This special edition of Impolitic features several legal experts and scholars to help us better understand America’s electoral system. We first reflect on the 2020 election and implication for the upcoming 2024 election. Our guests explain legal processes and permissible challenges that may occur in an election. We also explore potential conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation that may affect public opinion. We close by providing listeners with resources to better understand America’s election system.

Ballotpedia is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to providing unbiased information on elections, politics, and policy. We encourage all listeners to visit Ballotpedia (ballotpedia.org) for more information on local and federal elections.

In this episode, we speak with John Chrastka, the founder and Executive Director of EveryLibrary. He explains the recent increase in the number of book challenges and bans in America. We explore the rationality and motivations behind book bans, and discuss various ways to protect libraries and intellectual thought for future generations.

EveryLibrary helps public schools and college libraries win funding at the ballot box and seeks to ensure stable funding and access to libraries for generations to come. They also support grassroot efforts across the country to defend and support local libraries against book banning, illicit political interference, and threats of closure. Please visit their website (https://www.everylibrary.org/) to learn more.

Dr. Patrick Hunnicutt and Dr. Geoffrey Henderson discuss their research that air pollution reduces the level of political participation in the United States. As they explain, this could have serious negative consequences for the future of American democracy — as air pollution increases, democracy will suffer. Despite their findings, Drs. Hunnicutt and Henderson offer clear policy solutions and suggestions to reverse this negative trend.