Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor, Harvard University; Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
George Edwards, Distinguished Fellow, University of Oxford; University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus, Texas A&M UniversityAlex Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling, Jr. Professor of History
and Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Moderated by Archon Fung, Innovation Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at Harvard Kennedy School; Director, Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance
We Surveyed 50,674 Americans. This Is What Brings Them Together.
In this opinion piece, Audrey Feldman, Todd Rogers and Ben Valenta, participants in the Sports, Democracy and Civic Health project, describe their findings showing that shared fandom can soften partisan animosity and make political opponents more willing to connect.
Terms of Engagement: Matthew Baum on What Voters Fear, What They Don’t Know, and Where They Look
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, new research raises an urgent question: Are Americans operating within fundamentally different information realities? In this episode, Professor Matthew Baum examines what voters know about election rules, where they get their information, and how partisan divides shape perceptions of the voting process.
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends
Allen Lab Fellow Tyler Fisher examines the untapped potential of city charters as a vehicle for deliberative democracy, arguing that advocates should work to embed tools like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and town meetings directly into the governing architecture of cities, institutionalizing deliberative democracy one municipality at a time.
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.