Ian Bassin

Nov 9, 2024 | the.ink | Ian Bassin

Today we bring you a note that Ian Bassin, cofounder and executive director of Protect Democracy, sent to his members following the election. Protect Democracy works — through research, advocacy, organizing, policy advice, and on-the-ground legal efforts — to protect and strengthen free & fair elections, the rule of law, and the public square, and to imagine and shape how democracy might evolve in the future.

Oct 28, 2024 | nytimes.com | Zac Jackson |Jason Lloyd |David D. Kirkpatrick |Ian Bassin

You remember the television call. That's the era we live in. When a transcendent moment happens in sports - such as the first grand slam ever to end a World Series game, courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman on Friday - the call that goes viral is inevitably the one made by broadcasters from the television outlet and not those who called the game on audio/radio.

Oct 1, 2024 | ifyoucankeepit.org | Ian Bassin

Every few generations, our democracy comes to an inflection point. There are moments when the swirling forces of history come to a head and we Americans, collectively, get to decide whether to move towards a more perfect democracy. Or if our democracy moves backwards towards the lower points of American history. The Civil War, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, McCarthyism and the Cold War.

Jul 23, 2024 | slate.com | Ian Bassin

Jurisprudence Earlier this month, but what now seems like a lifetime ago, after the horrific attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the mythologizing bordering on deification of the former president began. Impeachments, indictments, convictions, even an attempted murder, and he survived it all—so went the rapidly emerging storyline.There was talk from Trump supporters that the hand of God was in it all, even more than in the past.

Jun 17, 2024 | open.substack.com | Ian Bassin

Some months ago, TED asked me to give a talk about democracy and authoritarianism. I approached it by thinking about the hundreds of conversations I’ve had over the last decade with people from all walks of life about why our democracy matters, and yet why in this moment the siren song of authoritarianism was proving so alluring. One consistent dividing line seemed to be about choices.