This program examines the role of courts as institutions dedicated to conflict resolution, with the power both to apply and to interpret the meaning of law in trial and appeal courts. It shows the increased power of the Supreme Court through its use of judicial review and the difficulty of creating a judiciary that is independent of politics.

"Some democracies are highly homogeneous. Others have long maintained a brutal racial or religious hierarchy, with some groups dominating and exploiting others. Never in history has a democracy succeeded in being both diverse and equal, treating members of many different ethnic or religious groups fairly. And yet achieving that goal is now central to the democratic project in countries around the world. It is, Yascha Mounk argues, the greatest experiment...

Using accessible dinosaur characters and clear language, Democracy for Dinosaurs explores key civic values on every adult's mind and helps show young readers how the things they do every single day can be guided by principles we must share in a democratic society: freedom, fairness, the rule of law, equality, respect for free speech, and respect for the truth. By modeling accessible ways to practice being a good citizen, children will understand they...

In 1989, the Brazilian Workers' Party altered the concept of local government when they installed participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, allowing residents to participate directly in the allocation of city funds. Ten years later, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was swept into power with the promise of granting direct participation to the Venezuelan people, who later formed tens of thousands of self-organized communal councils. In the Southern...

Since the curtain came down and the military junta eased its grip on the nation, dramatic change is evident in some parts of Myanmar while in other corners deprivation and dislocation prevail. Foreign Correspondent's Sally Sara explores the old and the new, the past and the prospective future for the new democracy in this revealing excursion through Yangon.

Eric Metaxas offers a thrilling review of America's uniqueness, and a sobering reminder that America's greatness cannot continue unless people truly understand what their founding fathers meant for them to be. The book includes a stirring call-to-action for every American to understand the ideals behind the 'noble experiment in ordered liberty' that is America. It also paints a vivid picture of the tremendous fragility of that experiment and explains...

Although John Dewey lived in a markedly different era, many of his concerns are still highly relevant to life today. This program introduces students to his philosophy and his critical studies of education, the arts, and the implications of democracy for the lives of individuals and their communities. Contemporary examples of the influence of his work include film sequences of noted educator Deborah Meier's Mission Hill School in Roxbury, Massachusetts;...

"A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist explains, with electrifying clarity, why some of her contemporaries have abandoned liberal democratic ideals in favor of strongman cults, nationalist movements, or one-party states. Across the world today, from the U.S. to Europe and beyond, liberal democracy is under siege while different forms of authoritarianism are on the rise. In Twilight of Democracy, prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum argues...

Is it reasonable to expect the entire world to adopt democratic ways, or is it wrong to press other countries to embrace a system that-however beneficial it may, in theory, be-is completely at odds with their cultures and traditions? The motion under consideration in this Oxford Union-style debate is "Democracy isn't for everyone." Panelists in favor stress that true democracy is more than merely the holding of elections and therefore must evolve...

As President Obama gave his State of the Union address, many wondered why there was not a word in the speech about taming the power of private money over public policy. There's no question that big money calls the shots, or at least tilts the debate, on many issues vital to America's democracy and integrity. In this edition of Moyers & Company, Bill is joined by Dan Cantor, executive director of New York's Working Families Party, and Jonathan Soros,...