This episode is a quick check-in and reflection from your host and podcast creator Katherine Davies, as in parts of the world, it seems that the clouds over democracy are darkening. Katherine shares briefly some of the lowlights, and her thoughts on one way to navigate the run of bad news. The episode closes on an update about the podcast, and some good news headlines from Ukraine and the UK.

Save Democracy is now on Substack

https://davieskatherine.substack.com/

The website for this podcast (with direct links to the pod on major channels) is at https://www.savedemocracy.today/

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general informational purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal or political advice. Reliance on any information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. Always consult with a qualified professional or local officials for specific advice tailored to your situation.

The views and opinions expressed by the guest in this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the host or the production company.

Credits

Music from Uppbeat: Niafunke by Arnito; Paths We Left Behind by all:ambient; and City On Mute by Dan Barton.

Images: July 2019 Hong Kong photo by Ng Chun Yin, licensed from Shutterstock. Remaining images by Katherine Davies.

Why quality independent media matters and is essential to a functioning democracy. What can we do to support it? And the lessons for the world from what happened in Hungary, where a propaganda machine was created inside the European Union.

Jamie Wiseman, IPI's Senior Europe Advocacy Officer joins Host and Creator Katherine Davies.

Jamie is a media freedom advocate at the International Press Institute (IPI), a global media freedom organisation based in Vienna. As Senior Europe Advocacy Officer, he heads IPI’s Europe advocacy team and coordinates the organisation’s EU policy work in Brussels. He is specialised in topics such as media capture, impunity for attacks on the press, and spyware attacks on journalists. A former newspaper journalist in the UK, where he grew up, he now helps IPI’s global network of journalists defending media freedom and independent journalism wherever they are threatened.

The International Press Institute (IPI) is a global media freedom organisation which defends independent journalism and press freedom. It is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists who share a common dedication to quality, independent journalism. The organisation's mission is to defend media freedom and the free flow of news wherever they are threatened. https://ipi.media/

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general informational purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal or political advice. Reliance on any information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. Always consult with a qualified professional or local officials for specific advice tailored to your situation.

The views and opinions expressed by the guest in this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the host or the production company.

Credits

Music from Uppbeat: 'Niafunke' by Arnito

Photography in order of appearance (all unmodified)

Vigil image by Stephanie Keith; IPI screenshot; Viktor Orban by Elekes Andor (CC by-sa 4.0); Linked in_IPI screenshot_imprisoned Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko.

Three prominent Mexican journalists (killed) - Margarito Martínez, Lourdes Maldonado and Luis Enrique Ramírez_MexicoNewsDaily_Presidencia de la Republica_Twitter; Shireen Abu Akleh_Al Jazeera Media Network (CC4.0); Ruhollah Zam_Pen International; Martinez Zogo_Handout_IPI; Dom Phillips_Marcos Correa (CC2.0); Giorgos Karaivaz_Media Freedom Rapid Response; Anna Politkovskaya_Freedom House.

Gaza images 1 and 2: Emad El Byed_Unsplash; Gaza image 3: Mohammed Ibrahim_Unsplash.

Map of Freedom of the Press Worldwide 2026: Reporters Without Borders rsf.org

Factsheet on the European Media Freedom Act from the European Commission

CC 2.0, CC 4.0, CC by-sa 4.0

Explore democracy with a renowned philosophy professor (western and eastern) Professor Jay Garfield, interviewed by Save Democracy podcast host, Katherine Davies. Why trust and solidarity matter, how fear is used to divide us, the importance of getting out of the way of one’s 'self', and much else!

It is a rich thirty minutes you might find yourself listening to more than once!

Jay L. Garfield is Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, emeritus, at Smith College, Visiting Professor of Buddhist philosophy at Harvard Divinity School, and Professor of Philosophy at Melbourne University.

Professor Garfield’s research addresses topics in the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, the history of modern Indian philosophy, epistemology, ethics, the nature of normativity, and topics in Buddhist philosophy, particularly Indo-Tibetan Madhyamaka and Yogācāra. He is the author or editor of over 30 books and over 200 articles, chapters, and reviews.

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general informational purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal or political advice. Reliance on any information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. Always consult with a qualified professional or local officials for specific advice tailored to your situation.

The views and opinions expressed by the guest in this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the host or the production company.

Shantideva image: from a 19th century painting and in the public domain according to Wikipedia where the source site is earlytibet.com.

Buddhaghosa image: Britannica Editors. "Buddhaghosa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Buddhaghosa. Accessed 26 June 2026.

Music from Uppbeat is Niafunke by Arnito.