About this episode
The United States is a representative democracy. The idea is that we’re a government " by the people" (we vote officials into office) and " for the people" (the officials in office are supposed to represent our interests). But it’s not so straightforward around here. LOVE OUR WORK? Please donate to help us continue it! Click here to chip in. When you take that golden idea and add restrictive voter laws, billions of dollars, and a whacky electoral system, representation takes on a whole different hue. But...you should vote anyway. This episode explains why. Featuring: Nazita Lajevardi, assistant professor, political scientist, lawyer. Lajevardi teaches at Michigan State University Kim Wehle , professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law Andrea Hailey, CEO of vote.org CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR AWESOME NEWSLETTER, EXTRA CREDIT! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro. Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.