The fun and fascinating Democracy Works podcast was created by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Pennsylvania State University and recorded is recorded regularly at the WPSU Penn State radio station, central Pennsylvania’s NPR affiliate. The latest episode features guest Gianpaolo Baiocchi, a very interesting individual indeed. The following is from the Democracy Works write up promoting the latest episode of the award winning podcast and was written by Jenna Spinelle:

To say Brazil has had a complicated history with democracy is a understatement. The country has bounced in and out authoritarian regimes for hundreds of years, with democracy never having quite enough time to really take hold. Following the election of Jair Bolsonaro in October 2018, many are wondering whether the cycle is about to repeat itself again.

Gianpaolo Baiocchi is a professor of individualized studies and sociology at NYU, where he also directs the Urban Democracy Lab. He’s from Brazil and has written extensively about the country’s politics and social movements. He joins us this week to talk about Bolsonaro’s appeal, the use of misinformation on WhatsApp during the election, and why Bolsonaro is often called the “Trump of the tropics.” We also discuss Brazil’s history of activism under authoritarian governments and whether we’ll see it return now.

Next week is our final episode about democracy around the world. We’ll be talking with Penn State’s Sona Golder about all things Brexit.

The podcast can be viewed right here: