Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?, with James S. Fishkin

About this Episode

My guest is James Fishkin, professor at Stanford University and one of the world’s leading scholars of democratic reform. His new book, Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?, argues that polarization, mistrust, and democratic dysfunction aren’t just political problems—they’re failures of how we form opinions together. Drawing on decades of research and real-world experiments in deliberative democracy, Fishkin makes the case that when ordinary citizens are given time, information, and the chance to engage across differences, democracy can work better than we imagine. In this conversation, we explore what deliberation really means, how it differs from our current political debates, and whether it can help heal some of democracy’s deepest wounds. It was a great conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I give you James Fishkin.