“This Day” Live: The Next Realignment, presented by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation

Join the Radiotopia history podcast "This Day" for a live conversation about the moment of democratic realignment we are living through right now. Is the two-party system breaking apart? Are we witnessing a fundamental shift in who holds power, and who gets left out? And what can history teach us about moments like this one?

Host Jody Avirgan will be joined by co-hosts and historians Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt) and Kellie Carter Jackson (Wellesley) to look back at the pivotal moments when America's political fault lines have shifted — from the rise of the first parties, to the civil rights battles that scrambled the map, to the court decisions that changed who really holds power. They'll connect those stories to the realignment unfolding today, as divisions over race, education, and the very meaning of democracy reshape our politics heading into 2026 and 2028.

They'll be joined by Alex Lovit, host of the Kettering Foundation's podcast "The Context," and by special guest Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II (Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at the Yale Divinity School, President of the Repairers of the Breach, and Charles F. Kettering Foundation Senior Fellow), one of the most important voices in America on democracy, justice, and the long work of building a more inclusive country.

This conversation is part of a month-long partnership between “This Day” and The Charles F. Kettering Foundation called “Democracy, Under Construction.” Be sure to catch the rest of their conversations in the “This Day” and “The Context” podcast feeds.

Jody Avirgan is a podcast host, producer, and editor, and the founder of Roulette Productions. He is the host of "This Day" from Radiotopia and the music debate show "Summer Album / Winter Album," and recently served as Executive Producer of "What Now with Trevor Noah." He has helped make shows including "The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs," "The Line" from Apple Podcasts, Adam McKay's "Death at the Wing," and "Oprahdemics." Previously, he ran and hosted ESPN's 30 for 30 Podcasts and developed FiveThirtyEight Podcasts, where he hosted the FiveThirtyEight politics podcast through the 2016 election. Before that, he was a producer at WNYC, working with On The Media, 99% Invisible, Freakonomics, and others.

Nicole Hemmer

Nicole Hemmer is Associate Professor of History at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the American Presidency. A political historian specializing in media, conservatism, and the presidency, she is the author of "Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s" and "Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics." She is a columnist at CNN and was one of the co-founders of Made by History, the historical analysis section of the Washington Post.

Kellie Carter Jackson

Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise Kellen '68 Associate Professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. She specializes in slavery, abolitionism, the Civil War, and the history of political violence, and is the author of "We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance" and the award-winning "Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence." She also serves as Historian-in-Residence at the Museum of African American History in Boston.

William J. Barber is president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach. He is a bishop with the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries and a Charles F. Kettering Foundation senior fellow. He is also a professor in the practice of public theology and public policy and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. Barber is also cochair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, and an executive board member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is the author of five books, including White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy. Barber served as senior pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, for thirty years. He was president of the North Carolina NAACP from 2006–2017 and served on the national NAACP board of directors from 2008–2020. He is the architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement that gained national acclaim in 2013 with its Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly. In 2015, Barber established Repairers of the Breach to train communities in moral movement building. A highly sought-after speaker, Barber has given numerous keynote addresses and is regularly featured in media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and the New York Times. He has 12 honorary degrees and is the recipient of numerous honors, including a 2018 MacArthur Foundation Genius Award, one of the 2015 Roosevelt Institute Four Freedoms Awards (Freedom of Worship), and the 2015 Puffin Prize for Creative Citizenship. Barber earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University, a master of divinity from Duke University, and a doctorate from Drew University.

Alex Lovit is a Senior Program Officer and Historian at the Kettering Foundation. He is the host and executive producer of the Kettering Foundation podcast The Context. On this show, he interviews scholars, politicians, journalists and public servants, to shed light on democracy’s history, current condition, and future prospects. Episodes will cover topics like inclusive democracy, citizen engagement, government accountability, and the threat of authoritarianism. As a historian, Lovit also assists in the foundation’s analysis of threats to democracy, attending to relevant academic research on these topics, including providing historical context. Lovit received his BA from Amherst College and earned a PhD in history from the University of Michigan, with a focus on 19th century political history.