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How Bad Is It?: Three Political Scientists Say America Is No Longer a Democracy

December 11, 2025·47 min·4 clips

Three leading political scientists conclude that American democracy has ended, calling it a competitive authoritarian country.

In this emergency episode, hosts Tyler Foggatt and Andrew Morantz interview three political scientists—Stephen Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt, and Lucan Way—who argue that the U.S. has transitioned into a competitive authoritarian regime under Trump's second term. They discuss the rapid decline, comparisons to countries like Hungary and Turkey, and the challenges of resistance in academia and media.

As heard by us

A serious democracy checkup that treats erosion as a process, not a spectacle.

The episode reads as a democracy checkup, grounded in disaster fatigue and the sense that authoritarian systems can wear people down through sheer relentlessness.

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Why you'd press play

You want a sober map of democratic backsliding with a Hungary lens and no cable-news volume.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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