Shows
Audacious with Chion WolfAwe yeah! Exploring the magic of mind-blowing momentsWhat makes your jaw drop? A celestial event? A powerful piece of music? In this episode, explore awe in its many forms, from a total solar eclipse to the psychology of wonder. Psychologist Dacher Keltner breaks down the science of awe, cellist Yumi Kendall shares how music transports us, and Audacious listeners share their most treasured moments of awe. This episode originally aired on March 14, 2025. GUESTS: Mara Suttmann-Lea, Joseph Dickerson, and Stefan Keller: Awestruck with Chion in Vermont during the April 8, 2024 total eclipse. Click here to watch a video of the...
2025-09-1949 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 21. David LevineIn this much belated episode of What Voting Means to Me, we hear from David Levine, a longtime election official and international election observer who is currently serving as the director of elections and general registrar for the city of Richmond, Virginia.David shares stories from Moldova to Maryland, from mobile voting food trucks to countering AI-driven misinformation. But what stands out most is the steady heartbeat beneath it all: his belief that participation is power. That voting is not just a right-- it's a bulwark. And that showing up, again and again, is how democracy survives.
2025-06-3042 min
Audacious with Chion WolfAwe yeah! Exploring the magic of mind-blowing momentsWhat makes your jaw drop? A celestial event? A powerful piece of music? In this episode, explore awe in its many forms, from a total solar eclipse to the psychology of wonder. Psychologist Dacher Keltner breaks down the science of awe, cellist Yumi Kendall shares how music transports us, and Audacious listeners share their most treasured moments of awe. GUESTS: Mara Suttmann-Lea, Joseph Dickerson, and Stefan Keller: Awestruck with Chion in Vermont during the April 8, 2024 total eclipse Dacher Keltner: Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and faculty director of the Greater Good...
2025-03-1449 minWhat Voting Means To MeEpisode 20. Kim AlexanderLet's make voting fun again! Kim and Mara talk about ways to get people excited about the democratic process-- be it through "I voted" sticker selfies, making democracy themed art & music, or hosting election night parties. Kim talks about her frustration that voting is too often dismissed as easy. But she reminds us of this reality: if you didn't grow up in a voting-centric household, you may have not been taught what it means and how to vote. It's no surprise then that Kim has dedicated much of her work to supporting voter education and access. Kim and Mara...
2024-04-2644 minWhat Voting Means To MeEpisode 19. Kevin JohnsonVoting is innovation. Voting is the right to be in community. We are more than our singular votes; it is in the collective that they matter. In this episode Mara talks about these ideas and much more with Kevin Johnson, co-founder and director of Election Reformers Network (ERN), an organization dedicated to protecting elections from polarization through independent and non-partisan innovation. Kevin talks about what it's like to observe emerging democracies, and the incredible experience of watching people vote for the first time. He talks about the work ERN is doing to advocate for independent redistricting and non-partisan election administ...
2024-03-2942 minWhat Voting Means To MeEpisode 18. Pamela SmithIn this episode, Mara encourages listeners to think about what democracy-- or rather, the absence of democracy--feels like. They ask what it means to nurture and sustain hope in an era of democratic decline.
Their guest, Pamela (Pam) Smith, the CEO and president of Verified Voting, offers answers and gentle perspective to these questions, and so much more, in her own democracy biography.
"To vote is to be a part of something bigger than yourself."
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To learn more about Verified Voting, check out the following links!
-Website: verifiedvoting.o...
2024-03-0133 minWhat Voting Means To MeEpisode 17. Zach MohrHow much does it cost to run elections in the United States? The answer is not as simple as you might think. In this episode, Mara and Zach talk about Zach's journey from being a more or less casual observer of elections at the presidential level to a becoming a full blown election nerd bringing his expertise in accounting to the world of election science. Zach talks about the mind-boggling challenge of collecting data on election administration budgets in the United States. He also spotlights the people who make elections happen--local election officials and workers-- as he muses on...
2024-02-1637 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 16. Noah PraetzGabor Mate- author of "The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture" suggests there are “4 As” that help move us towards healing and wholeness: authenticity, agency, healthy expression of anger, and acceptance. But what does this have to do with democracy? I provide some thoughts on this question in conjunction with my remarkable conversation with Noah Praetz, president of The Elections Group. Throughout the episode we talk about the self-actualizing power of working in democracy spaces, and we come back to the idea that, while flawed, messy, and imperfect—democracy is the best answer to the questi...
2024-02-0238 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 15. Thessalia MerivakiThessalia Merivaki is an Associate Professor of American politics at Mississippi State University. Her research expertise is on Election Science, particularly voter registration reform and voter education policy. With Mara Suttmann-Lea, they run team #voteredu.
In this episode, Lia tells me about her experiences growing up in Greece, the voting experience she had there, and her transition to the United States for graduate school. Lia tells us how the complexity and nuances of election administration in the United States motivated her to pursue a Ph.D. We reminisce over the Internet bringing us together and the origins of our voter...
2024-01-1941 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 14. Brianna LennonMara talks with Brianna Lennon, the county clerk in Boone County, Missouri, about the logistical challenges of election administration. Brianna tells us what brought her to the work of administering democracy— like Mara, she was inspired by a high school government teacher—and muses on the difficulties of balancing cynicism, realism, and hope through the act of voting.
2024-01-0536 min
Red, White, and ConfusedThe Effects of Voter EducationNovember 8th is Election Day, and depending on where you live, you might be experiencing a very competitive election, with lots of ads and mailers coming to you about the candidates – or you might live in a non-competitive district, where you rarely see information about the candidates. This week, join me as I chat with Lia Merivaki (Mississippi State University) and Mara Suttmann-Lea (Connecticut College) about their research regarding how different states' election officials are encouraging people to register and vote, and what activities are paying off for stimulating participation in our political process.
2022-10-2033 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 13. Dustin CzarnyEvery vote symbolizes a hope. That’s what voting means to this episode’s guest. We hear from Dustin Czarny—an election professional in Onondaga County, New York who has worn many hats during his life in elections. Dustin has been the Democratic election commissioner of Onondaga County since 2013, and has been involved in local politics as an activist and campaign operative for 30 years. Since 2017 he has also served as the Democratic caucus chair of the New York State Elections Commissioner Association.
2022-04-0637 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 12. Steve Wanczyk“Democracy needs a marketing department…”
That’s according to Steve Wanczyk, a former marketing expert turned democracy advocate and protector who founded the non-profit organization Protect Our Election in response to the growing threat of misinformation and challenges faced by election officials surrounding the 2020 United States presidential elections.
Motivated by concerns that the principles of American democracy are under assault and require active defense, Steve and the volunteers at Protect Our Election believe that local election officials in particular—the oft-overlooked backbone of American democracy—are in need of greater support, attention, and yes, a good marketing department.
2022-02-1741 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 11. Spenser MestelSpencer Mestel is an independent journalist and poll worker based in Brooklyn New York who shares his appreciation for the wonderful and yes, “forgettable” voting experiences he has had, his hopes for a less burdensome system of voting in the United States, and how elite partisan rhetoric and a lack of public understanding of how elections are run have combined to become a potent threat to American democracy.
Spencer has written for the New York Times, The Guardian, Vice, The Intercept, and more. He also has a newsletter called Spenser’s Super Tuesday you can subscribe to, and you can give h...
2022-01-0640 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 10. Election Day Special- Genya Coulter"You can mess around with me, but don't mess around with my voters." Tune in to this special Election Day episode to hear about the magical work Genya Coulter has done as a poll worker in the state of Florida during the 2020 election cycle.
2020-11-0339 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 9. Monique NewtonIn this episode, Monique Newton shares how she came to understand the significance of local politics growing up in Sacramento, California. Now a Ph.D. student specializing in urban politics, Monique crafts a compelling narrative from her formative experiences to her burgeoning research agenda and work as an educator. Monique and Mara talk about the tensions that can exist between descriptive representation and substantive representation, and Monique graciously offers words of wisdom for all of the students, teachers, and professors who are grappling with how to discuss police violence against Black bodies and challenge white supremacy culture. Ultimately, Monique shares...
2020-11-0250 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 8. Holly GarnettIn this episode, Mara talks to Dr. Holly Garnett, a professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada, about growing up in the world of Canadian politics. Holly shares how she went from working directly in Canadian Party politics, to engaging in the behind the scenes work of understanding and improving the function of electoral systems as a professor. She offers insight as to the central challenges facing elections in the United States in the lead up to the 2020 election, and Holly and Mara muse over the calculus of voting.
2020-10-2148 min
What Voting Means To MeSeason 2- TrailerA look at what's ahead in Season 2 of "What Voting Means to Me."
2020-10-2101 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 7. Jason AmosIn this episode we hear from Jason Amos, a gifted violist, who tells us a beautifully complex story of how his own musicianship, upbringing, and living as a black gay man in America has shaped his perception of what it means to engage in a democracy. Jason and Mara discuss how the act of making music in collaboration with others can be deeply reflective of what it feels like to engage in deliberative democracy. They muse over whether Barack Obama is a better viola player than Jason, and bond over their shared love of Mara’s Congressional Representative in Connecticut, Ja...
2020-06-121h 27
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 6. Brian HarrisonDr. Brian Harrison is a political scientist specializing in American politics and public opinion. He most recently published “A Change is Gonna Come: How to Have Productive Political Conversations in a Divided America.” Brian sat down with Mara to talk about how his experiences growing up in Iowa, his time in the second Bush administration as a political appointee in the Department of Homeland Security, and his career as a political scientist have shaped his understanding of American democracy. He tells us what it was like growing up with the presidential candidate pizazz of Iowa politics, and recalls a fateful enco...
2020-05-2055 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 5. Mark StickneyIn this episode we hear from a remarkably complex and fascinating voter who also happens to be an avowed atheist. Mark Stickney is an HVAC / plumbing sales engineer, musician, and actor from Chicago, Illinois. He tells us his story about growing up in a conservative southern town and his transition from this socialization to his now active role in progressive politics. Triggered at a young age to “question everything,” as he puts it, Mark explains how his journey to progressive politics and voting is inextricably tied with his embrace of atheism. While he began his time as an active voter feel...
2020-05-0554 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 4. Pia DeshpandeAfter months of contentious primaries, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominating process came to a close in Philadelphia. Nominating the first female candidate for president of a major political party, the Democratic establishment sought to facilitate unity amidst the enmity that had been simmering between Hillary Clinton’s supporters and progressive allies of Independent-turned Democrat Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont.
In the middle of this thicket was Pia Deshpande, a then 17-year-old, now graduating senior at Columbia University, who made an impressive run to become a delegate to the Democratic National Convention that summer. In this episode, Pia walks us through th...
2020-04-2743 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 3. Gabriela De GoliaIn this episode we reflect on the interconnectedness between faith and politics, taking a spiritual journey as we hear from to Gabriela De Golia, a pastor in training Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. Growing up in a politically active neighborhood in San Francisco, Gabriela takes us from her time as a resident in this progressive community, to her early teenage years in France, and her political and spiritual activism during and beyond her college years. For Gabriela, political participation has always been a part of the fabric of her life, raised to be engaged in politics...
2020-04-2044 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 2. William LeaIn 2016, voters in the state of Michigan played a decisive role in determining the outcome of the presidential election in the United States. Winning by a tiny margin of about 0.23%, Donald Trump’s upset victory was a shock to the Democratic political establishment who had long thought of Michigan as a part of the “blue wall” Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton could count on come election night November 8, 2016.
Our episode today takes us back to the state of Michigan, as William (Will) Lea, a choir teacher and musician, reflects on his time growing up in Shiawassee County, a conservative leaning jurisdiction that t...
2020-04-1452 min
What Voting Means To MeEpisode 1. Introducing: What Voting Means To MeWelcome to What Voting Means to Me, a podcast about democracy from the perspective of “we the people.”
2020-04-1006 min