Episode 1.1: "The Enduring Threats to Voting Rights" features ARI BERMAN, from our "Democracy in Trouble?" series. 

Since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, many have celebrated the expansion of voting rights to more Americans. Berman (Mother Jones) has focused his reporting on areas where disenfranchisement not only endures, but has actually gotten worse in recent elections. In his conversation with political scientist MATTHEW BERKMAN, Berman discusses the complexities of the current situation – where, depending on the state, rights are either expanding or being suppressed – while emphasizing the clear fact that, while both parties are guilty of some practices such as gerrymandering, it is the Republican Party that is determined to hamper the ability of many citizens to vote. 

New episodes will appear every week or so, beginning with more interviews from our "Democracy in Trouble?" year; an in-depth conversation with our award-winning postdoctoral fellow, EVAN TAPARATA, on the history of U.S. refugee policy; and then new interviews from the current "Reverberations of Inequality" theme year.