The episode examines whether democracy is in decline by comparing the United States’ constitutional design with recent democratic backsliding in Europe. Jeffrey Rosen argues that James Madison’s “cooling” mechanisms meant to curb mob passion have been eroded by polarization, social media, and a more direct, personality-driven presidency, making deliberation and cross-party compromise harder. Anne Applebaum traces how polarization in Poland (and parallels like Brexit) shifted politics from economic debates to fights over identity and national belonging, showing how democracies can be weakened when a determined minority changes rules to entrench power. The conversation explores how disinformation, echo chambers, and distrust of shared facts intensify these trends, and whether American institutions and constitutional “religion” can still constrain leaders who challenge norms. They close by debating if democracy is “dying” or simply facing recurring cycles of instability, and what it would take to rebuild trust and effective governance.

The episode looks at how prepared the world is for the next major pandemic, using the 1918 flu as a benchmark and contrasting today’s medical advances with modern vulnerabilities like dense urban living, global air travel, and the rise of new pathogens. Ed Yong reports from places including the Democratic Republic of Congo and U.S. public health labs and hospitals to show how frontline preparedness depends on underfunded, often invisible systems and workers, and how crises repeatedly trigger a “panic and neglect” cycle as political attention and money surge and then fade. The conversation explores how fear, misinformation, and xenophobia can worsen outbreaks and distort policy, arguing that border closures and demagoguery are counterproductive compared with calm leadership, trust-building, and sustained investment. They highlight promising efforts such as faster vaccine-production capacity, CEPI’s vaccine development, and the Global Health Security Agenda, while warning that budget cuts and isolationism weaken international relationships needed for early detection and containment. The episode closes with lighter “keepers,” including a novel recommendation, reflections on dying baob...

The episode examines Paul Manafort’s career arc from Republican political consultant to global fixer, focusing on how he helped corporations, oligarchs, and authoritarian leaders “launder” their reputations and secure influence in Washington. Franklin Foer argues that Manafort both exploited and accelerated the erosion of political norms, using tools like lobbying, PR, and quasi-democratic elections to make corrupt actors seem legitimate, with Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovych and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska as central examples. The hosts connect Manafort’s personal and financial unraveling to his decision to join the Trump campaign, framing his indictment as both an exposure of long-running practices and a potential deterrent that has already prompted belated compliance with foreign-agent disclosure rules. They also discuss the ethics and consequences of leaked and hacked information in journalism, weighing corruption-exposing transparency against the social and personal need for privacy. The episode closes with lighter “keepers,” including recommendations and reflections on “Halt and Catch Fire,” Springsteen on Broadway, and the book “Shop Class as Soulcraft.”