Episode 18: Democracy on the Brink: America in the Age of Violent Populism

America's Why Project · Sep 22, 2026 · 31m · transcript

In this special episode, Prof. Robert Pape of the University of Chicago reveals

the findings of this year’s most important book on the future of American

democracy – Our Own Worst Enemies: America in the Age of Violent Populism.

“What is happening in America,” warns Pape, “is not primarily a story of

extremists seizing control; it is a story of the normalization of violence in the

mainstream.” At this critical historical moment, democratic resilience “depends on

citizens and leaders who maintain a shared refusal to treat violence as a normal

instrument of political conflict.” Pape offers a…