A podcast from Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy Center on Global Democracy. This show is about bringing cutting-edge research on democracy to you, citizens who will shape the future of democratic governance.

Each episode, we’ll dig into new books and research and ask what they mean for the challenges democracies currently face, and the potential and opportunities for democracy to deepen, evolve, and contribute to citizens’ thriving.

Rachel Beatty Riedl, Founder and Co-host
Rachel Beatty Riedl is the Peggy J. Koenig ’78 Director of the Center on Global Democracy in the Brooks School of Public Policy, and a Professor in the Brooks School and Department of Government at Cornell University. Her research expertise is on democracy and authoritarianism globally, and particularly across Africa. She focuses on questions of participation, institutions, political parties, and local governance. Riedl is the author of the award-winning Authoritarian Origins of Democratic Party Systems in Africa and co-editor of Global Challenges to Democracy: Comparative Perspectives on Backsliding, Autocracy, and Resilience.

Esam Boraey, Co-host
Esam Boraey is a Ph.D. student in Comparative Politics and Political Economy at Cornell University and Project Manager at the Center on Global Democracy. His work focuses on democratization, social movements, and political reform in the Middle East and beyond. Before joining Cornell, he spent over a decade working with international human rights and development organizations and served in leadership roles within U.S. political campaigns and parties. A longtime democracy advocate, Esam was one of the early leaders of Egypt’s pro-democracy movement during the Arab Spring and has since continued his commitment to advancing democratic governance and civic participation worldwide. Follow Esam on Twitter.

Maya Tudor, Co-host
Maya Tudor is a Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and Fellow at St. Hilda’s College at the University of Oxford. I research the origins of effective and democratic states with a regional focus on South Asia. I am the author of two books, The Promise of Power: The Origins of Democracy in India and Autocracy in Pakistan (2013) and Varieties of Nationalism (with Harris Mylonas, 2023).  I am the author of over twenty peer-reviewed articles in Comparative Politics, Party Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Annual Review of Political Science, and Indian Politics and Policy. My writing has also appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Hindu, New Statesman, Washington Post, Indian Express and Journal of Democracy.  I am a regular commentator on elections and the state of democracy in media outlets, including the BBC and The Guardian. Follow Maya on Twitter.

Andres Dircio, Sound Engineer
Andres Dircio was born in Mexico. A lifelong passion for music and the art of creation emerged early in his life, influenced heavily by the sound of his surroundings. Andres grew up in a typical Mexican household, learning and listening from the greats of the Mexican culture such as Juan Gabriel or Pedro Infante. While outside of his house, he got exposed to other genres of music such as Hip-hop, cumbias and Rock, genres that will later on inspire him to start creating his own musical pieces. At age 10, Andres and his family immigrated into the U.S. looking for better opportunities. First they arrived in Novato, California, and then they established themselves in Santa Ana, California, for a couple of months until the family ended up moving into Norristown, which is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All that traveling across the map opened up a new perspective on life, lighting up a fire into Andre’s soul that still preeminent till this day.

Adelaide Riedl, Digital Production Fellow
Adelaide is a student majoring in World Arts & Cultures at UCLA, and serves as a podcast and digital media assistant for Democratic Dialogues. She is passionate about narratives, images, and music.