Media

Dr. Paul Zeitz sits down with Professor James S. Fishkin of Stanford University—the mind behind Deliberative Polling®—to explore whether informed dialogue can heal democracy’s divisions. Fishkin shares how a single “eureka” moment in 1988 led to a global movement transforming how citizens think, talk, and decide together.

Today's guest is James S Fishkin, Professor of Communications, Prof of Political Science at Stanford, author of Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?

Dr. Paul Zeitz sits down with Professor James S. Fishkin of Stanford University—the mind behind Deliberative Polling®—to explore whether informed dialogue can heal democracy’s divisions.

A talk with Jim Fishkin, director of Stanford's Deliberative Democracy Lab on his technique of deliberative polling and how that might aid public participation in the US.

Story in the Public Square by The Pell Center: podcast with James Fishkin.

For more than a decade, now, the world has been experiencing a process of “democratic backsliding,” while alternatives to governing by popular consent have gained popularity—even in the West. James Fishkin offers a path to improving not just the health of democracy, but the effectiveness of liberal democratic governments.

Provocation: A Powerful Antidote, Athens Democracy Forum
(Coverage in NY Times)
James S. Fishkin, Professor and Janet M. Peck Chair in International Communication, Stanford University
Oct 9, 2025

How to Cure the Ills of Democracy with James Fishkin on The Nicole Sandler Show 9-16-25

Keynote Speech of Professor James S. Fishkin in Taiwan - International Conference on Deliberative Democracy and Governance innovation in Global Democracy Crisis Conference

Even Republicans can’t miss Trump’s walk on the roof! | Shrinking Trump - Your favorite clinical psychologists, John Gartner and Harry Segal, observe how the media is turning again, however slowly, to Trump’s mental decline. They are also joined by James Fishkin, professor at Stanford, whose work on “deliberative democracy” offers an exciting, practical opportunity to address the toxic polarity of our political environment.

Can "Deliberative Democracy" fix this? On Future Hindsight this week, we're joined by James Fishkin to discuss deliberative polling as a way to assess the will of the people and then to make it consequential. This is what democracy is all about!