As we continue to ask the question of whether free-market capitalism is working for enough people, we found ourselves with another question — what happens when it doesn’t? Political and economic disruption follows. New leaders emerge. Movements emerge again, like populism.

Sheri Berman, a professor of political science at Barnard College, says, “populism arises at times when existing democratic institutions, governments, political parties, political elites, are seen as not responding to the challenges that societies face.” We talk with her about what’s different in this particular period.

Listen to that interview and get a preview of our protest music playlist, which you can find on Spotify or our site, that we put together with the help of professor Daphne Brooks, who teaches a course about protest music at Yale University.