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The Civil Discourse Substack Live Series: Autocracy & Democracy

Expert Guests Join Us Live As We Celebrate Our Third Anniversary

Joyce Vance

Jun 3

READ IN APP

This week, I wanted to do something special. I know from your comments and emails that you’ve been enjoying the Substack Live events. So, I’m hosting a Substack Live event, the Autocracy and Democracy series. We have some great guests (see below) and we’ll try to answer important questions like the ever-present, “Are we still a democracy?” in a meaningful way with a series of smart, well-informed guests, women at the top of their fields.

I’ve got four amazing experts and friends of the newsletter lined up:

Wednesday, 5 p.m. ET, Stacey Abrams joins us to talk about the political moment we are living in. She has long been one of those people who anticipate where the country is headed and understand what we should be doing early on, while most people are still processing new developments. Every time I’m with Stacey, her focus and clarity help me cut through the noise, reject the excuses people offer for Trump, and understand what we have to do to come out of this still a democracy.
Thursday, 1 p.m. ET, Dahlia Lithwick will be with us for a conversation about this term at the Supreme Court. Dahlia is an award-winning journalist and Senior Editor at Slate. She’s been writing their Supreme Court Dispatches and Jurisprudence columns since 1999, which means there is no one more eminently qualified to give us a long view of The Court and of this Court. Dahlia also hosts the Amicus podcast.
On Friday, 12:15 p.m. ET, Princeton Professor Kim Scheppele, our guest for “Five Questions” last week, joins us for more. You had a lot of questions after her very direct, and honestly, somewhat frightening layout of what other countries that have trended into autocracy look like and where we are on that journey. We’ll take them up on Friday.
On Sunday, 5 p.m. ET, N.Y.U History and Italian studies Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, joins us. Her seminal book on the tools of choice for leaders who use power and charisma to rule by force is an essential read. Ruth is fearless, and her candor, along with her academic chops and professionalism make me value her assessments of where we are. Her opinion is one I trust very much, and I’m delighted to have her to cap our series.

Put these dates on your calendar now and join us live! You’ll be able to listen in afterwards, but it’s so much more interesting when you can say “hi” in the chat and comment as we speak.

Leave me a comment if you have questions you want me to take up with one or more of our guests for the Autocracy and Democracy series.

Happy third anniversary, even if it’s a somber one, to Civil Discourse!

We’re in this together,

Joyce

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