.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

German Democracy's Rocky Start