We may not really know what democracy is, but we certainly know it’s in danger. This week, we’ve seen that first hand with the case of the #MAGABomber, but there’s the more fundamental problem of the fact it feels like we’re losing our democratic values and institutions. Perhaps to understand the situation, we need to go back to the beginning.

On this week’s second edition of the podcast, we talk about What is Democracy? a fundamental question, and the title of a new documentary by Astra Taylor. After stops at the Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals, and a Grand Jury nominee at the Sheffield Doc Fest, Taylor’s film’s next stop is the Guelph Film Festival next week.

What is Democracy? takes us from the grounds of Plato’s academy in Greece, to the streets of modern Athens where protests against government austerity led to change until the government overruled the people. We also go to the streets of the United States where democracy means freedom and opportunity, and then to the shores of the Mediterranean where refugees seek democracy as a mean for justice.

With so much to talk about, this is going to be a very packed 30-minute discussion with Taylor as she talked about her approach to answering a question as big as “What is Democracy?”, the various philosophical values raised in the film, how sometimes democracy includes things we don’t necessarily think of as democratic, and how we all need to start making politics a way of life.

So let’s try and get some answers about What is Democracy? on this week’s second edition of the Guelph Politicast!

What is Democracy? will be shown as part of the Guelph Film Festival on Saturday November 3 at 7:30 pm in the community room at City Hall. It’s a co-presentation of OPIRG, and producer Lea Martin will be on hand after the movie for a Q&A. For more information about the Guelph Film Festival, or to buy tickets, you can go to its website.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.

Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.