Saving Democracy Through Dialogue and Debate: NCDD Reflects on Ana Kasparian’s Interview with James Fishkin

In a recent interview with Ana Kasparian, Professor James Fishkin explored how deliberative democracy can address America’s deepening political divides and institutional distrust. Drawing from decades of research and his new book Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?, Fishkin makes a compelling case for structured dialogue as a powerful tool to rebuild trust, foster understanding, and renew democratic engagement from the ground up. Read more in the blog post below.

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​At the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD), we were excited to see deliberative democracy take center stage in a recent interview between journalist Ana Kasparian and Professor James Fishkin. Their conversation, centered on Fishkin’s new book Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?, offered a compelling exploration of how dialogue—not division—may hold the key to democratic renewal in the United States.

​A Democracy in Crisis

​As the interview highlighted, the crisis facing American democracy runs much deeper than any one political figure. While Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results and the coordinated effort to overturn them are often cited as pivotal moments, Fishkin and Kasparian made clear that trust in democratic institutions had been eroding for years.
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Kasparian pointed to 2024 Gallup data showing alarmingly low public confidence in core institutions: just 9% trust in Congress, 12% in television news, and 26% in the presidency. Fishkin stressed that such widespread disillusionment poses a serious threat to democratic legitimacy—and can’t be addressed by partisanship or conventional reforms alone.

The Limits of Traditional Politics

​Fishkin noted a core dilemma: in order to fix broken systems, a deeply divided public must first come together. Yet in today’s polarized environment, citizens often struggle to agree on basic facts, let alone policy solutions. As the interview made clear, this “reform paradox” is precisely why new approaches are needed—ones that can build trust across difference.

​A Deliberative Alternative

​That’s where deliberative democracy comes in. Fishkin described how structured, inclusive dialogue allows ordinary people to go beyond surface-level soundbites and partisan assumptions. His decades of research—through deliberative polls and citizens’ assemblies—shows that when given the tools, information, and space to deliberate, people listen to each other more carefully, consider evidence more thoughtfully, and often revise their views.
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We at NCDD were heartened to see Fishkin emphasize that deliberation is not about pushing everyone toward consensus, but about fostering understanding, legitimacy, and better decisions. His model of “deliberation under good conditions”—with balanced information, diverse perspectives, and respectful engagement—aligns deeply with the work our network has championed for over two decades.

Hope Through Practice

What stood out most in the interview was the hopeful message: that democratic renewal doesn’t require waiting for institutional change from above. It can begin now, at the community level, through carefully designed dialogue processes that bring people together across divides.
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Fishkin’s work shows that deliberative democracy is scalable—capable of expanding from small groups to national processes, especially with the help of digital tools. More importantly, it restores faith in democracy not just in theory, but in practice. When citizens see that their voices matter and that others are listening, trust begins to rebuild.

A Shared Commitment

For those of us in the NCDD network, Kasparian’s conversation with Fishkin served as a timely affirmation of what we know to be true: that dialogue and deliberation are not luxuries in a democracy—they are necessities.
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We’re grateful to Ana Kasparian for shining a light on this work, and to Professor Fishkin for continuing to push the boundaries of what democracy can be when citizens are trusted, informed, and engaged. As polarization deepens, we take heart in knowing that a better way forward already exists—and that people across the country are already putting it into action.

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To hear Professor Fishkin’s insights firsthand and explore the full conversation, we encourage you to watch the interview here: https://kasparian.substack.com/p/saving-democracy-through-dialogue