This is the Unregistered Podcast, and I'm Thaddeus Russell.

This is a show about ideas, people, and behaviors that are considered inappropriate, out of bounds, or beyond the pale.

The things you're not supposed to talk about if you're a schoolteacher, a college professor, a businessman, a politician,

a parent, a neighbor, or even a podcast host. These are the things you're not supposed to say

or even think if you're a good liberal, a good conservative, or a good citizen. Each week,

I'll interview a person who has something bad to say. They might be a journalist or a good citizen. Each week, I'll interview a person who has something bad to say. They might be a

journalist or a professor. They might be a porn star or a drug dealer. They might just be an ordinary

person with an ordinary job who doesn't care about the rules of polite society. I'm not interested

in breaking the rules just to be a troublemaker. I'm interested in people who break the rules of polite society. I'm not interested in breaking the rules just to be a troublemaker.

I'm interested in people who break the rules of conventional thought

and to expand the scope of what is possible to say in our society.

I'm interested in people who make me think. At the recent.

At the recent unregistered weekend in Chicago, we held the debate between Ben Burgess and Curtis Jarvin on the question of democracy. Before the debate,

I conducted individual interviews with Ben and Curtis. And this is my interview with Ben Burgess.

Well, I am in Chicago with Ben Burgess, and we are going to talk about a lot of things today and don't feel constrained. I mean, the theme of the day is democracy, but you know, you can talk about it whatever you want.

But I guess I wanted to, I think it's a great topic, you know, especially for you because democracy is central to the left project and always has been, I think you might say it is the

project. I'm actually wondering if you think that. It's been called economic democracy,

industrial democracy, various forms of democracy that the left has upheld and celebrated.

I want to know, I'm curious about it, but if you ask an American, I think you would agree with me, to define democracy, or to argue for democracy, I don't think they could do it.

Most Americans would be incapable of putting forth an argument for democracy in any way, right?

They just know that it's good. I would say that it's an article of faith among most Americans.

I know that you have far deeper ideas about it than most Americans do.

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