Cultured Media

Why Islamic states thrived for hundreds of years, what led to their downfall, and the some of current challenges of Islamic governments in the modern world. Noah Feldman, professor at Harvard Law School, is a contributing writer for the “New York Times Magazine,” adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “Divided by God, What We Owe Iraq,” “After Jihad” and “The Rise and Fall of the Islamic State.”

Listen on Diane Rehm

Jim Lehrer hosts By the People: Citizenship in the 21st Century, a documentary to air on PBS this month, featuring some of America’s most talented and influential leaders debating the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The one-hour special will show highlights of the dialogues in Democracy project that By the People is undertaking in partnership with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. A major focus of the broadcast is the By the People convocation that took place in Williamsburg, Virginia, from November 8 through 11, with the goal of creating thoughts for a new Declaration of Citizenship in the 21st Century.

The convocation brought together a diverse group of approximately 50 influential Americans, reflecting diverse perspectives. Among the participants were: Nathan Baxter, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania;David Davenport, former president of Pepperdine University; Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General; Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus, Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Robert Moses, founder of The Algebra Project; Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist; and Indianapolis 500 driver Janet Guthrie.

Watch over an hour’s worth of the documentary at By The People: A National Conversation about America in the World.

Matthew Parris, Nick Cohen and Bernard Henri-Levy debate the rights and wrongs of spreading democracy.

Intelligence Squared (UK): Democracy isn’t for everyone