Podcast  

Wait, Wait — What Happened?

Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer look back at the last five months of headlines as they celebrate the twentieth episode of Terms of Engagement.

From the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. to a new compact for higher education and the longest-ever government shutdown, the past few months have been packed with news. Join co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer in looking back at the last five months of headlines as they celebrate the twentieth episode of Terms of Engagement. Fung and Richer will reflect on some of the major themes they’ve observed in American politics and democracy, while answering your questions live. 

About the Hosts

Archon Fung is the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. His research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance with a focus on public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He has authored five books, four edited collections, and over fifty articles appearing in professional journals. He received two S.B.s — in philosophy and physics — and his Ph.D. in political science from MIT.

Stephen Richer is the former elected Maricopa County Recorder, responsible for voter registration, early voting administration, and public recordings in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the United States. Prior to being an elected official, Stephen worked at several public policy think tanks and as a business transactions attorney.  Stephen received his J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from Tulane University.

Stephen has been broadly recognized for his work in elections and American Democracy.  In 2021, the Arizona Republic named Stephen “Arizonan of the Year.”  In 2022, the Maricopa Bar Association awarded Stephen “Public Law Attorney of the Year.”  In 2023, Stephen won “Leader of the Year” from the Arizona Capitol Times.  And in 2024, Time Magazine named Stephen a “Defender of Democracy.”

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