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How can podcasting strengthen democracy?

In this collaborative panel from The Democracy Group and PBS Student Reporting Labs, student podcasters and journalists discuss civic storytelling, democratic discourse, youth media, and why podcasting creates a powerful space for nuanced political conversation.

Hear from student creators producing podcasts about democracy, political identity, art, community, Puerto Rican activism, youth journalism, and the everyday ways democracy shows up in our lives.

The panel explores how podcasting lowers barriers to civic engagement, amplifies overlooked voices, and helps young people develop the confidence and skills to participate in public life.

Check out the student podcasts:

Student episodes from The Democracy Group will publish from May 18th-27th on our network feed.

Current and past seasons of On Our Minds.

Topics Covered

00:24 – Welcome & introduction to the Democracy Group / PBS Student Reporting Labs collaboration

01:29 – The Democracy Group Podcast Fellowship: mentoring student civic storytellers

02:46 – Meet the student fellows and their podcast projects:

• Valerie — democracy’s origins and political history
• Savannah — democracy, art, and theater
• Dawn — politics, social interactions, and political identity

05:18 – PBS Student Reporting Labs’ On Our Minds podcast and youth-produced community storytelling

06:45 – Student reporting projects on:

• Community art spaces in Indiana
• Public sculpture and identity in New Jersey
• Puerto Rico, neighborhood change, and displacement

09:32 – Why podcasting matters for democratic discourse today

10:19 – The unique power of audio storytelling and listening beyond appearances

11:37 – How journalism projects changed students’ relationships with their communities

14:29 – Youth voices missing from mainstream storytelling

15:32 – Telling overlooked stories through podcasting

16:25 – Puerto Rico, gentrification, activism, and reporting stories from the inside

17:56 – Lessons learned from interviewing, audio storytelling, and creative journalism

19:20 – Democracy, art, rhetoric, and misinformation

20:07 – Theater as civic engagement and democratic participation

22:02 – Why people disengage from democracy — and how podcasting lowers the barrier to entry

24:38 – Puerto Rico, political identity, generational change, and democratic participation

27:24 – Why youth voices deserve deliberate space in civic media

28:43 – The stories student creators still want to tell

Audience Q&A

30:14 – How to engage young people who aren't already interested in politics or democracy

31:27 – Creating environments where youth feel heard, safe, and welcome to speak

33:54 – How to inspire college students to engage with politics and civic issues

34:47 – Making political topics more relatable, digestible, and human

36:27 – Advice for students interested in podcasting and civic storytelling

37:22 – What surprised student creators during the production process

37:47 – Interviewing lessons: letting conversations evolve naturally

38:55 – Learning that people want to be listened to

39:56 – Measuring podcast success beyond analytics and downloads

41:08 – How producing podcasts changes the way students think about media

42:14 – Educational impact, career development, and long-term success in youth podcasting

43:42 – Why creating platforms for youth voices matters

45:36 – Podcasting as portfolio-building, networking, and personal development

46:36 – Closing reflections and where to find student episodes

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This week we bring you a special episode from Amelia Callahan, one of our 2026 Podcast Fellows. She introduces her new podcast, The Separation of Pop and State, which compares political and pop culture moments to show how treating politicians like celebrities can shape their behavior and public discourse. She discusses her hesitation about sharing political opinions publicly and defines “cancel culture” (boycotting/shunning) versus “smear campaigns” (efforts to discredit reputations), arguing the two often overlap through propaganda and bandwagon effects. As a central example, she analyzes the viral “Howard Dean scream” and how ridicule and media framing helped derail his 2004 campaign despite minimal substance. She links similar dynamics to pop culture cases (Ellen DeGeneres, The Chicks, Rebecca Black, Bud Light/Dylan Mulvaney, Taylor Swift) and argues voters must recognize propaganda, fact-check, and base opinions on evidence to strengthen trust, civic engagement, and democracy.

• 00:00 Democracy Group Intro
• 00:23 Meet Amelia Callahan
• 02:31 Why This Podcast Exists
• 04:39 Politics at the Table
• 05:45 Cancel Culture Explained
• 07:48 Smear Campaigns vs Canceling
• 10:54 Howard Dean Scream Case
• 18:12 Celebrity Cancelations Compared
• 23:44 Boycotts and Bandwagons
• 26:03 Memes as Political Propaganda
• 32:41 Fact Checking and Civic Trust
• 35:13 Closing Takeaways

Know a student interested in democracy and podcasts? Send them over to our fellowship to apply: https://www.democracygroup.org/fellowship

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This week we bring you a special episode from Savannah Patterson-Case, one of our 2026 Podcast Fellows. Patterson introduces the show’s focus on how art and democracy intersect, arguing that art fosters empathy, dialogue, and challenges power, which can make it a target through cuts and political attacks. She launches the season’s focus on theater, defining democracy as participation rooted in values like fairness, tolerance, compromise, trust, and inclusion, and tracing theater and democracy to ancient Athens, where performance offered catharsis and an outlet for the politically excluded. She highlights political works such as The Laramie Project, citing dialogue, audience impact, and reported legislative influence, and examines attacks on theater through the New Deal Federal Theatre Project’s rise and dismantling amid Red Scare pressures, alongside concerns about access, commercialization, rhetoric, and entertainment-driven politics.

• 00:00 Special Episode Intro
• 00:23 Democracy Meets Art
• 02:28 Why Theater Matters
• 04:25 Defining Democracy
• 06:28 Theater Roots in Athens
• 08:20 The Laramie Project
• 10:36 When Theater Gets Targeted
• 13:06 Access and Defunding
• 14:43 Is Democracy Theater
• 16:16 Pitfalls of Performance Politics

Know a student interested in democracy and podcasts? Send them over to our fellowship to apply: https://www.democracygroup.org/fellowship

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This week we bring you a special episode from Valerie Pastrana, one of our 2026 Podcast Fellows, who explores ancient Athens as the first democracy, asking where democracy came from, who invented it, and how democratic it really was. Valerie explains that “democracy” (demos + kratos) emerged in late sixth-century BCE Athens but applied only to active male citizens—adult, free, Athenian-born men who completed military training—excluding many residents. Against a backdrop of aristocratic conflict, coups, and crisis, Cleisthenes introduced reforms around 508 BCE to curb elite domination, including a Council of 500 selected by lottery (sortition). The Assembly (ecclesia) met about 40 times a year on the Pynx, with up to 6,000 citizens voting on major decisions and practicing ostracism. Courts (dikasteria) used large citizen juries chosen daily by lottery, with paid jurors and one-day trials. The episode ends with reflection questions and previews a Roman-focused next episode.

• 00:00 Network Introduction
• 00:23 Ancient Athens Setup
• 00:49 What Democracy Means
• 01:13 Who Counted as People
• 01:40 Athens Before Reforms
• 02:25 Cleisthenes Revolution
• 02:44 Council of 500 Lottery
• 03:21 Assembly on the Pynx
• 04:36 Courts and Juries
• 05:27 Agora Thoughts Reflection

Know a student interested in democracy and podcasts? Send them over to our fellowship to apply: https://www.democracygroup.org/fellowship

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This week we bring you a special episode from Isaac Mederson, one of our 2026 Podcast Fellows, who examines youth voting participation and its impact on recent U.S. elections, noting that 18–29 turnout lags far behind older voters (48% in 2020 vs. 71.9% for 65+, and about 43% in 2024 vs. 71.7% for 65+). He argues 2024 outcomes reflected overall participation declines and comparatively weaker Democratic turnout, including among infrequent voters and youth, as Harris won only 54% of the youth vote versus Biden’s 60%+ in prior winning Democratic races and a much smaller margin than in 2020. Mederson links youth disengagement to low trust in government, perceived lack of responsiveness, and social-media-driven information ecosystems, featuring an interview with Dr. Mark Meadorson on shifts from broadcast/cable news to social platforms and concerns about journalists confronting misinformation. He concludes that improving youth turnout requires substantive responsiveness to youth issues and encourages civic action like voting, contacting representatives, and organizing.

• 00:00 Democracy Group Intro
• 00:23 Podcast Premise Setup
• 00:45 Youth Turnout Numbers
• 01:36 2024 Drop And Impact
• 03:23 Youth Shift Rightward
• 04:11 Youth Engagement Paradox
• 06:02 Trust In Government
• 08:07 Social Media Influence
• 10:50 Guest Media Landscape
• 15:09 Do Youth Watch Cable
• 20:05 Misinformation Debate
• 23:48 Solutions And Call To Act
• 27:41 Final Sign Off

Know a student interested in democracy and podcasts? Send them over to our fellowship to apply: https://www.democracygroup.org/fellowship

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This week we bring you a special episode from J'Mariana Douglas, one of our 2026 Podcast Fellows, exploring why politics feels increasingly personal, controversial, and complicated. Drawing on Naomi Cahn’s Red Families vs. Blue Families, Douglas explains how party labels function like teams and shape reactions to hot-button issues such as abortion, gun control, and climate change, especially when linked to morality. Gen Z is highlighted through student perspectives: one recounts a family conflict over deportation following Trump’s second inauguration and stricter immigration enforcement, and another describes avoiding conversations across political differences as even basic shared facts feel disputed. Douglas argues that withdrawing from dialogue threatens a system built on free speech and collaboration, and that Gen Z’s trend-driven subcultures and social-media immersion accelerate politics becoming identity.

• 00:00 Democracy Group Intro
• 00:23 Meet The Social Equation
• 00:29 Why Politics Feels Personal
• 01:03 Parties Morality And Polarization
• 02:54 Why Gen Z Stands Out
• 03:00 Student Story Immigration Divide
• 04:33 Avoiding Political Conversations
• 06:07 The Social Equation Explained
• 06:30 Team Colors Thought Experiment
• 07:23 Gen Z Trends Subcultures Identity
• 08:48 Social Media Makes Politics Identity
• 09:49 Wrap Up And Next Episode

Know a student interested in democracy and podcasts? Send them over to our fellowship to apply: https://www.democracygroup.org/fellowship

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