Pushkin.

It's hard to read the news these days without asking yourself, how did we get here?

Fiasco is a history podcast for the co-creators of Slow Burn.

In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American

politics, the 2000 election, which resulted in a high-stakes stalemate, ended with one of the most

controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. So if you're trying to make sense at the present moment,

check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore. Listen on the Iheartart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

From Pushkin Industries, this is Deep Background, the show where we explore the stories behind the stories in the news.

I'm Noah Feldman.

Since 4 in the morning on the day after Donald Trump was elected, it's been clear to me that democracy in the United States is facing a kind of stress test.

In the months that follow that, Brexit kicked in, and we discovered that the United States is not alone in this regard.

Indeed, those who care a lot about democracy worldwide have worried that

everywhere in the globe, democracy is in retreat, under attack, and under pressure.

To discuss these challenges that democracy faces today, I'm joined by David Runciman,

who's a professor of politics at Cambridge University.

He's the author of two highly relevant books, one called How Democracy Ends, published in the United States in 2018, and the other, Where Power Stops, the Making and Unmaking of Presidents

and Prime Ministers, which is coming out in 2019.

Professor Runciman is also the host of the Talking Politics podcast produced by the London

Review of Books.

David, thank you so much for joining me.

Thank you very much.

You've written a fascinating book called How Democracy Ends, in which you characterize democracy as having hit a midlife crisis.

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