American Democracy on Fire

On this episode of Making Sense of the World, host Joel Rubin and Jonathan Katz dive deep into the state of democracy in the U.S. and abroad. They discuss the concerning speed of democratic decay in the U.S. and how that impacts the lives of individuals and communities. This episode emphasizes that democratic resilience requires strong institutions, community engagement, and civic responsibility.

Katz is a Fellow and Senior Director for the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security Project at the Brookings Institute. He has spent his career at the intersection of foreign policy and democracy, serving in senior roles at the State Department, USAID, and as a national security fellow for Senator Klobuchar. Katz co-authored the Democracy Playbook 2025, which can be dowloaded for free here.