27 Rouge
27 Rouge
The State of American Democracy with Professor Morgan Marietta
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The State of American Democracy with Professor Morgan Marietta

Morgan Marietta is Dean of the Center for Economics, Politics & History at UATX. Formerly, he taught at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and served as Chair of Political Science at UT Arlington. With a focus on political psychology and constitutional politics, he is the author of four books:

*A Citizen’s Guide to American Ideology

*A Citizen’s Guide to the Constitution and the Supreme Court

*The Politics of Sacred Rhetoric: Absolutist Appeals and Political Persuasion

*One Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts in American Democracy

We sat down on a stormy Thursday evening to chat about his writing and research, UATX, the Austin Union, and the marketing of bourbon and cigarettes—among many other things. This interview is a bit longer than usual, but is definitely worth the listen. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I hope you do too.

Happy listening

  • 0:00 - Intro

  • 00:50 - What is America?

  • 04:13 - The Unique Nature of the American Constitution

  • 09:01 - Personal Experiences and the Role of Universities

  • 13:42 - Constitutions in Other Countries

  • 25:11 - The Power of Misrepresentation and Bullsh*t

  • 31:02 - The Current State of Misrepresentation in America

  • 35:35 - Evolutionary Psychology and the Role of Lying

  • 36:56 - The Evolutionary Drive and Misrepresentation

  • 37:56 - Hypergamy and Misrepresentation

  • 39:13 - Bullsh*t and Truth Telling

  • 40:27 - The Importance of Saying 'I Don't Know'

  • 42:02 - Weaponizing Fact Perceptions

  • 43:23 - Marketing and Fact Perceptions

  • 44:41 - Misrepresentation in Marketing

  • 46:07 - Trust and Perception of Facts

  • 50:28 - Perceptions of Reality and Trust

  • 52:01 - Polarization and Perceptions of Reality

  • 54:57 - Manufacturing Consent and Misrepresentation

  • 56:23 - The Influence of Social Media and Twitter

  • 58:07 - The Role of Trust in Perception of Facts

  • 01:00:02 - The Influence of Media and Marketing

  • 01:03:38 - The Manufactured Nature of Political Issues

  • 01:05:06 - John Adams and the Perception of Facts

  • 01:06:28 - The Lack of Consensus Authority on Facts

  • 01:07:05 - The Marketplace of Realities

  • 01:07:55 - The Loss of Authority

  • 01:10:27 - The University of Austin

  • 01:12:39 - Founding New Institutions

  • 01:14:26 - The Austin Union

  • 01:16:37 - The Importance of Debate

  • 01:18:58 - The Lack of Intellectual Discussion on Campuses

  • 01:21:20 - The Need for Honest Discourse

  • 01:23:11 - The Chatham House Rule

  • 01:25:28 - The Problem with Confirmation Hearings

  • 01:31:02 - Constitutional Amendments

  • 01:37:09 - The Dishonesty of Confirmation Hearings

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Discussion about this podcast

27 Rouge
27 Rouge
27 Rouge is a renaissance man’s conversation guide named in tribute to the 27 Club. The show is hosted by award-winning author and Batman enthusiast Scott Newman. Each week, he sits down with interesting people to discuss everything from cocktail napkin anecdotes to the state of world affairs, cultural issues, books, movies, science, fashion, and everything in between. Recipient of 2023 Positive Change Podcast Awards in 4 categories: Best Interviews, Best Interview Talk Show Format, Entrepreneurship, Society and Culture. From episode XIX, this podcast is no longer affiliated with or endorsed by Quillette as he's now working independently.