In this episode of The Deep Dive, the hosts and expert guests — including analysts referencing V‑DEM and Freedom House, legal scholars, and journalists — take a data-driven look at the health of U.S. democracy. The conversation grounds listeners in global and domestic trends, quantifying declines and explaining why long‑standing norms matter.

We map a concise cheat sheet of red flags (election rule blitzes, retaliation against critics, domestic deployment of forces, purges and immunity, and politicized justice), unpack the authoritarian populist playbook, and sketch four plausible futures for America (10, 20, 50, and 100 years out).

Finally, the episode offers practical, nonpartisan reforms and steps listeners can expect and support — from civil‑service and inspector‑general protections to election law clarity, prosecutorial firewalls, press‑freedom safeguards, immigration protections for dissent, funding shields, and broad democracy coalitions — ending with a clear call to informed civic engagement.