In his book Can Democracy Work? A Short History of a Radical Idea from Ancient Athens to Our World, James Miller encapsulates 2500 years of democracy history into about 250 pages — making the case that “people power” will always need to be at the heart of any successful democracy.

Listen to an interview with Miller on the Democracy Works podcast, produced by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State and WPSU Penn State.

Miller is a professor of politics and liberal studies at the New School for Social Research. in New York City. He is the author of Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche, Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947–1977, and Democracy Is in the Streets: From Port Huron to the Siege of Chicago.

New episodes of Democracy Works are released every week. Subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast app.