Democracy Paradox
Democracy Paradox
Justin Kempf
Pepper Culpepper Says Good Populism Can Save Democracy
49 minutes Posted Jun 24, 2026 at 6:00 am.
Introduction
Good Populism
Latent Opinion
The Next Progressive Era
Regulation vs. Abundance
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49:05
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Show notes
We think the next ten years are going to be anti-billionaire. Pepper Culpepper Pepper Culpepper joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss when populism can strengthen democracy. Drawing on his Journal of Democracy article “When Populism Can Be Good” and his book with Taeku Lee, Billionaire Backlash, Culpepper argues that corporate scandals can channel public anger toward billionaires and large corporations in ways that reinforce democratic accountability. The conversation explores good and bad p...