Why does American Democracy look the way it does today and how can we make it more responsive to the people it was formed to serve? <a href="https://campaignlegal.org/democracy-decoded" target="_blank">Democracy Decoded</a>,  a podcast by <a href="https://campaignlegal.org/" target="_blank">Campaign Legal Center</a>, examines our government and discusses innovative ideas that could lead to a stronger, more transparent, accountable and inclusive democracy. This episode focuses on on a recent election n Maine, where one of the holes in our campaign finance laws allowed a foreign government to funnel enormous sums of money into a ballot measure election — completely legally. Host Simone Leeper speaks with Richard Bennett, a Republican state senator from Maine; Kyle Bailey, Campaign Manager for Protect Maine Elections and a former state representative; and AaRon McKean, legal counsel for state and local reform at Campaign Legal Center.Resources<a href="https://www.protectmaineelections.com" target="_blank">Protect Maine Elections</a>

Equal rights, not special rights: A follow up

When the People Decide, a podcast from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, explores the promise — and sometimes peril — that ballot initiatives have brought to American democracy by telling the stories of people who have organized initiative campaigns across the country.

America’s founders were famously skeptical of direct democracy, citing fears of mob rule if people had too much power. Since then, however, the initiative and referendum process has emerged as one way that citizens in some states can vote directly on policy and join forces to bring issues they care about directly to their fellow voters.

When the People Decide is hosted and reported by Jenna Spinelle and produced by LWC Studios for the McCourtney Institute.