Public Programs & Events / HUC Connect / Democracy Playlist
Public Programs & Events
Democracy Playlist
The HUC Connect Democracy Playlist features webinars and podcasts over the last 4 seasons that delve into the state of democracy as it is represented internationally, all from the perspectives of HUC-JIR faculty members and students, acclaimed authors, and renowned scholars.
Webinar Recordings
Podcast Recordings
HUC Connect Webinars
Speaking Religious Truth to Political Power: Values & Voices 2021
(2020-2021)
Rabbi Andrea Weiss, Ph.D., Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Provost, HUC; Creator of American Values, Religious Voices
Hussein Rashid, Ph.D., Founder of islamicate, L3C
Elsie Stern, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President, Moderator
American Values, Religious Voices: 100 Days, 100 Letters is a national nonpartisan campaign bringing together scholars of diverse faiths to speak to our leaders in Washington, D.C. and a wider interfaith following about the religious texts and teachings connected to our American values and the pressing issues our day. Gain insight from these religious thought leaders who provide hope and unity during a time of hardship and division and challenge us to live up to our nation’s highest ideals.
Speaking Religious Truth to Political Power: Values & Voices 2021
What’s the Matter with American Democracy?
(2022-2023)
Jamelle Bouie, Columnist, The New York Times; Political Analyst, CBS News
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President, HUC-JIR; Moderator
We generally consider the United States a liberal democracy, but just how democratic is it? Do we live in a country in which political equality is real and shared? What might be required to become the democracy we need? Join New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie for a conversation on these essential questions, as we seek to understand how not only to “protect” democracy but achieve it.
Israeli Democracy in Crisis?
(2022-2023)
Mikhael Manekin, Israeli Director, Alliance for Israeli’s Future
Rula Hardal, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Kogod Center for the Study of Jewish and Contemporary Thought at the Shalom Hartman Institute
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President, HUC-JIR; Moderator
Following the election in Israel that provoked massive protests and a surge of commentary in the United States, our guests discussed what this moment represents for progressive Israeli Jewish and Palestinian activists? Is the current government a new and unprecedented threat to Israeli democracy, or the latest stage in a long story? And how should Israelis and Palestinians committed to justice and equality — and their American allies — respond?
Race, Civility, and American Democracy
(2020-2021)
Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Department Chair, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Department of African American Studies, Princeton University
Sasha Baken, Fourth-year Rabbinical Student, HUC/NY
Becky Jaye, Fourth-year Rabbinical Student, HUC/NY
Alexandra Stein, Fourth-year Rabbinical Student, HUC/NY
Daniel May, Ph.D., Instructor, HUC/NYEddie S. Glaude, Jr., esteemed scholar, author, and cultural and political pundit, engage in a compelling conversation about race in America with HUC students and President Andrew Rehfeld. Join us for this presentation to recontextualize your understanding of racial dynamics in the US from the perspective of Jewish texts.
The Crisis of Democracy and the Attractions of Authoritarianism
(2022-2023)
Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer, The Atlantic; Pulitzer-prize winning historian; Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Agora Institute
Jedediah Purdy, Raphael Lemkin Professor of Law, Duke Law
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President, HUC-JIR; Moderator
Across the deep divides of our politics, one sentiment is shared: despair in our democracy and its capacity to respond to our most significant challenges. But what are the causes of that despair and what can we do about it? Why exactly is authoritarianism so popular among so many, both in the United States and throughout Europe? Given the challenges that our democracy faces, do we have the institutions that can respond to the threat or are our institutions part of the problem? And what exactly do we need: stronger protections for minorities, or greater capacity for people to make laws and enact them? HUC will host two of our most esteemed commentators and scholars on these matters, Anne Applebaum and Jedediah Purdy, to discuss and debate these essential questions.
Polarization or Authoritarianism?
(2022-2023)
Lilliana Mason, Ph.D., SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University
Andrew Marantz, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President, HUC-JIR
We are joined by Professor Lilliana Mason and New Yorker staff writer, Andrew Marantz. Both writers have worked to understand what has changed in our democracy over the last decade, as extremists have utilized the power of social media to amplify their positions and our politics have become increasingly polarized. In her recent work, Dr. Mason has argued that group identifications have changed the way we think and feel about ourselves and our opponents. Even when Democrats and Republicans can agree on policy outcomes, she suggests, they tend to view one another with distrust and to work for party victory above all else. Andrew Marantz reason that that technology companies have profited off the most extreme voices. In his writing, he has charted how Silicon Valley has unwittingly contributed to both the rise in white nationalism and our polarized politics. In their conversation, Mason and Marantz will invite the community of HUC to consider how we arrived at our current state of political polarization, and what we might do about it.
College Commons Podcast
Transforming Disagreement: from Threat to Exercise of Democracy
John Inazu dissects disagreement to find opportunities for social trust, faith and democratic flourishing.
The Wrong Kind of Jew?
Author Hen Mazzig dives into the varieties and challenges of Jewishness diversity, while also capturing our shared experience, identity and story.
A New View of a Newly Productive Congress
Congressional observer Ira Shapiro revisits his past critiques of Congress.
The Orthodox Embrace of Legal Pluralism in Israel
Professor Alexander Kaye reminds us that Orthodoxy does not necessarily seek a monopoly on the power of state.
Religious Freedom in American is Changing Fast, and It Matters
Legal scholar Micah Schwartzman uncovers and explains key issues of freedom of religion and speech in a post-Roe America.