Chris Beem on democratic humility and virtues
Earlier this fall, our own Chris Beem traveled to Notre Dame to appear on With a Side of Knowledge, a podcast produced by the university’s Office of the Provost. The show is recorded over brunch, and this happened to the last meal served at campus institution Sorin’s.
Bacon and eggs aside, Chris talks with host Ted Fox about his most recent book, Democratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and America’s Political Crisis, and his current work on democratic virtues. They discuss why democracy runs counter to the way we’re wired, and why it’s so difficult to sustain.
This episode is a cool collaboration for a few reasons:
- Chris is a Notre Dame alumnus — we won’t tell you what year he graduated
- Ted Fox, the host of With a Side of Knowledge, and our own Jenna Spinelle have become podcast kindred spirits since they met earlier this year.
- Tracy and Ted McCourtney are generous supporters of both Penn State and Notre Dame. In many ways, this collaboration would not have been possible without them.
We’ll return to our normal format next week for one final episode in 2019 before taking a holiday break.
Listener Survey
We we head toward the end of the year, we are conducting a listener survey to find out how we can make the show even better in 2020.
Complete the survey for a chance to win a Democracy Works mug — the perfect holiday gift for the democracy enthusiast in your life.
Additional InformationDemocratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and America’s Political Crisis
More episodes from Democracy Works
The Federalist Society's ideas have consequences for democracy
Is the Federalist Society bad for democracy? There's nothing inherently wrong with groups of like-minded people organizing to share and disseminate their ideas — everyone from James Madison …
Colored Conventions show us where democracy really happens
For nearly 100 years, African Americans gathered in cities across the United States to participate in state and national-level political meetings …
Can pranksters save democracy?
Srjda Popovic and Sophia A. McClennen have appeared on our show separately and are now joining forces to apply a research framework to dilemma …
Public schools, not government schools
The Trump administration infamously referred to public schools as "failing government schools," illustrating how education has been caught up in the …
Reforming criminal justice from the inside out
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner joins us to discuss the promise and peril of institutional reform and how he built a coalition of voters who are traditionally overlooked in …
Laboratories of restricting democracy
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, legislators in 43 states have introduced more than 250 bills aimed at restricting access to voting in person, by mail, or both. Chris Fizsimon, …
How you can listen to this podcast
You can listen to episodes right here on the website, or if you prefer, in a podcast app. Listening in an app makes it easier to keep track of what you’ve already heard, listen without using your data plan and many other conveniences.